The Secular Frontier

In Galatians 5:13–15 Paul writes: My brothers, you were called, as you know, to liberty, but be careful, or this liberty will provide an opening for self indulgence. Serve one another, rather, in works of love, since the whole of the Law is summariz ... Read Article

Goicoechea introduces the concept of reconciliation as one of Paul’s key concept that is worked out also in his own life with the other competing Christ factions of his day, So Paul’s task is to love his enemies, Cephas and Apollos, and yet to con ... Read Article

Goicoechea's Lukan Jesus and his Universalism will frustrate substitutionary atonement and should, as such philosophy entails the absurdity that if Hitler converted on his deathbed he gains paradise, whereas if a good and noble atheist is unable to find f ... Read Article

Ehrman draws a helpful distinction between the traditional view of Jesus dying on the cross as atonement vs the forgiving dying Jesus and Stephen of Luke-Acts where no payment to God is needed or implied. The argument is the historical Jesus taught forgi ... Read Article

(An AI representation of the donkey-carrot idiom) As I noted, Ehrman argues that much of what we understand as an altruistic society reflects Jesus’ ethical innovations and how his followers spread a watered-down version of them throughout the Ro ... Read Article

Ehrman argues love in the Greco-Roman world was directed at those who were close to you either socially or biologically.  In the Hebrew bible it is commanded toward one’s fellow Israelite, even if they are strangers to you.  This need not incl ... Read Article

Scholars tend to think Jesus’ saying to the rich young man to sell his possessions and give them to the poor goes back to the historical Jesus because it is an impediment to evangelizing for obvious reasons (who would want to follow it?) and it contradi ... Read Article

The Stoic and Epicurean thinker inherited the notion of Eudaimonia from Aristotle, that we should pursue that which will result in happiness/contentment/satisfaction in life. Ehrman argues The Epicurean Solution: Go Wholesome, not Wild▪Friends▪Good ... Read Article

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dDtefHPTEk Jesus' message to his followers is "The Kingdom is coming soon," within your lifetime, and you need to repent for God’s final judgment.  It is unlikely later writers would put this on Jesus’ lips since ... Read Article

PREVIOUSLY In This Series Ehrman on Jesus’ Revolutionary Ethics Bart Ehrman and did Jesus Found Modern Morality? New Blog Series: A New Christian Theory of Ethics and Personhood with Ehrman and Goicoechea Bart Ehrman on Whether Jesus Invente ... Read Article

Last time I put forth my interpretation of the Philippian Christ Hymn. In contrast, here is Robert Price's reading: Our Catholic pseudepigraphist or redactor has incorporated in 2:6-11 what virtually all scholars recognize as a hymn fragment. It is ar ... Read Article

The Philippian Christ hymn appears to be a piece of poetry (experts deny it is music, although we call it a hymn) outlining Jesus’ transition from a pre-existent heavenly creature to a man who suffers and dies for humanity.  In other words, it is t ... Read Article

In the Greek and Roman world, Ehrman argues there isn't a universal neighbor ethics like a Greek should love every other Greek. This is on the other hand present in the Old Testament with every Israelite should love every other Israelite, stranger or not ... Read Article

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXeGEszQdIw ... Read Article

Mark presents a satirical view of Jesus and his world.  With Mark’s Gospel, Mark does numerous things lampooning Jesus and his world, like having Jesus predict the apocalypse and his return during the listeners’ generation, though by Mark’s tim ... Read Article

Regarding objects, it is clear today philosophers tend to privilege the physical object, the object of inquiry in physics, and so interpret the anthropological object, sociological object, mathematical object, psychological object, geographical objec ... Read Article

One of my first slides in the presentation I wrote: Again, we see the idea of blame for Jesus' death being transferred to the Jewish elite. Just as we saw the difference between the John the Baptist of Josephus vs the John the Baptist of the gospe ... Read Article

It has long been known that the gospels have to some extent appropriated the famous figure John the Baptist and repurposed him for Christians purposes to note that while John is the greatest among men, the newly developed Christian community was greater: ... Read Article

Bart's new book that I'll be blogging about on Jesus' revolutionary ethics will be out soon, and here is a taste about Jesus and charity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeyHtCBcY8k ... Read Article

Our Vice President Ed did a kiosk article recently on the origin of evil that was also featured on Debunking Christianity. Here is the link: https://infidels.org/kiosk/article/why-adam-and-eve-sinned/ ... Read Article

What we find in the historical record about Jesus' death is that it all converges on the idea that Jesus' death is the responsibility of the Jewish elite.  The Roman leader Pilate is exonerated, for instance, even though he orders the crucifixion.  In m ... Read Article

Ehrman's new book on Jesus' innovative ethics is coming out later this month so I will be blogging about that, and I will supplement this with Goicoechea's book on Christianity and personhood. Here's a preview: From the blurb: From the New Yo ... Read Article

Bart looks at how Jesus' ethics of service and avoiding exerting power over others contrasts with ancient Greek ethics centered on finding contentment (quite interesting, though I think we find the service model with Socrates giving thanks for the poison ... Read Article

Ehrman's new book is coming out and in it he will argue for Jesus' radical message of love of stranger even outside of one's community. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWnYqZNyEn4&list=PLmutpnyeVQcrRNOzPWdEothXcCVo2Npfv ... Read Article

In Bart's new book he argues the lack of atonement theology in Luke-Acts reflects Luke going back to the historical Jesus who did not think God required a sacrifice. Ehrman's basic thought seems to be there was an historical Jesus who in the tradition of ... Read Article