tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63633622009-11-21T14:56:10.566-08:00Comments from the Christian CadreBKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01967809861892681780noreply@blogger.comBlogger1585125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-41566695576587561142009-11-20T13:08:00.000-08:002009-11-20T14:29:18.562-08:00

I had heard that a new Shroud book was on the way this autumn, but I hadn't heard any real details on it yet. The Associated Press has now released an article on at least one main new claim from historian Barbara Frale's book: the identification and translation of scribbled letters in Greek, Latin and Aramaic detected over (or near) the head of the Shroud.The letters (or anyway the appearance of

Jason Pratthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602238179676591394jasonpratt@compuserve.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-48417562767111815472009-11-19T19:52:00.000-08:002009-11-19T20:08:59.123-08:00

Recently, on the Last Laugh, blogger Laughing Boy published a short article about the advertisement that some atheists have placed on buses around England. The article, entitled Dick says, "Enjoy your life" showed a photo of a nattily-dressed Mr. Richard Dawkins (obviously enjoying the money he has made from the sales of his books and probably enjoying standing next to Ariane Sherine, the

BKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01967809861892681780noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-50249165879886910122009-11-16T22:00:00.000-08:002009-11-16T22:00:00.694-08:00

Thanksgiving is somewhat of a forgotten holiday. Nestled tightly between Halloween and Christmas, there is little consumer demand for the Thanksgiving items which usually occupy only a few small shelves in most stores. I guess its understandable. There isn't nearly as much call for wooden Pilgrims as there is for skeletons or nutcrackers. Yet, while Thanksgiving isn't as important on the

BKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01967809861892681780noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-40703847320995713922009-11-16T13:57:00.000-08:002009-11-16T14:00:42.330-08:00

I saw that on the back of a shirt last night, where I was eating dinner. It seems kind-of brilliant; though on the other hand I'm still coming off the tail-end of having had the pseudo-flu, so it might only be the snot in my head pressing the wrong part of my brain-sack (or whatever it is that holds my brain in place and keeps it from leaking out my nose. Not that that has made much difference in

Jason Pratthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602238179676591394jasonpratt@compuserve.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-22160124650124744652009-11-15T11:28:00.000-08:002009-11-15T14:15:57.034-08:00

I originally planned to write just two posts analyzing the physiological swoon theory, one devoted to the a priori arguments (see here) and one to the a posteriori. But upon further reflection I realized that the a posteriori arguments raise issues regarding the interpretation of the Gospels that are too involved to be dealt with in just one post. So I will deal with each of those arguments in a

JD Waltershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258076638127927788noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-26069521226890016952009-11-13T23:36:00.000-08:002009-11-15T17:35:13.305-08:00

I recently read The Battle of Salamis, by Barry Strauss. The Battle of Salamis was a naval battle in which the Greeks defeated a much larger Persian fleet, saving the Athenian people -- and perhaps Greek civilization -- in the process from domination by Xerxes' Persian Empire. The Athenians constituted the largest part of the Greek fleet, though many other Greek states contributed and the fleet's

Laymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761410435140602771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-88878711481450714452009-11-13T12:01:00.000-08:002009-11-13T12:01:00.160-08:00

Of course, skeptics challenge the Biblical teaching of the resurrection of Jesus. In doing so, they challenge virtually every aspect of the teaching. They challenge the idea that Jesus actually died on the cross, that he was buried in the tomb, and that the tomb is empty. In addition, they challenge the idea of the post-resurrection appearances on several grounds. One ground (raised in the

BKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01967809861892681780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-86454031218027729762009-11-11T20:28:00.000-08:002009-11-11T20:41:49.996-08:00

Michael Sudduth is one of the sharpest, most erudite and innovative philosophers of religion writing today. He has just come out with a massive study of The Reformed Objection to Natural Theology which is required reading for anyone interested in arguments for the existence of God, and whether and what kind of natural theology is a proper Christian activity.Given his 'empirical' orientation to

JD Waltershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258076638127927788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-83307664176259045762009-11-11T03:22:00.000-08:002009-11-11T03:22:00.182-08:00

Jerram Barrs has put a 26 lesson course on Christian apologetics on-line. The course, entitled Apologetics and Outreach is described as: An analysis of the philosophical, religious, and scientific beliefs and ideas that have shaped different cultures and are now reshaping our multicultural and pluralistic society. Differences in attitudes toward the value and purpose of life, sexual identity and

BKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01967809861892681780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-57047156544804165092009-11-10T03:58:00.000-08:002009-11-10T04:11:57.094-08:00

In doing a little research, I came across a long article on Answering Infidels which reviewed Richard Carrier's book, Sense and Goodness Without God. The article, Good ‘n’ Senseless Without God: A Critical Review of Richard Carrier’s Sense and Goodness Without God by David Wood, covers several pages and points out numerous flaws in Carrier's thinking. One chapter of the article deals with

BKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01967809861892681780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-83696281543353288442009-11-08T18:56:00.000-08:002009-11-08T19:01:00.225-08:00

"The dying/rising gods have nothing to do with the resurrection of Jesus-at least not for Paul. He comes from a basis in Pharisaic Judaism to announce that the general resurrection has already begun with that of Jesus-that is why he can argue in 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 that no Jesus resurrection means no general resurrection; no general resurrection means no Jesus resurrection. They stand or fall

JD Waltershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258076638127927788noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-34750827605328527552009-11-07T20:35:00.000-08:002009-11-07T20:48:18.868-08:00

What insight does the familiar Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) hold for those of us interested in Apologetics? At first glance, it might seem like not much. After all, the parable tells the tale of two sons and their loving father. Most of the time we focus on the younger son – the one who wasted his inheritance in a faraway land on wine, women and song – and that provides an avenue

BKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01967809861892681780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-55454776604187820272009-11-03T23:05:00.001-08:002009-11-03T23:09:49.170-08:00

In this post and the next I want to give a detailed critique of the so-called 'swoon theory', the hypothesis that Jesus only appeared to die on the cross, was taken down still alive and then subsequently recuperated from his wounds. Most New Testament scholars and historians dismiss the theory as ridiculous but I think it deserves more careful scrutiny for two reasons: 1) it is extremely popular

JD Waltershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258076638127927788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-32858386822839191142009-10-24T06:16:00.000-07:002009-10-24T08:20:48.678-07:00

This was published in my newspaper yesterday, but it was from 2007. I almost spit out my oatmeal when I read it. Click here to read.While I expect the people who have bought into the arguments like the Jesus Tomb won't find it amusing, those of you who have analyzed the arguments and found them wanting will find this quite amusing.

BKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01967809861892681780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-86624581535545516972009-10-16T22:51:00.001-07:002009-10-16T23:42:59.259-07:00

Skeptics and atheists often compare belief in God to belief in Santa Claus, the main element of the analogy being that there is insufficient evidence to believe either of them exists, although we cannot conclusively disprove that they do not. Another element is that both (presumably) are childish beliefs that we grow out of as adults. Finally, belief in both persons is said to be the result of

JD Waltershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258076638127927788noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-52145273094976516332009-10-11T20:01:00.000-07:002009-10-10T20:06:51.248-07:00

In his short essay entitled "On the Reading of Old Books", C.S. Lewis says that it is important to read old books in order to be less suseptible to the prejudices and outlook of one's own age. Lewis notes: Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the

BKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01967809861892681780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-6259389480891037182009-10-06T13:07:00.000-07:002009-10-06T14:11:35.188-07:00

This is a bit of a cheap shot, as I'll explain later. But I thought it might be an interesting way of opening a discussion on the philosophical merits of the third edition of the Humanist Manifesto--which returns to the optimistic outlook of the first version, without the numerous specific 'doctrinal points' of the first (1933) and second (1973) versions. Most notably, the third version

Jason Pratthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602238179676591394jasonpratt@compuserve.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-39577525934531875272009-10-05T18:19:00.000-07:002009-10-05T20:18:31.730-07:00

Have you ever gone to the kitchen to get a banana or some other healthy snack and found yourself staring smack dab at a big chocolate chip cookie? It is a decadent pleasure -- one that we ought to feel guilty about enjoying, but one that we can't help but sample because it is simply so enjoyable. That's the way I feel about the Shroud of Turin. We are, after all, a serious blog for Christian

BKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01967809861892681780noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-49106225191267769792009-10-04T12:59:00.000-07:002009-10-04T13:42:13.041-07:00

In St. Augustine's Confessions, he explains that for a period of time he became a follower of the Manichean teaching. As explained by the New Advent Encyclopedia, Manichæism is a religion founded by the Persian Mani in the latter half of the third century. It purported to be the true synthesis of all the religious systems then known, and actually consisted of Zoroastrian Dualism, Babylonian

BKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01967809861892681780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-67871587356330158772009-09-30T18:29:00.000-07:002009-09-30T20:30:18.863-07:00

The Bible is a book that proponents claim is history but which many detractors claim is the creation of story-tellers. The New Testament, which is the 27 most recently written of the Bible's 66 books, has a well-attested historical backdrop in which its accounts take place. Certain historical findings -- such as the finding of the tomb of Caiphas and the Pool of Siloam -- have added credence to

BKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01967809861892681780noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-74085520210700472782009-09-29T21:16:00.000-07:002009-09-30T06:05:27.493-07:00

One of the more ridiculous assertions in objection to the Christian message is that the New Testament is anti-semitic. I am aware that some scholars have made this claim in the past, but simply because someone -- even someone with a Ph.D. -- makes an assertion is hardly reason to believe that it is necessarily reasonable. While an exhaustive analysis of this rather heady subject is beyond the

BKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01967809861892681780noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-61960760973375092362009-09-28T11:31:00.000-07:002009-09-28T11:49:36.652-07:00

The following is from a debate between atheist Dan 'former pastor' Barker and Dr. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries. The portion shown is one of the most amazing objections I have ever seen in a debate -- Dan Barker objects to his book being quoted because he might have changed his mind about what he wrote in the book -- not that he will say that he definitely has changed his mind, only

BKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01967809861892681780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-45822104606197940042009-09-22T17:26:00.001-07:002009-09-25T05:25:56.960-07:00

I have noted the Orwellian nature of atheist language. For atheists reading this, Orwell (George Orwell) was a great writer who specialized in political language. One of his greatest achievements was to write one of the best essays ever written on the use of language in political ideology: "Politics and the English Language," written in 146. In that great work he reminds us that:Political

Metacrockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06957529748541493998Metacrock@aol.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-21883621173612972652009-09-07T07:57:00.000-07:002009-09-07T08:02:33.334-07:00

Professor Ben Witherington notes this Time magazine article on the James Ossuary trial. The thrust of the article is that the Prosecution's expert patina witnesses may be heading for trouble as they take the witness stand. The article also notes what we have reported in the past, the Prosecution's case is in big trouble and the Judge knows it. Another interesting tidbit of which I was unaware

Laymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761410435140602771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363362.post-40734927392432325442009-08-27T00:23:00.000-07:002009-08-28T06:55:12.684-07:00

Before the rise of historical criticism, one of the most widely used arguments in support of Christianity was fulfilled prophecy. In the apostolic and patristic period this was not limited to direct predictions from the Hebrew Bible of the Messiah's origin and activities, but included typological foreshadowing of the life of Jesus in biblical narratives: the story of Isaac carrying the wood for

JD Waltershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258076638127927788noreply@blogger.com1