Articles by BibleThinker

Are there what appear to our eyes to be significant, deliberate, factual changes about the life of Jesus in the Gospels? Did the gospel writers seem to fabricate significant details about Jesus? If so, was this an expected and appropriate practice when writing a Greco-Roman Biography? Do “literary devices” exist, which were employed by the gospel authors, which allowed an ancient biographer to add fictional information to historical stories as a kind of “special effects”?
Dr. Lydia McGrew joins me to discuss several controversial and important issues related to the reliability of the Gospels.
This can be a rather complicated issue but I hope that today’s interview will be enlightening and bring some clarity. Even if you don’t agree with my guest (I’m not entirely sure what all my own views are on this issue) I think it’s valuable to hear what she has to say because she has gone to such great lengths to bring clarity to a pretty fuzzy area of scholarship where I am genuinely concerned that some well-meaning, wonderful Christian scholars are making some significant mistakes.

Get Lydia McGrew’s book “The Mirror or the Mask: Liberating the Gospels from Literary Devices” https://www.amazon.com/Mirror-Mask-Liberating-Gospels-Literary/dp/1947929070/

Lydia’s new YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSwhBk0vUSg_6prKkR82IDQ

Dr. Mike Licona (a genuine Christian who I respect) has a series of videos responding to Dr. Lydia McGrew’s book which you can watch on this playlist on his YT channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpPGCP1zKznR06Jxb5RaQYrNIiH7xR7ZR

Lydia McGrew did a series of videos in response to Mike Licona’s series and you can watch that playlist on her YT channel at this link https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe1tMOs8ARn0S9CsFG47bKjcYxsnHujhg

Jesus taught people to pay taxes. I think that most of us know that. But I think there is a lot more going on here and it helps us answer some of our tough ethical questions about how to deal with current issues in politics. If my understanding of the Bible is accurate on this then I think many Christians really need to have something of an overhaul on the way they deal with current political issues.

This is part 47 of a verse by verse study through the Gospel of Mark.
See the WHOLE Gospel of Mark playlist here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF

Why is this verse missing from the ESV translation? Why does it have brackets in the NASB? Here’s a summary of the reasons why this verse may not be original and how I think we should think about it. This is the shortest video in the whole Mark series so far and I’m just tossing it out there in the middle of a bunch of other content but I thought it was worth taking some time to discuss.

Here’s the playlist to my three videos on manuscript issues and translations of the Bible (which I mentioned in the vid) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WclIZwBFhq0&list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuzJhPtmrgqpVoXhjvqiIjW

Here’s the entire Mark series playlist. I am absolutely LOVING this series and hope it blesses you tremendously. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c7jWg60N_0&list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF

This was an “in your face” moment between Jesus and the leaders of the Jews. But what strikes me the most isn’t just Jesus’ rebuke of the leaders, or how cleverly He does it (so that they cannot charge Him with a crime), or how Jesus integrates Isaiah 5 into this parable of the vineyard. What strikes me the most is how they could be totally aware of the failures of their forefathers and totally blind to those same issues when they were to be found in themselves. God help us to see our lives clearly, for we can all be just like they were.

This is part 45 of a verse by verse study through the Gospel of Mark.
See the WHOLE Gospel of Mark playlist here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF

My website https://BibleThinker.org

It seems eerie to me how similar the claims that Roman Catholicism makes are to the claims that the Pharisees and Sanhedrin were making in the time of Christ. The Pharisees claimed to have and oral tradition that wasn’t written down but was handed down through an elder-succession from Sinai to Jesus’ time (which was simply not historically true). They claimed that this tradition was equal in authority to the written word. They claimed that they had a special right to interpret that Bible and felt more authority than they really possessed. They thought they were sitting in Moses’ seat and carrying the continuation of his authority in their own role. Well, all of these points are alive and present in the claims of the Roman Catholic Magisterium. They claim to have an oral tradition that wasn’t written down but is equal in authority to the New Testament (which is simply not historically true). They claim to have special right to interpret the Bible. They claim to have special authority over God’s people due to a claim that they have apostolic succession in their leadership roles. They claim to sit in the seat of Peter and carry the continuation of his authority in their own role. All of the parallels make it really interesting when Jesus simply dismisses the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees in the New Testament. In other words, we have a sample of how Jesus might respond to modern Roman Catholicism in the way that He responded to the 1st century Sanhedrin. And I think we should respond the same way.

This is part 44 of a verse by verse study through the Gospel of Mark.
See the WHOLE Gospel of Mark playlist here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF

My website https://BibleThinker.org

This, right here, is probably the most powerful “name-it-and-claim-it” verse in the Bible.

Mark 11:23–24 (NASB95)
“Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.
“Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.

Honestly, I really struggled in prep for this study. At first I found myself wanting to just make sure that this passage wasn’t used for the kind of stuff Kenneth Copeland teaches.
But I sensed that, in my desire to avoid a particular interpretation, I might be blinding myself to what the passage is saying. So, I took a different approach, one that I try to always take but one that was particularly difficult for me to do this time around. I took myself out of the debate over “name-it-and-claim-it” teaching in the 21st century and instead sought to thoroughly understand how this radical passage makes sense in the context of Mark and the rest of the New Testament. The result has been a really rewarding study on the power of prayer and the reality of faith in the midst of suffering. This passage doesn’t fit “name-it-and-claim-it” and it doesn’t fit cessationism either. My hope is that I can bring clarity with this study and stir up faith. Faith for miracles and faith for suffering.

See the WHOLE Gospel of Mark playlist here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF

I was interviewed by Rachelle and Carder on the Anything But Quiet Time Podcast. We talked about a variety of issues and I think the one consistent theme that might apply to this whole interview is having more wisdom in how we handle theology, apologetics and evangelism. Anyhow, I hope you’ll find some personal benefit in it!

Here is Rachelle and Carder’s podcast but you can also find it on whatever pod catcher you have https://hopeondemand.com/podcasts#/anything-but-quiet-time

Dr. Tim Stratton presents his case that free will is evidence for God. Tim has spent a good deal of time refining this argument in his PhD studies and we’re going to get an accessible breakdown of how it works. Now, Tim doesn’t normally have an eye patch but since he didn’t send me over a better photo I’m punishing him… and really, I just thought it was funny. I hope this breakdown of the “free will argument against naturalism” will be not only personally enlightening and convincing to you but will become another tool in your own intellectual toolbox of ways to help others see the truth of Jesus Christ.

Here’s Tim’s web site and specifically an article on the problem of evil and how he answers it. Tim has TONS of free articles you may be interested on his site in addition to this one. https://freethinkingministries.com/3-circles-all-the-problems-of-evil/

Another article from Tim on “unjustified suffering” https://freethinkingministries.com/a-thought-experiment-vs-unjustified-evil-suffering/

Tim’s YouTube channel, which he intends to utilize more in the future, has a video he asked me to share with you on how he handles divine determinism which many Calvinists affirm. https://youtu.be/qFKg0veH7fo

Time Stamp Map

0:00 Introduction
1. 6:24 How did you initially find out about the WMSCOG, and what caused you to recognize the need for their teachings to be refuted?
2. 11:40 What are some of the books and other resources you used to delve into your research of this cult, and how did the difficulty of obtaining certain resources impact your studies?
3. 15:15 Overview of the origin & history of the WMSCOG, and their current teachings
4. 23:55 How does the WMSCOG’s modalistic view of God allow them to elevate the position of key leaders in their organization?
5. 26:25 Does the WMSCOG believe there is a distinction between “Christ” and “Jesus”?
6. 27:23 How does the WMSCOG respond to the biblical truth that “the fullness of deity dwells bodily” in Christ (Colossians 2:9), and in all cults, how does their tendency to take verses of Scripture out of context affect their ability to spread false teaching?
7. 32:16 (Overview of the WMSCOG’s current teachings *continued*)
8. 36:01 About AhnSahngHong’s book, “The New Jerusalem and the Bride: Interpretation on Women’s Veil”
9. 40:27 What are some of the definitive cultic characteristics of the WMSCOG, and how can having a solid Christian worldview serve as a safeguard for us against false teaching?
10. 42:12 About Steven Hassan, his books, and his B.I.T.E. Model of cult characteristics
–43:19 B – Behavior Control
–48:00 I – Information Control
–1:05:02 T&E – Thought & Emotional Control
11. 1:00:07 and 2:00:53 If any of our listeners have WMSCOG books and would like to donate them to help equip our ministry, where can they send them?
12. 1:11:14 What role can spiritual warfare play in how the characteristics of the B.I.T.E. Model can affect cult members?
13. 1:13:05 When we engage in conversations with WMSCOG members, what are some of the key verses/arguments that get brought up, their perspective on how those verses/arguments support their theology, and some good responses we can offer to those verses/arguments?
14. 1:31:34 About the “Prophecy of the 40 Years of David” that WMSCOG members are taught
15. 1:38:53 Do you think the WMSCOG may claim that AhnSahngHong’s baptism was at the age of 30 in order to strengthen the connection between him and Jesus (who was baptized at the age of 30)?
16. 1:39:33 About their observance of the feasts, and their claim that observance is necessary for salvation
17. 1:48:00 How do WMSCOG members interpret Galatians 4: 26, and how can we respond to that verse, offering them an explanation of its proper context?
18. 1:55:37 If I’ve come to realize that I’ve been a part of a cult (either formerly or presently), what should I do?

Here is EVERYTHING I have on the WMSCOG. Please share this content with those who need it because there isn’t nearly enough stuff out there on this group and they are making inroads all over the place. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHvwOzziMOk9ZIHKphdag47d

Cultish appears on podcast or on the YouTube channel Apologia Studios, here’s a link. https://www.youtube.com/user/Defendthefaithorg

An atheist offers what he sees as the best arguments against God. I admit ahead of time that this is mostly low hanging fruit. But I also would say that this sort of atheist reasoning is so prevalent that it needs to be addressed. That being said, this stuff is pretty bad. I want to offer a breakdown of this atheist’s article which is perhaps a pretty serious commentary on some of the problems in pop-atheism. All in all, there are 4 really bad arguments, and 1 really tough one. I’ll try to get to all of them, but when I did this for my small group yesterday I was only able to get to the first four. We’ll see how it goes.
This video is in lieu of the Mark series which will pick up in TWO weeks.
Time Stamps:
1. 6:23 We Are All Atheists2. 24:46 Religion Only Exists Through Indoctrination3. 44:42 Atheism Is Instinctual4. 48:06 Religion Is Desperation5. 1:00:58 The Problem of Evil
Links and more links to stuff you probably want to see:
The original article I’m responding to is HERE.
The Kalam Cosmological Argument (this is so thorough and simple it can be used in line at Disneyland or in academic debate).
Click here for a teleological argument from the design in the universe presented by a physicist.
A playlist of videos going deep into a moral argument for God by one of my favorite people, Dr. William Lane Craig.
Click here for the argument from beauty (and yes, you should take this more seriously than you do).
A ridiculous amount of evidence for the resurrection of Jesus presented by two historians: Click here
To show the unity of the Bible, here is my “Jesus in the Old Testament” series. I think this is a very strong cumulative case for “unity” which is best explained by inspiration.
For parents wanting to teach their kids critical thinking, here’s a resource on Natasha Crain’s blog for Christian parents. She not only teaches you to teach your kids to think critically, she teaches you to think critically, as well.
Extraordinary claims don’t require extraordinary evidence. Seriously, let’s think critically about this slogan. Click here
A great resource for the problem of evil is Clay Jones’ book “Why Does God Allow Evil.” I’m giving this to you as a book instead of a video as I honestly think it’s going to be more helpful to read this one instead of casually watching a video. This topic is tremendously difficult, and the patience and thought that reading invokes is going to serve you well as you process it. Click here