Dr. Ehrman has effectively argued that we can’t know whether or not Jesus was really buried in a donated tomb. (How Jesus Became God, pp. 151-64) For this, we should be grateful. Like many important discoveries, this method of reasoning proves fruitful even in other domains. I am happy to announce the results of my recent investigations now. Like many of you, I used to… Read More »Why we should doubt the Hitler-as-dog-lover traditions
I thank Fr. Aiden Kimel for reminding me of Richard Bauckham’s chapter on kinds of monotheism. I read it years ago, and thought there was something that was not quite right about it. Kimel says, summarizing Bauckham, Inclusive monotheism declares the God is the highest being within the class of deities to which he belongs. “He is unique,” Bauckham explains, “only in the sense of… Read More »Kimel and Bauckham on monotheism
0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0000:20:58 podcast 35 – Interview with Dr. Bart Ehrman about his How Jesus Became God – Part 1 Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify In this episode, a conversation with Dr. Bart Ehrman about his How Jesus Became God, and the evangelical response book How God Became Jesus. Dr. Ehrman has… Read More »podcast 35 – Interview with Dr. Bart Ehrman about his How Jesus Became God – Part 1
0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0000:46:28 podcast 34 – Albrecht vs. Tuggy debate – Was Tertullian a trinitarian? Part 2 Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify In this episode, the final half of my debate with Roman Catholic apologist Mr. William Albrecht. The question: was Tertullian a trinitarian? (Part 1 is here.) First, we take turns… Read More »podcast 34 – Albrecht vs. Tuggy debate – Was Tertullian a trinitarian? Part 2
Last time we looked at this inconsistent triad of claims, one of which we must deny: The New Testament gospels agree in their core claims about Jesus and God. Matthew, Mark, and Luke don’t teach that Jesus is God. John teaches that Jesus is God. We can look at this from two directions. First, we can ask what the evidence for each of 1-3 is.… Read More »Do the Gospels disagree about Jesus and God? Part 2 – Counting the Costs
Let’s define “Jesus is God” to mean one or more of these: Jesus is numerically identical to the one God, YHWH, or Jesus fully possesses the divine nature of the one God, or Jesus is one “divine person” within the one God. The New Testament gospels are centrally concerned with Jesus, and with the one God. But how do they relate the two – or… Read More »Do the Gospels disagree about Jesus and God? Part 1 – Three Options
Tomorrow (Saturday, March 29) at 12:00 EST I’m debating Roman Catholic apologist William Albrecht on whether or not the important early Christian philosopher-theologian Tertullian (d. c. 225) was a trinitarian. Mr. Albrecht is on the affirmative side; I’m on the negative side. He should be well aware of what I’ll argue. I think Tertullian’s language is confusing (to us), and his theology is strange, but… Read More »my online debate: Was Tertullian a trinitarian?
by evangelical apologist Rob Bowman, at the Parchment and Pen blog. He has a nice and fair summary of Ehrman’s book, and he then focuses to a large extent on New Testament issues. He puts his finger on several of the key issues most Christians will have with Ehrman’s theory – places where Ehrman really goes out on a limb. For example, A second notable… Read More »First Review of the How ___ Became ___ books
One of the most interesting theological/ christological/biblical arguments is about to begin. Bart Ehrman’s book How Jesus Became God, released today, aims to explain what he views as a great misunderstanding. Also released today: an evangelical response by five professors: How God Became Jesus. Bring it on! Thanks to HarperOne and to Zondervan for these advance copies. Be on the lookout for content here on… Read More »Bring it on: How ___ became ___
0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0000:27:46 podcast 31 – Dr. William Hasker on the “Arian” Controversy Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify Was the Council of Nicea (325) a defense and re-affirmation of core catholic theology? And did the Council of Constantinople (381) merely re-affirm Nicea, and slightly clean up its language and the details of… Read More »podcast 31 – Dr. William Hasker on the “Arian” Controversy
0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0000:31:31 podcast 29 – Arius Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify Was Arius the ultimate Judas? Was he an arrogant innovator, a devotee of Greek philosophy, a Judaizer, a hater of mysteries, a phony, a snake in the grass? In this episode, we look at Arius and his theology, in (as… Read More »podcast 29 – Arius
0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0000:26:26 podcast 28 – Interview with Dr. William Hasker about his Metaphysics and the Tripersonal God – Part 2 Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify The conversation continues, as we get into to the specifics of Dr. Hasker’s “social” Trinity theory. Dr. Hasker answers many questions, including: How is it that… Read More »podcast 28 – Interview with Dr. William Hasker about his Metaphysics and the Tripersonal God – Part 2
0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0000:25:54 podcast 26 – Pastor Sean Finnegan on “the Holy Spirit” – Part 2 Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify In this episode Sean and I continue our discussion of “the Holy Spirit” in the New Testament, covering such topics as how “the Spirit” relates to worship and prayer in the… Read More »podcast 26 – Pastor Sean Finnegan on “the Holy Spirit” – Part 2
Earlier catholic theologians like Tertullian and Origen show us how.
I recently read this somewhat disturbing post by our friend Fr. Aiden Kimel. Though he lightens things up with humor a couple of times, it is a pretty thorough condemnation of analytic theologians. A charge he makes by implication against analytic theologians (i.e. those trained in analytic philosophy who work on topics in Christian theology) is that like the “Arians” of old, we suffer from… Read More »against despising analytic theologians
0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 0:0000:27:26 podcast 23 – report from the second annual Los Angeles Theology Conference Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsPlayer EmbedShare Leave a ReviewListen in a New WindowDownloadSoundCloudStitcherSubscribe on AndroidSubscribe via RSSSpotify From left to right: Oliver Crisp’s Beard, Oliver Crisp, Thomas McCall, Fred Sanders, Karen Kilby, Lewis Ayres, and Stephen Holmes. In this episode I share my reflections on this conference, and specifically… Read More »podcast 23 – report from the second annual Los Angeles Theology Conference
Our friend Dr. Ed Feser has got himself worked up into full drunken polemicist mode. I earn ridicule and ire normally reserved for Dawkins types. Evidently I touched a nerve by pointing out that most (analytic) philosophers now – reflecting a fairly wide consensus since early modern times – think of God as the greatest being there is or could be, and not as “Being… Read More »why I’m not a Thomist 1 – the Christian tradition that God is a Being
Lutheran theology grad student Matthew Frost reflects on The Doctrine of the Trinity, and Scripture. Some insights: …because this doctrine is built on a scriptural foundation, we also have a tendency, in every generation, to read the doctrine as it stands back into the texts on which we have built it. And there’s a problem with that, namely: none of the authors of scripture, or their… Read More »Frost on Trinity and Scripture
Daniel Calder surveys the Top 7 weirdest Christian theologians. Of these, how many are atheists? Consider, for example, John Scotus Eriugena (c.800 – c.877). The author gives an encyclopedia quote which rings true to me. In general, the system of thought just outlined is a combination of neo-Platonic mysticism, emanationism, and pantheism which Eriugena strove in vain to reconcile with Aristotelean empiricism, Christian creationism, and theism.… Read More »7 Weird Theologians
