One cannot use Jesus and Paul as a justification for pathology–and excuse to see a gospel-survival conflict at every point of disagreement.
Defending the Faith
“How Can I Trust the Bible?” (You Might Be Asking)
“You’re sort of presenting a new paradigm for thinking about the Bible a new way a new path forward. And I sort of get it. And it explains some things. But here’s the problem that I have. How can I trust the Bible?” And I think that’s a great question to ask, as it actually […]
The Expression of Faith is Its Best Defense
The true expression of faith is its best defense, because it transforms broken lives.
A Brief but Deep Thought on Defending the Christian Faith (or not)
A burden of (at least western) Christian apologetics isn’t so much in failing to show the wider world how well Christianity works intellectually, but in presuming that the intellect is how Christianity works.
the cutest little bunnies ever debating creationism
I think theological debate hurts less when cute little stuffed bunnies do it.
Why Christians Should Lose the Christmas Culture War
by Jared Byas Last week, Joshua Feuerstein kicked off the annual culture war season by starting a “movement” around Starbuck’s new minimal coffee cup design. I have no desire to make fun of Josh’s beliefs or belittle his conviction. We simply disagree on what it means to be a Christian in our culture. For me, […]
Are you Christian, Ignorant, or Evil?
by Jared Byas Growing up Evangelical, I noticed a trend to make Christianity more attractive to people by making it sound like it’s the most reasonable thing in the world. Like the book title to the left. See, Christianity is so reasonable, it takes more faith to be an atheist (hi-fives to everyone for that clever […]
the best defense of the Christian faith is . . .
I’m not a big fan of Christian apologetics. Nothing personal, and I know some smart people who engage in it. It’s just not for me. I’ve never seen an argument for why Christianity is true that can’t be met by some alternative argument. And I am not interested in whether Christianity is “reasonable”–a lot of things […]
did Jesus even live? a brief thought about scholarship, skepticism, and apologetics
Time and again the study of Jesus has been swamped by waves of radical scepticism–to the point of denial of this historicity of Jesus. Three names may be mentioned as examples. Bruno Bauer (1809-1882), who once lectured in theology at Bonn, regarded the earliest Gospel as a literary work of art: history is produced in it, not described. Albert Kalthoff (1850-1906) understood […]
Did the Exodus Happen? How “Historical Evidence” Might or Might Not Help
by Jared Byas Last week the Wall Street Journal published an article (by Joshua Berman) suggesting the biblical exodus might have its root in an historical event. This isn’t exactly new, but what interested me was the primary reason given— the biblical text seems to be appropriating some Ramesses II propaganda (discovered early in the 20th century) […]