I try to show in my 2 essays critiquing the Penal Substitution interpretation of early Christianity that repentance lies at the core, not Jesus vicariously suffering my punishment to satisfy the holy wrath of God and once and for all pay the sin debt. The penal substitution interpretation of the cross is untenable, and must … (Part 1 Schnabel, 1-13) Paul And The Problem Of Repentance

I am very happy to share my new article, “Jesus Mythicism: Moral Influence vs. Vicarious Atonement—and Other Problems“ has passed peer review and has been published by Internet Infidels/Secular Web. The title pays homage to mythicist Robert M Price’s book “The Christ Myth Theory And Its Problems.” The essay is the third and final of … A Critique Of The Christ Myth Theory: My New Article Has Been Published

I have posted before on Keith Augustine and the soul survival debate with his book “The Myth Of An Afterlife,” and subsequent journal debates. In his time, William James was immersed in the various ways consciousness was dependent on the brain: eg, you destroy one part of the brain and it will annihilate feature ‘x’ … William James And The Afterlife/Survival Debate

This interesting essay on the Gospel of Philip was published yesterday which has the novel thesis of how Christianity developed out of Chrestianity! From Chrestian to Christian: Philip Beyond The Grave by Martijn Linssen. See https://www.academia.edu/s/faa7f58532 Some initial thoughts:

It wasn’t uncommon in history to invent fantastic origin stories for famous individuals. Augustus Caesar’s birth was foretold by portents, according to the Roman historian Suetonius. I will be looking at Crossan’s argument for Caesar’s Pax Romana (Peace through Victory) vs Jesus’s Peace through Justice in later posts. For now, I’d like to consider the … Christmas: The Origin Of The Nativity

FROM THE REPORT: See the report here: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/12/08/about-four-in-ten-u-s-adults-believe-humanity-is-living-in-the-end-times/

It is interesting to note the Quran has been historically interpreted as condoning marital rape. Here is an interesting summary by Dr. Shabir Ally, a liberal Muslim scholar who received his PhD from an accredited secular university. See especially time 4:58-7:29 :

Check out this short video about people in the first kingdom who thought Yahweh had a wife:

This new interview with Dr. James Tabor by Derek from MythVision is interesting on a number of counts. One point is Tabor argues the Philippian Christ Hymn is NOT arguing Jesus was a pre-existent angelic being, but rather a human. Second, he takes mythicists to task because Paul says Jesus was “born of a woman,” … Dr. James Tabor on Paul