The Secular Frontier

Prof Jenny Knust had an interesting presentation on sexual language in Paul. For example, she argues it's unfair to isolate Paul's condemnation of homosexual acts, because Paul thinks it would be better not to engage in any sexual acts as all - even heterosexual ones. In ancient times, heterosexuality and homosexuality were acts, not general identifiers of a person's identity as we think today. Paul doesn't act on sexual desire, and he thanks Christ for that. She also made the point that "virgin" had to do with being an unmarried young woman or man rather than the later medical condition of whether the hymen was intact or not. She offered the important point that we can make Paul say many things even if in so doing we go beyond what we really know about Paul. ... Read Article

One tidbit I'd like to share is Walsh argues Paul formed his ideas of the universe out of a stoic milieu, Paul coming from Tarsus, the birthplace of the stoic enlightenment. So, for instance, for Plutarch in “On the Face of the Moon” says when you die Your body is buried into the earth Your soul (psyche) and mind (nous) rise out of that material body that is now in the earth, and start to shoot up toward the moon. Solar wind blows on you and separates that mind/soul The soul separates and goes back to the moon because that’s where it’s from. Your mind/creative fire separates and goes back into the sun because that’s where it’s from If you’re a good person your soul will party on the moon If you weren’t good your soul might sink down to earth because you’re still attached to earthly things.  Sometime bad souls would be replanted into the moon to be purified and then replanted into a different person. Walsh argues Paul thought Jesus is on the moon waiting for t ... Read Article

Washington (CNN) —  Former President Donald Trump is littering his public remarks with fictional stories. This isn’t run-of-the-mill political spin, the kind of statistic-twisting and accomplishment-exaggerating that political candidates of all stripes engage in. Rather, the Republican presidential nominee is telling colorful lies that are completely untethered to reality. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/19/politics/fact-check-donald-trump-fictional-stories One of Trump's recent LIES is his wild story about schools determining which children need gender-affirming surgeries and sending children to get such surgeries without their parents' awareness or involvement: Transgender children and schools At an event held by a conservative group in late August, Trump claimed that schools are sending children for gender-affirming surgeries without their parents’ knowledge. He said, “The transgender thing is incredible. Think of it. Your kid goes to school and comes home a few days l ... Read Article

In this talk Marcus discusses how to understand Paul being negative about the Law in some places and positive about it in others. For instance, Paul offers a more positive version of the Law in Romans, which may reflect a significant Jewish-Christian population of the church in Rome (that Paul did not found). Paul says he was a Jew to the Jews, and a gentile to the gentiles to win both. What was Paul's own view on his Judaism? Marcus finds a helpful explanation in Rosenzweig: There is the ambiguity in that Jews who reject Christ are enemies of God, and yet blessed because God chose Abraham and his children forever. ... Read Article

I'd like to highlight how Staples argues against the substitutionary atonement interpretive model of reading Paul and instead argues for a transformation of the heart model which results in good acts and therefore good judgment. The substitutionary atonement reading is well known, and so for example in Romans Staples notes: The idea here is that we are guilty but through a theological sleight of hand accepting Christ makes our sin invisible to God because we clothe ourselves in Christ's righteousness. Staples notes this is a very problematic reading. For one thing, Paul repeatedly notes we will be judged on our actions (Romans 2:5-11; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Galatians 6:7-8; 1 Cor 6:9-11; etc.). For example, as John Barclay notes, Paul's directive to members of his churches to give to the poor Christians in Jerusalem is at once economic, political, and theological. Moreover, the Torah provides mechanisms for forgiveness and atonement. If there is one thing the God of the Old Testament can do, it's f ... Read Article

'MIRACLES': Former first lady Melania Trump credits a higher power for watching over former President Trump during two assassination attempts. Melania continues the narrative I've been posting about that the right is framing the failed assassination attempts as being the intervention by God and so a vote against Trump is a vote against God. ... Read Article

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former President Donald Trump is littering his public remarks with fictional stories. This isn’t run-of-the-mill political spin, the kind of statistic-twisting and accomplishment-exaggerating that political candidates of all stripes engage in. Rather, the Republican presidential nominee is telling colorful lies that are completely untethered to reality. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/19/politics/fact-check-donald-trump-fictional-stories Here is recent LIE #2 from Donald Trump: HARRIS' CNN INTERVIEWTrump claimed during a Fox News event in Pennsylvania in early September that Harris “had notes” to assist her during the television interview she did with CNN in late August. He even performed an impression in which he portrayed Harris supposedly looking down at these notes. She didn’t actually have any notes. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/19/politics/fact-check-donald-trump-fictional-stories Here is a quote from a Fact Check on this bogus claim: FACTS FIRST: T ... Read Article

Benjamin White is one of the top and most respected Pauline scholars in the world. White’s talk is about how mathematics is used to help decide which of the New Testament letters are authentically written by Paul. I would like to highlight one point he makes about 1 Thess 2: 14-16. This passage reads: 14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own compatriots as they did from the Jews 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out; they displease God and oppose everyone 16 by hindering us from speaking to the gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins, but wrath has overtaken them at last. This is an important text for mythicists to dismiss as an interpolation because it says the Jews killed Christ: SEE CARRIER HERE.  The claim is further that references to destruction in the verses identify the des ... Read Article

I have long thought that Dr. Gary Habermas was the best defender of the alleged resurrection of Jesus. The recent publication of two large volumes by Habermas on this issue demonstrates that my previous opinion was correct. No 21st-century skeptic can reasonably claim to have cast serious doubt on the resurrection of Jesus without dealing with the arguments of the Christian philosopher and apologist Gary Habermas. QUOTES ON HABERMAS AND THE FIRST VOLUMES OF HIS SERIES ON THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS Here are some quotations (from the back covers) about his recently published volumes on the resurrection of Jesus: This series confirms Habermas's status as the leading voice among an increasing number of eminent scholars openly affirming the strong evidence for Jesus' resurrection. - Craig Keener, professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary Professor Gary Habermas has made studying the resurrection of Jesus Christ his life's work. Probably no one else on the planet has resea ... Read Article

Washington (CNN) —  Former President Donald Trump is littering his public remarks with fictional stories. This isn’t run-of-the-mill political spin, the kind of statistic-twisting and accomplishment-exaggerating that political candidates of all stripes engage in. Rather, the Republican presidential nominee is telling colorful lies that are completely untethered to reality. Trump’s inflammatory assertion about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, whom he baselessly accused at the September presidential debate of eating people’s dogs and cats, has received the most attention. But Trump’s lower-profile recent public appearances, like rallies and interviews, have also featured wholly imaginary tales. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/19/politics/fact-check-donald-trump-fictional-stories The constant flow of LIES and BULLSHIT from the mouth of Donald Trump clearly indicates that he is a SOCIOPATH. It is absurd that anyone would even think about voting for a SOCIOPATH to be the presiden ... Read Article

Bart provided an overview for the kinds of things that will be found in the conference presentations, and I would like to share a couple of these as background on Paul, and propose some questions that these ideas raise for me. God had made a covenant with the Jews and the Jews kept their part of the bargain by keeping God’s law.  It was thought that bad things happened like the Jews repeatedly being conquered because they were breaking the law and that was God’s punishment.  Around 200 years before Jesus, some Jewish thinkers started to think that evil forces were controlling people and opposing believers by preventing them from keeping the law, and that is why bad things were happening.  Though the world looks like God isn’t in control, apocalyptic thinking is that God will soon destroy these evil forces and set up a utopian world like Eden was. Paul and Jesus were apocalyptic thinkers. Paul was a highly religious Greek-speaking Jew who was a scholar of scripture.  In his ea ... Read Article

I'm excited to share that I will be reporting for The Secular Web/Internet Infidels on Bart Ehrman's conference this weekend on the apostle Paul. My hope is to share a few gems from each presenter that will encourage my reader to sign up for the conference themself and watch a replay. The apostle Paul is one of the most influential writers in history and so is important to study, even if you are a secularism activist like me. Paul was an apocalyptic thinker who believed the end of the age had begun and would be realized in his lifetime. He called the resurrected Jesus the "first fruits (1 Cor 15:23)" of the general end-time harvest of souls that was underway. He was also an apostle of the cross, saying he resolved to know nothing among his readers but Christ and him crucified, and quoted the creed/poetry that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. Why, then, does Paul say if the resurrection is not true then the cross is of no effect? ("If Christ has not been raised, your faith ... Read Article

Richest man in the world and Trump sycophant Elon Musk shared his thoughts on atheism: Notice he doesn't raise the issue of whether religion is true, just that it's (in his interpretation) pleasant. Why would a billionaire support Trump ... ? lol. ... Read Article

"Kelly and I are departing Mar-a-Lago, where we just spent a few hours with President Trump and are thanking God for protecting him today—once again. No leader in American history has endured more attacks and remained so strong and resilient. He is unstoppable. (Speaker Mike Johnson)" It's amazing how people will insert God into anything that shows Him in a rosy light, though never blame God for things like childhood cancer. A favorite place theists love to insert God into is the beginning of space/time. What they neglect to tell you is even if some entity authored all reality, this doesn't in any way increase the likelihood that Christianity or Islam etc. is true. ... Read Article

After getting his clock cleaned in the first debate according to every credible poll and source (including RFK jr!), Trump apparently wants no part of another match with Kamala Harris. Trump spun it in this way: ... Read Article