Regarding a moral influence interpretation of the cross that exposes/makes conspicuous guilt rather than wipe it clean, we read adapted from Rohr: In the Franciscan view, God did not need to be paid in order to love and forgive God’s own creation. Love cannot be bought by some “necessary sacrifice”; if it could, it would … CONCLUSION: Taking A Middle Position Between Crossan And Ehrman On Jesus

Regarding the transformation of the Roman soldier at the cross in Mark, last time I said: Just to show Mark’s Roman Soldier isn’t being sarcastic as Neil Godfrey claims, we read: 37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to … The Transformations Of The Roman Soldiers At The Cross

Ehrman comments: It is easy to see Luke’s own distinctive view by considering what he has to say in the book of Acts, where the apostles give a number of speeches in order to convert others to the faith. What is striking is that in none of these instances (look, e.g., in chapters 3, 4, … The Roman Soldier At The Cross In Mark

 Anthology co-editor Keith Augustine has kindly provided a response to the Hasker review I mentioned previously.  He writes:  Incidentally, Hasker is interestingly wrong about some things. For example, he writes: “However, they [my coauthor of chapter 10 & I] go well beyond the dependence thesis, arguing that brain function is not merely a necessary condition but in fact … Blogging Through Augustine/Martin’s Anthology “The Myth Of An Afterlife” Part 5

I wanted to share a helpful review of The Myth of an Afterlife by William Hasker here: https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/the-myth-of-an-afterlife-the-case-against-life-after-death/ There is a lot to chew on here, but I just wanted to address a couple points: 1 Perhaps even more striking is the omission of any consideration of theism as a serious option. This omission is impor­tant … Blogging Through Augustine/Martin’s Anthology “The Myth Of An Afterlife” Part 4

Why This Skeptic is Secular Blogging – It’s a (Fairly) Long Story My religious history that led to yours truly becoming a skeptical intellect doing research and commentary is complex. And rather interesting. Not my father’s side of our (rather dysfunctional) nuclear family. Indiana Hoosier from corn country, a Cold War United Methodist Republican to … Why This Skeptic is Secular Blogging — It’s a (Fairly) Long Story

The idea of being washed by the blood of Jesus is popular among conservative Christians who adhere to the “paying our sin debt” interpretation of Jesus’s death.  Recently, Jessica Brodie (mostly from sources outside Paul or the 4 Gospels) summarized it this way: Dr. James McGrath has pointed out the flaw in this methodology where … Washed In The Blood Of Christ

No Mental Life after Brain Death: The Argument from the Neural Localization of Mental Functions Gualtiero Piccinini and Sonya Bahar  (Martin, Michael; Augustine, Keith. The Myth of an Afterlife . Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Kindle Edition.) For today’s post on The Myth of an Afterlife, I wanted to unpack some thoughts from Piccinini and Bahar’s chapter … Blogging Through Augustine/Martin’s Anthology “The Myth Of An Afterlife” Part 3

Today I wanted to think a little about the difference between the kinds of lenses theological hypotheses provide in comparison with secular lenses in science and even literature.  In his introduction to the book, Augustine points out that regarding the secular framework for viewing death: “Because we are built from the same flesh and blood … Blogging Through Augustine/Martin’s Anthology “The Myth Of An Afterlife” Part 2

It is sometimes said that the only difference between Paul and the Jerusalem bunch on Jesus is that Paul didn’t think gentile converts needed to be circumcised (become fully Jewish).  This hardly makes Paul historically interesting, and seems to miss a key distinction. In previous posts I talked about Jeremiah’s prophecy that the law would … The Law Written On Our Hearts