thoughtful ideas on life's big questions
Vale Maurice Casey New Testament historian, Maurice Casey, Emeritus Professor of New Testament Languages and Literature in the University of Nottingham, died late last week after a long period of illness. Casey was the author of several books and a recognised expert in Aramaic and the Aramaic sources in the gospels. I have found his […]
Last post I looked at one aspect of the historical evidence for the life of Jesus – Were the gospels written a long time after the event? Another question often asked, or a claim often made, relates to how much evidence there is for the events and teachings outlined in the gospels, and how much […]
I was asked recently, in the comments section of another blog, about how long the gospels were written after the time of Jesus’ death. I said it wasn’t long by ancient standards, so I thought it might be worth outlining the facts on this matter.
The trial of Giordano Bruno by the Roman Inquisition, by Ettore Ferrari. Picture: Wikipedia. Recently the TV series Cosmos: a Spacetime Odyssey hosted by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, was launched on TV screens around the world. I didn’t watch it (we don’t have pay TV) but the first episode generated some controversy, with critics arguing […]
It’s that time of year, when even non-christians think about Jesus, at least a little. But what do they think? What should they think?
It’s almost Christmas, so it’s a good time for a look at something interesting but not so serious. What was the star that the wise men followed to lead them to where the baby Jesus was in Bethlehem?
“Confirmation bias …. is a tendency of people to favor information that confirms their beliefs or hypotheses. People display this bias when they gather or remember information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way …. [or] interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their existing position.” (Wikipedia) Atheists often accuse christians of confirmation bias, […]
A lot of things are written about Jesus, by believers, sceptics and everyone in between. But what do the experts (historians at leading universities) say? Ken, a reader of this blog, asked a question about this recently in comments on another topic, so I thought a separate post might help clarify.
In a recent discussion, a reader commented on a claim by Alvin Boyd Kuhn that “Christianity took a wrong turn during the 3rd century and looked to one man being divine” We can all choose to believe whatever we wish, but is there any historical evidence for this claim?
Last post, I discussed Nate’s idea that God used miracles to prove he existed in Jesus’ day, and so he should still do so today if he existed. And I gave reasons to believe that wasn’t a correct understanding of God, nor of Jesus’ life. So, does God give us any good reasons to believe, […]