April 9, 2015
“Except for the romantic few who think that Jesus did not die on the cross but woke up in the tomb and ran off to India with Mary Magdalene, most scholars accept the uniform testimony of the Gospels that Jesus died.” — Raymond E. Brown, distinguished (though somewhat controversial) Catholic scholar and emeritus professor of […]
Tags: Barbara Thiering, Begg and Ferguson, could Jesus have survived?, crucifixion of Jesus, David F. Strauss, death of Jesus, Hugh Schonfield, JAMA study on crucifixion, Jewish tombs, Name Above All Names, physiological effects of crucifixion, physiological effects of flogging and beatings, Roman practice, substitutionary atonement, Swoon Theory
Posted in Religion |
April 5, 2015
In the first entry in this series of posts, we looked at a few (but not all) early, non-Christian references to the death by crucifixion of Jesus Christ, as well as variations of one popular theory that claims Jesus of Nazareth did not die on a Roman cross. In the second entry, we examined the […]
Tags: blood and water flowed, cardiac arrhythmias, Christ crucified, crossbeam, crown of thorns, crucifixion of Jesus, crushed median nerve, death of Jesus, death on the Cross, excruciating pain, Golgotha, hypoventilation, hypovolemic shock, Jesus Christ's final hours, physiological effects of crucifixion, pleural effusion, Simon of Cyrene, slow death by asphyxiation, spikes through wrists, the extreme penalty
Posted in Religion |
April 2, 2015
Physical Exhaustion & Trauma Anguish in the Olive Grove: To examine the physical exhaustion and trauma that Jesus experienced during His final hours, we must begin in Gethsemane. It was there that He knelt in fervent prayer, knowing that His imminent suffering and death were fast approaching. The Bible says that He was distressed and […]
Tags: Annas, beard ripped out, beating of Jesus, burial of Jesus, Caiaphas, crown of thorns, death of Jesus, Easter, flogging of Jesus, hematidrosis, hypovolemic shock, physiological effects of flogging and beatings, Pontius Pilate, Roman flagrum, scourging, severe loss of blood
Posted in Religion |
March 29, 2015
It’s getting close to Easter (aka “Resurrection Day”) again and, as usual, I wanted to come up with something relevant for my readers. I was casting about for something with a theological/apologetical flavor and eventually remembered an old manuscript I was working on back in 2003 & 2004, which I decided to, um, resurrect. So, […]
Tags: Alex Metherell, burial of Jesus, Cornelius Tacitus, crucifixion, death of Jesus, Easter, extreme penalty, Flavius Josephus, Gary Habermas, Imposter Theory, John Crossan, Palm Sunday, resurrection of Jesus, The Antiquities, was Jesus really crucified
Posted in Religion |
March 22, 2015
A few weeks ago, I said I would be sharing a few more passages from Dr. David Bentley Hart’s book Atheist Delusions. In this citation from early in the book, Hart is in the midst of pointing out some of the bad arguments, poor understanding of both religion and history, and sanctimony in the anti-religious […]
Tags: Atheist Delusions, Breaking the Spell, correcting skeptics, Daniel Dennett, David Bentley Hart, defending Christianity, Easter, getting history right, Reasons to Believe, reasons to kill, religious experience, responding to "new atheists", responding to skeptics, Sam Harris, why people believe in religion, why people kill
Posted in Politics, Politics / Science / Religion, Religion, Science |
March 15, 2015
“You have to go to the doctor. You have to be diagnosed with the debilitating disease or medical condition. You have to get that diagnosis in writing. You have to send that written diagnosis to the Department of Health and wait for the department to send you an identification card in order to become a […]
Tags: cannabis product, CARERS Act, Compassionate Access, Controlled Substances Act, effects of pot, federally illegal substance, legalization of medical marijuana, need for tightly-written laws, pro-cannabis, Research Expansion and Respect States Act, Schedule I, Schedule II
Posted in Politics |
March 8, 2015
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” — John Adams, Esq., Argument in Defense of the British Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials, Dec. 4, 1770. We all, at some time or another, are guilty […]
Tags: Ann Coulter, Attorney General Holder, countering liberal spin, court of public opinion, DOJ, false narrative, false rape claims, Ferguson report, gender identity, hands up don't shoot, John Hawkins, jumping to conclusions, Justice Department, Michael Brown shooting, teenage pot use
Posted in Politics |
March 1, 2015
“Title II regulation of the Internet is a solution in search of a problem.” — Logan Albright, Research Analyst at FreedomWorks I confess, I have been putting off taking the time & effort to get up to speed on this whole “Net Neutrality” thing. I mean, I had the gist of it but didn’t know […]
Tags: Ajit Pai, blocking, capitalism, Cato Institute, Communications Act of 1934, competition, curbing innovation, equal treatment of all internet traffic, false egalitarianism, FCC, free market, free speech, FreedomWorks, government interference, governmental overreach, Grover Norquist, Heritage Foundation, internet control, James Gattuso, Logan Albright, Matt Barber, Michael Sargent, Net Neutrality, paid prioritization, Patrick Gleason, product differentiation, Progressive Policy Institute, regulations, Ryan Radia, spying on citizens, taxes, throttling, Title II, Tom Wheeler, transparency
Posted in Politics |
February 22, 2015
“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” — Friedrich Nietzsche, influential 19th-century philosopher and cultural critic Late last year, I posted excerpts from the Introduction to Dr. David Bentley Hart’s book, Atheist Delusions. I finally starting reading the rest of the book — slowly, now and then — and am really appreciating Hart’s […]
Tags: Atheist Delusions, causes of war, correcting skeptics, David Bentley Hart, defending Christianity, ethical monotheism, Friedrich Nietzsche, getting history right, Peter Watson, responding to "new atheists"
Posted in Politics, Politics & Religion, Religion |
February 15, 2015
FUN FACT: Ants make up 15-25% of the total mass of living animal tissue on the continents! We’ll get back to the ants in a minute. But, first… The Sun is a nuclear furnace. Hydrogen, the lightest element and most abundant chemical substance in the universe, is constantly being fused within it into helium. Over […]
Tags: ants, climate change, global warming, Greenhouse Gases, increased luminosity of the Sun, Intelligent Design, nuclear fusion in the Sun, role of ants in keeping Earth temperate, the Sun, weathering of silicates
Posted in Religion, Science, Science & Religion |