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Theology and apologetics
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What Are Students Learning At Yale? A Review of Dale Martin’s Introductory Lecture on the New Testament
Watching Dale Martin teach his introductory lecture raised a number of concerns for me — not primarily because I disagree profoundly with many of Dr. Martin’s conclusions but because a significant number of the ‘facts’ he delivers in his presentation are quite simply false on a factual level, or otherwise misleading.
Why Apologists Need a Scout Mindset: Lessons to be Learned from Julia Galef
Have you ever pondered what thinking patterns are most conducive to good reasoning and well supported conclusions, and how one might avoid the pitfalls of confirmation bias and self-deception?
The Authenticity of the Book of Daniel: A Survey of the Evidence
The book of Daniel contains many detailed and specific predictive prophecies concerning the course of world history, and this has prompted many higher critical scholars to date Daniel to the second century B.C., during the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
Annotated Bibliography: The New Testament Use of the Old Testament
Below, I present an annotated bibliography of books and articles I have found valuable on the topic of the New Testament use of the Old Testament. I do not necessarily agree with the content of every resource that I list in an annotated bibliography, but I trust that readers will find this a helpful resource for acquiring information about the topic.
A Reply to Bart Ehrman’s Defense of Jesus, Interrupted on the MythVision Podcast
Multiple times throughout the podcast, Ehrman points out that it is possible to make nearly any two contradictory texts harmonize if you try hard enough. This is true, but it is likewise possible to make nearly any two complementary texts contradict if you try hard enough.
On Matthew Hartke’s Five Reasons to Doubt the Resurrection
Matthew L. Hartke is a former Christian who hosts the blog “Resurrection Review,” on which he analyzes and discusses the origins of Christianity. A correspondent recently brought to my attention an article posted on Hartke’s site, provocatively titled “Five Reasons to Doubt the Resurrection” and asked me if I could respond to it.
Yes, Bart Ehrman, Jesus is Yahweh
Ehrman published two blog posts, claiming that the idea that Jesus is Himself Yahweh is a recent doctrinal innovation, completely foreign to the New Testament and the ancient church. Ehrman even goes so far as to say that this is the view of only “some conservative evangelical Christians” and that “I’ve never even heard the claim (let alone a discussion of it) until very recently.”
Book Review: Canon Revisited – Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books, by Michael J. Kruger
What is the proper epistemological paradigm for determining the content of the New Testament canon? On what basis can a Christian confidently assert that the twenty-seven books that now comprise what we call the New Testament are divinely endowed with Scriptural authority?
The Historicity of the Feeding of the Five Thousand: An Appraisal of the Evidence
It is one of the most iconic incidents in Jesus’ life. We are all familiar with the famous story of Jesus miraculously feeding the five thousand from five loaves and two fish, with no fewer than twelve basketfuls of leftovers. But just how historical is this story?