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
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
Draft Paper on the Jewish Hearsay Testimony and the Empty Tomb
I wrote this about 10 years ago but never finished it. In light of recent discussions, however, I thought it might be of interest to some readers. Please do not cite without my permission. Jewish_Hearsay_Evidence_v1.0_DRAFT_1 Your name Your email Subject Your message (optional)
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
Apologist Responds? Check. Uncharitable? Check. Uses Cheap Shots and Insults? Check.
I stopped reading Triablogue some time ago, but today I decided to make an exception. After I posted my comment about the twin hypothesis, I thought to myself, “I’ll bet Steve Hays responds to this and uses the ‘Village Atheist’ tag.” My prediction was accurate. (See his post here.) In my comment, I didn’t defend the twin … Apologist Responds? Check. Uncharitable? Check. Uses Cheap Shots and Insults? Check.
Why Skeptics Do Not Need the Hallucination Theory to Reject the Resurrection
According to Victor Reppert, skeptics need the hallucination theory in order to reject the resurrection. Why? Read his blog post to find out. I see his point, i.e., I understand where he is coming from when he says that he thinks (non-extreme) skeptics need the hallucination theory. But I disagree with him for at least two reasons. First, Reppert assumes that … Why Skeptics Do Not Need the Hallucination Theory to Reject the Resurrection