It wasn’t uncommon in history to invent fantastic origin stories for famous individuals. Augustus Caesar’s birth was foretold by portents, according to the Roman historian Suetonius. I will be looking at Crossan’s argument for Caesar’s Pax Romana (Peace through Victory) vs Jesus’s Peace through Justice in later posts. For now, I’d like to consider the … Christmas: The Origin Of The Nativity

FROM THE REPORT: See the report here: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/12/08/about-four-in-ten-u-s-adults-believe-humanity-is-living-in-the-end-times/

It is interesting to note the Quran has been historically interpreted as condoning marital rape. Here is an interesting summary by Dr. Shabir Ally, a liberal Muslim scholar who received his PhD from an accredited secular university. See especially time 4:58-7:29 :

Check out this short video about people in the first kingdom who thought Yahweh had a wife:

This new interview with Dr. James Tabor by Derek from MythVision is interesting on a number of counts. One point is Tabor argues the Philippian Christ Hymn is NOT arguing Jesus was a pre-existent angelic being, but rather a human. Second, he takes mythicists to task because Paul says Jesus was “born of a woman,” … Dr. James Tabor on Paul

Let us do a two-level interpretation in the Gospel of John (literal vs figurative) and relate it to McGrath’s non penal substitution interpretation of the cross in John.  This will undermine the mythicist sin debt payment interpretation of the faith.  There is perhaps no saying in scripture that is more “seemingly” horrific than John 14:6, … The Gospel of John on Incarnation

I just wanted to make a quick clarification to the last post.  In that post, I mentioned in the gospels Jesus says the son of man does not come to be served, but to serve, to die, an allusion to the son of man/human in Daniel, second only to the ancient of days/God.  As I … Dunn and Ehrman on “Forms” of Jesus in the Philippian Christ Hymn/Poem (PART 2/2)

The Philippian Christ hymn poetry is a very old pre-Pauline discussion of the nature of Jesus.  In the updated NRSV it reads 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests … Dunn and Ehrman on “Forms” of Jesus in the Philippian Christ Hymn/Poem (PART 1/2)

Augustine raises the issue of the fallacy of how survivalist’s conclude from the difficulties in describing how consciousness arises from the body that therefore it doesn’t: Ruickbie’s use converts Noë’s actual meaning into an argument from ignorance: we don’t know how brain activity gives rise to consciousness, therefore it must not give rise to consciousness. … (Part 2) Keith Augustine’s How Not to Do Survival Research: Reflections on the Bigelow Institute Essay Competition

See Augustine’s essay here: https://journalofscientificexploration.org/index.php/jse/issue/view/85 This is a large essay so I’m breaking reporting of it into 2 parts. Augustine points to the difficulties in using eye witness testimony as evidence for the mind surviving death: Nahm later writes that impartial judges “would take eyewitness testimonies just as seriously as they would do in other … (Part 1) Keith Augustine’s How Not to Do Survival Research: Reflections on the Bigelow Institute Essay Competition