Did Jesus Exist? Ehrman’s Complete Failure – Part 4
A Brief Review of My Previous Objections One key argument for the existence of Jesus presented by Bart Ehrman in Chapter 3 of Did Jesus Exist? (hereafter: DJE) is based on an historical claim about alleged Agreements Between Seven “Independent” Gospels: (ABSIG) There are seven Gospels which were written within “a hundred years after the … Did Jesus Exist? Ehrman’s Complete Failure – Part 4
Did Jesus Exist? Ehrman’s Complete Failure – Part 3
The Independence of Passages vs. Books Among the seven “independent” Gospels to which Ehrman’s ABSIG (Agreements Between Seven Independent Gospels) refer are the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark. A “basic aspect” of the life or death of Jesus is the claim that Jesus was crucified by the Romans. There is agreement between Matthew … Did Jesus Exist? Ehrman’s Complete Failure – Part 3
Did Jesus Exist? Ehrman’s Complete Failure – Part 2
Existence vs. Basic Aspects/Attributes “Did Jesus exist?” – What does this question mean? Clarity is a gateway standard of critical thinking. If you are UNCLEAR about the meaning of a question, then your thinking about that question will also be unclear, and your thinking will probably not be very useful or productive or logical so long as you remain … Did Jesus Exist? Ehrman’s Complete Failure – Part 2
Did Jesus Exist? Ehrman’s Complete Failure – Part 1
I was recently asked to participate in a public discussion/debate about the question “Did Jesus Exist?”. I don’t plan to argue in favor of the mythicist position, just because I don’t think I would do it justice. I’m not a mythicist, and I have not studied any mythicists in recent years (I read some of … Did Jesus Exist? Ehrman’s Complete Failure – Part 1
What is Christianity? Part 13
Worldview as a Way of Life? The third objection that James Sire raises against his older conception of worldviews, is that it makes more sense to understand a worldview as being “a way of life” (NTE, p.97) rather than to understand a worldview as being “a system of thought” (NTE, p.98) because of “the practical, … What is Christianity? Part 13
The Resurrection: Types of Skeptical Views
The traditional Christian view of the resurrection of Jesus involves a number of beliefs or claims: There are different degrees of skepticism about religious beliefs. First, there are different degrees of disbelief or doubt. The strongest sort of skepticism asserts that a specific belief is CLEARLY FALSE. A slightly weaker form of skepticism asserts that … The Resurrection: Types of Skeptical Views
Adamson’s Cru[de] Arguments for God – Part 5
Cosmic pluralism, the plurality of worlds, or simply pluralism, describes the philosophical belief in numerous “worlds” in addition to Earth (possibly an infinite number), which may harbour extraterrestrial life. (from Wikipedia article “Cosmic Pluralism“) In my criticism of Adamson’s initial argument for the existence of God, I pointed out that cosmic pluralism is an idea that … Adamson’s Cru[de] Arguments for God – Part 5
What is Christianity? Part 12
Sire’s First Two Objections Shortly after the turn of the century, the Christian apologist James Sire revised his understanding of the concept of a “worldview” and wrote a book advocating this revised understanding: Naming the Elephant (hereafter: NTE). Some of the the key changes that Sire makes to his conception of a “worldview” are defended in Chapter … What is Christianity? Part 12
Adamson’s Cru[de] Arguments for God – Part 4
Campus Crusade for Christ sponsored a website called EveryStudent.com, a site that targets college students as its primary audience. The director of the website is Marilyn Adamson. Adamson wrote a key article for the website called “Is There a God?” which provides six reasons in support of the claim that God exists. Adamson … Adamson’s Cru[de] Arguments for God – Part 4
What is Christianity? Part 11
Shortly after the turn of the century, the Christian apologist James Sire revised his understanding of the concept of a “worldview” and wrote a book advocating this revised understanding: Naming the Elephant (hereafter: NTE). Some of the the key changes that Sire makes to his conception of a “worldview” are defended in Chapter 5 of NTE: …the … What is Christianity? Part 11