Category Archives: Bible

paul uses extra-Biblical sources

Posted on May 5, 2013 by christopher fisher

2Ti 3:8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; Paul, in 2 Timothy, mentions two individuals who are not named anywhere else in the Bible. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, History | Leave a comment

did paul have access to the gospels

Posted on March 6, 2013 by christopher fisher

Many, if not most, Biblical scholars advance a theory that the apostle Paul did not have access to any of the Gospels, at least how we know them today. Bart Ehrman states this explicitly: Paul really did not know that … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Ehrman, History, People | Leave a comment

abimelech changes God’s mind

Posted on January 29, 2013 by christopher fisher

We learn from Genesis 20 that pagan kings can reason with God and change God’s mind. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Bible Critics, Calvinism, Morality, Open Theism, Theology | 7 Comments

Christian cliches – all sins are equal

Posted on January 21, 2013 by christopher fisher

So is Jesus saying that all sins are equal or that all sins lead to hell? These are different concepts. As we have shown earlier, some will be judged with many stripes and some with few. Lusting after a woman in your heart, while it is adultery, is less of a sin then actually committing it. Calling your brother fool, is different than murder. Though all sins lead to separation from God, not all sins are equal. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christian Cliches, Morality, Theology | Leave a comment

jewish proselytization and proselytes

Posted on December 22, 2012 by christopher fisher

In summary, early Judaism had already gained a large following from the Gentiles by the time Paul showed up on the scene, with both converts and God-fearers. The pagan historians described this massive conversion, and there is ample evidence in Acts of this fact. Paul leveraged this receptive audience to his advantage. The God-fearers is where most of Paul’s success was found. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dispensationalism, History, Theology | 3 Comments

why was paul persecuted and by whom

Posted on December 19, 2012 by christopher fisher

Paul was primarily persecuted by religious Jews who were offended that he taught:

1. Jesus was the Christ
2. Not to follow the works of the law
3. That gentiles and Jews were equal Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dispensationalism, History, Theology | 8 Comments

was Jesus married?

Posted on September 21, 2012 by christopher fisher

If Christ had his own wife, there would be no need to draw the parallel between Christ and the church. He would draw the parallel between Christ and Christ’s wife. Even if he was making some grander theological statement, wouldn’t Christ’s wife be worth mentioning in a passage using Christ to illustrate marriage? Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, History, Jesus | 1 Comment

dating the biblical book of mark

Posted on September 19, 2012 by christopher fisher

One must therefore, I believe, be prepared to take seriously the tradition that Mark, at whose home in Jerusalem Peter sought refuge before making his hurried escape (Acts 12.12-17) and whom later in Rome he was to refer to with affection as his ‘son’ (I Peter 5.13), accompanied Peter to Rome in 42 as his interpreter and catechist, and that after Peter’s departure from the capital he acceded to the reiterated request for a record of the apostle’s preaching, perhaps about 45. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, History, Textual Criticism, Theology | 2 Comments

intro to paul v the platonists

Posted on April 4, 2012 by christopher fisher

The Apostle Paul wrote his epistles between 50 and 60 AD. By this time Platonism had already been infused into both secular culture and popular religion. Both Paul’s writing and the writings of the other Apostles reveal a world entrenched in Platonic philosophy. Paul establishes a stern warning against the philosophy of the day Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Open Theism, Theology | 2 Comments

matthew was the first gospel written

Posted on January 10, 2012 by christopher fisher

Mark is not the earliest Gospel. Mark was written during the waning of the Hebrew mission and the rise of the diaspora and Greek mission. It was written as a Readers Digest version of Matthew, shedding very Hebrew centric ideas in favor of more broadly accepted ideas. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Bible Critics, Dispensationalism, Ehrman, Textual Criticism | 36 Comments