On Creationism

This is partly in response to a post by Joe Hinman, which in turn was a response to a comment I made on his blog. http://christiancadre.blogspot.com/2019/12/real-contradiction-in-resurrection.html The question is whether Jesus was first seen in Galilee or in Jerusalem (and surrounding area) after the crucifixion. Mark says it was Galilee, the later authors say it was Jerusalem. Bear in mind it takes about three days to travel from one to the other. We can suppose that Jesus was miraculously in two places at the same time, but not Peter (or the other disciples). If Peter saw Jesus in Jerusalem on that first Sunday, he simply cannot have seen Jesus in Galilee on that day too. Mark Mark says Jesus intended to go on ahead to Galilee, and see the disciples there: 27 And Jesus *said to them, “You will all [k]fall away, because it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’ 28 But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” And ...

I have blogged about Jesus' burial a couple of times, and to some degree this is repeating what was said earlier. However, in this post I want to focus on how the early Christians freely embellished the gospels as it suits their purpose. I would guess Joseph of Arimathea was in the habit of getting corpses off crosses, something he did as a requirement of his position and religion. The corpses would be dumped in a nearby communal grave, which is all his religion required. If the gospel is right, the entire Sanhedrin had condemned Jesus as a blasphemer, so no way would Joseph take any care of the body, he just wanted it under the ground. Chances are the disciples were not around; they guessed that that was what happened. Burial in a communal grave for criminals is as dishonourable as it gets, so as the decades passed the early Christians set about fixing that. Here is the earliest version we have by Mark. It claims Jesus was wrapped in linen and buried in a tomb cut out o...

Any monotheistic religion that posits a loving and all-powerful God has a problem: Why does evil happen? The book of Job suggests evil is God testing us to see if our faith is strong; God is actively involved in tempting you to do wrong to test your faith (and this is why the Lord's Prayer has that bit "Lead us not into temptation"). Later, Satan became the source of evil - which does not sit well with monotheism, but so what? Modern Christianity has got more sophisticated, but in the end makes no more sense. Here is an article by Frank Turek on why God allows evil, specifically discussing why God allowed the terrorist attack in London, and is a great example of the nonsensical reasoning these people use to delude themselves. Because evil doesn’t exist on its own; it only exists as a lack or a deficiency in a good thing. Evil is like rust in a car: If you take all of the rust out of a car, you have a better car; if you take the car out of the rust, you have nothing...

What will it be like for people in heaven? What sort of bodies do they have? The Bible does not address this much so we have to speculate, but we get a few hints. Paul The biggest text we have on this issue is by Paul: 1 Cor 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown [l]a perishable body, it is raised [m]an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man is from the earth, [n]earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy,...

There are plenty of anti-Christian sites that list Biblical conradictions. I think most are trivial. Okay, if you are against inerrancy, each contradiction is significant, but otherwise I do not think many really matter. However, the resurrection is fundamental to Christianity, and the contradiction there strikes me as very significant. Jesus as Prototype First, we need to consider how Jesus is relevant here. Paul is quite clear: 1 Corinthians 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Jesus was the prototype. His resurrection was the first, but all good Christians can expect to be resurrected in the same way . A Spiritual Resurrection Paul goes on in his epistle to...