History

A collection of 115 posts

Biblical Exegesis

Debunking the Nativity: A Christmas Round-Up

[caption id="attachment_6023" align="alignleft" width="113"] My book. Dig it.[/caption] It's that time of year again. I have, at different Christmases, run some series debunking the historical claims within the Bible (specifically the Gospels of Matthew and Luke) to

Biblical Exegesis

Joseph of Arimathea – fact or fiction? Er, fiction.

Joseph of Arimathea used to be used by William Lane Craig as a pillar of his truth claims for the Resurrection, itself one of the four cornerstones of his apology. Richard Carrier, amongst others, has provided some very interesting viewpoints on the historicity of this figure (or lack thereof). Craig

Biblical Exegesis

Why Paul Didn’t Write More About Jesus - A Christian Rebuttal

Here is the latest Christian counterpoint piece from John Nelson (a Christian) in an ongoing conversation between an atheist (ex-evangelical, I believe) and a Christian theologian in training. The first and second guest posts (find them here and here) from Ed Atkinson of Wycombe Skeptics in the Pub, and occasional

historical Jesus

Merry Christmas, Everybody...but Who Was this Jesus Fella?

Merry Christmas everybody, depending on what that means to you and yours. You can substitute it with a good ole "Saturnalia" if you'd like, or some other term. Let me take this opportunity to thank you again for hanging out here and making this whole forum

historical Jesus

Why Paul Didn’t Write about the Historical Jesus – an Answer

Here is the first atheistic counterpoint piece from Ed Atkinson in an ongoing conversation between an atheist (ex-evangelical, I believe) and a Christian theologian in training. The first and second guest posts (find them here and here) from Ed Atkinson of Wycombe Skeptics in the Pub, and occasional atheist appearer

Biblical Exegesis

Paul and the Historical Jesus

Here is a guest post from Ed Atkinson of Wycombe Skeptics in the Pub, and occasional appearer on Unbelievable on Premier Christian Radio in the UK, hosted by Justin Brierley. I will host a dialogue, here for Ed, between Ed and a Christian called John Nelson. Join in the debate!

archaeology

Fragment Tells When Abraham Actually Killed Isaac

It's the classic biblical tale that speaks of obligation to divine commands. But it's all okay in the end because God provides a ram for Abraham so he doesn't have to sacrifice his son. That would be terrible and nothing that God would ever

Christianity

The Christian Destruction of the Classical World

The New York Times recently ran a piece on a new book, the book being The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World by Catherine Nixey. The book looks to be an evisceration of the notion that Christianity has so pristinely added so much to the world, as

Biblical Exegesis

The Flat Tire and the Gospels

Guest post by Richard Russell We begin with a joke. It was the night before the Chemistry 217 final exam, but the brothers of Beta Beta Sigma were not in the mood to study. They hit the bars, then the party circuit, then their private stash back at the frat

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: Analysing some "Counter-Evidence"

Time to take the defenders to task. And, I must say, we have a dismal failure on our hands here. As many of you will know, I have been running a series debunking the historicity of the Exodus accounts in the Old Testament. The importance and ramifications of doing this

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: Concluding Matters

It's been quite a little project, but it is time to draw matters to a close. So far, the series has covered a number of different related subjects: * The Exodus Debunked: Chronology * The Exodus Debunked: A Ridiculous Story with Ridiculous Claims * The Exodus Debunked: Camels * The Exodus Debunked:

Bart Ehrman

The Resurrection Debunked: Naturalistic Explanations

As mentioned in my previous posts, it is that time of year that the historicity of the Easter accounts gets analysed by us skeptics. And found wanting. Very wanting. [caption id="attachment_6627" align="alignright" width="216"] Tintoretto [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons[/caption]

Biblical Exegesis

The Resurrection Debunked: The Empty Tomb

As mentioned in my two previous posts, it is that time of year again where the Resurrection of Jesus requires a thorough going over. Here it continues. There are three aspects to the debunking of the Resurrection: 1) The Gospels are not reliable sources of information; they are poor quality

Biblical Exegesis

The Resurrection Debunked

I have recently been running a series debunking the Exodus and have linked to this Easter series. Since Easter is upon us, and since I have a raft of new readers, I am going to re-run my extensive series on the Resurrection and Easter. A few years back, someone in

Bart Ehrman

Ehrman vs Licona 2018

I have not watched a debate for ages. I like both these people. My friend said of this: "I enjoyed this. I think Mike Lincona is struggling a bit and has to admit that some bits might not have actually happened but somehow the gospels are still reliable."

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: Narrative Sources

"It is thus clearer than the sun at noonday that the Pentateuch was not written by Moses, but by someone who lived longer after Moses”Spinoza, 1670 I will continue my deconstruction of the Exodus accounts by concentrating on the issues surrounding the claims concerning the typology and the

archaeology

The Bible Unearthed

I know most of you will have seen this before, but I thought I'd post a video of the documentary around the book of the same name by Finkelstein and Silberman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5RfScpEcZ8

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: Coming out of Egypt

I will continue my deconstruction of the Exodus accounts by concentrating on the issues surrounding the claims of the Hebrews coming out of Egypt. The articles so far have been: * The Exodus Debunked: Chronology * The Exodus Debunked: A Ridiculous Story with Ridiculous Claims * The Exodus Debunked: Camels * The Exodus Debunked:

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: Archaeological Issues

I will continue my deconstruction of the Exodus accounts by concentrating on the archaeological issues. The articles so far have been: * The Exodus Debunked: Chronology * The Exodus Debunked: A Ridiculous Story with Ridiculous Claims * The Exodus Debunked: Camels * The Exodus Debunked: Hardening of Hearts * The Exodus Debunked: Moses’ Birth * The

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: the Hyksos and the Land of Goshen

I will continue my deconstruction of the Exodus accounts by concentrating on the Hyksos. The articles so far have been: * The Exodus Debunked: Chronology * The Exodus Debunked: A Ridiculous Story with Ridiculous Claims * The Exodus Debunked: Camels * The Exodus Debunked: Hardening of Hearts * The Exodus Debunked: Moses’ Birth * The Exodus

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: You Philistines!

I will continue my deconstruction of the Exodus accounts by concentrating on the Philistines. The articles so far have been: * The Exodus Debunked: Chronology * The Exodus Debunked: A Ridiculous Story with Ridiculous Claims * The Exodus Debunked: Camels * The Exodus Debunked: Hardening of Hearts * The Exodus Debunked: Moses’ Birth I want

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: Moses' Birth

I will continue my deconstruction of the Exodus accounts by concentrating on Moses. The articles so far have been: * The Exodus Debunked: Chronology * The Exodus Debunked: A Ridiculous Story with Ridiculous Claims * The Exodus Debunked: Camels * The Exodus Debunked: Hardening of Hearts I want to compile them all into a

Biblical Exegesis

The Exodus Debunked: A Ridiculous Story with Ridiculous Claims

The Exodus account is one of the key stories of the Bible, creating a foundation upon what so much else in the Bible is built. Without the truth of the Exodus, the truth of Moses, the Mosaic Law and any number of other claims are brought into suspicion. Previously, I

Biblical Exegesis

The Nativity Census Challenge: Update

For any of you who haven't been reading the threads on the census, a challenge that I set to See Noevo to answer, I would like to update you on what he has delivered by way of riposte: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIIuR-HjFho For longtime readers

biblical contradictions

Rebutting Armstrong's Double Reference Prophecy Defence

I am having to defend my claims of biblical contradictions and issues with the infancy narratives against Dave Armstrong, fellow Patheos writer, but for the Catholic channel. I have previously taken him to task over his attack on my Herod and census piece, and found his position seriously wanting. Now