Debate: External Evidence for Jesus – Part 3
Question 1: What are Hinman’s Central Claims about Polycarp? As with his discussion about the external evidence of Papias, Hinman begins his discussion of Polycarp with some strong claims: III. Polycarp: Knew the Apostle John and studied with him. He speaks of where the apostle sat when they studied together. The first sentence is lacking a subject. But … Debate: External Evidence for Jesus – Part 3
Debate: External Evidence for Jesus – Post on Part #3 Coming Soon
I am working on Part 3 of this series of posts about external evidence for the existence of Jesus. Part 3 will focus on analysis and evaluation of Joe Hinman’s third argument for the existence of Jesus, which is based on historical claims about Polycarp. I have written the opening section of Part 3, and … Debate: External Evidence for Jesus – Post on Part #3 Coming Soon
Debate: The External Evidence for Jesus – Part 1
Joe Hinman’s first argument for the existence of Jesus is based on references to Jesus in the Talmud: We know Jesus was in the Talmud and that is a fact admitted by Rabbis. Some references use his name (Yeshua) some use code words such as “such a one” or “Panthera”. The reason codes are used, … Debate: The External Evidence for Jesus – Part 1
The Debate about Jesus has Begun
The debate between me and Joe Hinman about the existence of Jesus has begun. We are focusing on just the external (non-biblical) evidence. Joe has published his positive case for the claim that: …the external (not in Bible) evidence is strong enough to warrant belief in Jesus’ historicity. Here is a link to Joe’s initial … The Debate about Jesus has Begun
What is Christianity? Part 16
In his book Naming the Elephant (hereafter: NTE), the Christian apologist James Sire raises various objections against his previous 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 … What is Christianity? Part 16
Half of a Debate about the Existence of Jesus
Joe Hinman has requested that I debate him about the existence of Jesus, and I have agreed to do so. We will not, however, attempt to answer the BIG question: Did Jesus exist? But we will be arguing about a significant issue closely related to that question: Does the external evidence warrant the belief that … Half of a Debate about the Existence of Jesus
Did Jesus Exist? Paul Maier’s Complete Failure
Christian apologists often write CRAP, crap that is taken by sheeple in the pews to be POWERFUL ARGUMENTS. I suspect that Christian apologists often write crap precisely because they write for a generally ignorant and highly biased audience who will buy their books by the millions and show deference to the GREAT SCHOLARSHIP in the … Did Jesus Exist? Paul Maier’s Complete Failure
What Does “Supernatural” Mean? Part 2
====================== Keith Augustine Perhaps in lieu of starting from scratch on this issue, readers might want to consider what others have already said on this issue. … ====================== I plan to take Keith Augustine’s advice, just not this week. Maybe next week, or maybe next month. See his comments on the first post in this … What Does “Supernatural” Mean? Part 2
What is Christianity? Part 14
Here are the main conclusions and claims that I have argued for or asserted in previous posts:
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