What is Christianity? Part 15
In his book Naming the Elephant (hereafter: NTE), the Christian apologist James Sire raises various objections against his analysis of the concept of a “worldview” that he had presented in his earlier book The Universe Next Door (hereafter: TUND). I have reviewed three of Sire’s objections to his earlier cognitivist analysis of the concept of a … What is Christianity? Part 15
What is Christianity? Part 14
Here are the main conclusions and claims that I have argued for or asserted in previous posts: Your name Your email Subject Your message (optional)
Did Jesus Exist? Ehrman’s Complete Failure – Part 5
Because my main objection to a key argument in Chapter 3 of Bart Ehrman’s book Did Jesus Exist? (hereafter: DJE) is a strong and decisive objection (i.e. Ehrman provided ZERO historical facts to support the main historical premise of a key argument), I have felt some concern that my identification or interpretation of the ABSIG argument (Agreements … Did Jesus Exist? Ehrman’s Complete Failure – Part 5
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
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