Read here
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Blog
Dear Evangelical Scholar: If you perceive the Presence of Jesus Within You, Your Belief in the Historicity of the Resurrection is Not Objective
A Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Lutheran, or Presbyterian Christian scholar can claim his or her scholarship on the resurrection of Jesus is based purely on objective historical evidence. The same is not true for most evangelical Bible scholars. Why? A central teaching of evangelical Christianity is that if one is truly “born again” (and that is the only way to be a true Christian in their belief system) one will perceive the presence of Jesus within you. Think about that! If one can perceive the presence of Jesus within you, that is dramatic evidence that Jesus truly was resurrected from the dead 2,000 years ago! It is very definitely evidence…but it is subjective evidence!
How can evangelical Bible scholars such as Michael Licona claim that their scholarship regarding the bodily resurrection of Jesus—a man who died 20 centuries ago—is objective and unbiased if they believe that they can perceive the presence of this being within them??
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A Challenge to Scholar Michael Licona: Do You Deny the Perceptible Presence of Jesus Within You?
I sent the following email challenge to NT scholar Michael Licona today. Last December, on Bart Ehrman’s blog, Dr. Licona and I had a discussion regarding his belief in the evangelical Christian teaching called “the testimony of the Holy Spirit” or stated another way, the evangelical Christian belief that one must “ask Jesus into your heart” to be a true Christian believer. Does Dr. Licona believe this teaching? His answers at that time on this issue appeared to me to be evasive. Let’s see if he will respond and give a clear, concise answer:
Dear Dr. Licona,
I hope you and yours are well during this difficult time.
I have a challenge for you: Would you be willing to come back onto the Bart Ehrman blog and clearly state whether or not you believe in the evangelical teaching of the testimony of the Holy Spirit, specifically answering this question:
Dr. Licona: Do you perceive the presence of the spirit of Jesus within you?
Whether you believe that this belief does or does not affect your scholarship on the Resurrection is irrelevant. The relevant question is: Do you believe in the evangelical teaching of the real and perceptible presence of Jesus within you or not?
Thank you
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Faith Hinders Brain Function
I want people to consider the drug metaphor for faith, taking our cue from Karl Marx, who described religious faith as the opiate of the people. When you think of the commercial you need to hear the actor say, “This is your brain on faith.” That’s what I think. Here then are five ways faith makes the brain stupid:
1. Faith causes the believer to denigrate or deny science.
2. Faith causes the believer to think objective evidence is not needed to believe.
3. Faith causes the believer to deny the need to think exclusively in terms of the probabilities.
4. Faith causes the believer to accept private subjective experiences over the objective evidence.
5. Faith causes the believer to think faith has an equal or better method for arriving at the truth than scientifically based reasoning.”
–John Loftus, author of Debunking Christianity blog and The Case Against Miracles
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Jesus Lives in my Heart: The Great Delusion of Evangelical Christianity
Imagine your reaction if your neighbor told you the following story:
Did you know that the spirit of my deceased grandfather, George, lives in my heart, communicates with me in a silent voice on a daily basis, performs supernatural magic tricks for me, gives me counsel and advice on major decisions in my life, and, provides the most amazing feelings of peace, serenity, and security?
Oh, and I forgot to mention, my grand father created the universe!
You would undoubtedly assume that your neighbor is certifiably nuts! And you would be correct. Yet millions of evangelical Christians, all over the world, believe that the spirit of another man, a man who lived 2,000 years ago, lives in their “heart”. And these people believe that this belief is consistent with rational thinking!
My goodness! What a massive delusion!
What evangelical Christians need to realize is that the very “real” perceptions and feelings which they have about their invisible “special friend” Jesus is not one bit different from the belief of a small child that he has an invisible “special friend” named Bob.
You are living in a delusional world, my evangelical Christian friend. The “voice” you hear speaking to you is no other than YOU…your internal monologue. I challenge you to prove me wrong!
Come out of your delusion, evangelical Christians. Come into the light of reason, science, and rational thinking.
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Congressman Claims His Christian Faith Prohibits Him Wearing a Face Mask
From Politicalwire:
Ohio state Rep. Nino Vitale (R) cited his religious beliefs to explain why he would not wear a mask as recommended by Gov. Mike DeWine (R) to help limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, The Hill reports.
Said Vitale: “This is not the entire world. This is the greatest nation on earth founded on Judeo-Christian Principles. One of those principles is that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. That image is seen the most by our face. I will not wear a mask.”
Gary: If that ignorant, selfish belief is based on Judeo-Christian principles, it is time to find some new principles!
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I am Joining a New Religion: Pastafarianism
For more information regarding the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, click here.
Interested in becoming an ordained minister of the most holy FSM Church? This official ordination certificate, embossed with a gold foil seal, could be yours for only $34!
May the Pasta be with you!
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