The book of Acts recounts various miracles performed by Paul and the other apostles, as well as the deacons Stephen and Philip. If it can be shown that these miracle reports substantially represent the testimony of these individuals, then this is an important aspect of the testimony that must be accounted for.
The Miracles in Acts, and Their Evidential Value Read More »
McClellan recently published a 17-minute video responding to a TikTok video by my colleague, Dr. Sean McDowell, on discrepancies in the resurrection narratives. In this article, I will address points raised in this video.
Do the Resurrection Narratives Contradict? A Reply to Dan McClellan Read More »
There is satisfactory evidence that many professing to be original witnesses of the Christian miracles, passed their lives in labours, dangers, and sufferings, voluntarily undergone in attestation of the accounts which they delivered, and solely in consequence of their belief of those accounts; and that they also submitted, from the same motives, to new rules of conduct.
Early Church Persecution, and its Evidential Value Read More »
An argument for Christianity that seldom receives adequate attention is the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (also known as Paul) on the road to Damascus. There exist three accounts of Paul’s conversion in the book of Acts — in chapters 9, 22, and 26. In this essay, I shall lay out in detail why Paul’s Damascus road conversion constitutes powerful evidence of the truth of Christianity.
The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and its Evidential Value Read More »
A couple of weeks ago, an episode aired on the skeptical Doubts Aloud podcast, featuring John Nelson and Josh Parikh, in which they offered a critical appraisal of the high-resolution reportage model of the gospels, advocated by myself, Tim and Lydia McGrew, Peter J. Williams, Wesley Huff, and other scholars.
Have John Nelson and Josh Parikh Refuted the Reportage Model? Read More »
Tovia Singer asserts that the gospels were originally written and circulated anonymously and that nowhere in the text do they identify themselves. Moreover, Singer asserts that “These are church traditions — and in fact they are late church traditions, meaning these ascriptions are assigned about a century after the gospels are written” by Irenaeus of Lyons.
Who Wrote the Gospels? Rabbi Tovia Singer Has No Clue! Read More »
Given that Jesus was alleged, from the beginning, to have been raised on the Sunday following Passover, during the feast of firstfruits, this suggests that the choice of the Sunday as the day of the resurrection resulted from rational deliberation, or conscious design, whether on the part of human schemers or divine agency. It seems to militate fairly heavily against the hypothesis that the original apostles were honestly mistaken about Christ’s resurrection.
The Firstfruits Feast and the Case for the Resurrection Read More »
In a video published this week, provocatively titled “Why Would Paul Willingly Die for His Belief? Another Church Lie!”, Rabbi Singer makes a number of bizarre claims. One such statement is that “the notion that Paul was beheaded by Rome is complete nonsense. It’s an invention of the church, and it’s mentioned nowhere in the Christian Bible.”
The Argument from Martyrdom: A Response to Rabbi Tovia Singer Read More »
Contrary to Rabbi Singer’s assertions, Mark does not affirm an adoptionist Christology (and in fact affirms Christ’s deity). Though there are undoubtedly more statements of Jesus’ deity in John, it is simply untrue that these claims are absent from the synoptic gospels. Singer’s development arguments regarding the resurrection and anti-Semitism also collapse upon further inspection.
Is There a Progressive Embellishment Among the Gospels? A Reply to Rabbi Tovia Singer Read More »
Though the alleged discrepancies offered by Rabbi Singer require some investigation to untangle, closer inspection — and more careful reading of the relevant texts — reveals the arguments to be unfounded. The solutions that I have offered to these challenges are not strained or forced harmonizations, but rather are suggested from within the texts themselves.
Are There Colossal Contradictions in the Gospels? A Reply to Rabbi Tovia Singer Read More »