Jesus: True Prophet or False Prophet? – Part 1
In his book The Resurrection of God Incarnate, Richard Swinburne argues that the case for the resurrection of Jesus must include three major components: I. General Background Evidence – evidence for and against the existence of God, and evidence about whether and why God would be likely to perform a miracle, especially raising someone from the … Jesus: True Prophet or False Prophet? – Part 1
The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 7
It is one thing to make a solid case for the claim “Jesus rose from the dead.” (JRD), and another thing entirely to make a solid case for the claim “God raised Jesus from the dead.” (GRJ). Showing that (JRD) is true, would not, by itself, show that (GRJ) is true. The resurrection could have … The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 7
The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 6
In Part 4 of this series, we saw that Theodore Drange interpreted Christian theologian Charles Hodge to be arguing as follows (“Why Resurrect Jesus?” in The Empty Tomb, p. 56) : (2a) (JRD) is a sufficient condition for (JSG). Therefore: (1a) (JRD) is a necessary condition for (JSG). ============ Abbreviations: (JRD) Jesus rose from the dead. (JSG) Jesus is the … The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 6
What is Faith? – Part 9
Here are some key points from the first section (Relation of Faith to Reason) of Geisler’s article “Faith and Reason” (Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, p. 239; hereafter: BECA): If we take the second point in a straightforward manner, then there appears to be no conflict between faith and reason, at least in terms of the … What is Faith? – Part 9
The Logic of the Resurrection – Index
The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 1 Different assumptions about the existence of God have different implications concerning the resurrection. The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 2 As Richard Swinburne has pointed out, a complete case for the resurrection must be a three-legged stool, resting upon general background evidence, prior historical evidence, and … The Logic of the Resurrection – Index
The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 5
Before I continue to examine Theodore Drange’s excellent article “Why Resurrect Jesus?” (The Empty Tomb, p. 55-67), I want to reinforce a key point: an important but neglected aspect of the case for the resurrection of Jesus is what Swinburne calls General Background Evidence, specifically reasons and evidence related to God’s alleged purposes. I would … The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 5
The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 4
One of the neglected aspects of the case for the resurrection of Jesus is what Swinburne calls General Background Evidence. I have summarize this part of the case this way: (GTE) The God of traditional theism exists. (GPR) God, if God exists, has purposes P1, P2, etc. that are relevant to whether God would be … The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 4
The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 3
The logic of the resurrection apologetic goes roughly like this: NOTE: This does not represent Swinburne’s case for the resurrection. It is a rough representation of a case for the resurrection that follows the general logic laid out by Swinburne (constituting a three-legged stool). ============== KEY TO DIAGRAM (DOC) Jesus died on the cross on … The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 3
The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 2
The two most important writings on the resurrection of Jesus are, IMHO, Richard Swinburne’s book The Resurrection of God Incarnate (Oxford University Press, 2003; hereafter: ROGI), especially the Introduction (pages 1-6), and Theodore Drange’s short article “Why Resurrect Jesus?” in the collection of skeptical essays The Empty Tomb, edited by Robert Price and our fearless … The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 2
What is Faith? – Part 7
I’m going to take a detour and temporarily set Mr. Swinburne’s characterization of the Thomist view of faith aside. But I will continue to examine the Thomist view of faith, specifically as presented by Dr. Norman Geisler. As Jeff Lowder has recently shown, Dr. Geisler’s case for Christianity is a failure. IMHO Jeff won that … What is Faith? – Part 7