In Joseph “Rick” Reinckens’s webpage A Lawyer Examines the Swoon Theory we get a short snippet from Origen:  In his Commentary on Matthew, Origen, one of the early Church Fathers, says the lance thrust to Jesus was administered “according to Roman custom, below the armpit.”  (See Humber, Thomas.  The Sacred Shroud. New York, Pocket Books, 1977) Neither … Argument Against the Resurrection of Jesus – Part 22

Another bit of historical information allegedly supporting the spear-wound-of-Jesus story in Chapter 19 of the Fourth Gospel is a quote from Origen.  I think I originally came across this information five years ago from a website called A Lawyer Examines The Swoon Theory.  The website is still available:http://www.godonthe.net/evidence/swoon.htmThe Origen quote is still on the above … Argument Against the Resurrection of Jesus – Part 21

Before I continue to examine the historical reliability of Chapter 19 of the Fourth Gospel, let’s take a step back and consider some historical evidence from outside the Gospels on the question of whether Jesus was stabbed in the chest with a spear while on the cross: In addition the Gospel of John reports that … Argument Against the Resurrection of Jesus – Part 20

One of the major alleged wounds inflicted upon Jesus during the crucifixion is a deep spear wound: DSW = On Friday of Passover week, just before the first Easter Sunday, Jesus received a deep spear wound to his chest (i.e. the tip of the spear penetrated at least 3” deep, measured perpendicular to the surface … Argument Against the Resurrection of Jesus – Part 19

In the first of five phases of his case for God, Swinburne argues that the assertion ‘God exists’ makes a coherent factual statement.  What is a coherent factual statement?  More specifically, what is a statement? and when is a statement a coherent statement? First, it is clear that when someone says ‘God exists’, that person … Swinburne’s Case for God – Part 3

There are reasonable doubts about each of the major wounds allegedly inflicted upon Jesus. This in turn leads to reasonable doubt about the claim that Jesus died on the cross on the same day that he was crucified.  Because the occurrence of each alleged major wound significantly increases the probability that Jesus died on the cross on the … Argument Against the Resurrection of Jesus – Part 18

A quick review of previous posts on this topic… Parts 7-10 discuss the first lemma of a dilemma argument.The first lemma is based on the supposition that JAW is not the case.JAW = Jesus was alive and walking around on the first Easter Sunday. Part 11 (December 17th) summarizes the previous discussion of the first … Argument Against the Resurrection of Jesus – Part 17

One key factor determining the probability that Jesus actually died on the cross is the probability (or improbability) of the following claim: (NTC) Jesus’ hands (or arms) and feet were nailed to the cross. Crucifixion does not necessarily involve nailing the victim to a cross, and the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion don’t indicate how … Argument Against the Resurrection of Jesus – Part 16

I have gathered, selected, and edited many of the quotations from my own comments on the previous post in this series…The Fourth Gospel plays an important role in determining the probability of the claim that Jesus died on the cross. Two of the key injuries allegedly inflicted upon Jesus are documented only in the Fourth … Argument Against the Resurrection of Jesus – Part 15

The Fourth Gospel plays an important role in determining the probability of the claim that Jesus died on the cross. Two of the key injuries allegedly inflicted upon Jesus are documented only in the Fourth Gospel: 1. Jesus’ hands and feet were nailed to the cross. 2. Jesus was stabbed in the chest with a … Argument Against the Resurrection of Jesus – Part 14