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Showing posts from June, 2024

Rosalind Picard

Picard is an MIT professor; a scientist who became a Christian. Some quotes from Picard's talk she gave on "Intellectual Assurance Christianity is Sound"... https://web.media.mit.edu/~picard/personal/ccc-talk.php "But the risks I take are insignificant compared to the issue at hand. The issue is twofold: first, what is the truth? And second, what is your response to it? By truth, I mean objective truth. Truth can be known subjectively, but it also exists outside one's subjective experience. Beware of the trendy relativism that pervades much thinking today -- if you (absolutely) believe there's no absolute truth then you need to come to grips with a problem with your thinking first." She is telling us she has objective reasons for thinking Christianity is true. Her reasons are not emotional, not because it gives her a warm, fuzzy feeling, but because there are evidence and reasons that mean we can be sure it is true. That is a high bar she is setting. In ...

Jesus changed the law! Actually, he did not.

Early Christians wanted to appeal to gentiles, so made up ways whereby they could just ignore the rules of the OT. In effect they were selling Judaism Lite - all the history of Judaism, but no need to be circumscribed! Modern Christians want to be able to tuck in to lobster and pork, so maintain this pretence that Jesus changed the laws of the OT. The truth is that he never did, and indeed was quite clear on that. Mat 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you t...