tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.comments2023-11-03T05:38:02.555-07:00Ron's Book CornerRonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18417260051312383466noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-3925557414801801252014-07-17T02:05:54.209-07:002014-07-17T02:05:54.209-07:00Ignatius? Telemachus? Colosseum & Christian Ma...Ignatius? Telemachus? <a href="http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/colosseum/colosseum-christian-martyrs.htm" rel="nofollow">Colosseum & Christian Martyrs</a>Kevin Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16928605106263140137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-38830048432816961552009-08-01T05:33:47.924-07:002009-08-01T05:33:47.924-07:00Thanks for the comment, Gabe. :)Thanks for the comment, Gabe. :)Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18417260051312383466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-8843842057680001272009-07-27T17:11:36.247-07:002009-07-27T17:11:36.247-07:00Not Pascal! Job was the first thinker of that man...Not Pascal! Job was the first thinker of that manner.<br /><br />Then Solomon in Ecclesiastes... so many people just in the Bible that discussed such things in a fair amount of depth before Pascal.<br /><br />Pascal's stuff is still pretty awesome, though. You make me want to read Kreeft's annotation.Gabriel Koulikovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14115740047400755387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-47263813574179515492008-10-18T23:40:00.000-07:002008-10-18T23:40:00.000-07:00I read it when I was in high school (that would ha...I read it when I was in high school (that would have been in about 1975). And yes, it was terrible on so many levels.Ilíonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15339406092961816142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-56024324141717444552008-08-14T10:01:00.000-07:002008-08-14T10:01:00.000-07:00Thanks alan for the insightful comment and the lin...Thanks alan for the insightful comment and the links. Gives me some good fruit for thought.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18417260051312383466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-52749672533305339932008-08-14T09:12:00.000-07:002008-08-14T09:12:00.000-07:00Nice post, Ron. A few comments:-- I think that th...Nice post, Ron. A few comments:<BR/><BR/>-- I think that the Argument from Reason is nicely summed up in a couple of brief quotations, one from J.S. Haldane and one from Lewis himself:<BR/><BR/>"If my mental processes are determined wholly by the motions of atoms in my brain, I have no reason to suppose that my beliefs are true ... and hence I have no reason for supposing my brain to be composed of atoms."<BR/><BR/>"To talk of one bit of matter being true about another bit of matter seems to me to be nonsense."<BR/><BR/>For the most powerful recent efforts of physicalists to explain how one bit of matter <I>could</I> about another bit of matter, a good introductory account is Patricia Smith Churchland's <A HREF="http://philosophy.ucsd.edu/faculty/pschurchland/papers/daedalus04howdoneurons.pdf" REL="nofollow">How Do Neurons Know?</A> (That's a pdf file.)<BR/><BR/>-- If readers are interested, I've got a list of Reppert's six versions of the argument, along with a few remarks about some of them, online <A HREF="http://milindasquestions.com/2008/03/17/reflections-on-cs-lewis/" REL="nofollow">here.</A>A. J. Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11883697350003465419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-58899230960774752032008-06-02T11:44:00.000-07:002008-06-02T11:44:00.000-07:00LOL. I wish I knew Wright personally so that I co...LOL. I wish I knew Wright personally so that I could ask him about this. Here's his blog btw: <BR/><BR/>http://johncwright.livejournal.com/<BR/><BR/>If he ever brings up the topic there I'd ask him about it.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18417260051312383466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-53830304773791950862008-06-02T10:53:00.000-07:002008-06-02T10:53:00.000-07:00'During this experience, I became aware of the ori...'During this experience, I became aware of the origin of all thought, the underlying oneness of the universe, the nature of time: the paradox of determinism and free will was resolved for me.'<BR/><BR/>I really do think that such insights as these deserve a wider audience than a mere blog (with all due respect)<BR/><BR/>I count at least 3 Nobel Prizes there alone.<BR/><BR/>Can you persuade Mr. Wright to tell us all the nature of time?Steven Carrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983601793874190779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-79173184507482165672008-05-29T23:16:00.000-07:002008-05-29T23:16:00.000-07:00Mind you, it is amazingly convincing that James wa...Mind you, it is amazingly convincing that James was a sceptic who converted.<BR/><BR/>I saw a find-the-lady game in the street the other day.<BR/><BR/>I was always convinced these things were frauds<BR/><BR/>But the dealer's brother said that initially he too had been sceptical of the honesty of his brother.<BR/><BR/>But the dealer's brother had watched a few games and was now convinced that the game was on the level.<BR/><BR/>Really! Claims that the brother of someone was sceptical and was later convinced is the oldest trick in the book!Steven Carrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983601793874190779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-90008372521207568192008-05-29T23:13:00.000-07:002008-05-29T23:13:00.000-07:00Those '2 sources' are not people who ever claim to...Those '2 sources' are not people who ever claim to have met James.<BR/><BR/>James himself never said he was a 'sceptic' (or that his brother had been born of a virgin)<BR/><BR/>So please produce evidence for these 'facts'....<BR/><BR/>I know. It is in the Bible. What more evidence is needed for something to be a fact?Steven Carrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983601793874190779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-60578910949130706282008-05-29T23:11:00.000-07:002008-05-29T23:11:00.000-07:00Please produce evidence that James was a sceptic i...Please produce evidence that James was a sceptic in the way that the Samaritan woman believed in Jesus as the Messiah.<BR/><BR/>Of course, James had had a personal relationship with his brother for 30 or so years, yet never found out that his brother had been born of a virgin.<BR/><BR/>But the anonymous author of Luke found out all about it....<BR/><BR/>Amazing!Steven Carrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983601793874190779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-18229708232041487282008-05-29T22:20:00.000-07:002008-05-29T22:20:00.000-07:00Nice summary of Habermas' Minimal Facts argument, ...Nice summary of Habermas' Minimal Facts argument, Ron!exapologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09915579495149582531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-19664817131141075022008-05-29T19:42:00.000-07:002008-05-29T19:42:00.000-07:00Steven,Are you saying that James believed in Jesus...Steven,<BR/><BR/>Are you saying that James believed in Jesus before the Resurrection or not? If you say that he wasn't a skeptic then you have to show that he wasn't from the evidence that we have. I gave you two sources that say that he was a skeptic along with Jesus' other siblings. We find out from the early creed that Paul quotes in 1st Corinthians 15 that Jesus appeared to James. Both Paul and Like later claim that James was a leader in the early church. <BR/><BR/>As for the virgin birth, I admit that I was speculating. The topic of the post is the Resurrection, not the virgin birth. All I was saying is that just because it is claimed to have happened to Mary does not mean that her later children would know about it or believe it if she had told them about it.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18417260051312383466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-32626990374127630712008-05-28T14:10:00.000-07:002008-05-28T14:10:00.000-07:00I like the 'would have'and 'wouldn't haves' and 'i...I like the 'would have'and 'wouldn't haves' and 'it can be assumed' and 'presumably' in your comment.<BR/><BR/>Ask Christians for facts and you are get back armchair speculation about people what would and would not do, when they have never met the people and never spoken to them.<BR/><BR/>So where are the facts?<BR/><BR/>You've had 2,000 years for your alleged god to give you some facts and you still have to come up with speculation about how James could possibly have had a personal relationship with his brother for 30 years and not noticed anything divine about him.Steven Carrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983601793874190779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-74417354657263098132008-05-28T14:04:00.000-07:002008-05-28T14:04:00.000-07:00How could the family of Jesus not know that he had...How could the family of Jesus not know that he had been born of a virgin?<BR/><BR/>Was Mary's heart not bursting with the news?<BR/><BR/>Mark, of course, denigrates the disciples and the family of Jesus, because he wanted to make clear that Jesus had kept everything secret during his lifetime.<BR/><BR/>So no birth stories, which would have tipped off the family of Jesus that something amazing had happened.<BR/><BR/>Mark has no conversion of James.<BR/><BR/>Nobody who knew James personally ever wrote that James had been a 'sceptic'.Steven Carrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983601793874190779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-54725689251519349532008-05-28T12:52:00.000-07:002008-05-28T12:52:00.000-07:00Thanks for the comments Steven. I'll be sure to c...Thanks for the comments Steven. I'll be sure to check out that blog. <BR/><BR/>There are two sources for the unbelief of James, the gospels of Mark and John. James and Jesus' other siblings probably didn't know about the virgin birth since it would have been difficult (to say the least) of Mary telling them about it. <BR/><BR/>If James believed from the get-go, it can be assumed that whomever wrote Mark and John would have mentioned it since he became a principle leader in the early church who presumably wouldn't have allowed a lie to propagate to his own detriment. Having James a believer all along would strengthen his claim to authority and be a good apologetic tool for Christians at that time since the closer your particular church leaders are to the apostles and to Jesus himself, the better off you are especially when many heresies were getting off the ground. <BR/><BR/>As for your second comment, the preaching of the cross and the fact that Jewish Christians did not follow the mainstream Jewish line on circumcision was because of the Resurrection. Without the Resurrection, there would have been no preaching of the cross since Jesus would be rightly regarded as a failed messiah.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18417260051312383466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-38279428328380357152008-05-27T01:04:00.000-07:002008-05-27T01:04:00.000-07:00'By this I mean that they were willing to suffer t...'By this I mean that they were willing to suffer to the death for it. '<BR/><BR/>Paul was there, and , of course, he claimed that Christians were persecuted on the issue of circumcision, not resurrection.<BR/><BR/>Paul claimed Christian leaders were happy to compromise their beliefs to avoid persecution for the cross (NB not resurrection) of Jesus.<BR/><BR/>This old, tired apologetics really stands no chance against intelligent people.<BR/><BR/>As can be seen from my resurrection debate.Steven Carrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983601793874190779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-32580085971687109232008-05-27T01:02:00.000-07:002008-05-27T01:02:00.000-07:00I have a debate on the resurrection at Resurrecti...I have a debate on the resurrection at <A HREF="http://resurrectiondebate.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow"> Resurrection Debate </A><BR/><BR/>Comments are always welcome.<BR/><BR/>Please provide one named person who knew James and said that he was sceptical about his brother, although Jesus was born of a virgin.<BR/><BR/>Somebody has a brother who was born of a virgin and Christians say the brother was a sceptic.<BR/><BR/>What a laugh!Steven Carrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983601793874190779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-42323638111486981912008-05-25T14:33:00.000-07:002008-05-25T14:33:00.000-07:00Good to see you, Jim. :)Good to see you, Jim. :)Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18417260051312383466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-9792768991913121772008-05-23T20:35:00.000-07:002008-05-23T20:35:00.000-07:00Lewis knew exactly what we are facing today. I tho...Lewis knew exactly what we are facing today. I thought I had all his books but I don't have this one. Thanks for the review!Jim Jordanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12456957270007304493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-42651276307297212882007-11-03T02:41:00.000-07:002007-11-03T02:41:00.000-07:00Could you name a Christian who was killed in the C...Could you name a Christian who was killed in the Colosseum?Steven Carrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11983601793874190779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-84346949907694185632007-09-21T15:33:00.000-07:002007-09-21T15:33:00.000-07:00Amazing how contemporary critiques aren't as moder...Amazing how contemporary critiques aren't as modern as people think.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18417260051312383466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-34734348525315537082007-09-21T14:05:00.000-07:002007-09-21T14:05:00.000-07:00Celsus is typical of what we see today in the atta...Celsus is typical of what we see today in the attacks on Christianity. His concept is of a great, big "muscle" God who is so omnipotent he can't even tie his own shoes, much less become a man. <BR/><BR/>First Corinthians 1 and 2 explains Celsus' type of rejection very well. Funny how an attack can have the opposite result of re-affirming scripture.Jim Jordanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12456957270007304493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-90509923648499956952007-09-18T22:06:00.000-07:002007-09-18T22:06:00.000-07:00Thanks for the comment, Jim. Augustine truly live...Thanks for the comment, Jim. <BR/><BR/>Augustine truly lived in a different intellectual atmosphere then we do today. It was similar in that the elite of society were very religiously skeptical but when it comes to philosohy it was much different. <BR/><BR/>Augustine along with the earlier Church Fathers were very allegorical about their interpretation of scripture. Usually, this adds to the text rather than takes away from its literal meaning. Augustine interpreted Genesis figuratively because the spiritual truths were more important then what the scriptures literally said. He was arguing against people who had no respect for the Bible and openly derided it favoring their own religious/philosophical positions. Against such critics, Augustine sought to philosophical defend the main points of Genesis, mainly that God created the universe out of nothing by a free choice of His will. Reconciling this point with neoplatonic philosophy was one of his main tasks. <BR/><BR/>What really funny is when he denounces astrology saying that it is about time that people gave it up because it is stupid. sixteen hundred years later and its still with us.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18417260051312383466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5031194361629830404.post-62247217507949290142007-09-18T18:55:00.001-07:002007-09-18T18:55:00.001-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jim Jordanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12456957270007304493noreply@blogger.com