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Bart Ehrman’s Not the Only One Spoiling the Blank Slate!

Piers Penniless: Reading the Bible

I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t now read the Bible in the light of what he/she has been taught by (take your pick): John Stott, C. S. Lewis, Rick Warren, Oswald Chambers, Lifeway Christian Resources (motto: Biblical Solutions for Life! See IBM for business ’solutions,’ Cisco Systems for networking ’solutions,’ Lifeway for Bible ’solutions.’), Bart Ehrman, Joyce Meyers, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, or their pastor.

Just thoughts, really–but does anyone come to the Bible with a blank slate? I don’t see how

Ehrman,

Pre-order AMERICAN THEOCRACY UNPACKED now!

Amazon.com: American Theocracy Unpacked: Arguments Examined, Implications Explored, and a Way Forward Suggested: Books: W. Frederick Zimmerman

The Amazon page for AMERICAN THEOCRACY UNPACKED is up and ready! Pre-order from Amazon, or direct from the publisher for $19.94 + $1.59 Media Mail.

Pre-order from Nimble Books

When I began reading American Theocracy, the best-seller by Kevin Phillips, I felt almost immediately that this was an excellent and thought-provoking book that was so wrong about so many fundamental issues that it demanded a strong, immediate, and highly focused response. This book, American Theocracy Unpacked, takes advantage of electronic publishing technology to provide that “nimble” response, less than three months after I started reading Phillips’s book.

In American Theocracy Unpacked, I take a close, almost paragraph-by-paragraph look at Phillips’s arguments. I am confident that the result is respectful but stimulating. I acknowledge and applaud his many important insights, but I also suggest a way forward that is less fearful of an “American theocracy,” and, indeed, more hopeful for America and the world.

In the body of the book, I have used the informal, rather “bulletized” house style that Nimble Books has used to produce “living books” on subjects ranging from Harry Potter and Dan Brown to science, politics, technology, and medicine.

READ THIS BOOK IF …

  • You thought American Theocracy was an important book.
  • You are interested in a far-ranging, open-minded meditation on the issues Phillips raises.
  • You are a Christian who is wondering how to be “salt and light” in a world that fears theocracy.


DON’T BOTHER IF …

  • You are expecting me to disagree with everything in American Theocracy.
  • You are expecting me to attack Kevin Phillips as a person.
  • You aren’t willing to read American Theocracy.

HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED AND WHAT IT CONTAINS

This book follows the same structure as American Theocracy, with the addition of some introductory and interstitial comments.

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Thinking Christian on Ehrman and the “four facts”

Craig-Ehrman Debate on the Resurrection of Christ
Craig shows that a majority of NT scholars accept these as historical:

  • After his crucifixion Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea in a tomb.
  • On the Sunday after the crucifixion, Jesus’ tomb was found empty by a group of his women followers.
  • On different occasions and under various circumstances different individuals and groups of people experienced appearances of Jesus alive from the dead. [Not all of these scholars accept these as experiences of an embodied and glorified Christ, in accord with Biblical theology; some would view them as hallucination or as spiritual visions.]
  • The original disciples suddenly and sincerely came to believe that Jesus was risen from the dead despite their having every predisposition to the contrary.

These are accepted by scholars for basically the same two reasons in each case: they are multiply attested by independent sources; and they are unexpected, even embarrassing facts for the early church, unlikely to have been made up as part of a Christ story. (For more detail, please see the transcript. I’m not intending to re-argue the whole position here.)

It is not just Christian scholars who accept these as historical. Ehrman himself, as documented in the transcript, says we can conclude “with some certainty” that Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea and that three days later the tomb was found empty. He recognizes (to a lesser degree of confidence) that, as quoted by Craig, “we have ’solid traditions’ . . . for the women’s discovery of the empty tomb.”

Most of Ehrman’s response revolves around Craig’s inference to the resurrection as the best explanation of these four facts. That’s the more interesting part of the debate. Strangely, though, he also disputes the historicity of these four events. He never acknowledges that he has himself agreed with at least two of Craig’s four facts in print. (He seems to be arguing against his own position much of the time.) He argues backward. He begins with the assumption that Christ could not have risen from the dead, and from there he concludes there must be problems with the history of these four facts.

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Kregel Publicity: A Christian PR firm

Kregel Publications Publicity: June Releases

From the worldwide phenomenon The Da Vinci Code to the national best-seller Misquoting Jesus, popular culture is being bombarded with radical skepticism about the uniqueness of Christ and the reliability of the New Testament. Reinventing Jesus cuts through the rhetoric of extreme doubt to reveal the profound credibility of historic Christianity.

Nimble Books, ,

Who gave us the inerrant Bible? God did.

TitleZ - Main Page
In a mirror dimly » Colbert on Religion

As far as the book is concerned, Ehrman writes as a former conservative if not fundamentalist Christian who is disallusioned and now agnostic. After holding to a completely inerrant Bible, studying the history of textual transmission, and finding many errors in the process, he essentially concluded that the Bible is not reliable. This is a prime example of how an extreme doctrine of inerrancy can shipwreck our faith. The Bible is certainly reliable, true, and trustworthy, but the language of inerrancy can sometimes put too much emphasis on the Bible for our faith and not on God himself and the Christian community who have given us the Bible. Inerrancy taken to extremes can lay a trap for our faith that may be hard to escape. I think that Ehrman is a scholar struggling to fit his research into his faith. Unfortunately his faith was too narrow to hold what he found.

Nicely said.

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Misquotes in MISQUOTING JESUS

With this timely response to Bart Ehrman’s best-selling MISQUOTING JESUS, author Dillon Burroughs offers a stirring defense of faith that will be sure to inspire evangelists and doubters alike. In ten chapters and five appendices, ...

misquotes in misquoting jesus

with this timely response to bart ehrman’s best-selling misquoting jesus, author dillon burroughs offers a stirring defense of faith that will be sure to inspire evangelists and doubters alike. in ten chapters and five appendices, ...

Misquotes in MISQUOTING JESUS

Free review copy to first twenty users who promise to write an Amazon review!

With this timely response to Bart Ehrman’s best-selling MISQUOTING JESUS, author Dillon Burroughs offers a stirring defense of faith that will be sure to inspire evangelists and doubters alike. In ten chapters and five appendices, Burroughs examines Ehrman’s thought-provoking book in detail, identifying its conceptual errors in a loving, respectful manner. WHY YOU CAN STILL BELIEVE is a great start for anyone interested in learning more about the Word, understanding where the New Testament comes from, and knowing how and why we can rely on its truth.

Early reviews by noted believers:

Burroughs has done a great service in presenting a concise summary of what’s right and what’s wrong in Bart Ehrman’s blockbuster book, MISQUOTING JESUS. Richly peppered with quotes from top evangelical scholars, this work documents the fatal flaws in Ehrman’s thinking, and shows how evangelicals can respond to his book.
— Dr. Ron Rhodes, President of Reasoning from the Scriptures

Dillon provides an excellent response to the attacks on the New Testament presented in MISQUOTING JESUS. Readers will find the essential facts to stand firm presented in an accessible and extremely helpful manner.
–Dr. John Ankerberg, President of the Ankerberg Theological Research Insitut

Too often, Evangelicals “go off the deep end” when they respond to non-Evangelical attacks on the faith. Dillon Burroughs has avoided this pitfall in his thoughtful, timely, sensitive, biblical response to Ehrman’s MISQUOTING JESU. “Misquotes in MISQUOTING JESUS” offers an introductory primer on the trustworthy nature of God’s Word. Filled with scintillating quotes from experts in the field, Burroughs offers a home-spun, down-to-earth, user-friendly defense of biblical Christianity. Buy three copies: one for yourself, one for a Christian friend, and one for an unbelieving friend.
– Robert W. Kellemen, Ph.D., author of “Soul Physicians” and “Spiritual Friends.”

WHY YOU CAN STILL BELIEVE is available in both paperback and hyperlinked PDF editions from on-line booksellers such as Amazon, from Nimble Books directly, and at “bricks and mortar” booksellers via special order. (ISBN: 0-9777424-6-6; 80 pages.)

Free review copy to first twenty users who promise to write an Amazon review!

Author Biography:

As a speaker, writer, and advocate for the Christian faith, Dillon Burroughs has appeared in numerous locations nationwide and abroad. On subjects related to Christianity and culture, Dillon’s speaking or written works have appeared on James Dobson’s Focus On The Family, The New York Times, The Washington Post, (SRN) Salem Radio Network news, Moody Radio Network, iLife Network, Leadership Journal, NBC affiliates, and many other media outlets.

Dillon’s work, The Da Vinci Code Controversy (Moody Publishers), was featured at the 2006 National Moody Pastor’s Conference in addition to receiving media exposure in both mainstream and Christian sources nationwide, including an initial printing of over 20,000 copies, a rare achievement for a debut author.

In addition, Dillon has written or edited works with several of today’s top Christian personalities, including Dr. Tony Evans (President, The Urban Alternative), Dr. John Ankerberg (Host, The John Ankerberg Show), Dr. Michael Easley (President, Moody Bible Institute), and Dr. Gary Chapman (author of the NY Times bestseller The Five Love Languages). His upcoming works include Get in the Game, The Spirit of Truth and Error: World Religions, and The Spirit of Truth and Error: New Religious Movements.

Dillon Burroughs is a ThM graduate from Dallas Theological Seminary in addition to graduating with a B.S. degree in Communications from Indiana State University. He lives in the Indianapolis, Indiana area with his wife, Deborah, and children, Ben and Natalie.

Ehrman debates a believer at Holy Cross (PDF transcript)

Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture

Is There Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus?

A Debate between

William Lane Craig and Bart D. Ehrman

On March 28, 2006, Dr. Craig, Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California, and Dr. Ehrman, James A. Gray Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, debated the status of the Christian claim to Jesus’ resurrection from the perspective of historical data. The debate was sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture and the Campus Christian Fellowship.

Debate Transcript (.pdf)

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Snippets, Ja!

Official Google Blog: Germany and the Google Books Library Project

It’s our belief that the display of short snippets from in-copyright books does not infringe German copyright law. Today the Court indicated that it agreed, drawing a comparison with the snippets used in Google web search. And the Court also rejected the WBG’s argument that the scanning of its books in the U.S. infringed German copyright law.

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Google Checkout => Google Book Search?

I’m guessing that the release of Google Checkout is the precursor to the addition of selling online book access in Google Book Search.  I’ve had  online access prices entered into GBS for three or four months and nothing’s happened yet.  I hope it happens soon! I’m guessing about a week after the release of Google Checkout — maybe July 6.

Official Google Blog: Find it with Google. Buy it with Google Checkout.

This motivated us to improve the online purchase process, and so today we’re announcing Google Checkout, a checkout option that makes buying across the web fast and easy.

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Transcript of Colbert and Ehrman

The Tangy Apple Chronicles: Colbert’s at it again

Last Tuesday, Stephen Colbert at Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report interviewed Dr. Bart Ehrman, a theologian and author of Misquoting Jesus.

See the video here.

A snippet of the lighthearted exchange:

Colbert:  Look.  Do you believe there’s a God?
Ehrman:  (pause)  I’m not sure.
Colbert:  Really? 
Ehrman:  Yeah.
Colbert:  Sooooo, you’re an agnostic?
Ehrman:  That’s right.
Colbert:  Isn’t that just an atheist without balls? 
[howls and slight applause from audience]  …  ‘Cause if I were an
atheist, I’d be able to look to God and say, “sorry, don’t exist, sir.”
Ehrman:  Uh huh.
Colbert:  Right?
Ehrman:  Yes, you would.
***later in interview***
Colbert:  Do you believe in God yourself?
Ehrman:  Uh, no.
Colbert:  You don’t.
Ehrman:  No, I’m an agnostic.
Colbert:  Did you ever, uh… I guess what I meant to ask is, did you ever believe in God?
Ehrman:  Uh, yes.
Colbert:  You did?
Ehrman.  Yes.  I had balls then.  [more howling & audience applause]
(pause)
Colbert:  I can’t improve on that! 
(end of interview) 

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