The Unreliability of the 4th Gospel – Part 5: Sayings vs. Sermons
WHERE WE ARE In Part 1 of this series, I showed there was good reason to believe that the Gospel of Mark was written about three decades before the Gospel of John (70 C.E. vs. 100 C.E.). That means that if there are significant conflicts between the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John, … The Unreliability of the 4th Gospel – Part 5: Sayings vs. Sermons
The Unreliability of the 4th Gospel – Part 4: “I Am the…” Statements by Jesus
WHERE WE ARE Because the Gospel of Mark was probably written about three decades before the Gospel of John (the 4th Gospel), we should give preference to the information in the Gospel of Mark about Jesus over the information about Jesus in the Gospel of John when there is a conflict between these Gospels (see … The Unreliability of the 4th Gospel – Part 4: “I Am the…” Statements by Jesus
The Unreliability of the 4th Gospel – Part 3: Casting Out Demons
WHERE WE ARE Because the Gospel of Mark was probably the first of the NT Gospels to be written (around 70 C.E.) and the Gospel of John was probably the last of the NT Gospels to be written (around 100 C.E.), if there are conflicts between these Gospels we should give preference to the Gospel … The Unreliability of the 4th Gospel – Part 3: Casting Out Demons
The Unreliability of the 4th Gospel – Part 2: The Kingdom of God
WHERE WE ARE In Part 1 of this series, I showed that NT and Jesus scholars usually date the Gospel of Mark to around 70 C.E (range: 65-75 C.E.), and date the Fourth Gospel or the Gospel of John to around 100 C.E. (range: 90-110 C.E.). The Gospel of Mark was probably the first of … The Unreliability of the 4th Gospel – Part 2: The Kingdom of God
The Unreliability of the 4th Gospel – Part 1: The Last Gospel to be Written
WHERE WE ARE In order to make a reasonable case for the resurrection of Jesus, one must first put together a set of relevant historical facts about Jesus, especially about his arrest, trials, crucifixion, burial, and about alleged appearances of Jesus to his disciples after he was crucified and allegedly buried. This is a key … The Unreliability of the 4th Gospel – Part 1: The Last Gospel to be Written
Craig’s Historical Claims for His Objection #1 against the Swoon Theory
WHERE WE ARE In his book The Son Rises (hereafter: TSR), William Craig raises three objections against the Swoon Theory (which he refers to as the Apparent Death Theory). The Swoon Theory is the skeptical view that Jesus survived his crucifixion, later met with some of his disciples, and that this experience of seeing a … Craig’s Historical Claims for His Objection #1 against the Swoon Theory
Why Christian Apologists are Doomed to FAIL – Part 2: Dozens of Historical Facts Required
WHERE WE ARE In the first post of this series, called “Why Christian Apologists are Doomed to FAIL“, I put forward this skeptical argument about the attempts of Christian apologists to prove the resurrection of Jesus: 1. One can construct a reasonable argument for the claim that God raised Jesus from the dead ONLY IF … Why Christian Apologists are Doomed to FAIL – Part 2: Dozens of Historical Facts Required
Why Christian Apologists are Doomed to FAIL
WHERE WE ARE As a skeptic who has rejected Christianity and who tries to promote critical thinking about Christianity and religious beliefs, I see myself as a defense attorney. My primary goal is to dismantle arguments given in support of belief in God, belief in the divine inspiration of the Bible, and belief in the … Why Christian Apologists are Doomed to FAIL
Skeptics: 6 & Christian Apologists: 0
This is the current score on the important issue of the Swoon Theory. The Swoon Theory is the skeptical view that Jesus survived crucifixion and later met with some of his disciples, and that as a result, the disciples sincerely but mistakenly inferred from this experience that God raised Jesus from the dead. FOUR CASES … Skeptics: 6 & Christian Apologists: 0
Raymond Brown on the Trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin
LOWERED EXPECTATIONS ABOUT THE PASSION NARRATIVES As I mentioned in my previous post “Raymond Brown on the Trial of Jesus before Pilate“, Brown expresses significant doubt about the historical reliability and historical accuracy of the Passion Narratives in the Gospels. From the opening pages of his massive two-volume commentary on the Passion Narratives, The Death … Raymond Brown on the Trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin