12 December 2018
This is my first response to Jonathan Sheffield’s opening statement. We are debating whether the “long ending” of the Gospel of Mark (verses 16:9-20) is authentic or interpolated. For essential reading and references on the subject see chapter...
11 December 2018
Beginning today and for the next six weeks I will be engaging a formal debate here on my blog with Anglican autodidact Jonathan Sheffield over whether the long ending of Mark (verses 16:9-20), almost universally agreed to be a later interpolation not written by the...
10 December 2018
This is the last article in my account of what I learned and heard at the SBL conference in Denver last month. My previous accounts (of the Saturday and Friday I spent there) you can catch up on with those links. Sunday: The Morning Section Sunday morning I attended...
30 November 2018
The SBL national conference was massive. Held jointly with the AAR (the American Association of Religion) it occupied the entirety of the enormous Denver Convention Center and seven hotels, each with multiple floors filled with massive ballrooms the size of small...
29 November 2018
I attended the SBL conference in Denver this month and spent several days engrossed in observing panel presentations and voting on new motions for the Westar Institute. I’m a member of the SBL and a Westar fellow. But I’ve rarely been able to afford to...
28 November 2018
Joel McDurmon is an odd fellow. Founder of American Vision, he is simultaneously an old school arch-conservative who thinks all taxation is theft and public schools must be abolished, and a passionate, well-reasoned advocate for liberal talking points like that the...
21 November 2018
Come be my student next month! My online course for December is “Counter-Apologetics: Learning the Best Ways to Refute Arguments for God.” It includes special advice on arguing against Islam as well as both liberal and conservative Christianity, tips and tactics of...
15 November 2018
This week federal court ruled that I need a jurisdiction other than Ohio in my Defamation case. Because the Defendants claim they didn’t know I was in Ohio when they defamed me. Yes, in the age of the internet, that shouldn’t matter. But the law is weird....
12 November 2018
What worldview is better for the world? That’s a question I debated with Joel McDurmon of American Vision just the other day in Houston. I’ll announce the video when it goes live. But one of the matters that came up centrally in that debate was moral...
9 November 2018
I’ll be hanging out at O’Neill’s in Nob Hill in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from 7-9pm on Thursday, 6 December 2018. I’ll have books to sell and sign. And you can hang out and converse on all subjects. Tell any of your friends in the area...
31 October 2018
One of the most insurmountable errors in the Bible, being both a historical inaccuracy and a contradiction, is the conflicting dates given to the birth of Jesus in Matthew and Luke. This goof is so terrifying to Christians they have destroyed hundreds of trees and...
30 October 2018
In honor of Halloween, here is a fun and informative sample of some weird things said and believed about the risen dead in the ancient world. Rising from the Dead? Always Creepy Tons of heroes, superheroes, gods, and lucky lads rose from the dead in ancient pagan...
14 October 2018
It started with a “10 day movie challenge” on Facebook. Post an image, no explanation, from 10 movies that had an impact on you. 10 movies, 10 images. 1 per day. I realized I had 55. And totally want to comment on why. How they impacted me. And what movies...
13 October 2018
I’ll be doing happy hour at Cantina Mayahuel in San Diego on Thursday, November 29, from 4 to 6pm, at 2934 Adams Ave. Come hang out, chat on any subjects, and if you’re keen, get some books signed! I’ll then be hanging out and selling & signing...
12 October 2018
I will be speaking for the Free Inquiry Group on the science and philosophy of moral reasoning in Cincinnati, Ohio, this coming October 23rd, Tuesday 7pm, at the First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati on 536 Linton Street. Details on Facebook and Meetup. Description:...
11 October 2018
Not only will I be debating worldviews in Houston the evening of November 10, I’ll also be making appearances in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area. And making a casual stop in Amarillo. The details: I’ll be doing a Q&A on my book Why I Am Not a Christian for...