Bart Ehrman and I disagree when it comes down to his view of evil and my view. I believe that evil is bad, as much as Ehrman does (if not more), but I don’t believe its existence testifies against God but rather, for Him — the reason being that evil exists as an alternative to…
Category: Theology and Philosophy
Sermon: The Skepticism of Skepticism and the Logic of Faith (John 20:24-29)
To participate in our Passover Meal (the Lord’s Supper), listen to the audio file above. Happy Resurrection Sunday or Passover Sunday to our members, listeners, and readers. We love you all. -Pastor D.M. Richardson, The Essential Church World Wide Web Subject: “The Skepticism of Skepticism and the Logic of Faith” (John 20:24-29)…
Paul and the Pastoral Epistles: Bart Ehrman’s forgery claim disputed
Paul deals with the problems in the church by addressing the church at large and pleading with all the members to change their ways. Why doesn’t he address the bishop of the church, or the head pastor? Why doesn’t he write a letter to the leader of the church to tell him to get his…
No need for divine damage control: a response to Bruce Wildish in the Story of the Magi
Many believers will object that, through the device of dream revelation, God provided for both Jesus’ escape to Egypt and his safe resettlement in Nazareth some time afterward, thereby thwarting Herod’s plans to have him killed. But this hardly demonstrates wisdom or virtue on God’s part, given that the crisis that God seeks to redress…
Spiritual resurrection vs. bodily resurrection? Bart Ehrman’s claim that Paul didn’t write Ephesians and Colossians investigated
Whenever Paul talked about being raised with Christ, it was always as a future event (see, for example, Romans 6 and 1 Corinthians 15). Within Paul’s churches, some of his converts had a different opinion, thinking that they had already experienced a kind of spiritual resurrection with Christ and were already “ruling” with Christ in…
Matthew vs. Paul: Bart Ehrman and the faith vs. works controversy revisited
If Matthew, who wrote some twenty-five or thirty years after Paul, ever read any of Paul’s letters, he certainly did not find them inspiring, let alone inspired. Matthew has a different view of the law from Paul. Matthew thinks that the followers of Jesus need to keep the law. In fact, they need to keep…
Does Matthew quote the wrong prophet? Bart Ehrman on Jeremiah and Zechariah
Why does Matthew quote the wrong prophet? When Matthew indicates that Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, he notes (as by now we expect of him) that this was in fulfillment of Scripture: “Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, ‘And they took the thirty pieces of silver…and they…
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on one or two donkeys? The Triumphal Entry in the Gospels
When Jesus entered Jerusalem during the Triumphal Entry, how many animals did he ride? It seems like there should be an obvious answer: he rode one animal, a donkey or a colt. And that in fact is what is said in three of the Gospels, including Mark 11:7. In Matthew’s Gospel, however, this triumphal act…
God’s Word and Contradictions: Sworn Enemies, Part 3
Scriptures: Romans 16:25-27 1 Corinthians 15:3-19 2 Timothy 3:14-17 James 2:18-24 James 4:1-6 2 Peter 1:16-21 2 Peter 3:14-16 Service Music Opening Selection: “Speak To My Heart” (artist: Donnie McClurkin) “Word of God Speak” by Mercy Me “Word of Life” by Jeremy Camp Intermediate Selection: “Ancient Words” by Michael W. Smith Inspirational Selection:…
Women at the Tomb: Examining Bart Ehrman’s claim of contradictory reports
Who actually went to the tomb? Was it Mary alone (John 20:1)? Mary and another Mary (Matthew 28:1)? Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome (Mark 16:1)? Or women who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem — possibly Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and “other women” (Luke 24:1; see…
How did Judas die? Ehrman on the Judas death in Matthew and Luke
The commonly held view that Judas went out and “hanged himself” comes from Matthew (27:3-10). After Judas sees that his betrayal has led to Jesus’ conviction, he feels remorse and tries to return his pay of thirty pieces of silver to the Jewish chief priests, telling them that he has “sinned by betraying innocent blood.”…
Did the churches in Judea know Paul? Why Acts and Galatians contradict Ehrman
2. Did the churches in Judea know Paul? Here again Paul is quite clear. Sometime after he converted he went around to various churches in the regions of Syria and Cilicia, but he “was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea” (Galatians 1:21-22). This has struck some scholars as odd. According to the…
