Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
One of the well known aspects of the Easter story is the burying of Jesus in the tomb of Arimithea. Of course skeptics are going to have all sorts of problems with this story. I dealt with the suggestion that Jesus was not buried at all in this video: But another question could be about … Read More “Was Joseph of Arimathea a Disciple of Jesus?” »
It is common to hear the claim that the Gospels are not trustworthy because they are just myths. Is this true? Are the Gospels myths? Well, it depends on what you mean by “myth.” The Cambridge Dictionary gives two definitions of myth with the first being: a traditional story, esp. one which explains the early … Read More “Are the Gospels Myths?” »
Two of the biggest interests in my life are biblical studies and disability theology. Disability and the Way of Jesus by Bethany McKinney Fox satisfied both those needs. This is a very important book for developing a biblical theology of disability. There are a lot of helpful passages in the Bible about disabilities but some of … Read More “Disability and the Way of Jesus – Review” »
Although the Kingdom of God is not often talked about in churches today, it was the main topic of Jesus’ preaching. I believe that an understanding of the Kingdom is essential for Christians. Some people think the kingdom just doing good things now or heaven when we die or something Jesus will start when he … Read More “What is the Kingdom of God?” »
I regularly hear skeptics claim that Nazareth was not inhabited during the first century, thus creating a major problem for the Gospel accounts about Jesus. This claim has been repeated so many times that people believe it without checking out more recent research. It is true that for a long time that there was not … Read More “Was Nazareth Inhabited During the Time of Jesus?” »
Awhile back, I got into a conversation with someone on Twitter about apologetics. This person, who had a seminary education and was involved in ministry, was pushing back on a tweet I wrote about the importance of apologetics. One of the things that she said was that we should emulate Jesus, and what he did … Read More “Did Jesus Ever Do Apologetics?” »
If you have not already, make sure to read part one of this guest post by Wesley Huff. An Embarrassment of Riches… The Number of New Testament Manuscripts In 1631, a printing of the King James Bible suffered from a bit of serious typist error. At Exodus 20:14, the word “not” in the sentence “Thou … Read More “The Reliability of the Gospels – Part Two” »
This is the first of a two part series on the reliability of the Gospels by Wesley Huff. Wesley is a Canadian apologist and student of the New Testament. You can find his blog here. When I was young, I remember watching a series of Christian video publications (that I later found out were produced … Read More “The Reliability of the Gospels – Part One” »
Bart Ehrman has made a second career out of trying to demolish confidence in the New Testament. Because he is a respected scholar and a talented writer, he is someone who must be taken seriously. Read Bart Ehrman and Richard Dawkins: Who is the Most Dangerous? I recently listened to two podcast episodes from Unbelievable? where … Read More “Bart Ehrman and Richard Bauckham on the Reliability of the Gospels” »
I recently came across a post called The Gospels are Unreliable and the Gospel Jesus is Not a Historical Person on a blog named Naturalist Philosophy. The author of the blog does not provide their name but seems to be well educated. The author may be well read in philosophy but the post makes a … Read More “The Gospels Are Reliable and the Gospel Jesus is a Historical Person” »
Mark L. Strauss, Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007. 559 pp. Bible college and seminary students need to learn many things, but near the top of that list is a good understanding of Jesus and the Gospels. Although there are many books that fall under that … Read More “Four Portraits, One Jesus” »
One of the highlights when I teach New Testament introduction courses is to have “story-time” with a reading from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. Why would I read from such a book? Critics attempt to cast doubt on the New Testament canon by suggesting that there were plenty of other books that could have been … Read More “What is the Infancy Gospel of Thomas?” »
I will be soon teaching a course on the Parables of Jesus at Emmanuel Bible College. One of the most important decisions is choosing a textbook. Although I had not read it before (always a risk), I chose David Wenham’s The Parables of Jesus. As I began to read the book, I quickly knew that … Read More “Parables of Jesus Review” »
Not to boast, but I have read quite a few books on the New Testament in general and the Gospels in particular. To be honest, it can easily become more of the same. Not so with Kenneth Bailey’s Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes. My thought as I read this book was, “This is so fresh.” … Read More “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes” »
Some Christians feel uncomfortable when discussions start about the historical Jesus. The fear is that historical Jesus studies may compromise Christian beliefs about Jesus. The truth is that many of the top historical Jesus scholars are evangelical Christians. Christians should feel at home when talking about the historical Jesus. What is the historical Jesus? Historical … Read More “5 Things to Remember When Talking About the Historical Jesus” »
A devotion based on Mark 8:33. The Apostle Peter is known for saying and doing the wrong thing but one of the worst experiences was that which resulted in Jesus calling him Satan. Not even the denying of Jesus resulted in such a harsh rebuke. After calling him this name, Jesus went on to explain that … Read More “Devotions: Mark” »
I am surprised at how little Christians know about the Gospels. Yes they know the stories and can recognize some of the parables but when it comes to what the Gospels are and why they are reliable, many are ignorant. Here are five things you should know about the Gospels. The Gospels are a form … Read More “5 Things You Need to Know About the Gospels” »
Was there really a historical Jesus? Was there a religious teacher that started a new movement in the first century? I’m not even talking about whether he was the Christ or the Son of God. I’m just talking about his existence as a historical figure. Or was Jesus just a myth? Was he just something … Read More “10 Reasons Why There Really Was a Historical Jesus” »
“New Testament textual criticism suffers from an ’embarrassment of riches’ unparalleled by any other piece of ancient literature. The manuscript copies of the New Testament are far more plentiful and earlier than any other Greek or Latin texts. In terms of manuscript data, any skepticism about the Jesus of the Gospels should be multiplied many … Read More “Embarrassment of Riches” »
Richard Dawkins has a section in his chapter “Arguments For God’s Existence” that deals with “The Argument From Scripture.” There were so many errors in this section, I decided to give it separate treatment. Dawkins calls into question C.S. Lewis’ trilemma of liar, lunatic or Lord by suggesting that Jesus could have simply been wrong … Read More “Dawkins’ Bible” »
We know that Paul’s epistles are letters and Revelation is an apocalypse, but what exactly are the Gospels? Some scholars have claimed that the answer is easy: the Gospels are gospels. That is they are a genre of their own, created by Mark and continued on into the following centuries. The problem with this is … Read More “What Are the Gospels?” »
It is very common to hear comparisons between the Gospels and other ancient literature. Often those texts are not actually quoted. The Documents for the Study of the Gospels is a collection of various texts that are related to the Gospels in some way. For example, there are samples of supernatural birth stories and ascension … Read More “Documents for the Study of the Gospels” »
As I sit here watching the documentary on Tom Harpur’s Pagan Christ, I find myself reminded of all the problems that I see in the Jesus myth theory. I will share my top ten problems with this theory. This is not a detailed analysis but rather my opportunity to vent on the glaring problems with … Read More “Top Ten Problems With the Jesus Myth Theory” »
One of the criticisms of the Gospels is that they reflect details of a later period rather than 30-33 AD that they claim to be describing. One of these “errors” in detail is the description of synagogues. Ben Witherington gives a detailed discussion of the presence of synagogues during the time of Jesus that you … Read More “Synagogues and the Accuracy of the New Testament” »
