It is fascinating to think along with Bart Ehrman and the idea that Luke had a Moral Influence interpretation of the cross rather than a Paying Sin Debt interpretation. But what about Paul? Paul was the great hero of Luke’s work Acts. It seems that Luke had not read Paul’s letters nor seemed to be … Paul through the lens of Luke

I just wanted to conclude this small series of posts that began with movedness/presencing and provide a little ancient philosophical context. “Being” for the Greeks basically means “presence,” and so Plato says with the beautiful thing beauty is “present.”  Similarly, with the piece of chalk materiality is co-present.  Before I said presence means presencing, and … (Conclusion) The Godlessness Of The Philosophers: From Beginning To End

Last time I mentioned that: “Homer talks about the gods not appearing to everyone in their fullness (enargeis), with the example of Odysseus experiencing the full radiance of the goddess presencing through a woman, while the next person wasn’t experiencing her that way. Or, of a beautiful mansion we say “Now that’s a house!” though the next person … (2/2) The Godlessness Of The Philosophers: From Beginning To End

Protagoras was a proponent of either agnosticism or, as Tim Whitmarsh claims, atheism, on the grounds that since he held that if something is not able to be known it does not exist. This reflects my own position of theoretical agnosticism but pragmatic atheism, since life clearly does not seem to reflect the hand of … (1/2) The Godlessness Of The Philosophers: From Beginning To End

Regarding a moral influence interpretation of the cross that exposes/makes conspicuous guilt rather than wipe it clean, we read adapted from Rohr: In the Franciscan view, God did not need to be paid in order to love and forgive God’s own creation. Love cannot be bought by some “necessary sacrifice”; if it could, it would … CONCLUSION: Taking A Middle Position Between Crossan And Ehrman On Jesus

Regarding the transformation of the Roman soldier at the cross in Mark, last time I said: Just to show Mark’s Roman Soldier isn’t being sarcastic as Neil Godfrey claims, we read: 37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to … The Transformations Of The Roman Soldiers At The Cross

Ehrman comments: 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. What is striking is that in none of these instances (look, e.g., in chapters 3, 4, … The Roman Soldier At The Cross In Mark

 Anthology co-editor Keith Augustine has kindly provided a response to the Hasker review I mentioned previously.  He writes:  Incidentally, Hasker is interestingly wrong about some things. For example, he writes: “However, they [my coauthor of chapter 10 & I] go well beyond the dependence thesis, arguing that brain function is not merely a necessary condition but in fact … Blogging Through Augustine/Martin’s Anthology “The Myth Of An Afterlife” Part 5

I wanted to share a helpful review of The Myth of an Afterlife by William Hasker here: https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/the-myth-of-an-afterlife-the-case-against-life-after-death/ There is a lot to chew on here, but I just wanted to address a couple points: 1 Perhaps even more striking is the omission of any consideration of theism as a serious option. This omission is impor­tant … Blogging Through Augustine/Martin’s Anthology “The Myth Of An Afterlife” Part 4

The idea of being washed by the blood of Jesus is popular among conservative Christians who adhere to the “paying our sin debt” interpretation of Jesus’s death.  Recently, Jessica Brodie (mostly from sources outside Paul or the 4 Gospels) summarized it this way: Dr. James McGrath has pointed out the flaw in this methodology where … Washed In The Blood Of Christ