When the Saints Go Marching In PDF Print E-mail

This is the paper I delivered at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Philosophical Society in San Francisco. This paper addresses the present controversy stated by Norman Geisler pertaining to the saints raised at Jesus' death in Matthew 27:52-53. Click HERE

 
Review of Bart Ehrman's book "Forged: Writing in the Name of God . . . PDF Print E-mail

Bart D. Ehrman, Forged: Writing in the Name of God—Why The Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2011), 307 pages: a Review by Michael R. Licona, March 27, 2011

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Answering Brian Flemmings "The God Who wasn't there" PDF Print E-mail

This is a recent attempt by the hyperskeptical community to advance the thesis that Jesus never existed. In this review, Mike Licona takes a look at their case.

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Licona's Reply to Doherty PDF Print E-mail

Earl Doherty recently wrote a rebuttal to Mike Licona's review of Flemming's The God Who Wasn't There.

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A Refutation of Acharya S's book, The Christ Conspiracy PDF Print E-mail

Acharya S is a skeptic with an interest in mythology who has written a book entitled The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold. This book presents an hypothesis of how Christianity came into being.

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Licona Replies to Acharya: Part 2 PDF Print E-mail

Thank you for emailing me your brief rebuttal to my paper on your book. I have also reviewed "A Rebuttal to Mike Licona's 'Refutation of The Christ Conspiracy'" on your web site. Since the latter and more formal involves greater detail than your email, . . .

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The Death of Jesus & the Defeat of Islam PDF Print E-mail

The Qur'an asserts that Jesus never died. If he did not die, his death could not atone for sins and there could be no resurrection of Jesus from the dead. In this article, Mike argues that Jesus' death provides a strong defeater of Islam.

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Has the Family Tomb of Jesus Been Found? PDF Print E-mail

On February 26, 2007, a team announced that they have discovered the family tomb of Jesus. In this article, Mike offers some preliminary thoughts.

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The Gospel of Judas PDF Print E-mail

On April 9, 2006 National Geographic unveiled The Gospel of Judas. Here are a few succinct thoughts from Mike.

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The Early Church Fathers on Jesus PDF Print E-mail

When the Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) come to your door, if you get into a conversation with them on who Jesus is, you can expect them to leave a tract with you titled, "Should You Believe in the Trinity?"(1) At first look the tract seems well researched.

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"The Intrinsic Flaws Inherent in Christianity" PDF Print E-mail
A Critique of the Essay "The Intrinsic Flaws Inherent in Christianity"

"The Intrinsic Flaws Inherent in Christianity" is a short essay that is a collection of four standard objections to Christianity: 1.

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Answering Lenny Flank's Article Against Intelligent Design PDF Print E-mail

While the hard sciences of mathematics, physics, and astronomy have been growing in the number of scientists who embrace belief in a personal God of some sort, the complex sciences of biology and anthropology have a large number of scientists who believe . . .

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Ex nihilo, nihil fit (Out of nothing, nothing comes) PDF Print E-mail

We have all either asked the question or have been asked it: Who Made God? Everything we know of has a beginning and was caused to exist by something else. Everyone reading this article began to exist and was caused to exist by their parents. But what about God? Who caused Him to exist and when?

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Gladiators, The Roman Circus, and Christians. PDF Print E-mail

"[Julius] Caesar also put on a gladiatorial show, but had collected so immense a troop of combatants that his terrified political opponents rushed a bill through the House, limiting the number of gladiators that anyone might keep in Rome." (Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars 1:10, circa A. D. 117)

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God Spoke and "Bang!" It Happened! PDF Print E-mail

"In 1965, two Bell Laboratory scientists, Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias, discovered a blanket of microwave radiation in the center of the universe. This indicates that the universe was very dense and hot in its center at a time in the distant past.

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Jesus - The Son of Man. PDF Print E-mail

"In my vision, there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven."Although Jesus claimed to be the divine Son of God, His favorite self-designation by far was "Son of Man." How do we know that Jesus actually referred to Himself as the Son of Man and what does it mean?

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Jesus - Son of God PDF Print E-mail

"And they all said, 'Are You the Son of God, then?' And He said to them, 'Yes, I am.'" (Luke 22:70)Although the Gospel writers portrayed Jesus as claiming to be the Son of God, can we verify this historically and, if so, what did Jesus mean by "Son of God?"

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Jesus - God. PDF Print E-mail

"'We are not stoning you for any of these [miracles],' replied the Jews, 'but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.'" (John 10:33) Although Jesus claimed to be the divine Son of God, Christians believe that He is also "God the Son."

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Non Sequitur (Looks Can Be Deceiving). PDF Print E-mail

Much of what we learn today is never looked at with a critical mind. The more we hear it, the more plausible it begins to sound. The term, "non sequitur," refers to a conclusion that does not follow from the premises.

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Peter Pan Theology PDF Print E-mail

"I just think that God let's us come to Him in our own way. He does not require us to believe in the Christian God, the Muslim God, or any specific God.

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Prove It! PDF Print E-mail

"Then the Jews demanded of him, 'What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?' Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.' The Jews replied, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,

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The Sweet Words of an Enemy PDF Print E-mail

"A meeting of all the religious leaders was called, and they decided to bribe the soldiers. They told the soldiers, 'You must say, "Jesus' disciples came during the night while we were sleeping, and they stole his body."'" (Matthew 28:12-13)

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Who Made God? PDF Print E-mail

It was bedtime and the little child rested her head on her daddy's lap. "Who made the world and the sun and the moon and the stars, Daddy?" "God made them, Sweety." Pausing for a moment to absorb the idea of a Creator the little girl asked innocently, "Daddy, who made God?"

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Graduation Day! PDF Print E-mail

"Looking at herself in the mirror, Jennifer noticed that her graduation cap was off slightly to her left. She adjusted it so that it was perfectly aligned, took a deep breath and exhaled.

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