tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36668394124434064192023-11-16T10:28:00.972-08:00Cross ExaminationThe focus of this blog is an ongoing critical and skeptical examination of Christianity, especially of basic Christian beliefs (e.g. God exists, Jesus existed, Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus was God Incarnate, the Bible is the inspired Word of God, etc.)Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-42340221956545788562016-10-09T09:10:00.000-07:002016-10-09T09:10:26.620-07:00The Main Question at Issue<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/is-christianity-true.html" target="_blank">Is Christianity True?</a></span></b><br />
<b><br /></b><span style="font-size: large;">This is the question that I will be investigating on this blog site for the next four or five years.</span>Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-54280852981504206542016-10-09T09:03:00.000-07:002016-10-09T09:39:31.825-07:00Craig's Case for GodAt the end of his article "<a href="https://philosophynow.org/issues/99/Does_God_Exist" target="_blank">Does God Exist?</a>" William Craig provides a brief summary of his case for God:<br />
<b>======================</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Summary</b></span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>In summary, we’ve seen eight respects in which God provides a better account of the world than naturalism: God is the best explanation of</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br />(I) Why anything at all exists.</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br />(II) The origin of the universe.</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br />(III) The applicability of mathematics to the physical world.</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br />(IV) The fine-tuning of the universe for intelligent life.</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br />(V) Intentional states of consciousness.</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br />(VI) Objective moral values and duties.</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br />Moreover</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br />(VII) The very possibility of God’s existence implies that God exists.</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br />(VIII) God can be personally experienced and known.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> (from </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Philosophy Now, </i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Nov./Dec. 2013)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>==================</b></span></div>
Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-31945805361598696662016-10-09T09:00:00.000-07:002016-10-09T09:38:48.191-07:00Swinburne's Case for God<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the beginning of his article "<a href="http://www.leaderu.com/truth/3truth09.html" target="_blank">The Justification of Theism</a>" Richard Swinburne provides a summary of his case for God:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>=================</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Why believe that there is a God at all? My answer is that to suppose that there is a God explains </b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>why there is a world at all;</b></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>why there are the scientific laws there are; </b></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>why animals and then human beings have evolved; </b></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>why humans have the opportunity to mould their characters and those of their fellow humans for good or ill and to change the environment in which we live; </b></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>why we have the well-authenticated account of Christ's life, death and resurrection; </b></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>why throughout the centuries men have had the apparent experience of being in touch with and guided by God; </b></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>and so much else. In fact, the hypothesis of the existence of God makes sense of the whole of our experience, and it does so better than any other explanation which can be put forward, and that is the grounds for believing it to be true. </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(from <i>Truth: An International, Inter-Disciplinary Journal of Christian Thought</i>, Vol. 3 (1991), bullets added here to emphasize Swinburne's list of arguments)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>=======================</b></span>Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-89795292429363752482016-10-08T23:03:00.000-07:002016-10-08T23:13:43.197-07:004. Was Jesus God?One of the central beliefs of the Christian faith is this:<br />
<br />
<b>(JIG) Jesus is God.</b><br />
<br />
There are a number of arguments that Christians give in support of (JIG). We will consider five main arguments that are commonly given for the divinity of Jesus:<br />
<br />
<b>4.1P: The Argument from Messianic Prophecy</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>4.2P: The Trilemma Argument</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>4.3P: </b><b>The Argument from the Resurrection of Jesus</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>4.4P: </b><b>The Argument from Jesus' Wisdom and Character</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>4.5P: </b><b>The Argument from Jesus' Supernatural Powers</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
We will also consider some arguments against the divinity of Jesus:<br />
<br />
<b>4.1C: Jesus was a false prophet.</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>4.2C: Jesus was not a morally perfectly good person.</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>4.3C: Jesus was not an omniscient person.</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>4.4C: Jesus was not an omnipotent person.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-36786083739564219072016-10-08T22:38:00.002-07:002016-10-16T10:28:52.091-07:00Geisler's Case for God<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>When Skeptics Ask</u></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">by Norman Geisler and Ron Brooks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Chapter 2: Questions about God</b> (p.15-33)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Argument from Creation </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"There are two different forms of this argument..." (p.16)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/secularoutpost/2016/10/16/geislers-first-argument/" target="_blank">Argument #G1: <i>The universe was caused at the beginning</i></a></b> (p.15-18)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. The universe had a beginning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Anything that has a beginning must have been caused by something else.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Therefore, the universe was caused by something else, and this cause was God. (p.16)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Argument #G2: <i>The universe needs a cause for its continuing existence</i></b> (p.18-19)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Finite, changing things exist.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Every finite, changing thing must be caused by something else.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. There cannot be an infinite regress of these causes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. Therefore, there must be a first uncaused cause of every finite, changing thing that exists. (p.18-19)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Argument #G3: <i>Argument from design</i></b> (p.20-22)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. All designs imply a designer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. There is a great design in the universe.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Therefore, there must be a Great Designer of the universe. (p.20)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Argument #G4: <i>Argument from moral law</i></b> (p. 22-24)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. All men are conscious of an objective moral law.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Moral laws imply a moral Lawgiver.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Therefore, there must be a supreme moral Lawgiver. (p.22)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Argument #G5: <i>Argument from being</i></b> (p.24-26)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Whatever perfection can be attributed to the most perfect Being possible (conceivable) <i>must</i> be attributed to it (otherwise it would not be the most perfect being possible).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Necessary existence is a perfection which can be attributed to the most perfect Being.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Therefore, necessary existence must be attributed to the most perfect Being. (p.24-25)</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-63353945285611347692016-10-08T15:00:00.002-07:002016-10-10T22:04:34.987-07:00Reasons and Arguments For the Resurrection of Jesus<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We will consider various cases for the resurrection of Jesus presented by modern Christian apologists. With the exception of Josh McDowell, all of these Christian apologists are professional philosophers who are very familiar with the philosophy of religion. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">McDowell is not a philosopher, and he does not have expertise in the philosophy of religion, but he is an influential Christian apologist who has presented a detailed and widely-read case for the resurrection of Jesus.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here are six different cases for the resurrection of Jesus:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Norman Geisler's Case for the Resurrection of Jesus</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"<a href="https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/april-2011/the-resurrection-myth-or-history/" target="_blank">The Resurrection: Myth or History</a>" by Norman Geisler</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>When Skeptics Ask </i>by Norman Geisler and Ron Brooks, Chapater 6: "Questions about Jesus Christ", esp. pages 120-127.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Peter Kreeft's Case for the Resurrection of Jesus</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">see Chapter IX: "The Resurrection" of </span><a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Pocket_Handbook_of_Christian_Apologetics.html?id=syKiN-uYc94C" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics</a><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, by Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli, pages 69-78.</span><br />
<div>
<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Handbook of Christian Apologetics</i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> by Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli, </span><a href="http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics-more/resurrection-evidence.htm" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Chapter 8: "The Resurrection"</a><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, pages 176-198.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Josh McDowell's Case for the Resurrection of Jesus</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"<a href="http://www.leaderu.com/everystudent/easter/articles/josh2.html" target="_blank">Evidence for the Resurrection</a>" by Josh McDowell</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The Resurrection Factor</i> by Josh McDowell, Chapters 1 through 8, pages 1-120.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>William Craig's Case for the Resurrection of Jesus</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"<a href="http://www.leaderu.com/truth/1truth22.html" target="_blank">Contemporary Scholarship and the Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ</a>" by William Craig; Source: <i>Truth</i> 1 (1985): 89-95.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Reasonable Faith</i> by William Craig, Chapter 8: "The Resurrection of Jesus", esp. p.272-297.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Gary Habermas's Case for the Resurrection of Jesus</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"<a href="https://www.jashow.org/articles/guests-and-authors/dr-gary-r-habermas/facts-concerning-the-resurrection-of-jesus-christ/" target="_blank">Facts Concerning the Resurrection of Jesus Christ</a>" by Gary Habermas</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus</i> by Gary Habermas and Michael Licona, Chapters 3 through 8, p.64-150.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Richard Swinburne's Case for the Resurrection of Jesus </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"<a href="http://users.ox.ac.uk/~orie0087/pdf_files/Papers%20from%20Philosophical%20Journals/Swinburne_2013-resurrection.pdf" target="_blank">The Probability of the Resurrection of Jesus</a>" by Richard Swinburne; source: <i>Philosophia
Christi</i> 15, 239-252.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The Resurrection of God Incarnate </i>by Richard Swinburne, Chapters 1 through 13, pages 1-203.</span>Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-20340188542146721782016-10-08T15:00:00.000-07:002016-10-12T10:58:14.344-07:00Kreeft's Case for God<br />
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 26.88px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 3px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 25.6px;"><u>Peter Kreeft's Case for God</u> </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 26.88px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 3px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">in <i>Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics</i></span></div>
<h1 style="background-color: white; line-height: 26.88px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 3px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Argument #K1: <i>The Argument from Efficient Causality</i> (p.20)</span></h1>
<h1 style="background-color: white; line-height: 26.88px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 3px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Argument # K2: <i>The Design Argument</i> (p.20-21)</span></h1>
<h1 style="background-color: white; line-height: 26.88px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 3px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Argument # K3:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>The Kalam Argument</i> (p.22)</span></h1>
<h1 style="background-color: white; line-height: 26.88px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 3px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Argument # K4:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>The Ontological Argument</i> (p.23)</span></h1>
<h1 style="background-color: white; line-height: 26.88px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 3px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Argument # K5: <i>The Moral Argument</i> (p.23-24)</span></h1>
<h1 style="background-color: white; line-height: 26.88px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 3px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Argument # K6:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>The Argument from Conscience</i> (p.24-26)</span></h1>
<h1 style="background-color: white; line-height: 26.88px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 3px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Argument # K7:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>The Argument from Desire</i> (p.26-27)</span></h1>
<h1 style="background-color: white; line-height: 26.88px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 3px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Argument # K8:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>The Argument from Aesthetic Experience</i> (p.27)</span></h1>
<h1 style="background-color: white; line-height: 26.88px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 3px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Argument # K9:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Pascal's Wager </i> (p.27-29)</span></h1>
Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-87768148071265126712016-10-08T14:30:00.002-07:002016-10-09T22:31:18.336-07:003. Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;">One of the most basic beliefs of Christianity is this:</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;"><b>(JRD) Jesus rose from the dead.</b></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;">If claim (JRD) is false (or improbable), then Christianity is false (or improbable).</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;">If claim (JRD) is true (or probable), that would not prove that Christianity is true (or probable), but it would provide support for the truth of Christianity, including providing the basis for a key argument for the central Christian belief that <i>Jesus is God</i>.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;">Before we investigate the question "Did Jesus rise from the dead?", we need to clarify the meaning of claim (JRD):</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;"><b>What Does the Claim "Jesus rose from the dead." Mean?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;">We also ought to formulate an approach to investigating this controversial question:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;"><b>Investigating the Question "Did Jesus rise from the dead?"</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;">An investigation of this question should include both of the following kinds of considerations:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;"><b><a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/reasons-and-arguments-for-resurrection.html" target="_blank">Reasons and Arguments For the Resurrection of Jesus</a></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;"><b>Reasons and Arguments Against the Resurrection of Jesus</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;">After identifying and evaluating the best reasons and arguments for and against (JRD), one needs to synthesize the various pros and cons and arrive at an all-things-considered conclusion:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc;"><b>All Things Considered, What is the Probability of (JRD)?</b></span></span></div>
Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-72755570196960656292016-10-08T14:07:00.001-07:002016-10-12T10:59:54.524-07:00Reasons and Arguments For the Existence of God<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the most central and most important beliefs of the Christian faith is this:</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(G) God exists.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many arguments have been given in support of (G) over the past 2,500 years. We will not attempt to examine every argument that has ever been given in support of (G). Instead, we will examine <i>cases for the existence of God</i> that have been presented by modern Christian apologists who are philosophers and who are very familiar with the philosophy of religion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These apologists are familiar with a wide range of traditional and modern arguments for the existence of God, and they have selected what they believe to be the strongest and best arguments to form their cases for God. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If the cases for God presented by modern Christian apologists who are philosophers who are very familiar with philosophy of religion fail to establish that God exists or fail to show that it is probable that God exists, then we can reasonably conclude that it is not possible to show that God exists or that it is probable that God exists, because we will have reviewed a good sample of the arguments for God that Christian apologists who have expertise in this area have judged to be the strongest and best arguments available for the existence of God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here are four cases for the existence of God presented by four well-known Christian apologists who are philosophers with expertise in the philosophy of religion:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1. <a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/geislers-case-for-god.html" target="_blank">Norman Geisler's Case for God</a></b> </span><br />
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<li>"<a href="https://www.jashow.org/articles/christian-doctrine/god/attributes-of-god/questions-about-god/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Questions About God</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">" - A four-part series by Norman Geisler presenting his case for the existence of God (excerpted from <i>When Skeptics Ask</i>) available on the </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">John Ankerberg Show</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> website.</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook of Christian Evidences </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">by Norman Geisler and Ron Brooks, Chapter 2: "Questions about God" (Victor Books, 1990).</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, Chapters 3 through 7 (Crossway Books, 2004).</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2. <a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/craigs-case-for-god.html" target="_blank">William Craig's Case for God</a></b> </span><br />
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<li>"<a href="https://philosophynow.org/issues/99/Does_God_Exist" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Does God Exist?</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">" by William Craig, in </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Philosophy Now, </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nov./Dec. 2013.</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Reasonable Faith</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by William Craig, Chapter 3: "The Existence of God" (Crossway Books, revised ed., 1994). </span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Foundations for a Christian Worldview</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by J.P. Moreland and William Craig, Chapters 23 and 24: "The Existence of God I" and "The Existence of God II" (IVP, 2003).</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3. <a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/kreefts-case-for-god.html" target="_blank">Peter Kreeft's Case for God</a></b> </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeecc; color: #333333;"> </span><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=r5BtIHI4rvgC&source=gbs_book_other_versions" target="_blank"><i>Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics</i></a><span style="background-color: #eeeecc; color: #333333;"> by Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli, </span></span><span style="background-color: #eeeecc; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chapter 3: "Arguments for the Existence of God", </span><span style="background-color: #eeeecc; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">pages 19-29 (IVP, 2003).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Handbook of Christian Apologetics</i> by Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli, Chapter 3: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"</span><a href="http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics-more/20_arguments-gods-existence.htm" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Twenty Arguments for the Existence of God</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">" (IVP, 1994).</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4. <a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/swinburnes-case-for-god.html" target="_blank">Richard Swinburne's Case for God</a></b> </span><br />
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<li>"<a href="http://www.leaderu.com/truth/3truth09.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">The Justification of Theism</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"</span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">by Richard Swinburne</span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">in </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Truth: An International, Inter-Disciplinary Journal of Christian Thought</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, Vol. 3 (1991).</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Is There a God?</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by Richard Swinburne (Oxford Univ Press, 1996).</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The Existence of God</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by Richard Swinburne (Clarendon Press, 2nd ed., 2004).</span></li>
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Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-20555757112689178272016-10-07T01:00:00.000-07:002016-10-16T00:35:46.623-07:00Argument #G1: The Universe was Caused at the Beginning<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before we examine Geisler's first argument for God, we need to carefully consider the opening paragraph of his case for God in </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">When Skeptics Ask</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> (hereafter: WSA). He makes some very important points in this first paragraph:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>The existence of a personal moral God is fundamental to all that Christians believe. If there is no moral God, there is no moral being against whom we have sinned; therefore, salvation is not needed. Furthermore, if there is no God, there could be no acts of God (miracles), and the stories of Jesus can only be understood as fiction or myth. So the first question that must be addressed in pre-evangelism is, “Does God exist?” The second question is very closely related to the first: “If God exists, what kind of God is He?” </b> (</span><span style="color: #494a4e; font-family: "robotoregular" , "arial" , "gotham" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>When Skeptics Ask, p. 15)</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #494a4e; font-family: "robotoregular" , "arial" , "gotham" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #494a4e; font-family: "robotoregular" , "arial" , "gotham" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>COMMENTARY</u></b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #494a4e; font-family: "robotoregular" , "arial" , "gotham" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The existence of a personal moral God is fundamental to all that Christians believe.</i></b><b style="color: #494a4e;"><br /></b></span><span style="background-color: white;">This seems right to me. If there is no God, then most of the basic beliefs or doctrines of Christianity are false or are probably false.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>If there is no moral God, there is no moral being against whom we have sinned; </i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This conditional claim appears to be false. We can "sin" against (or wrong) other human beings <i>even if God does not exist</i>, and human beings are moral beings. So, we can sin against moral beings even if God does not exist.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, if one defines "sin" as meaning "an act of disobedience towards God", then obviously the non-existence of God would, on that definition, logically imply the non-existence of "sin".</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But if we understand "sin" more generally to mean "an act that is bad, morally wrong, or evil", then it seems that we could "sin" even if there were no God. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Geisler will argue against this possibility later, but he has not argued that point yet, so he is not yet entitled to simply <i>assume</i> that no action could be morally wrong if there was no God (i.e. to assume that morality exists only if God exists). To make that assumption at this point in the game would amount to the fallacy of <i>begging the question</i>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also, I'm not sure that the qualifier "moral" is essential here. One could "sin" against a <i>non-moral creature.</i> If a person raised a dog from a puppy and treated the dog in kind and loving way as it grew up, and then one day took the dog into a basement, chained the dog to a table, and then brutally tortured the dog for hours until the dog died from the pain, shock, and loss of blood, then one would have "sinned" against a <i>non-moral creature</i>. So, the adjective "moral" seems unnecessary here. Human beings can do <i>morally wrong actions</i> against <i>non-moral creatures</i> (such as dogs).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>therefore, salvation is not needed.</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Clearly, if one has never "sinned" or done something that is bad or evil, then one has no need of "salvation" <i>from one's sins</i>. That is obviously true.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">However, it is NOT in any way obvious that "salvation" MUST be conceived of as "salvation from one's sins". Different religions and worldviews have different conceptions about what <i>the fundamental issue or issues</i> are for human beings. Different religions diagnose the "disease" or basic problem(s) of human beings differently. Christianity asserts that the basic human problem or "disease" is sin, but other religions and other worldviews do not accept this view of human nature or of the human situation. Thus, Geisler appears to be <i>begging the question</i>, begging <i>a very basic worldview question</i> here in favor of the Christian religion or worldview.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "robotoregular" , "arial" , "gotham" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></b><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Furthermore, if there is no God, there could be no acts of God (miracles)...</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is certainly true that if there is no God, then there are no "acts of God" either. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But Geisler then sneaks the word "miracles" into this claim in parentheses, making the claim significantly more problematic and dubious. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If we simply define the term "miracle" to MEAN "an event brought about by an act of God", then clearly the above claim would be correct. However, the term "miracle" can be used in a broader sense, to mean "an event brought about by any sort of supernatural being or force." On such a broader defintion, it would be possible for "miracles" to occur even if there were no God. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">God is NOT the only possible <i>supernatural being</i> nor the only possible being who has <i>supernatural powers</i>. Many Christians believe that there are angels and demons, and they believe that these are <i>supernatural beings</i> who have <i>supernatural powers</i>. So, even within the Christian worldview, there is the belief that there are supernatural beings and supernatural powers other than God and other than the powers that God directly exerts.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Furthermore, if there is no God, ... the stories of Jesus can only be understood as fiction or myth.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This statement is clearly false. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Geisler is assuming that the alleged <i>supernatural events</i> and <i>supernatural powers</i> asserted in the Gospel accounts of the life and death of Jesus could be true ONLY IF God exists. But as I just argued, supernatural beings and supernatural powers can exist even if there were no God. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">According to traditional Christian belief and theology, angels and demons exist, and these are <i>supernatural beings</i> who have <i>supernatural powers</i>, and thus they can bring about <i>supernatural events</i>. We can conceive of a world in which there are angels or demons but no God, and in such a world there would be supernatural beings and supernatural powers, but no God. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The non-existence of God, therefore, does NOT logically imply that the Gospel accounts of the life and death of Jesus are "fiction or myth". The "miracles" in the Gospel accounts could have been brought about by a <i>supernatural being</i> <i>other than God</i>, or by some animal or human who possessed <i>supernatural powers.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We see in the first few sentences of the opening paragraph of Geisler's case for God, that his thinking is infected with some <i>false beliefs</i> and some <i>illogical reasoning </i>related to God. This does not inspire confidence that his case for God will be based on true premises and logical reasoning. But the final sentences of the opening paragraph indicate that there is <i>a very serious problem</i> with Geisler's case for God.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>So the first question that must be addressed in pre-evangelism is, “Does God exist?”</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While this statement has some initial plausibility, I believe Geisler is completely wrong on this point, and that this statement represents <i>a very fundamental error</i> in Geisler's thinking, an error that destroys or severely damages his case for the existence of God. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The <i>first question</i> that must be addressed in any evaluation of Christianity is, rather, this:</span></span><br />
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<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">What does the assertion "God exists" mean?</b></li>
</ul>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By failing to address <i>this </i></span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">very basic question</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, Geisler dooms his case for "God" to failure. We can see that he is making this great mistake here by considering his next point.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The second question is very closely related to the first: “If God exists, what kind of God is He?”</i></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here Geisler clearly reveals that he is following in the footsteps of Thomas Aquinas. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the standard view of Aquinas, Aquinas provides <i>Five Ways</i> of proving the existence of God, and then proceeds to prove that God has various divine attributes. This is exactly the way that Geisler builds his case for the existence of God. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But this is ASS BACKWARDS. One must first clarify the MEANING of the word "God" and THEN proceed to prove the existence of God. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The meaning of the word "God" is ordinarily (and properly) defined in terms of various divine attributes, such as "eternal", "omnipotent", "omniscient", and "perfectly morally good", and "creator of the universe". Such a definition reflects the ordinary meaning and use of the word "God" in relation to Christian belief and theology. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Apart from clarifying or defining the word "God" we literally <i>do not know what Geisler is talking about</i>, and thus we have<i> no rational way</i> to evaluate the strengths or weaknesses of his arguments for the existence of "God".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Suppose that I want to persuade you that GORPU exists, and I present you with the following argument:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1. If grass is green, then GORPU exists.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2. Grass is green.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Therefore:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3. GORPU exists.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is a perfecly logical argument. The inference from the two premises to the conclusion is a valid deductive inference. But would you accept this argument? Of course not. You don't know what "GORPU" means, so you have no way to determine whether premise (1) is true or not. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before you can evaluate this argument, <i>you must first understand </i>what the assertion "GORPU exists" means, and since I am the one who is presenting the argument, it is up to me to clarify or define the meaning of this expression, so that you will be able to understand what it means and thus be in a position <i>to rationally evaluate</i> premise (1).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Geisler is violating one of <i>the most basic principles of critical thinking</i>: BE CLEAR, and clarify the meanings of the key concepts that you use in your arguments (especially when those concepts are abstract ideas and/or controversial ideas and/or vague ideas):</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Clarity is the gateway standard. If a statement is unclear, we cannot determine whether it is accurate or relevant. In fact, we cannot tell anything about it because we don't yet know what it is saying. </b>("<a href="http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/universal-intellectual-standards/527" target="_blank">Universal Intellectual Standards</a>" by Richard Paul and Linda Elder)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before Geisler, or anyone else, can prove that "God exists", it is necessary to clarify or define the meaning of this assertion:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>To prove or to produce evidence that a certain being, <i>x</i>, exists, is, one might say, to prove that a certain set of compossible properties is actualized. That is, we cannot prove or know that <i>x</i> exists without at the same time knowing something about the nature or essence of <i>x</i>. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>To prove the existence of God is, then, to show that the properties ascribed to the Christian God in the Bible are actualized in one and only one being. </b>("Thomas Aquinas" by Knut Tranoy, in <i>A Critical History of Western Philosophy</i>, p.110)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Because Geisler fails to clarify or define the meaning of the assertion "God exists", his case for God appears to be <i>doomed to failure</i> even before he presents the very first premise of his first argument for the existence of God.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Argument #G1: <i>The universe was caused at the beginning</i></u></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1. The universe had a beginning.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2. Anything that has a beginning must have been caused by something else.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3. Therefore, the universe was caused by something else, and this cause was God. </b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(WSA, p.16)</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #494a4e; font-family: "robotoregular" , "arial" , "gotham" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first thing to note about argument #G1 is that it is clearly <i>logically invalid</i>. It is clear that the conclusion (3) does NOT follow logically from the premises. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The following argument form is logically valid:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1. x is a B.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2. Everything that is a B is also a C.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Therefore:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3. x is a C.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But the form of #G1 has <i>an additional claim</i> in the conclusion:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1. x is a B.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2. Everything that is a B is also a C.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Therefore:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3. x is a C <span style="color: red;"> AND</span><span style="color: red;"> </span><i><span style="color: red;">y is G</span>.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But the premises of #G1 do not mention anything about G, so the added claim "y is G" does not follow logically from the premises.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Suppose that there is no God, but that there was an angel who existed before the universe came into being. Suppose that angel caused the universe to come into being. In that case the universe "was caused by something else" but was NOT caused by God. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This scenario is completely compatible with the truth of the premises of #G1. It is compatible with the claim that the "universe had a beginning" and it is compatible with the claim that "anything that has a beginning must have been caused by something else." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thus, it is possible for premise (1) and premise (2) to both be true, and yet for the added conclusion "this cause [of the universe] was God" to be false. Since we can conceive of circumstances in which the premises of #G1 are true and the conclusion of #G1 is false, this argument is <i>logically invalid.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But we can fix Geisler's embarrassing logical goof quite easily, by removing the added claim that Geisler had <i>mistakenly inserted</i> into the conclusion:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Argument #G1revA</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1. The universe had a beginning.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2. Anything that has a beginning must have been caused by something else.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3. Therefore, the universe was caused by something else.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This argument, unlike #G1, is perfeclty valid. However, it will not do, because it is missing a very important phrase:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>God exists.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In order to repair Geisler's first argument for the existence of God, we must remove the claim that "God exists" from the conclusion of the agument. But if we do this, then it is <i>no longer an argument for the existence of God!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In order to prove that God exists, one must provide an argument which has as its conclusion, the claim that "God exists" or that "There is a God". An argument that concludes with the claim "the universe was caused by something else" is NOT an argument for the existence of God.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, either we leave argument #G1 alone and reject it because it is<i> logically invalid</i>, or else we correct the logic of this argument and then reject it because it is no longer an argument <i>for the existence of God.</i> Either way, the argument fails to prove that God exists.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-28466838495933525092016-10-05T08:50:00.001-07:002016-10-05T08:50:17.987-07:00Is the Claim (JAW) True?CONTENT TBDBradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-36480979506783867562016-10-05T08:48:00.003-07:002016-10-05T08:48:52.494-07:00Is the Claim (DOC) True?CONTENT TBDBradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-74970209404043019642016-10-05T08:45:00.004-07:002016-10-05T08:49:09.461-07:00Is the Claim (JWC) True?CONTENT TBDBradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-38919787240379146002016-10-02T22:16:00.002-07:002016-10-02T22:16:53.867-07:00What is the Christian Worldview?CONTENT TBDBradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-60142861398527022622016-10-02T20:48:00.004-07:002016-10-02T20:50:32.653-07:002. Did Jesus Exist? CONTENT TBDBradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-7104298936834965142016-10-02T20:48:00.002-07:002016-10-09T20:52:05.146-07:001. Does God Exist? One of the most basic beliefs of Christianity is this:<br />
<br />
<b>(G) God exists.</b><br />
<br />
If claim (G) is false (or improbable), then Christianity is false (or improbable).<br />
<br />
If claim (G) is true (or probable), that would not prove that Christianity is true (or probable), but it would provide some support for the truth of Christianity, and it would help the case for Christianity by eliminating some alternatives to Christianity (e.g. atheism and Secular Humanism).<br />
<br />
Before we investigate the question "Does God exist?", we need to clarify the meaning of claim (G):<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>What Does the Claim "God Exists" Mean?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
We also ought to formulate an approach to investigating this controversial question:<br />
<br />
<b>Investigating the Question "Does God exist?"</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
An investigation of this question should include both of the following kinds of considerations:<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/reasons-and-arguments-for-existence-of.html" target="_blank">Reasons and Arguments For the Existence of God</a></b><br />
<br />
<b>Reasons and Arguments Against the Existence of God</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
After identifying and evaluating the best reasons and arguments for and against (G), one needs to synthesize the various pros and cons and arrive at an all-things-considered conclusion:<br />
<br />
<b>All Things Considered, What is the Probability of (G)?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-33250119134383739412016-10-02T20:12:00.005-07:002016-10-02T21:52:41.031-07:00What Makes a Worldview True (or False)?CONTENT TBDBradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-63049963225932962712016-10-02T20:12:00.002-07:002016-10-02T20:12:11.151-07:00Is Christianity a Worldview?CONTENT TBDBradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-18042263172634208872016-10-02T20:11:00.001-07:002016-10-02T20:11:05.234-07:00What is a Worldview?CONTENT TBDBradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-34850151630812513082016-10-02T20:10:00.001-07:002016-10-02T20:10:25.870-07:00What is a Religion?CONTENT TBDBradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-54912658466237313882016-10-02T20:09:00.004-07:002016-10-02T22:36:11.919-07:00What is Christianity?Before we can determine whether Christianity is true (or false), we need to determine whether Christianity is <i>the kind of thing</i> that could be true (or false)?<br />
<br />
In order to determine whether Christianity is the kind of thing that could be true (or false), we need to determine what kind of a thing Christianity is. Or, conversely, if Christianity is the kind of thing that could be true (or false), then that is an important clue as to what kind of a thing Christianity is.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/is-christianity-religion-or-relationship.html" target="_blank">Is Christianity a religion or a relationship?</a></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/what-is-religion.html" target="_blank">What is a religion?</a></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/what-is-worldview.html" target="_blank">What is a worldview?</a></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/is-christianity-worldview.html" target="_blank">Is Christianity a worldview?</a></b><br />
<b><br /><a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/what-makes-worldview-true-or-false.html" target="_blank">What makes a worldview true (or false)?</a></b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/what-is-christian-worldview.html" target="_blank"><b>What is the Christian worldview?</b></a>Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-8212773949042913292016-10-02T20:09:00.003-07:002016-10-02T20:09:51.329-07:00Is Christianity a Religion or a Relationship?CONTENT TBDBradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-57920182951412470102016-10-02T19:44:00.002-07:002016-10-08T23:04:56.067-07:00Is Christianity True?<b>Is Christianity True?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This is the question that I will be investigating on this blog site for the next four or five years.<br />
<br />
Before I go into specific arguments for or against some key Christian beliefs, I will first discuss a preliminary question (in 2016):<br />
<a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/what-is-christianity_2.html" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<b><a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/what-is-christianity_2.html" target="_blank">What is Christianity?</a></b><br />
<ul>
</ul>
I plan to cover <i>four key questions</i> related to the truth of Christianity:<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/1-does-god-exist.html" target="_blank">1. Does God exist?</a> </b>(investigation targeted to complete in 2017)<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/2-did-jesus-exist.html" target="_blank">2. Did Jesus exist?</a> </b>(investigation targeted to complete in 2018)<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/3-did-jesus-rise-from-dead.html" target="_blank">3. Did Jesus rise from the dead?</a> </b>(investigation targeted to complete in 2019)<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><a href="https://crossexamination.blogspot.com/2016/10/4-was-jesus-god.html" target="_blank">4. Was Jesus God?</a> </b>(investigation targeted to complete in 2020)<br />
<b><br /></b>
The following diagram shows how these questions are related to the larger question "Is Christianity true?" (click on the image below for a clearer view of the diagram) :<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzmTt06zcP1iPHwP99FE2EHGX-bQJyrn-dvbI7KnNmeLVfhaRaK5eGU3CfnHwoGVuiu6dZyN8nxKW90wpj9m-kFeuw0FlPaT7eSTVj7ySt5O-cw7GMpbLeLCYm1eFQB1iQbs1oWbiTyag/s1600/Evaluation+of+Christianity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzmTt06zcP1iPHwP99FE2EHGX-bQJyrn-dvbI7KnNmeLVfhaRaK5eGU3CfnHwoGVuiu6dZyN8nxKW90wpj9m-kFeuw0FlPaT7eSTVj7ySt5O-cw7GMpbLeLCYm1eFQB1iQbs1oWbiTyag/s400/Evaluation+of+Christianity.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><br /></b>
If the answer to any one of these questions is "No" (or "probably not"), then the Christian faith is false (or is probably false).<br />
<b><br /></b>
If the answer to <i>all four</i> of these questions is "Yes", then Christianity <i>might</i> be true. <br />
<br />
The Christian faith includes more than just the beliefs that God exists, that Jesus existed, that Jesus rose from the dead, and that Jesus was God incarnate. For example, the Christian faith also includes the belief that human beings are sinful and in need of God's forgiveness, and that the death of Jesus provides a way for humans to be forgiven and to be reconciled with God, and that faith in Jesus as the risen lord and savior of humankind is the key to being forgiven and reconciled with God, and to obtaining an eternal life of happiness. <br />
<br />
Thus, even if the Christian beliefs concerning the above four key questions are all true, it could still be the case that Christianity is false (or probably false), if other key Christian beliefs turned out to be false (or probably false).<br />
<br />Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-27640097925837292422013-10-19T23:15:00.002-07:002013-10-24T20:27:01.361-07:00Did Jesus Exist? Part 2<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before I started examining the argument from the NT for the existence of Jesus, I wanted to verify that this argument is actually used by Christian Apologists. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was surprised to find out that this is not a widely used argument. Defenses for the existence of Jesus tend to focus on extra-biblical evidence. However, a significant portion of apologists use both biblical and extra-biblical evidence. For example, at the <b>4truth.net </b>apologetics web, an article by the ancient historian Paul Maier explicitly appeals to both biblical and extra-biblical evidence on this issue:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Did Jesus
Really Exist?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><b>“No, he didn't!" some skeptics claim, thinking that this is a quick, powerful lever with which to pry people away from "the fable of Christianity." But the lever crumbles at its very first use. In fact, there is more evidence that Jesus of Nazareth certainly lived than for most famous figures of the ancient past. This evidence is of two kinds: internal and external, or, if you will, sacred and secular. In both cases, the total evidence is so overpowering, so absolute that only the shallowest of intellects would dare to deny Jesus' existence. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">from "Did Jesus
Really Exist?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">by Paul L. Maier, The Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History, Western Michigan University</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.4truth.net/fourtruthpbjesus.aspx?pageid=8589952895">http://www.4truth.net/fourtruthpbjesus.aspx?pageid=8589952895</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">viewed
10/19/13</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">By 'sacred' evidence, Maier means evidence from the sacred scriptures, the Bible (esp. the New Testament).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A couple of Apologetics websites provide some illumination as to why the focus is usually on extra-biblical evidence. On the <b>Stand To Reason</b> apologetics web, I found the following explanation:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Sometimes as Christians, we find ourselves trying to defend our faith by appealing to the evidence of the Bible. We believe the Bible to be an accurate, reliable eyewitness account of the life of Jesus, and we have good reason to believe this to be true (see our Power of the Book section!) But let’s face it; there are many people in our lives who just won’t accept the Bible as an eyewitness account. They are looking for something more. They want to know if anyone OTHER than the first believers wrote anything about Jesus, and they want to know if these other accounts of Jesus line up with what the Bible says about our Savior.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">from "Is
There Any Evidence for Jesus Outside the Bible?" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">by J. Warner Wallace<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.str.org/articles/is-there-any-evidence-for-jesus-outside-the-bible#.UmMA93CsiSo">http://www.str.org/articles/is-there-any-evidence-for-jesus-outside-the-bible#.UmMA93CsiSo</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">viewed
10/19/13</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Doubters and skeptics usually have doubts about the historical reliability of the NT, so by appealing to extra-biblical sources a Christian apologist can bypass the whole issue of the reliability of the NT and yet still make a case for the existence of Jesus. Also, if the apologist can use extra-biblical evidence to persuade a doubter that Jesus really did exist, this will give the apologist a leg up in the effort to persuade the doubter that the NT is an hisotically reliable source.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">At <b>The Divine Evidence</b> apologetics web, I found a long article that focused <i>exclusively</i> on the extra-biblical evidence for the existence of Jesus. There was a brief explanation for this at the end of the article:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><b>I
purposely avoided using Biblical evidence to support the existence of Jesus
because that would be "using the Bible to prove the Bible." </b></span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Instead
we focused this study on extrabiblical sources. However, early Christian
historians and witnesses were unanimous in their accounts that several New
Testament books were written by eye witnesses of both Jesus and the apostolic
ministry. If these authors were indeed eye witnesses, we can believe they also
provide evidence to the historicity of Jesus.</b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">from </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">“The
Historicity of Jesus Christ: Did He Really Exist?”</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">by an unknown author (no indication given of who founded the website or authored the articles)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://thedevineevidence.com/jesus_history.html">http://thedevineevidence.com/jesus_history.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">viewed
10/19/13<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here the Christian apologist anticipates a specific objection to the use of the NT as evidence for the existence of Jesus: this would be "using the Bible to prove the Bible." That sounds like an objection that using NT based evidence would be circular reasoning or would involve the fallacy of begging the question. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The apologist responds by indicating that the NT evidence would be perfectly acceptable, assuming that the NT books used were "written by eye witnesses of both Jesus and the apostolic ministry". </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That hardly seems an adequate response to the charge of begging the question. If particular books of the NT (such as the Gospels) are assumed to have been written by an "eye witness of...Jesus", then one is <i>assuming that there was in fact a Jesus to be seen and heard</i>. But that is the very question at issue: Was there in fact a flesh-and-blood Jesus, a Jewish preacher who lived and travelled around Galilee in the first half of the 1st Century to be seen and heard? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The assumption that, for example, the Gospel of Matthew was written by an eye witness of the ministry of Jesus appears to beg the question, because this assumes that there was in fact a flesh-and-blood Jesus who had a ministry which could be observed by an eye witness. If one must first establish the existence of Jesus in order to show that an author of some book was an eye witness of the ministry of Jesus, then using the assumption that the author of a certain book was an eye witness of the ministry of Jesus to prove that a flesh-and-blood Jesus really existed would be reasoning in a circle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although the unidentified Christian apologist put the phrase "using the Bible to prove the Bible" in scare quotes, indicating that the apologist did not agree with this objection, the objection is not so easily cast aside. This objection deserves more attention, and it will be considered more thoroughly in future posts in this series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my brief survey of Christian apologetic web sites, I did however, come across a few that focused on NT evidence for the existence of Jesus. One such web site is the <b>Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry (CARM). </b>On that site I found an article by Matt Slick, the founder of CARM, which focuses on NT evidence for the existence of Jesus:</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19pt;">Was Jesus just a myth?</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Was Jesus...simply a mythical figure, a fabrication by religious zealots who wanted a symbol to rally behind for whatever reason they needed at the time? Or, was Jesus an actual person who lived in Israel 2000 years ago? Most often, those who deny Jesus as a historic figure denounce the New Testament...writings, particularly the gospels, as fabrications or highly embellished stories passed down through the years. They must do this. Otherwise, they would have to acknowledge that Jesus lived.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>In reality, a person must ignore a great deal of evidence establishing the historic </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial;">accuracy of the gospels. In other words, the Bible...alone is sufficient evidence that Jesus lived, whether or not the critics want to admit it. But making this claim doesn't establish it as fact. So, let's look at reasons why Jesus is not a mythical creation, but an actual man who lived in Israel.</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">from "Was Jesus just a myth?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">by Matt Slick<span style="color: #0000ee;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://carm.org/was-jesus-just-myth">http://carm.org/was-jesus-just-myth</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">viewed 10/19/13<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, the founder of the Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry argues from the NT, particularly from the Gospels, for the conclusion that Jesus actually existed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the <b>CompellingTruth.org</b> apologetics web, I found an article that also focused on NT evidence for the existence of Jesus:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Did Jesus exist? Is there
historical evidence that Jesus existed?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Typically, when historical evidence of Jesus' existence is sought, what is meant is evidence "outside of the Bible." But the Bible is a reliable historical source of evidence for the existence of Jesus and nothing in the Bible has ever been discredited by secular historians. In terms of ancient evidences, writings less than 200 years after events took place are considered very reliable evidences and the entire New Testament was written within 100 years of Jesus' death.</b> ...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">from "Did Jesus Exist?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by an unknown author</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.compellingtruth.org/did-Jesus-exist.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.compellingtruth.org/did-Jesus-exist.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">viewed 10/19/13</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While this article focuses on the NT evidence, it does also mention evidence from outside the NT (e.g. Josephus and Lucian), so it does not stick exclusively to NT evidence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the web for the <b>Warren Apologetics Center</b>, I found an article that spells out an argument based on NT evidence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Logic of the Case for Christ</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>When one faces the question of the historicity of Jesus Christ, he should remember that the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are all books of history. And no one has the right to dismiss these books as evidential material concerning Jesus merely on the basis that a claim of divine inspiration is made for them. Their existence as historical documents has to be faced before the issue of inspiration can be considered. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> Argument #1:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> 1. If (1) A existed and if (2) A said that B existed, and if (3) A is credible, then B existed.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> 2. (1) A existed, and (2) A said that B existed, and (3) A is credible.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> 3. Then B existed.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">from "The Logic of the Case for Christ"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Mac Deaver</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://warrenapologeticscenter.org/resources/articles/jesus-christ/the-logic-of-the-case-for-christ.html">http://warrenapologeticscenter.org/resources/articles/jesus-christ/the-logic-of-the-case-for-christ.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">viewed 10/19/13</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is amusing to read an article titled "The Logic of..." and see in the opening of the article that the author fails to understand the difference between propositions of the form </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"If___, then___"</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and the logical relation of entailment between premises and conclusion. The conclusion "Then B existed" is not even a complete sentence in English. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> In a modus ponens argument, the logical connective represented by the words </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"If___, then___"</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> drops out, so that the conlcusion is simply the consequent of the conditional statement: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. IF P THEN Q.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2. P</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Therefore</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3. Q</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is no "THEN" in the conclusion here; that is the whole point of a <i>modus ponens</i>; out of the complext conditional statement in premise (1) we get a conclusion (3) that this just a simple proposition.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But setting aside the amazing ignorance of logic in an article with "The Logic of..." in the title, it is clear that the argument outlined here is focused on evidence from the NT for the existence of Jesus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, I should point out that while Paul Maier's article on the </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4truth.net </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">apologetics web uses both NT evidence and extra-biblical evidence, Maier specifically states that the NT evidence would be sufficient by itself:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>From the internal, biblical evidence alone, therefore, Jesus' existence is simply categorical.</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">from "Did Jesus Really Exist?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">by Paul L. Maier, The Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History, Western Michigan University</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.4truth.net/fourtruthpbjesus.aspx?pageid=8589952895">http://www.4truth.net/fourtruthpbjesus.aspx?pageid=8589952895</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">viewed 10/19/13</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So, I conclude that some Christian apologists, including the founder of the <b>Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry</b> (Matt Slick), focus primarily on NT evidence for the existence of Jesus, and that some Christian apologists, including the ancient historian Paul Maier, who use both NT evidence and extra-biblical evidence believe that the NT evidence is sufficient by itself to establish the existence of Jesus.</span><br />
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Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666839412443406419.post-38483752848600240722013-10-10T20:39:00.003-07:002013-10-14T13:15:19.890-07:00Did Jesus Exist? Part 1<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will not officially begin my ten-year project (to write four skeptical books about Jesus) until sometime next year. However, as I find time this year, I will get started working on the issue 'Did Jesus Exist?' </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first and most obvious argument to cosider, goes like this:</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. According to the New Testament, Jesus existed.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. The New Testament is historically reliable.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Therefore:</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. It is very likely that Jesus existed.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The key premise is (2) which asserts the historical reliability of the NT.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some Evangelical Christian defenses of premise (2) that I plan to read and critique:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Essays/Chapters</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">Blomberg, Craig L. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"The Historical Reliability of the New Testament". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chapter Six of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reasonable Faith</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by William Craig. Wheaton: Crossway, 1984.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blomberg, Craig L. "Can the Biographies of Jesus be Trusted?" (interview of Blomberg).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chapter 1 of <i>The Case for Christ </i>by Lee Strobel. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blomberg, Craig L. "Do the Biographies of Jesus Stand Up to Scrutiny?" (interview of Blomberg).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chapter 2 of <i>The Case for Christ </i>by Lee Strobel. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Craig, William L. "Rediscovering the Historical Jesus: The Evidence for Jesus". </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Article available on the web:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #eeeecc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.reasonablefaith.org/rediscovering-the-historical-jesus-the-evidence-for-jesus"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.reasonablefaith.org/rediscovering-the-historical-jesus-the-evidence-for-jesus</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Originally published in <em style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border: 0px; color: #2e3133; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Faith and Mission</em><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #2e3133; line-height: 21px;"> 15 (1998): 16-26.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Habermas, Gary. "Why I Believe the New Testament is Historically Reliable". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chapter 9 </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why I am a Christian </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">edited by Norman Geisler and Paul Hoffman. Grand Rapids: </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Baker, 2001.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Metzger, Bruce M. "Were Jesus' Biographies Reliably Preserved for Us?" (interview of Metzger).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chapter 3 of</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Case for Christ </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Lee Strobel. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">McDowell, Josh. "Is the New Testament Historically Reliable?". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chapter 3 of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict. </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nashville: </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nelson, 1999.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">McRay, John. "Does Archaeology Confirm or Contradict Jesus' Biographies?" (interview of McRay).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chapter 5 of</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Case for Christ </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Lee Strobel. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moreland, J.P. "The Historicity of the New Testament" </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">from the BeThinking.org website: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bethinking.org/bible-jesus/advanced/the-historicity-of-the-new-testament.htm">http://www.bethinking.org/bible-jesus/advanced/the-historicity-of-the-new-testament.htm</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chapter 5 from <i>Scaling the Secular City</i> by J.P. Moreland. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Yamauchi, Edwin M. "Is There Credible Evidence for Jesus outside His Biographies?" (interview of Yamauchi).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chapter 4 of</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Case for Christ </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Lee Strobel. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Books</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">Barnett, Paul W. </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Jesus and the Logic of History</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">. Leicester and Downers Grove: IVP, 1997.</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">Barnett, Paul W. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is the New Testament Reliable? </i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">Downers Grove: IVP</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, 1986.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">Bauckham, Richard. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;"> </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">. Grand Rapids and Cambridge: Eerdmans, 2006.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">Blomberg, Craig L. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;"> </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Historical Reliability of John’s Gospel</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">. Leicester and Downers Grove: IVP, 2001.</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">Blomberg, Craig L. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;"> </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Historical Reliability of the Gospels</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">. Nottingham and Downers Grove: IVP, rev. 2007.</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">Bruce, F.F. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Downers Grove:</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">IVP, 5th edition:1960, reprinted 1974.</span><br />
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<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.6667; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dickson, John. <i style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Christ Files: How Historians Know What They Know about Jesus</i>. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, rev. 2010.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eddy, Paul R. and Gregory A. Boyd. <i style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition</i>. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Evans, Craig A. <i style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels</i>. Downers Grove: IVP, 2006.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.6667; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marshall, I. Howard. <i style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">I Believe in the Historical Jesus</i>. London: Hodder & Stoughton; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977; Vancouver: Regent, 2001.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roberts, Mark D. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Wheaton: Crossway, 2007.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6667;">Stanton, Graham. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6667;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Gospel Truth? New Light on Jesus and the Gospels. </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6667;">London: Harper Collins; Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1995.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NOTE:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I made use of Craig Blomberg's bibliography on this topic to fill out my own list of relevant books that defend the historical reliability of the NT:</span></div>
<a href="http://www.denverseminary.edu/current-students/blombergs-biblical-bibliographies/#Reliability"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.denverseminary.edu/current-students/blombergs-biblical-bibliographies/#Reliability</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Bradley Bowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05211466026535549638noreply@blogger.com