Short answer, it’s because we learn more about the languages that compose the Bible, as well as find new manuscripts, that allow for a better translation. Long answer: One of the best books on this subject is Bruce Metzger’s The Text of the New Testament. It does get dense though. One of Metzger’s students, Bart…
Seldom do we have concrete proof of the existence of anyone in the ancient past. Largely, we have to work on probability. What is the most probable situation based on the available evidence? As a whole, the general consensus among scholars and historians is that the probability of Jesus existing is virtually a certainty. We…
Every few years, a new Pew study is done, and the media and others use it to claim that the belief in God is in decline. But each time, the results are generally quite misrepresented and show a misunderstanding of religion in general. So let’s just first start with the numbers. In the last decade,…
During college, a good portion of my coursework ended up centering on how the Bible and religion describes otherness. A big question that I ended up exploring was how the Bible defines otherness, and how it tells you to treat those who are others. The Bible has a lot to say about that subject. I…
Before I start, I’m simply looking at this topic from a historical perspective, with the express purpose of detailing what we can know about Jesus. I’m looking at this particular argument and that’s it. Now to jump into the meme. When talking about sexuality in the ancient world, we have to be careful. We have…
There is a new book published by Oxford University Press that has gotten mythicists in a tizzy. That book is none other than T.C. Schmidt’s Josephus and Jesus, New Evidence for the One Called Christ. As some may imagine, Richard Carrier is one such mythicist who has taken an issue with the new book. And…
When you lie about a person, its best to not lie about something when the proof to the contrary is so easily accessible. This is the situation that Jaaron Wingo, of Christ Before Jesus, has found himself in. In a recent TikTok Live, Wingo attacked me personally and made the claim that I was asking…
Was Mary raped by God? Is the Crucifixion a historical event? These were the topics that I had a chance to discuss with the Godless Engineer, John Gleason. While the topics were clearly controversial, the conversation was pleasant. So this summer, I had the chance to participate in two live discussions. While I’ve done a…
Before moving too far on, there is a point that I have to address, as it’s one that Britt and Wingo bring up multiple times, and is one that is all too common among mythicists. Why did no one write about Jesus earlier? Britt and Wingo put it like this: “This is one of the…
Most scholars argue that Mark was the first Gospel to be written. This seems rather obvious as it’s clear that both Matthew and Luke borrowed from Mark. It’s no surprise that a late date for Mark then is important for Britt and Wingo. If Mark were to be shown to be a product of the…