11Dec 2024 by Post

Was Jesus Really Born of a Virgin? Does It Matter?

4. Is the NT True?, Alisa Childers, AlisaChildersBlog.com, Apologetics, Christianity, Christmas, Gospel, Jesus, miracles, Nativity, New Testament, virgin birth
“It doesn’t really matter if Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit or by Joseph’s seed. What matters is that Jesus came to earth, died, and was resurrected.” This is more or less what was said in a conversation I had several years ago with a now self-proclaimed progressive Christian. At the time, he was trying to work out his theology. Today, his words ring with expectancy to be answered. Was Jesus born of a virgin? Does it matter in regard to our faith if He was? Virgin Birth: Negotiable or Not? The virgin birth of Jesus Christ has always been considered a non-negotiable core doctrine of Christianity and is mentioned in the earliest creeds. Among Christians, this doctrine wasn’t broadly questioned until a period of history referred to as…
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04Dec 2024 by Post

Jesus: Santa Claus for Adults?

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Atheism, Christianity, Christmas, FreeThinkingMinistries.com, Gospel, Grinch, Jesus, Santa Clause, Tim Stratton
It’s common for atheists to be a “Grinch” over the Holidays and exclaim that Jesus is just a “Santa Claus for adults!” When I hear that claim, I immediately respond with a question: “What do you mean by that?” If one means that children often believe in fictional fairy tales and adults believe in fact-based evidence, then I agree – Jesus is for adults (and actually people of all ages)! But I don’t think that’s the intent behind this claim. I believe the intent of the atheist (“Grinch”) is to convey that little kids believe in a fictional Santa Clause and many adults believe in fiction too – Christianity. How the Grinch Stole Christ out of Christmas Well, why think a thing like that, Mr. Grinch? Is belief in Jesus —…
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27Nov 2024 by Post

Do you Dare to Really Know Jesus?

4. Is the NT True?, christology, Gospel, HeavenNotHarvard.com, Jennifer Defrates, Jesus, resurrection Categories: Is the New Testament True?
If you would consider to dare to know Jesus, I invite you to give Him some serious thought today. Whether you’re a Christian or not, you probably claim to know Jesus, at least in broad strokes. In fact, worldwide, no one person has influenced history more than Jesus. The way we even measure history has been using His birth since A.D. 532. While using “BC” (Before Christ) has become less politically correct, the era still changes approximately at His birth. But which Jesus do you know? There is only one historical Jesus in reality. But how He is painted, described, even taught can vary wildly. And sadly, not every person who describes herself as a Christian even knows the real Jesus. We live in a culture of busy. We don’t have…
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25Nov 2024 by Post

Biblical Archaeology: Bethsaida, Birthplace of Jesus’ Apostles

4. Is the NT True?, Bethsaida, Biblical Archaeology, Peter Andrew and Philip., Steve Lee, www.ischristianitytrue.wordpress.com
The possible birthplace of three of Jesus’s disciples has been discovered. Or, at least, revised. The city is Bethsaida. Besides being another place-name mentioned in the Bible, this town was also the home to three of the apostles, Peter, Andrew and Philip. “Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida” (John 1:44). [Editor’s Note: In 2017, archaeologists began revising theories about the location of the ancient fishing village of Bethsaida. The traditional site of Bethsaida known as, El Tell, is about a mile away from the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. But what is a fishing village doing a mile away from the water? Well, it was believed that the water levels in that area were higher 2,000 years ago. But, archaeologist Stephen Notley and…
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20Nov 2024 by Post

The Widening of God’s Mercy – Book Review

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Christianity, Christopher Hayes, Culture and Politics, Duke, Fuller, gay marriage, Gospel, Homosexuality, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, LGBTQ, New Testament Ethics, Progressive Christianity, Richard Hayes
In the mid-1990’s a Theology professor at Duke Divinity School, named Richard Hayes, wrote a book called The Moral Vision of the New Testament: Community, Cross, New Creation, A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics. It made waves in the Evangelical world because it was the first time a relatively liberal theological scholar took a definitive stance on the biblical sexual ethic. For decades conservative Christian scholars and pastors have cited Hays’s work in this book as evidence that scripture speaks clearly on issues concerning human sexuality and morality. There were other, more conservative, names that had come to the same conclusions as Hays prior to and after his book was published. However, the very fact that someone of his pedigree, hailing from such a scholarly institution as Duke University, so…
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09Oct 2024 by Post

Do Oral Cultures Operate the Same as the Telephone Game?

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Bellatori Christi, biblical apologetics, Christianity, Gospel, Inerrancy, Infallibility, inspiration, Liberty University, New Testament, reliability, Sherene Khouri
Secular scholars, especially those who attack the historicity of the New Testament, claim it is difficult to establish historical knowledge that is valid and reliable because of the infallibility of the human memory. People do not recall information accurately, especially if the account is written years after the event. However, historians and archaeologists have been able to make strong cases for their accounts considering several factors, such as the closeness of the written document to the event, multiple attestations to the incident, and so on. In this article, I will discuss the factor of oral tradition communities, how literate people recorded their history, and whether their methodology is reliable or not. Western and advanced societies might not realize that there is a pattern that oral communities usually follow to preserve…
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04Oct 2024 by Post

Were the Gospel Accounts Reliably Recorded?

4. Is the NT True?, : Telephone Game, Al Serrato, Apologetics, Bible, Christianity, Gospel, manuscripts, NT Reliability, Oral Tradition, Uncategorized
A common challenge to believers is the contention that the gospel accounts we read today are not particularly reliable. Referring to the “telephone game,” the skeptic will claim that since the gospel accounts were penned three to five decades after the life of Christ, the accounts they portray are probably much different than the original accounts, just as the tenth telling of what was said in the “telephone game” is much different than the first. This analogy resonates with many people, who realize how hard it is to memorize in exact order a string of words that are spoken once. By the time the sentence is repeated to that tenth person, it will indeed bear little resemblance to its original form. But does this analogy aptly describe what occurred with…
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16Sep 2024 by Post

The Early Martyrs Were Cross Examined to Death

4. Is the NT True?, Al Serrato, Apologetics, Early Church, Gospel, historical apologetics, Martyrdom, New Testament, Persecution. Evidential Apologetics
Skeptics often challenge believers by claiming that the “evidence” for Christianity would never hold up in a courtroom. It’s hearsay, they contend, and since these witnesses can’t be cross-examined, the case would never even see the inside of a courtroom. For many unfamiliar with the legal system, this challenge seems solid. After all, why should we trust our eternity to a message that wouldn’t pass muster in a court dealing with comparatively less important issues? Christianity On Trial A bit of reflection shows the problem with this line of reasoning. First, it doesn’t take into consideration that we know many things that could never be “proven” according to the rules of evidence in a courtroom. Just about any historical event that is beyond the lifetime of living persons would suffer…
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04Sep 2024 by Post

Becoming Skeptical of Modern Skepticism

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, bellatorchristi.com, Brian Chilton, Charles Darwin, Christianity, cynicism, David Hume, Doubt, faith, Gospel, Michael Licona, rudooph Bultmann, skepticism, Stephen Meyer, Theology and Christian Apologetics, william lane craig
Some skepticism is warranted. None of us want to live within a paradigm of naivety. No one wants to blindly accept every foolish notion that comes down the pipeline. A quick glance at social media along with the acknowledgment of the tweaks and twists that artificial intelligence can bring to videos and audio files only intensifies our need for discernment. Even still, as believers, we must differentiate between discernment and all-out skepticism. Discernment evaluates data to see whether the information is valid and trustworthy. In contrast, skepticism doubts or denies claims that seem to be grandiose or beyond the status quo. Even more to the point, skepticism can deny propositional claims. When left unrestrained, skepticism could lead to doubt, which in turn can lead to the denial of propositions (i.e.,…
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21Aug 2024 by Post

The Probability of a Past Event is One

4. Is the NT True?, Al Serrato, Evidential apologetics, evidential methods, history, naturalism, probability, Resurrection, scientism
In recent posts (here and here), I considered some of the difficulties inherent in defining what constitutes a miracle or recognizing an event as miraculous. The skeptic usually approaches the issue with the set presupposition that miracles, however defined, are not possible. They typically contend that what the believer concludes is a miracle is in fact explainable naturalistically and that the believer has allowed himself to be misled by limited knowledge, ignorance or wishful thinking. The skeptic, placing unquestioned faith in the power of science, confidently asserts that someday we will see that the miracle we assumed occurred was actually no such thing at all. This is a difficult topic to tackle in the abstract. If a miracle is defined as a departure from the known laws of nature, then…
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