Are the gospels based on credible eyewitness testimony? This is a question on which modern scholars line up on both sides of the divide. From my point of view, the cumulative case for the gospels being based on the testimony of eyewitnesses is clear and convincing. In his groundbreaking work, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, Richard Bauckham (professor of New Testament studies at … [Read more...]
Frustrations of a Lay Apologist
I seem to get into a catch-22 often where nonbelievers tell me I am not intellectual enough, but then I am told by those in the church I make things too complicated. Does anyone else have this problem too? It is frustrating for sure. In this post I want to deal with the church side of things. I will likely address the nonbelievers in a future post. On September 28, 2010, I … [Read more...]
Undesigned Scriptural Coincidences: The Ring of Truth
What is an undesigned coincidence? An undesigned coincidence (so-named by J.J. Blunt and first discovered by William Paley) occurs when one account of an event leaves out a bit of information which is filled in, often quite incidentally, by a different account, which helps to answer some natural questions raised by the first. As an argument for the historical veracity of the … [Read more...]
Arguing for Deism?
One curious objection I have seen and heard to arguments for the existence of God is that these arguments apply to deism, not Christianity. For example, Michael, an atheist blogger, writes, “Note that these are effectively arguments for deism, not Christianity!” about the Moral Argument (here). The objection seems to be that an argument for the existence of God (such as the … [Read more...]
Atheists Are People, Too!
Richard Dawkins, Richard Carrier, Barry McGowan, Christopher Hitchens, Bertrand Russell, Madalyn Murray O'Hair -- they all had one thing in common -- they are or were people. They also happen to be or were well-known atheists. I was quite taken with Madalyn Murray O'Hair at one time. I never met her, but had the opportunity to talk with her more than 40 years ago when she was … [Read more...]
Why Share Reasons to Believe?
Maybe you’ve encountered well-meaning Christians who look down on the practice of providing evidence for Christian truth claims. I used to get that a lot. How should you respond? … [Read more...]
What is Christian Apologetics?
Many years ago, while I was in the Christian Apologetics program at Biola University, my wife and I attended a family gathering. A relative heard I was in grad school and asked me, “What are you getting your degree in?” I said, “Um... Apologetics.” She replied with a chuckle, “I’m SO sorry!” “It’s not really that bad,” I said, looking kind of confused. Today, I still get odd … [Read more...]