God and the Beginning of the Universe

Up until 1922, the idea that the universe was eternal and static was universal among physicists. The idea of a beginning wasn’t even imaginable. But then, in 1922, Alexander Friedmann pioneered the theory of a dynamic universe (i.e. the idea that the universe is in motion) with a certain set of solutions to Einstein’s equations. He thought…

Dhu al-Qarnayn as Alexander the Great

The following article is taken from this page at r/AcademicQuran. Qur’an 18:83-102 and the Alexander legend The Qur’anic pericope in Surah 18:83-102 describes a figure named Dhu al-Qarnayn. Dhu al-Qarnayn is not a name, but a title, literally meaning something like “The Two-Horned Man”. After being introduced as someone who God established on the Earth,…

Historical and Epigraphic Documentation of Child Sacrifice among Canaanites

One topic frequently discussed when it comes to the morality of the Old Testament is God's decision to have the Israelite's wipe out all the people in several Canaanite cities (or more specifically Jericho, Hazor, and Ai). Interestingly, one of the most widely known historical arguments against the Book of Joshua is also that no…

Trinity in the New Testament

NOTE: I had published an earlier version of this article on this website a few years ago, but over the years, I've updated and revised the article so much that I feel like it's time to republish it. Also interesting is that my blog has been added as one of Feedspot's top Christian philosophy blogs.…

Israel Finkelstein versus King David (Jerusalem and the United Monarchy)

In 1995-1996, the current debate surrounding the existence of the United Monarchy began with two publications by Israel Finkelstein. Israel Finkelstein proposed his Low Chronology which sought to re-date the Iron IIA period in Israel, which was traditionally placed between 1000-925 BC, to around 900-800 BC instead. This would have been very significant because it…

Israel Finkelstein versus King David (The Low Chronology)

In 1993, the debate over the existence of David was largely settled with the discovery of the Tel Dan Inscription. Roughly dating to the mid-9th century BC, the inscription was commissioned by an enemy ruler named Hazael of the city-state of Aram-Damascus. The inscription is full of military propaganda, but shows Hazael's awareness of a…

Larry Hurtado’s Blog Archived

In 2019, Larry Hurtado, one of the leading scholars of early Christology and textual criticism (and certainly my favourite), passed away. He ran a blog where he would, among many other things, draw attention to upcoming and new scholarship and write short scholarly summaries on a variety of issues. His blog truly contained an unbelievable…

Mohammed Hijab Fails on Evolutionary Theory

I've written about Islam a couple of times in the past and, as I continue digesting the scholarship and literature on the topic, it's worth discussing more. The first time I talked about Islam was to show how, even though some Muslims think the Qur'an contains some sort of scientific miracle predicting the seven layers…

Five Reasons to Doubt the Resurrection by Matthew Hartke, Debunked

The first time I responded to someone's attempt to show that the resurrection of Jesus amounted to a pile of myths was in 2018, when I dealt with the objections of Tim O'Neill. Tim O'Neill is an atheist and writes the History for Atheists blog which is, by far, the best blog that exists dealing…

Christianity Actually Passes the Slavery Test

One consistent criticism of the Bible is that it condones slavery. Institutional slavery was common until the inability to tolerate it began to accelerate in the 18th century and eventually lead to abolition across the modern world, although it is true that underground forms of slavery and forced labor continues and that millions of people…