The Secular Frontier

10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. (Malachi 3:10) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrfaKo9_IC4 Malachi 3:10 above is the one place in the bible where God says to test him to see if he will reward you. This lies at the heart of American Evangelical Prosperity theology. The Prosperity gospel is basically the idea that we should test God with our tithes and offerings to see him bless us abundantly in return in terms of health, finances, etc. Megachurch pastors like Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar have gotten very wealthy selling this "sowing a financial seed" interpretation of Jesus’ message, but is it biblical? Matthew says the message is actually about thinking of others as more important than ourselves, not increasing our bank account: 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An ... Read Article

Bart Ehrman posted an interview with his colleague Hugo Méndez at UNC Chapel Hill yesterday and it was really interesting: HERE. They discuss whether the Gospel of John is a forgery. The author of the Gospel of John is aware that he is presenting a Jesus who is not present in other gospels, so he makes up the idea that he is Jesus’ closest disciple which is how he knows these things – and that the author is aware these are things Jesus didn’t really teach. Rather, John is providing a lens through which the other gospels are to be read, and so even though Jesus is not God in Mark, if you read John first Mark can then be later understood in that way and through that Johannine lense. The author of John hence lied about his identity and the things Jesus taught. For my essay on the gospel of John which includes discussion of Dr. Méndez, see here. ... Read Article

"Let no one ignorant of geometry enter" (Plato) Plato doesn’t mean here that a prerequisite for learning philosophy is math, rather Mathema means what is eminently learnable, and so we speak of polymaths.  For, in order for me to encounter the triangle as the figure that it is, I must have the rule before my mind’s eye of an enclosed figure with three straight sides.  In order to encounter the triangle in its specificity, the mind must apply the rule of either equilateral, scalene, isosceles, or right triangle.  Plato says one of the ways of seeing the immortality of the soul is through recollection, that the mind knows some ideas prior to experience that makes experience possible, that would in later philosophy be called the a priori.  But what is recollection?  Last time I gave the example of Justice, in that when we learn about justice we do not invent the concept out of whole cloth, but rather when we hear LGBTQ+ rights cry out for the violence being done by the traditional def ... Read Article

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m24tazSeYrg Our podcast guru Ed just did an interesting interview on the topic of morality and God. Check it out! Kant said the two things that stir us with wonder are the starry skies above and moral law within. If we look up at the stars, for instance, we don't see the randomness that is the really real, but rather the order of the constellations. Similarly, there is order with me and my actions, that my mind unconsciously legislates a rule that I accompany all of my actions morally, unlike hamsters or certain mentally challenged individuals who are not morally accountable in that way. But are morals objective even if God doesn't give his authoritative stamp of approval or rejection? In the bible it says Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. This seems to suggest goodness is a perception God receives, not something God actually does. But what about m ... Read Article

Many universalists argue that in Christianity everyone will be saved based on passages like Luke 3:6, "and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." A Catholic Universalist like Dr. David Goicoechea will argue that Hitler is in purgatory right now and we should pray for him. But, as the picture above illustrates, the idea of salvation by repentance and faith is an abominable doctrine if we really tease out the implications of it. ... Read Article

Generally, biblical scholars agree there was a lost document "Q" that we detect as the material common to Matthew and Luke that didn't come from Mark. One of the stars of this document was John the Baptist. I wanted to highlight this because previously on this blog I've critiqued the idea that Jesus knew John the Baptist, but for some reason I was thinking all the source information was coming from Mark and I forgot about Q. Here is a helpful outline from James Tabor. In November, James McGrath will be presenting on this topic at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. Here is his abstract: John the Baptist and Narrative in Q as Clues about its Composition History John the Baptist is the, or at least a, major focus of the material in the first part of the Q source. This Baptist-focused content takes the form of narrative and dialogue rather than a collection of sayings of Jesus. Rather than representing awkward problems to explain away, this paper will treat these aspects of t ... Read Article

MAGA Supporters Scammed WithWorthless Trump Bucks John Amann bought $2,200 worth of Trump Bucks only to discover they are worthless when he tried to cash them in. See article here. ... Read Article

Fundamentalist Preacher Under Fire for Suggesting Public Executions for Parents Who Affirm Trans Children. Baptist preacher Jason Graber says “And so there should be no excuse to not put these people (LGQBT) to death—no excuse whatsoever.” See article here ... Read Article

Previously: General Interest Postmodern Philosophy: Introduction To Derrida/Levinas On Ethics / Religion (part 1) General Interest Postmodern Philosophy: Introduction To Derrida/Levinas On Ethics / Religion (part 2) Now, the conclusion, What I tried to do with this introduction was present the theologically charged postmodernism of Derrida and Levinas with the hope we can ignore the theological element to see there is genuine philosophy here. For postmodern thinkers beginning with Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, there is going to be something in Jesus rethinking the Hebrew tradition, augmenting it, that is going to bring about the possibility of a new ethics (eg, adultery is not just the act, but even a lustful eye).  So, there is not just going to be bearing it when an enemy slaps you, but turning the other cheek so he can slap that one too.  Jesus thus distinguished what he is doing from the Hebraic and gentile ethical traditions when he redefines love of neighbor as: 43 “You have he ... Read Article

Last time: General Interest Postmodern Philosophy: Introduction To Derrida/Levinas On Ethics / Religion (part 1) Now, In the western philosophical tradition, Greeks such as Aristotle really emphasized an ethics of self-realization and did not emphasize my self-sacrifice to love and serve the needy other. In the preamble last time we talked about a loving, forgiving Jesus, and a loving, forgiving Stephen who is an idealized type of Jesus exemplifying the core mandate of love (agape) of enemy, dying in forgiveness that ultimately struck a chord and led to Paul's conversion. But let's press beyond Acts' idealization of Stephen. As I said previously, regarding Paul’s conversion, if he was being honest about it, we seem to get the idea that he was affected by the point that the Christians he was persecuting would not renounce Jesus and his blasphemous re-interpretation of the Hebrew tradition, even when horribly threatened. But more than that, and this is key historically, Paul says in his lette ... Read Article

Jacques Derrida Emmanuel Levinas In my previous project I looked at some of the key philosophical issues around Christian Origins. The conclusion was that a Moral Influence interpretation of the Cross can counter a Penal Substitution one. The two key sections were about Luke-Acts with Ehrman and Goicoeceha. We read: LUKE (Ehrman) And it is striking to note that the verses, as familiar as they are, do not represent Luke’s own understanding of the death of Jesus.  For it is a striking feature of Luke’s portrayal of Jesus death — this may sound strange at first — that he never, anywhere else, indicates that the death itself is what brings salvation from sin.  Nowhere in Luke’s entire two volume work (Luke and Acts), is Jesus’ death said to be “for you.”  And in fact, on the two occasions in which Luke’s source Mark indicates that it was by Jesus’ death that salvation came (Mark 10:45; 15:39), Luke changed the wording of the text (or ... Read Article

CNN reports "minorities, immigrants and now members of the LGBTQ community are being warned of the risks of visiting Florida after the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group issued a travel advisory following newly passed laws and policies that may be harmful to people in those communities." From the article: LGBTQ advocates in the state criticized the legislation as a larger effort to erase them from Florida schools and society. One measure prohibits transgender children from receiving gender-affirming treatments, including prescriptions that block puberty hormones or sex-reassignment surgeries. Under the law, a court could intervene to temporarily remove a child from their home if they receive gender-affirming treatments or procedures, and it treats such health care options, which are supported by the American Medical Association, the same as it would a case of child abuse. DeSantis also signed a provision restricting teachers, faculty and students from using the pronouns of their choice in p ... Read Article

Music legend Tina Turner passed away today. Here is apologist Ray Comfort's reaction: The Queen of rock ‘n’ roll passed into eternity today. All the money that Tina Turner possessed, all her fame, all her awards, and accolades now mean nothing. The only thing that matters, is “Were her sins forgiven?” (Ray Comfort) It never ceases to amaze me how some religious people unilaterally reject the fruits of this life, apparently forgetting that they also hold God created this life. I suppose Comfort has in mind Paul's life in the Flesh vs life in the Spirit. The question is does the bible say so because it is right, or is it right because the bible says so? One of the great pieces of evidence we have is if a magical leprechaun erased every ounce of religion from the world and history, no new religion will emerge that is the same as any religion we have now. Christianity and its truth claims would never emerge again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02QUmKVsyFY ... Read Article

(John Hick) And it is striking to note that the verses, as familiar as they are, do not represent Luke’s own understanding of the death of Jesus.  For it is a striking feature of Luke’s portrayal of Jesus death — this may sound strange at first — that he never, anywhere else, indicates that the death itself is what brings salvation from sin.  Nowhere in Luke’s entire two volume work (Luke and Acts), is Jesus’ death said to be “for you.”  And in fact, on the two occasions in which Luke’s source Mark indicates that it was by Jesus’ death that salvation came (Mark 10:45; 15:39), Luke changed the wording of the text (or eliminated it).  Luke, in other words, has a different understanding of the way Jesus death leads to salvation from Mark (and from Paul, and other early Christian writers). It is easy to see Luke’s own distinctive view by considering what he has to say in the book of Acts, where the apostles give a number of speeches in order to convert others to the faith.  Wh ... Read Article

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CP9dg38cAI Well, I've finally come to the conclusion of my Scripture Studies Web Project! So let's think one last time with Goicoechea, here on the Passion and Resurrection in Mark. Previously: END OF TRANSITIONS Part 1 WITH PAUL: GOICOECHEA AND PHILIPPIANS TRANSITIONS PART 2, Goicoechea on Mark (Post 1/3) TRANSITIONS PART 2, Goicoechea on Mark (Post 2/3) My thesis is that the 2 key items for Mark are going to be the crucifixion/resurrection, and the apocalypse. Mark inherited 2 key problems. One is that the disciples attacked the arresting party. It's unlikely this was made up because Mark probably wouldn't invent the disciples being violent. This is a problem because if the disciples attacked, it wasn't on anyone's radar that Jesus was supposed to die and get resurrected. The second issue is the well known point since Paul that Jesus was, 40 years later, a failed apocalyptic prophet, and so if he was wrong about such a central issue why take any ... Read Article