Critical Thinking and Skepticism
In a recent post advocating the end of Philosophy of Religion, John Loftus commented that PoR classes are often taught with the primary goal of teaching students to think critically, and he objected that “Teaching students to be critical thinkers is very important but teaching them to have a skeptical disposition is more important.” I would … Critical Thinking and Skepticism
Norman Geisler’s Case for the Death of Jesus – Part 4
Part of Geisler’s case for the claim that “Jesus actually died on the cross” is based on the spear-wound story, which is found only in the historically unreliable Fourth gospel. One general reason for doubting the historicity and reliability of the spear-wound story is this: GR3. The Passion narratives of the gospels are historically unreliable … Norman Geisler’s Case for the Death of Jesus – Part 4
Norman Geisler’s Case for the Death of Jesus – Part 3
In previous posts I have argued that only two of Geisler’s eight reasons for the claim that “Jesus actually died on the cross” are worthy of serious consideration. One of those two reasons is based on the spear-wound story, which is found ONLY in the historically unreliable Fourth gospel (John 19:31-37). There are many reasons … Norman Geisler’s Case for the Death of Jesus – Part 3
Norman Geisler’s Case for the Death of Jesus – Part 2
In When Skeptics Ask, Norman Geisler presents eight reasons in support of the claim that Jesus actually died on the cross. In my previous post on this subject I argued that six of those reasons should be quickly set aside as weak or defective reasons. In my view, only two reasons out of the eight … Norman Geisler’s Case for the Death of Jesus – Part 2
The Case for the Death of Jesus – Part 2
A challenge (or two) to my previous post “The Case for the Death of Jesus” came from a reader “hardindr”. Another reader, Tom Hanson, commented “Personally I’m with hardindr.” So in this post I will respond to comments from hardindr, with the intention of also responding to Tom Hanson’s concerns. Here is the first comment … The Case for the Death of Jesus – Part 2
Norman Geisler’s Case for the Death of Jesus
Let me cut to the chase: Geisler’s case for the claim that “Jesus actually died on the cross” is crap. It might be marginally better than William Craig’s case, but it is most definitely a hot steaming pile of crap. As with Craig’s case, part of the reason Geisler’s case fails is that he tries … Norman Geisler’s Case for the Death of Jesus
The Case for the Death of Jesus
I have written several posts about William Craig’s “case” for the death of Jesus in his book The Son Rises. In those posts I showed that Craig made about 81 historical claims, but failed to provide any historical evidence for 85% of those claims, and provided only weak and dubious historical evidence for the other … The Case for the Death of Jesus
Craig’s “Historical Evidence” for the Death of Jesus – Part 8
In the first three paragraphs of William Craig’s “case” for the claim that Jesus died on the cross, Craig makes 60 different historical claims, but provides only ONE piece of actual historical evidence for just ONE of the 60 historical claims. Furthermore, the one piece of historical evidence provided by Craig is irrelevant to the … Craig’s “Historical Evidence” for the Death of Jesus – Part 8
Craig’s “Historical Evidence” for the Death of Jesus – Part 7
In the first three paragraphs of William Craig’s “case” for the claim that Jesus died on the cross, Craig makes 60 different historical claims, but provides only ONE piece of actual historical evidence for just ONE of the 60 historical claims. Furthermore, in part 6 of this series we saw that the one piece of … Craig’s “Historical Evidence” for the Death of Jesus – Part 7
Craig’s “Historical Evidence” for the Death of Jesus – Part 6
William Craig claims that Jesus rose from the dead. In making this claim, Craig takes on a heavy burden of proof, including the burden to prove that Jesus actually died on the cross on Good Friday. However, in most of his books, articles, and debates, Craig simply ignores the question of whether Jesus actually died … Craig’s “Historical Evidence” for the Death of Jesus – Part 6