Entries by Guest

Free From God

February 11, 2016 /5 Comments/in /by

By Timothy Fox I recall an online conversation I had with a skeptic about spiritual things. To gain some clarification, I asked if he was an atheist or agnostic. His response? “I’m free!” Now, although this in no way answers the question, it does illustrate what people think about religion. It’s some form of mental […]

Examining Jesus by the Historical Method (Part 7: Eyewitness Testimony–The Gospel Witnesses)

February 8, 2016 /1 Comment/in , , /by

By Brian Chilton Last week, we discussed the eyewitness testimony for Jesus by demonstrating the validity of the Gospel records. Such an endeavor was important to establish particular witnesses found within the Gospel accounts. We have seen that one holds good reasons for accepting that the apostle Matthew had, at least in part, a hand […]

Examining Jesus by the Historical Method (Part 6: Eyewitness Testimony–The Case for the Gospels)

February 3, 2016 /1 Comment/in , /by

By Brian Chilton As we have engaged in our evaluation of Jesus according to the historical method, my previous articles have demonstrated that the historical Jesus passes the historical method with flying colors. However, we must continue our quest in asking, “Do we have eyewitness testimony concerning Jesus of Nazareth?” That is, do we have […]

Examining Jesus by the Historical Method (Part 5-Early Testimony: Early New Testament Texts)

January 26, 2016 /0 Comments/in , , /by

By Brian Chilton This article picks up where the last article left off. We continue our glimpse at the early testimony for Jesus of Nazareth. The Argument for the Early Dating of the Synoptic Gospels The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are all said to be the “Synoptic Gospels.” “Synoptic” means that they are […]

If Your Kids Are Someday Shocked by the Claims of Skeptics, You Didn’t Do Your Job

January 26, 2016 /8 Comments/in , , /by

By Natasha Crain Popular Christian rapper Jahaziel made the news when he released a statement renouncing his faith (you can read the full message here). As I read his statement, I was really struck by something…the utter predictability of every claim he made against Christianity. His deconversion statement reads like a play-by-play from the “2015 […]

Euthyphro Is Dead!

January 22, 2016 /26 Comments/in /by

By Timothy Fox It’s the zombie argument. The objection that won’t stay down: the Euthyphro dilemma. Skeptics just can’t accept the fact that Euthyphro has been dead for centuries and keep dragging him out of his grave. In case you don’t know who Euthyphro is, let me introduce you to him. Euthyphro is a character […]

Logic Is Bedrock

January 20, 2016 /6 Comments/in /by

By Tim Stratton All philosophical conversation, scientific hypotheses, mathematics, and conclusions based on the historical method entail the reality of logical laws. It would be impossible to engage in any of these disciplines if there were not logical absolutes providing parameters to help us reach conclusions that follow from given premises. Here are three fundamental […]

Examining Jesus by the Historical Method (Part 4–Early Testimony: Pre-NT Traditions)

January 19, 2016 /0 Comments/in , /by

By Brian Chilton In our first three articles which have examined Jesus by the historical method, we have seen that, thus far, Jesus of Nazareth stands up to historical scrutiny. However, this fourth article confronts an issue that many skeptics present concerning one’s knowledge of the historical Jesus: early testimony. Early testimony is important because […]

The Self-Refuting Nature of Naturalism

January 15, 2016 /59 Comments/in /by

By Tim Stratton J.P. Moreland, in his book, “Scaling the Secular City: A Defense of Christianity,” claims that physicalism (often referred to as “naturalism”) is self-refuting for many reasons, but mainly because physicalism seems to deny the possibility of rationality. In making his rational case for rationality, he demonstrates that at least five factors must be […]

Examining Jesus by the Historical Method (Part 3–Embarrassing Admonitions)

January 13, 2016 /1 Comment/in , /by

By Brian Chilton Last week, I discussed the second way that historians examine the legitimacy of a historical event by researching enemy attestation. The article demonstrated that Jesus of Nazareth passes such a test. This week, we discuss a third historical method that helps historians determine the historicity of an event… embarrassing admonitions. Gary Habermas […]

You Don’t Understand the Old Testament

January 11, 2016 /21 Comments/in /by

By Timothy Fox Unbelievers rip its verses out of textual and historical context. Christians use expired laws as bludgeons and others’ promises as life-verses. Just admit it: You don’t understand the Old Testament. And that’s okay. The OT writings are thousands of years old. They consist of various literary genres like history, poetry, and prophecy. […]

Examining Jesus by the Historical Method (Part 2–Enemy Attestation)

January 5, 2016 /2 Comments/in , , /by

By Brian Chilton In our last installment of “Examining Jesus by the Historical Method,” we discussed the first aspect of the historical method. We examined how Jesus of Nazareth enjoys documentation by a variety of independent sources, something that is important for both the historian and the detective. This article will discuss the second method […]

Examining Jesus by the Historical Method (Part 1-Multiple Sources)

December 28, 2015 /2 Comments/in , /by

By Brian Chilton In a previous post “What Can We Historically Know about Jesus,” I discussed various ways historians identify an event or person as historically credible. I also discussed Gary Habermas’ 12 Minimal Facts Approach, which validate key events of the life of Jesus. Those 12 facts are:  “1) Jesus died by Roman crucifixion. 2) He […]