Bradley Bowen

I was a devout Evangelical Christian from 1970 to 1982. The study of philosophy, especially philosophy of religion, led me to see that my Christian faith was founded on weak and faulty arguments. I followed where reason led me, and left Christianity in favor of skepticism, critical thinking, and a secular humanist worldview. Background in Philosophy - B.A. in philosophy from Sonoma State University. M.A. in philosophy from University of Windsor. Candidate for PhD in philosophy from University of California at Santa Barbara.

Raymond Brown on the Trial of Jesus before Pilate

LOWERED EXPECTATIONS ABOUT THE PASSION NARRATIVES From the opening pages of his massive two-volume commentary on the Passion Narratives, The Death of the Messiah (hereafter: DOM), the eminent New Testament scholar Raymond Brown lowers expectations of historical reliability and historical accuracy from these important parts of the Gospels. On the first page of the introduction, Raymond Brown on the Trial of Jesus before Pilate

Craig vs. Spinoza: INDEX of Posts

WHERE WE ARE Although Spinoza’s primary objection against miracles fails, Spinoza’s second objection against miracles appears to be a powerful and devastating objection against belief in miracles. Spinoza points out that humans cannot distinguish between true miracles (that are brought about by God) and fake miracles (that are brought about by some other supernatural being, such as an angel or a Craig vs. Spinoza: INDEX of Posts

Craig vs. Spinoza: the Atheists Don’t Believe in Angels Objection

WHERE WE ARE Although Spinoza’s primary objection against miracles fails (see my post “Craig vs. Spinoza: A Big Problem for Belief in Miracles“), Spinoza’s second objection against miracles appears to be a powerful and devastating objection against belief in miracles. Spinoza points out that humans cannot distinguish between true miracles (that are brought about by Craig vs. Spinoza: the Atheists Don’t Believe in Angels Objection

Craig vs. Spinoza: Craig’s Doctrinal-Context Objection

WHERE WE ARE In the third edition of Reasonable Faith (hereafter: RF3), William Craig presents three objections against Spinoza’s second objection against miracles, as we saw in my previous post on this subject. Craig’s first objection, lets call it the Insignificant Impact Objection, is an attempt to downplay the significance of Spinoza’s second objection against Craig vs. Spinoza: Craig’s Doctrinal-Context Objection

An Attempt to Rescue Objection #4 (Winding Sheets & Entombment) Against the Swoon Theory

WHERE WE ARE In Chapter 8 of their Handbook of Christian Apologetics, the Christian philosophers Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli present nine objections against the Swoon Theory (the view that Jesus only fainted on the cross, survived his crucifixion, and at some later time met up with some of his disciples leading those disciples to An Attempt to Rescue Objection #4 (Winding Sheets & Entombment) Against the Swoon Theory

Craig vs. Spinoza: Craig’s Objections to Spinoza’s Second Objection against Miracles

WHERE WE ARE In the first post of this series, I conceded that Spinoza’s primary objection against miracles fails, because Spinoza mistakenly assumed that the laws of nature were deterministic. In the 20th century, science has shown that some laws of nature involve probability and chance, and that natural phenomena can sometimes be random. However, Craig vs. Spinoza: Craig’s Objections to Spinoza’s Second Objection against Miracles

Five Draft Chapters from: Thinking Critically about the Resurrection of Jesus

I have completed a DRAFT (10 chapters) of my upcoming book:  Thinking Critically about the Resurrection of JesusVolume 1: The Resuscitation of the Swoon Theory I am making DRAFT versions of the last five chapters of my book available to you. The primary focus of this book is on the case for the resurrection of Five Draft Chapters from: Thinking Critically about the Resurrection of Jesus

Two New Objections Against the Swoon Theory by the McDowells – INDEX

WHERE WE ARE In my upcoming book Thinking Critically about the Resurrection of Jesus, Volume 1: The Resuscitation of the Swoon Theory (hereafter: TCAR1), I show that various cases by different Christian apologists against the Swoon Theory fail. The Swoon Theory is the skeptical view that Jesus did not die on the cross but survived Two New Objections Against the Swoon Theory by the McDowells – INDEX

Two New Objections Against the Swoon Theory by the McDowells – Part 6: The Early Christian Writers Argument

WHERE WE ARE We are in the process of critically evaluating the final objection in a group of a dozen objections that constitute a 21st-century case by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell against the Swoon Theory. I have previously shown that the other eleven objections in this case fail. So, whether this case as a Two New Objections Against the Swoon Theory by the McDowells – Part 6: The Early Christian Writers Argument