The Odyssey

I recently finished Homer’s Odyssey. This is the sequel to Homer’s Iliad (although there is some question as to if they are written by the same author).  This is an important book for understanding ancient Greek culture and religion.  All of Homer’s works were considered sacred and were studied as an integral part of education.  The story takes place after the Iliad when the warriors are traveling to their homes.  Odysseus gets on Poseidon’s bad side and he is stranded on an island and imprisoned by a goddess.  He has numerous adventures, including his famous adventure with the cyclops.  Meanwhile his family assumes that he is dead and numerous suitors show up to attempt to marry his wife.  They begin to waste his property.  With the help of Athene, Odysseus makes it home, works with his son and kills all the suitors.  I cannot say that I enjoyed the Odyssey as much as I did the Iliad, but it is still an important work.

Sam Harris on Why We Should Ditch Religion

There is an interesting video on CNN by Sam Harris on why we should ditch religion.  You can watch the video here.  For a philosopher, Harris seems lost in a desert without logic.  He points out some of the worst examples of religion such as Muslims in Afghanistan who scar little girls with acid and suggests that is evidence for the danger of religion.  Yes there have been people who have identified themselves as religious, even Christian, who have done bad things.  Such acts of evil should always be condemned.  But some examples of the bad does not mean that we should reject the whole system.  Some of the most disgusting stories that I have ever read are what Nazi scientists and doctors did in concentration camps.  Should we reject science and medicine because there are some evil examples found within?  Of course not!  And while Harris is quick to suggest that we must ditch religion to help the people in need, he neglects to mention how Christians are actively at work to help people.  After the earthquake in Haiti, it was the Salvation Army, World Vision and hundreds of local churches that worked so hard to help people.  How much work did the atheist organizations do?  I am not suggesting that no individual atheists helped but rather compassion is such an important Christian value that it is natural for Christian organizations to make helping those in need a priority.  What about all the work throughout history that Christians have done to feed the hungry, provide shelter, and ban slavery?  What about the work that Christians are doing to end human trafficking?  Harris  is free to dislike religion, but he demonstrates his ignorance or at least his extreme bias when he makes claims as he does in this video.

Apologetics Essays

During the month of April, www.apologetics315.com will be posting a number of essays by some apologetics bloggers (including myself).  Make sure to check it out.  Here is the schedule.

April 1

Forward

Chris Reese

http://greatcloud.wordpress.com

Introduction

Brian Auten

http://www.apologetics315.com

April 2

Does God Exist?

Tawa Anderson

http://tawapologetics.blogspot.com

April 5

The Christian Worldview is the Best Explanation

Jim Wallace

http://www.pleaseconvinceme.com

April 6

Coherent, Consistent & Livable

Wes Widner

http://reasontostand.org

April 7

The Failure of Naturalism

Richard Gerhardt

http://www.antiochapologetics.blogspot.com/

April 8

Defrocking the Priests of Scientism

Bob Perry

http://truehorizon.org/

April 9

Orthogonal Complexity

Peter Grice

http://www.thinkchristianity.com

April 12

Cumulative Reasons for Christianity

Chad Gross

http://truthbomb.blogspot.com

April 13

Prophecy and Resurrection

Shelby Cade

http://www.flatlandapologetics.blogspot.com/

April 14

Making Sense of the Resurrection

Luke Nix

http://lukenixblog.blogspot.com

April 15

The Facts of the Resurrection

Aaron Brake

www.apologeticjunkie.blogspot.com

April 16

The Historical Event of the Resurrection

Amy Hall

http://www.str.org/blog

http://www.ateamblog.com

April 19

The Impossible Faith

James Patrick Holding

http://www.tektonics.org

April 20

Christianity and Other Ancient Religions

Stephen J. Bedard

http://1peter315.wordpress.com

April 21

Christianity Proved by the Nature of the Jewish Nation

Anthony Horvath

http://www.athanatosministries.org

April 22

The Euthyphro Dichotomy

Mariano Grinbank

http://www.truefreethinker.com

April 23

Christianity is Objectively True

Marcus McElhaney

http://mmcelhaney.blogspot.com

April 26

The Bible Tells Me So

Vocab Malone

http://backpackapologetics.com

April 27

Christianity Explains Logic

Glenn Hendrickson

http://www.eyeonapologetics.com

Atheism: A Falsified Hypothesis

Brian Colón

http://www.knowitstrue.com/

April 28

Testing Christianity’s Core Truth Claims

Kyle Deming

http://www.skepticalchristian.com

April 29

Showing Christianity is True

Matthew Flannagan

http://mandm.org.nz

April 30

The Wise Man Seeks God

Brian Auten

http://www.apologetics315.com

New Testament History and Theology

I just listened to a very good audio course on New Testament History and Theology taught by David Chapman at Covenant Seminary.  It was very balanced and informative.  Well worth a listen for people interested in the big picture of the New Testament.  You can find the course here.

Your Church is Too Small

One of the criticisms that non-Christians have about the church is that we are so divided.  If we cannot get along as Christians, why would anyone want to join us?  John Armstrong, in his book Your Church is Too Small, deals with this very issue.  Armstrong takes us through his own journey of becoming catholic.  By catholic, he does not mean Roman Catholic, but feeling a sense of belonging to the universal church.  Armstrong, a strong evangelical, has reached out to Christians of other traditions, to the criticism of fellow evangelicals.  But in this, Armstrong is following the instructions of Jesus that we be one.  Armstrong does not just leave this as a personal testimony.  He investigates the issues by examining both the Bible and church history in order to have a fuller understanding of the forces at work.  He wrestles with the difficulties of having fellowship with other traditions that have radically different views on different doctrines.  Armstrong takes the time to work out what the essentials are in which we can find unity.  We should not ignore our differences but we should work within our common faith and be open to learn from one another.  It is very unlikely that the entire Christian church will unite into one organization (I can’t imagine even all the Baptists coming together) but there are things that we can do.  Armstrong provides some practical suggestions to help each one of us become more catholic in our faith.  If you have ever struggles with the divided church, Your Church is Too Small is the book to help you see the bigger picture of the church.

Brother of Christopher Hitchens Speaks Out

Peter Hitchens, brother of outspoken atheist Christopher Hitchens, recently spoke out about his own struggle with faith.  He speaks of his own lack of faith, his return to Christianity and his relationship with his brother.  It is quite interesting and you can find the article here.

N.T. Wright on Genesis

I found this quite interesting.

Hajj Pilgrimage

CNN has a nice video giving an insider’s look at the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.  As non-Muslims are not allowed to enter Mecca, this is as close as most of us will ever get.  I found it quite interesting.  You can watch the video here.

Wall From Solomon Era Discovered

Some scholars claim that the tales of David and Solomon are completely mythic and that there was no such powerful central authority in Jerusalem in the 10th century BC. A recent discovery of a strong wall dating from the time of Solomon sheds new light on the subject. You can read about here.

Finding a New Land: From Canaan to the Resurrection

My book Finding a New Land: From Canaan to the Resurrection is now available on Amazon.  This was my M.A. thesis that I have revised for publication.  In this book I tackle the issues of a lack of interest in the Old Testament in the afterlife and a lack of interest in the New Testament in the land.  What I argue is that there is a gradual shift in sources of hope.  In the earliest traditions, the hope is completely on the land with little interest in the afterlife.  As control over the land begins to be less certain, there is an increasing interest in the resurrection.  In the intertestamental period, both images inform each other and there is interest in both areas.  By the time of the New Testament, resurrection has replaced the land as a source of hope, although land images are used to illustrate the afterlife.  If you are interested in the development in the Bible of the doctrines of the Promised Land and/or the resurrection, you will enjoy this book.