In “Can Christians call God ‘Mother’?” I addressed the controversial topic of whether, er, Christians can call God ‘Mother’. It is now time to follow up by taking that conversation to the next, even more controversial, level. This is the picture of Jesus with which I grew up. He looks like Jesus doesn’t he? High cheek bones. […]
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ as Hero: A Sermon
Here is a sermon I preached recently on Jesus Christ as Kingdom Hero based on Philippians 2:5-11. Unfortunately the mic cuts out occasionally but it is still worth a listen. At least that’s what I think and I preached it so I should know.
The End of Christianity? A Skeptical Review (Part 10)
Chapter 9 of The End of Christianity brings us to Robert M. Price’s essay “Explaining the Resurrection without Recourse to Miracle”. In this chapter Price argues that “recourse to miracle is completely superfluous…” (219) as a means to explain the “resurrection data”. To prove his point, Price dusts off three long forgotten theories that seem […]
On putting Matt McCormick’s argument to rest
Let me summarize my arguments against Matt McCormick’s argument to this point. I will then quote his most recent full response and offer a final comment that engages his Salem argument. So first off, where we’ve come so far. As I noted, the central issue was the issue of rational belief. In particular, is it possible […]
“And if there’s life on other planets…” Reflections on God and E.T. (Part 2)
Yet another classic 2009 CP blog post (please note: “classic” simply means “at least two years old”). *** So on with the question at hand. If aliens landed on the White House lawn tomorrow, what would be the first questions we would be thinking? Here’s one: “Got sin?” That is, is it possible that there […]
Consumerism as Religion
Tomorrow I fly to Rio de Janeiro to deliver an address on the topic of happpiness. As I have written the talk I have chosen to focus on two different, rival accounts of happiness: consumerism and Christian personalism. In preparing for my address I have been struck both by the overlap between consumerism and Christianity on key […]
James and his resurrected brother
Paul begins 1 Corinthians 15 by recounting a teaching he had given the Corinthians (c. AD 50/51) which he had himself received from others: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance….” This is technical rabbinical phrasing. One does not innovate on the teachings of the tradition. One faithfully passes it […]
Can you name one scholar who accepts the resurrection but isn’t a Christian?
Over the last week I have had the following question posed to me two or three times: “Can you tell me of just one scholar who accepts the resurrection of Jesus but who isn’t a Christian?” Of course this isn’t just an innocent question. I feel like the ticket person at an old drive in […]
When the resurrection comes to Afghanistan and Wall Street: An Easter Reflection
Over the last two days I watched two of the 2011 academy award nominees for best documentary: “Restrepo” and “Inside Job”. (“Inside Job” took home the little gold statue.) “Restrepo” follows journalist cum documentarians Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington as they spend a year with a battalion of Army troops in the notoriously violent Korengal Walley in […]
The Death of Jesus, the rape of a woman, and a concept called “Imputation”
On Good Friday two billion Christians around the world turn their eyes to that mysterious event two thousand years ago when Jesus Christ died “for our sins”. It is a time for somber, pietistic reflection. But it is also a time to ask the hard theological question: what does that mean? Perhaps the most common explanation, at […]
From Paul meeting Jesus to Pheidippides meeting Pan?
In the last post I argued that many skeptics ignore evidence for the resurrection based on an indefensible generalized skepticism about ancient miracle reports. And then the skeptics came, they commented, and they served to illustrate the point. They didn’t even acknowledge the historical evidence I presented for the resurrection. Instead they went to other points. Walter […]
On the general skepticism about ancient miracle reports
Many highly educated ancient historians (by which I mean historians that study ancient history, not historians that are really old) believe that the historical evidence supports the conclusion that Jesus was resurrected. For example, they point to the strong evidence for the empty tomb, post resurrection appearances, and the beliefs of the earliest followers of […]
How to confound Christians with bad arguments: #1 Compare Santa to Jesus
Today I am launching a new series called “How to confound Christians with bad arguments.” Our first argument to kick off the series will be a perennial favorite of mine: “Compare Santa Claus to Jesus.” This is rhetorically effective (heck, its a home run, nay a grand slam) because, well we all know that belief in […]
