Here is an argument with premises that are fairly easy to defend, but which leads to powerful conclusions where traditional theism is concerned: 1. Justice means to give people what they deserve. 2. People do not deserve to be punished for acts in which they had no role. 3. Descendants who are not yet born …
Category Archive: Bible Study
Sep 30
Historical Method: Tell me what is probable.
This is my second post in a series on the historical method. In my first post, I rejected the claim that skeptics are committed to a double standard for having a bias against magical claims. The reason for this has to do with probability, which will be a recurring theme in this series. This post …
Sep 21
Contra Genesis
The creation account in Genesis is quite obviously a confused myth. However, there are a very large number of people who still believe in its literal truth. Here are three short, simple arguments for those people. 1. Adam and Eve did not deserve their punishment. Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded …
Sep 09
Historical Method: Are skeptics committed to a double standard?
This is my first post in a planned series on the Historical Method. I will discuss general topics and areas of tension between conservative biblical scholars and skeptics. This series will include discussions of authorship, dating, and general reliability. My focus in this first post is the question of whether either group—the skeptic or the …
Aug 02
Gospel Truth: A Christmas Story(ies)
This is my third post in a series on the New Testament Gospels. The purpose of this series is to introduce in a very general way the findings of New Testament scholars using the historical-critical method. Thus far, I have covered whether the gospels were written by eyewitnesses and discussed a few general contradictions that …
Jul 06
Biblical Inerrancy is Not Probable
Whenever you attack someone on the inconsistencies in the Bible, they will often retreat to the realm of possibility. But the point I always make is “Why should we care about possibility?” It’s possible that you are reading a blog post typed by a large, green rodent. It’s possible that you will wake up tomorrow …
Apr 12
Gospel Truth: Important Contradictions
This is my second post in a series on the New Testament Gospels. My first post was on whether the Gospel writers were eyewitnesses. Now, I’ll turn my attention to the contradictions between the Gospels. Regardless of what anyone says, the Gospels do contain prima facie contradictory statements. Many Christians will at this point …
Feb 15
Gospel Truth: Do we have eyewitness testimony?
Examining the claim that the gospels were written by eyewitnesses
Dec 11
Why the Hell are we so scared? (Part 2 of 2)
What powers the eternal fires of Hell – God’s judgment or human imagination?
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