Articles by BibleThinker

Jesus put His fingers in a man’s ears and His spit in the man’s mouth. Do you know what it means? We will cover the deep theological meaning behind this act and also deal with some critical objections to the reliability of Mark. Critics say that Mark doesn’t understand the geography of Israel because of Mark 7:31. Some will even say that Jesus is copying pagan rituals when He heals this way. Well, that’s silly and I’d like to share why.

Mark 7:31–37 (NASB95)Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis. They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him. Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly. And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

This is the article comparing Epidaurus with the Gospels, in which the author says, “An influence of Epidaurus on the Gospels is not possible to trace.” https://www.academia.edu/29349556/The_differences_between_the_healing_stories_from_Epidaurus_and_from_the_Gospels._R%C3%B3%C5%BCnice_mi%C4%99dzy_opisami_uzdrowie%C5%84_z_Epidauru_i_z_Ewangelii

Here’s the whole Mark series https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF

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Drew (Genetically Modified Skeptic) offered his “4 Weird Questions That Might Make You an Atheist” we’ve heard him out and thought it through and want to explain how these 4 questions shouldn’t make you an atheist. In fact, if you work through them carefully you’ll see that they actually give us more reason to believe in God.

Here is Braxton Hunter’s channel “Trinity Radio” https://www.youtube.com/user/braxhunt

Here is Jon McCray’s channel “Whaddo You Meme??” https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1okSIA8UEY8OqvtjGHFvzA

Here is Cameron Bertuzzi’s channel “Capturing Christianity” https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCux-_Fze30tFuI_5CArwSmg

Here’s Drew’s original video which we are responding to https://youtu.be/JE-P6mw60-A

Info on Pascal’s Wager: This is a playlist from Crash Course Apologetics on Pascal’s Wager. VERY well done and extremely thorough. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9ejUnGl4MY&list=PLlVH-ThCazKlqtTVa-3hvKfBXy5LajVsw

Here’s an interview with Dr. Liz Jackson on her case for Pascal’s Wager. It’s very accessible and she answers a ton of objections to it as well. https://youtu.be/e6qHRLkFhCM

My work in this ministry is fully supported by donations and I intend to keep it that way so that everything I produce can be offered for free. If you want to help make this possible here’s the link. https://biblethinker.org/index.php/donate

Modern people sometimes flip out because of misunderstanding what Jesus said to this woman. On the other hand, this passage does have something that is offensive to those who are blinded by entitlement and think that the grace of God is something they deserve. I ask that you suspend forming an immediate opinion about why Jesus referred to this woman (and Gentiles in general) as “dogs” and you take the time to really understand what Jesus was saying because it has important application into our relationship with God and our theology of the Old Testament.

This is part 24 in a series going through the gospel of Mark, here is the whole playlist. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF

If you love this ministry and want to (and can afford to) help support my continued production of free content then please click here. https://biblethinker.org/index.php/donate

There are some serious objections to Penal Substitution when it comes to the morality of punishing the innocent, the idea of forgiveness being accomplished through punishment and several other moral, philosophical and legal concerns. In this video I’m going to systematically deal with these straightforward objections to the logic of Penal Substitution. Check out the whole series on Penal Substitution to see the historical case for the church fathers holding to elements of penalty and substitution in the cross, the case for the OId Testament teaching PSA through typology, the Book of Romans and PSA, and how to unravel and disarm the constant rhetorical deceptions of that are most commonly labeled against the cross.

Here’s my whole series on Penal Substitution https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHttVR0rkvhBfA-IKrg5SGcp

Here’s that video on Limited Atonement https://youtu.be/shpZMRhr4uM

My work in this ministry is fully supported by donations and I intend to keep it that way so that everything I produce can be offered for free. If you want to help make this possible here’s the link. https://biblethinker.org/index.php/donate

This stuff is in scripture for a reason folks. The issues Jesus had with the Pharisees are the same issues we deal with today. This is how the Pharisees used tradition as a way of missing out on the heart of God and neglecting to obey scripture. There’s some really interesting parallels between the Pharisees and Catholicism. The Pharisees had the “Oral Torah” and Catholicism has “Sacred Tradition”. This is a verse by verse Bible study through the whole gospel of Mark. Here is the whole playlist. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF

My video on “Is Christmas Pagan” (I hope all will be openminded and consider it) https://youtu.be/ugxJBb0lPXQ

A Biblical Look at Tattoos https://youtu.be/D_z5_pXDnTk

Everything Scripture Says About Alcohol https://youtu.be/MRpA4njHF64

Critics of Penal Substitutionary Atonement will often misrepresent it as “cosmic child abuse” or a slew of other straw men. This teaching is meant to showcase how many of the people who publicly criticize penal substitution do so by ignoring the core teaching and focusing on making a ridiculous and monstrous fake version of penal substitution which is designed to be so disgusting that you will reject it. The result of all this is that you reject the biblical teaching about Jesus’ death on the cross because you’ve been misinformed about what it actually teaches. In today’s live stream I’m tackling these representations and hope to offer some sober clarity on what Penal Substitution really is as well as to disarm the rhetoric of so many today who aren’t dealing with it accurately.

Here’s my whole series on Penal Substitution (dealing with church history, scripture, rhetoric, philosophy and morality related to it) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHttVR0rkvhBfA-IKrg5SGcp

My work in this ministry is fully supported by donations and I intend to keep it that way so that everything I produce can be offered for free. If you want to help make this possible here’s the link. https://biblethinker.org/index.php/donate

One of the most important things in the Gospel of Mark is the identity of Jesus. But many people don’t realize that Mark is telling who Jesus is through the stories about what Jesus did. When we look at the text carefully we can see one amazing revelation after another revealing the “high Christology” of the gospel of Mark. In other words, the skeptics who sometimes claim Mark has a low view of the person of Christ are completely mistaken. In the passage we are in today (6:45-56) we will see that Jesus’ walking on water has an interesting connection to the book of Job and, once again, is best explained by connecting the person of Christ to God Himself. I’ll also tackle some challenges to the accuracy of the Gospel of Mark when he talks about the journey’s of the disciples across the Sea of Galilee.

The whole Mark series playlist is here. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF

Here are the links I mentioned in the video.
My video on “Biggest Bible Contradictions” where I unpack today’s issue (and more) with maps on screen. https://youtu.be/7zS4VgFDf8s?t=2719
Richard Bauckham’s lecture on the accuracy of Mark’s geography https://youtu.be/F4THNI0CxbE
Steve Hays’ article on today’s apologetics topic. https://triablogue.blogspot.com/2016/08/was-mark-confused.html
Lydia McGrew’s article on the same http://lydiaswebpage.blogspot.com/2016/08/but-wait-theres-more-refuting-claim-of.html
Jonathan McLatchie’s article on the same. http://www.answeringmuslims.com/2016/08/is-mark-confused-about-location-of.html
I’ve shared all three so you can see how different people handle it.

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Question Time Stamps for Quick Reference:
**QUESTIONS FROM NON-CHRISTIANS** (thanks to Sarah Zimmerman for making these)
1. 3:37 How do you explain to non-Christians that Jesus indeed was a real person?
2. 8:30 Do you struggle to accept the teaching in 1 Timothy regarding women’s roles in the Church? Do you ever find it hard to reconcile your human sense of justice with what the Bible says?
3. 11:32 If it’s so obvious that Christianity is true, why do the overwhelming majority of scientists and people with high IQs not believe in God? (Not just 1 or 2, but the majority.)
4. 14:52 What do you say to what seems as sexism in 1 Corinthians 11 and 1 Timothy and the Old Testament, how women are treated as ”second class”?
5. 17:43 We have a will, but we cannot choose our will. If we can’t be perfect on our own, why are we deserving of punishment for being imperfect?
6. 21:04 Why is theism a better view than atheism and agnosticism?
7. 26:52 What would you say to an Egyptology expert who comes to believe that Jesus existed, died, rose, and reigns but refuses to give Jesus allegiance because of His belief in the historical Exodus?
8. 30:14 In Genesis 3, the serpent tells Eve that the fruit would not kill her, but would open her eyes – and that’s what the fruit did. So why do Christians call this interaction a deception or a lie?
9. 33:24 My brother doesn’t believe the Bible, arguing that there are much older religions that Christianity copies (ex: the Virgin Birth and other aspects that are the same). How would you respond?
10. 36:10 How do you reconcile the disputed letters of Paul? Do you believe translations like the NLT, ESV, etc. are still infallible, compared to the original Greek manuscripts?
11. 38:34 Jesus says about false prophets, “By their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7 :16). We can see “fruit” in the lives of many Mormons, Bahais, etc. How do you explain that?
12. 41:21 How does secular marriage between 2 people of the same gender affect Christianity? Why do Christians spend so much time advocating against something that isn’t relevant to them?
13. 44:36 Why is the doctrine of inerrancy so important? Why believe it, if prophesies don’t indicate inerrancy?
14. 46:14 What is your response to the claim that Ephesians is a forgery due to having longer sentences than Paul’s other epistles?
15. 47:44 I sometimes call myself an “agnostic Calvinist”. If God is real, He hasn’t “selected” me. If He wants me to be saved and I desire to understand Him, but I am unconvinced by the Bible, where do I stand?
16. 51:13 What is your advice for someone who finds the arguments for Christianity someone persuasive, but always seems to fall short of having actual faith? (Still having severe doubts/reservations.)
17. 52:58 Don’t the first 11 chapters of the Bible seem ridiculous? (Ex: Spiritual beings having sex with women and producing giants, and humans living nearly a thousand years old.)
18. 56:09 Is it forbidden for Christians to have more than 1 wife? In my country (South Africa), it is legal in some parts to have more than 1 wife, and this is a question I get from my people.
19. 58:36 There is good evidence that an all-powerful being exists. What is the evidence for the nature of this all-powerful being? An all-powerful being would have absolute power to deceive.
**QUESTIONS FROM CHRISTIANS**
20. 1:01:25 If your pastor’s total focus is on divine healing and wants to call his church a “healing center” for the purpose of bringing in the lost, should I stay, or find a different church?
21. 1:02:15 Do “once saved, always saved” people and “lordship salvation” people agree with one another, and only argue over semantics?
22. 1:03:24 Are you going to make any more worship songs?
23. 1:04:11 How would you explain to non-Christians that it’s not unfair or inconsistent that we, as humans, are represented by Adam, thus inheriting Adam’s sinful nature?
24. 1:06:18 How do I explain to deists the divinity of the Scriptures? Most reject

This stuff should be obvious to all Christians but sadly, progressives have a way of making obvious things very confusing. Here’s a look at what the book of Romans teaches about Christ’s penal substitution. It gives us clear support for the idea that Jesus died in our place, suffering the penalty we deserved because of sin and thereby provided a way for us to be forgiven so that God could forgive us of our sins without violating His own righteousness and justice by failing to punish sin. This is a beautiful and biblical truth that is being fought against by an increasing number of those who call themselves Bible believing followers of Jesus. Well, I’m not here to rip on them, I’m here to help those who want to see for themselves how the scripture teaches this wonderful truth about the cross.

Here’s the whole playlist on Penal Substitutionary Atonement (or how Jesus saves us through the cross) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHttVR0rkvhBfA-IKrg5SGcp

My work in this ministry is fully supported by donations and I intend to keep it that way so that everything I produce can be offered for free. If you want to help make this possible here’s the link. https://biblethinker.org/index.php/donate

When Jesus fed the 5,000 it was meant to teach them something really significant about who Jesus is. This meaning was largely lost on the people at the time and people in our time have much the same problem. In this passage we see Jesus as The Prophet like Moses. We also will get a taste of some “undesigned coincidences” which help confirm that the gospels are accurate accounts of actual history rather than the radically evolved oral traditions that some scholars suggest they are. There’s also a wonderful lesson for those who are overworked in ministry and seeking to figure out how to balance their own needs and the needs of serving others. I hope the balance in this passage helps you balance your own life and to know how to take care of yourself, take appropriate breaks and remain unselfish while doing so. The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 is pretty amazing and there’s a lot we have to learn from it, but nothing is so wonderful as the light it sheds on the identity of Jesus.

If you want to help support this ministry so that I can continue to make free theology and apologetics content then please click here to visit my web site. https://biblethinker.org/index.php/donate