Guards at the Tomb: Historical Inquiry and Resurrection Apologetics

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Christianity, Gospel, history, IsChristianityTrue.Wordpress.com, NT Apologetics, Resurrection, Roman Guards, Steve Lee
Scripture reports that there were guards at the tomb of Jesus (Matt. 27:62-66). This historical claim has been either much discussed by some apologists, but largely dismissed or ignored by others despite its potential significance in resurrection narrative. Dismissing the Guard Evidence For example, here is William Lane Craig answering a question about the guards at the tomb:   Craig doesn’t think much of this “guard” claim. Defending the Guard Evidence On the other hand, Dr. Timothy McGrew, professor of philosophy at Western Michigan University, has a thorough response to the challenge of Matthew’s veracity concerning the resurrection as it pertains to the guards narrative in Matthew 27:62-66. It is well worth the read as Dr. McGrew picks apart the claims of resurrection-critic V.J. Torley. He aims his critique here at the historicity of the…
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What About the Crusades? Myths and Facts.

Apologetics, Christianity, Church History, Colonization, Crusades, Gospel, historical apologetics, history, https://ischristianitytrue.wordpress.com/, imperialism, Islam, Steve Lee, Theology and Christian Apologetics
Misinformation on the Crusades continues unabated in contemporary society. From former president Obama mentioning it in a prayer breakfast speech, to Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, to Clinton’s 2001 speech at Georegetown University which blames the current increase of Islamic terrorist activity, such as 9/11, as fallout from the Crusades. I wrote a short article for the Apologetics Study Bible for Students over this topic.  Here is a small snippet from that piece.  Following that is a list of resources that are from historical experts on the Crusades that expose many of the myths surrounding the event. Excerpt from the Apologetics Study Bible for Students “Ask any individual about the Crusades and you will probably get an answer like, ‘They were wars of unprovoked aggression by Christians against a peaceful Muslim world which…
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A Catholic Case for Intelligent Design

A Catholic Case for Intelligent Design, Adam and Eve, Brian Miller, Catholics, creation myth, Darwinian paradigm, Evolution, Faith & Science, faith and science, Father Martin Hilbert, history, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, life, philosophy, science, Secularism, theology, universe
For too long now, Catholic scholars and many of the faithful have felt compelled to align themselves with a Darwinian account of life’s origins. Source
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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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Weikart: The Dark History of Medicalized Killing

California State University Stanislaus, Canada, Center on Human Exceptionalism, Culture & Ethics, culture of death, Darwinism, eugenics, euthanasia, From Darwin to Hitler, history, Hitler’s Ethic, Hitler’s Religion, Medicine, Netherlands, Richard Weikart, Stony Brook University, Switzerland, The Death of Humanity, United States, Unnatural Death, Wesley J. Smith
"Richard Weikart’s superb new book is a vitally important reply to the organized disposal of unwanted people." Source
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Darwin’s Racism of the Gaps 

aborigines, Africans, Alfred Russel Wallace, Australians, baboons, Caucasians, Charles Darwin, Europeans, Evolution, fossil record, Fuegians, gorillas, history, HMS Beagle, Human Origins, humans, intelligence, John Stuart Mill, Origin of Species, races, Racism, Reasoning, Richard Weikart, species, stem, Texas, The Descent of Man, Tierra del Fuego, United Nations
A defender of Darwinism might object that it’s silly to ding Darwin for his racism, since just about every white person in Victorian England was racist. Source
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Recommended Books on Historical Apologetics for The Gospels & Acts

4. Is the NT True?, Acts, Apologetics, Bible, Erik Manning, Gospel, historical apologetics, history, New Testament, Testify, The Gospels
I am often asked which books I recommend for defending the reliability of the Gospels/Acts and Christianity in general, so here is my list. It is not exhaustive, but it will definitely give you a good start. The categorized as “mandatory” are more basic, while some of those labeled as “recommended” or “supplementary” delve into more profound and scholarly content. Any item marked with a * can be accessed for free online as PDF files. A significant number of these works are downloadable from http://historicalapologetics.org, http://books.google.com, or http://archive.org.   Mandatory Reading: Recommended Reading: Author Book Title Bauckham, Richard Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, 2nd edition Blomberg, Craig The Historical Reliability of John’s Gospel Blomberg, Craig The Historical Reliability of the New Testament Boyd, Greg & Eddy, Paul Rhodes The Jesus Legend:…
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Un-Canceled Science

astronomy, Ball State University, Biola University, Canceled Science, Casey Luskin, Center for Science and Culture, cosmology, Discovery Institute, Discovery Institute Press, Evolution News, faculty, free speech, God’s Not Dead, history, information theory, molecular biology, philosophy, Physics, Earth & Space, reasons to believe, Rice Broocks, science, teaching, tenure, The Boundaries of Science
in one event, the number of people who heard this evidence was more than twice the total number of students who participated in my Boundaries of Science course. Source
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