If Christianity is a lie, if Jesus was never really raised from the dead, and if his followers never actually witnessed his empty tomb or ascension, would the disciples have died for their faith? There are many examples through history of men and women dying for a cause they believed to be true, but what about dying for a cause that you know is false? A martyr is someone who willingly endures persecution and often dies for refusing to renounce a particular belief or principle...
In the last two to three centuries, the traditional origin stories behind Christianity’s sacred texts have begun to dissolve more and more as biblical scholars have abandoned dogma in favor of objective analysis and critical thinking. It is now widely accepted among New Testament scholars that only seven of the thirteen documents attributed to Paul in the Bible were actually written by Paul. With all four gospels being anonymous, never specifying their author, it is also contested that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John did not really write the gospels named for them.
With Forged, we are given a g...
The fear of death has been a major struggle for human beings all throughout history, and we have found a variety of ways in which to cope with this uncomfortable fact. Religion is perhaps one of the most intricate and potent of these ways. Our world religions are man-made institutions designed to give comfort from this fear in the form of purpose, meaning, and life that transcend death. Embracing these realizations, Eternal Life: A New Vision argues for the necessity of abandoning traditional theistic religion for the adoption of a more humanist, life-centered perspective...
Was Jesus Christ the son of god? Is there evidence that he even existed at all? Should Christianity be viewed as a dangerous belief? In The God Who Wasn’t There, director Brian Flemming attempts to answer these questions and more. Released to DVD in 2005, the film primarily argues against an historical Jesus with the help of many skeptics like philosopher and historian Richard Carrier, Professor of Biblical Criticism Robert M. Price, and anthropologist and folklorist Alan Dundes...
The resurrection of Christ is arguably the central doctrine of Christianity. The premise at the heart of most strains of Christianity is that Jesus Christ died on the cross to save humanity from its sins, and he rose again three days later, victorious over death and having established a new means for salvation. In the bible, the apostle Paul says to his fellow believers that “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile” (1 Corinthians 15:17)...
Isaiah 53 is one of the all-time favorite passages of pastors, evangelists, and missionaries striving to convert non-believers. Over the centuries, it has been the subject of countless books, sermons, essays, and evangelism tracts, especially in outreach to Jews. The website isaiah53.com boldly proclaims that, “Hundreds of Years Before Jesus… The great Jewish prophet Isaiah wrote a detailed prediction of his death and resurrection”...
Fundamentalism is by no means a dead strand of Christianity. Still today there are many who believe that the Bible is the inerrant and unchanging word of god, the only book in history to be amazingly preserved in static and unaltered form for nearly 2,000 years. According to a 2006 Gallup poll, 28% of Americans think the Bible is the actual word of god, to be taken literally and word-for-word, while 49% believe it to be inspired, though not always literal, and a mere 19% recognize it as a combination of fables, historical tales, and moral precepts.1 Undoubtedly, a dissenting opinion will stir...
Every few years, new stories and rumors circulate about ground-breaking discoveries of the Ark of the Covenant, Noah’s Ark, the Garden of Eden, and other biblical legends. However, all these iconic finds seem to have been stumbled upon by amateur explorers in remote locations now conveniently forgotten or off-limits to public access. Still many of the faithful do hold such suspicious tales to be more than simple hoaxes. It is not difficult to see that there is a strong desire, especially in America, to confirm the bible as historical fact...
