Author Archive

On Jesus’ Death, part 4 of 4: Swoon Theory and Substitutionary Atonement

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 […]

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Posted in Religion | 1 Comment »

On Jesus’ Death, part 3 of 4: Crucifixion

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 […]

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Posted in Religion | 6 Comments »

On Jesus’ Death, part 2 of 4: Beatings and Flogging

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 […]

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On Jesus’ Death, part 1 of 4: Imposter Theory and Secular Evidence

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, […]

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Why People Believe and Why People Kill: Countering Dennett and Harris

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 […]

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Posted in Politics, Politics / Science / Religion, Religion, Science | No Comments »

In Favor of the Legalization of Medical Marijuana

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 […]

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Posted in Politics | 14 Comments »

Facts Are Stubborn Things

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 […]

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Primer on Net Neutrality

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 […]

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On Ethical Monotheism and Friedrich Nietzsche

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 […]

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Posted in Politics, Politics & Religion, Religion | No Comments »

Ants vs. Global Warming

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 […]

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Posted in Religion, Science, Science & Religion | No Comments »