books of interest

“Debating Christian Theism” is out

Yesterday I received my contributor’s copy of Debating Christian Theism edited by J.P. Moreland, Chad Meister, and Khaldoun A. Sweis, from Oxford University Press (554 pages). The volume contains forty pro-and-con essays debating topics relating to theism and Christianity. Most of the essays are on familiar topics and written by the “usual suspects.” For instance, “Debating Christian Theism” is out

Did Jesus Exit? – Part 8

In Did Jesus Exist?(hereafter: DJE) Bart Ehrman argues for something like the Minimal Jesus Hypothesis (MJH), which I have clarified and tweaked a bit to get to this formulation: ======================= There was a flesh-and-blood person who was… 1A. named Yeshu’a, and 2A. an adherent of Judaism, and a male descendant of the Hebrew people, and Did Jesus Exit? – Part 8

Did Jesus Exit? – Part 7

For the following discussion of the chronology of Jesus’ ministry, I’m drawing upon the evidence and reasoning and conclusions presented by John P. Meier in his book A Marginal Jew, Volume 1: The Roots of the Problem and the Person, Chapter 11 “‘In the Fifteenth Year’…A Chronology of Jesus’ Life” (hereafter: AMJv1). Jesus was crucified Did Jesus Exit? – Part 7

Did Jesus Exit? – Part 6

Here is my clarified version of the Minimal Jesus Hypothesis (MJH): ======================= There was a flesh-and-blood person who was… 1A. named Yeshu’a, and 2A. an adherent of Judaism, and a male descendant of the Hebrew people, and 3A. living in Palestine as an adult (in his twenties and/or thirties) in the 20s C.E., and 4A. Did Jesus Exit? – Part 6

Did Jesus Exit? – Part 5

In his book Did Jesus Exist? Bart Ehrman argues for something like the following Minimal Jesus Hypothesis (MJH): ====================== There was a flesh-and-blood person who was… 1. named ‘Jesus’, and 2. a Jewish man, and 3. living in Palestine as an adult in the 20s C.E., and 4. known to be a preacher and a Did Jesus Exit? – Part 5

Did Jesus Exit? – Part 4

When Bart Ehrman asserts that “Jesus existed”, he is asserting something like the following Minimal Jesus Hypothesis (MJH): ====================== There was a flesh-and-blood person who was… 1. named ‘Jesus’, and 2. a Jewish man, and 3. living in Palestine as an adult in the 20s C.E., and 4. known to be a preacher and a Did Jesus Exit? – Part 4

Did Jesus Exit? – Part 3

If Jesus did not EXIST, then Jesus did not EXIT this life by dying on a cross in Jerusalem. If Jesus did not die on a cross in Jerusalem, then Jesus did not rise from the dead. So, this question of whether Jesus existed has a direct logical connection to the question of whether Jesus Did Jesus Exit? – Part 3

Did Jesus Exit? – Part 2

Author: Bart D. Ehrman Publisher: HarperCollins Copyright: 2012. Full Title: Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth Contents: Introduction (p.1-7) Part I: Evidence for the Historical Jesus (p.11-174) Chapters 1-5 Part II: The Mythicists’ Claims (p.177-264) Chapters 6 & 7 Part III: Who Was the Historical Jesus? (p.267-339) Chapters 8 & 9, Did Jesus Exit? – Part 2