Review: Stanley E. Porter’s “When Paul Met Jesus”

A review of a book that examines the evidence that Paul met Jesus during His earthly ministry prior to the crucifixion.


https://williamaross.com/2016/09/02/review-stanley-e-porters-when-paul-met-jesus/

Regarding Jesus' Human Origins

As a Trinitarian I believe in Jesus' preexistence prior to His conception and birth. This blogpost deals with questions regarding Jesus human origins. Many atheists and skeptics question things like whether Jesus was really born in Bethlehem or whether there was a place called Nazareth during the time Jesus is said to have lived. I'll add links and resources as I find them regarding these types of issues.

Did Nazareth Exist? by Bart Ehrman

Was Jesus from Nazareth or was he from Bethlehem? by Craig Keener

"Why are there Differences in the Gospels?" - Tim McGrew

"Why are there Differences in the Gospels?" - Tim McGrew 

https://youtu.be/CUkayObMfDw

See also some of Tim McGrew's materials on Undesigned Scriptural Coincidences

How Many Israelites Left Egypt During the Exodus

One of the complaints skeptics make is that the Bible's description of the Exodus would entail that around two million Israelites left Egypt. That's supposed to be a number that's way too high for at least two reasons. One reason is in terms of feasibility. How could such a multitude travel a desert and still find enough food and water (etc.)? It would be a logistical nightmare. A second reason is that such a great multitude would leave evidence that archaeologists would certainly discover. Yet, such evidence supposedly hasn't been found. The following link provides one way in which to answer such questions. It's an excerpt from Exodus: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture (The New American Commentary) by Douglas Stuart (pp 297-304).:

https://triablogue.blogspot.com/2015/01/number-of-israelites.html

 or Here:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QZw9KAJoukv7z2yLhgz9gGjfkucQC_1_

In summary, based on linguistic studies, the commentary argues that the number of Israelites would have been from approximately 28,800 to 36,000. Additionally, the commentary cites two other scholars whose study would (if applied) yield a number of 22,000-27,500. If we rounded up that number to 40,000, that's a significantly lower number than 2,000,000. Most stadiums can EASILY seat 40,000 people. Some can seat over 100,000 people.

On a related topic:

A Defense Of The Hyperbolic InterpretationOf Large Numbers In The Old Testament by David M. Fouts [or HERE]

Royal chronology

Steve Hays posted a blog titled "Royal chronology" in response to and to complement Jonathan McLatchie's blog "Investigating Alleged Contradictions in the Old Testament ". I recommend both of them.

Royal chronology by Steve Hays

Investigating Alleged Contradictions in the Old Testament by Jonathan McLatchie
[see also Steve's comments in the combox]

Refuting Biblical Arguments from Silence

The YouTube channel InspiringPhilosophy has a lot of great apologetics videos. The following is so good that I just had to post it on this blog:

(https://youtu.be/pwTDuNFAHng)

The Possible Date of Jesus' Birth

See my other blogpost on the possible date of Jesus' birth. Link below.

Happy Birthday Jesus?