Imagine a defense attorney that is trying to defend his client’s innocence against the charge of murder. To his initial delight the defense attorney comes across an eyewitness who is emphatic that the attorney’s client did not commit the murder. The reason? The eyewitness says he saw another man commit the crime. Do you think the […]
resurrection
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 […]
The End of Christianity? A Skeptical Review (Part 9)
After a couple weeks hiatus I find myself picking up my review of The End of Christianity once again. Although I have published about fifteen posts in critique of The End of Christianity over the last couple months, I have not received a single response from the essayists. Well okay, there was one response: John W. […]
Why did God create carnivores?
As the final installment for my ill-fated project The Crazy Things We Believe I have included chapter 1 “Why Did God create carnivores?” wherein I address such important questions as whether God will resurrect giant prehistoric centipedes and if so, will it be on the same planet as resurrected human beings? To read more click […]
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 […]
Royal flushes, resurrections, and the things you teach your children
The Atheist Missionary’s criteria for what he would teach his children has continued to evolve (or devolve, I’m not sure yet). That’s a good thing because it is important for him to work out the principles that guide how he raises his progeny. The key issue concerned past event types that are unique and unrepeatable. […]
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 […]
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 […]
