Religious scholars have long attributed the tenets of Christian faith more to Paul’s teachings than to those of Jesus. But as much as I would like to jump into that subject, I think it best to back up and take a quick, speculative look at the Old Testament. The Old Testament teaches that Jacob wrestled …
“One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives.” —Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Calendar Son of God, son of David, or son of Man? Jesus is identified as “son of David” fourteen times in the New Testament, starting with the very first verse (Matthew …
Christian clergy openly acknowledge that Jesus never called himself “son of God,” however they claim that others did. This too has an answer. Investigating the manuscripts that make up the New Testament, one finds that the alleged “sonship” of Jesus is based upon the mistranslation of two Greek words—pais and huios, both of which are …
The concept of original sin is completely foreign to Judaism and Eastern Christianity, having achieved acceptance in only the Western Church. Furthermore, Christian and Islamic concepts of sin are virtual opposites with respect to certain nuances. For example, there is no concept of “sinning in the mind” in Islam; to a Muslim, an evil thought …
John 3:16 – Now what do you say to THAT, you stupid heathen? I’m sure I am not the only one who wonders what “John 3:16” zealots are thinking. You see them everywhere, plastering this biblical verse on everything from sports placards to ‘Jesus Rifles.’ Now, unless your head is stuck in quarterback Tim Tebow’s …
John 3:16 – Now what do you say to THAT, you stupid heathen? (Part 2 of Dr. Laurence Brown’s refutation of John 3:16) Our lives are clouded with eternal truths and intriguing cosmic mysteries. How do food factories remove the little bits from chunky peanut butter for those who want it creamy? Why do all …
John 3:16 – Now what do you say to THAT, you stupid heathen? (Part 3 of Dr. Laurence Brown’s refutation of John 3:16) In the first two installments of this series, we established the following: John, the disciple, almost certainly did not write the gospel known as ‘John;’ Bible translators illegitimately capitalized ‘his’ and ‘him’ …
John 3:16 – Now what do you say to THAT, you stupid heathen? (Part 4 of Dr. Laurence Brown’s refutation of John 3:16) In the 1969 film, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, they shot Jane Fonda, didn’t they? Now, I’m not stupid. I understand the metaphor. Or is it a simile – it’s all the …
John 3:16 – Now what do you say to THAT, you stupid heathen? (Part 5 of Dr. Laurence Brown’s refutation of John 3:16) The lynchpin of John 3:16 and, for that matter, of the entire Christian concept of redemption by faith, is the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. John 3:16 tells us: “For God so …
Now what do you say to THAT, you stupid heathen? (Part 6 of Dr. Laurence Brown’s refutation of John 3:16) Okay, I get it; John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”) – it’s a practical …
