Debate: External Evidence for Jesus – Post on Part #3 Coming Soon
I am working on Part 3 of this series of posts about external evidence for the existence of Jesus. Part 3 will focus on analysis and evaluation of Joe Hinman’s third argument for the existence of Jesus, which is based on historical claims about Polycarp. I have written the opening section of Part 3, and … Debate: External Evidence for Jesus – Post on Part #3 Coming Soon
Debate: External Evidence for Jesus – Part 2
======================== NOTE: This post is now complete, as of 11:25 pm pacific time on Saturday, July 2, 2016. ======================== The first sentence of Joe Hinman’s argument from the external evidence of Papias makes a very dubious claim: Papias was the student of the Apostle John. By this, Hinman means that Papias had personal, face-to-face conversations … Debate: External Evidence for Jesus – Part 2
Debate: The External Evidence for Jesus – Part 1
Joe Hinman’s first argument for the existence of Jesus is based on references to Jesus in the Talmud: We know Jesus was in the Talmud and that is a fact admitted by Rabbis. Some references use his name (Yeshua) some use code words such as “such a one” or “Panthera”. The reason codes are used, … Debate: The External Evidence for Jesus – Part 1
The Debate about Jesus has Begun
The debate between me and Joe Hinman about the existence of Jesus has begun. We are focusing on just the external (non-biblical) evidence. Joe has published his positive case for the claim that: …the external (not in Bible) evidence is strong enough to warrant belief in Jesus’ historicity. Here is a link to Joe’s initial … The Debate about Jesus has Begun
What is Christianity? Part 16
In his book Naming the Elephant (hereafter: NTE), the Christian apologist James Sire raises various objections against his previous analysis of the concept of a “worldview” that he had presented in his earlier book The Universe Next Door (hereafter: TUND). I have reviewed three of Sire’s objections to his earlier cognitivist analysis of the concept of … What is Christianity? Part 16
Does God Exist? Part 3
I’m still working on development of an analysis of the question “Does God exist?” that would help to organize systematic investigations of the question. In the Part 1 post in this series I suggested an analysis in terms of logical possibility, logical necessity, certainty, and probability (click on image below for a clearer view of … Does God Exist? Part 3
Adamson’s Cru[de] Arguments for God – Part 7
There are more pathetic arguments given by Marilyn Adamson in the section of her web article that she characterizes as her first reason (out of six) for believing that God exists: The complexity of our planet points to a deliberate Designer who not only created our universe, but sustains it today. After her crappy argument … Adamson’s Cru[de] Arguments for God – Part 7
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
Adamson’s Cru[de] Arguments for God – Part 4
Campus Crusade for Christ sponsored a website called EveryStudent.com, a site that targets college students as its primary audience. The director of the website is Marilyn Adamson. Adamson wrote a key article for the website called “Is There a God?” which provides six reasons in support of the claim that God exists. Adamson … Adamson’s Cru[de] Arguments for God – Part 4
The Resurrection: A Critical Inquiry – Part 1
In this series I will discuss a recently published book called The Resurrection: A Critical Inquiry (hereafter: TRACI). It is not my intention to DO a critical inquiry into the (alleged) resurrection of Jesus in these posts. Rather, I will be describing and commenting on the efforts of Michael J. Alter, the author of TRACI, to … The Resurrection: A Critical Inquiry – Part 1