Thinking to Believe

Jesus’ ascension into heaven not only signaled a major transition of Jesus’ ministry, but also a major transition for His disciples. It meant their training was over, and now it was time to pick up Jesus’ mantle and carry on His ministry. In this episode, I begin to connect the dots between Jesus’ ascension into heaven and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, showing how the latter was required to equip Jesus’...

I finished up my discussion of the significance of Jesus' ascension, arguing that it was when Jesus was fully glorified, and it includes a promise of His return to Earth. Then, I reviewed five things Jesus is doing right now in heaven:

1. He's with His church

2. He's preparing a place for us

3. He's building His church

4. He's dispensing the Holy Spirit

5. He's functioning as our high priest, interceding on...

We don't talk much about Jesus' ascension into heaven, but historically, this was always recognized as a significant event in Jesus' life. And it is! I discuss the practical and theological significance of the ascension.

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In this final episode on the resurrection, look at some of the NT promises regarding our own future resurrection from the dead, explore what our resurrection body will be like, and explain the theological and practical implications of the general resurrection.

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The Shroud of Turin is the purported burial cloth of Jesus Christ, bearing the image of a crucified man. Is it authentic and evidence for the resurrection, or just a medieval forgery? This is the first episode in the final sub-series in the resurrection series. I start by examining the features of the cloth itself, as well as the image of a crucified man that is embedded within the fibers of the cloth. The characteristics are quite...

In this miscellany episode I offer my short thoughts on worship music, being thoughtful about our language, the centrality of truth, words of advice to aspiring preachers, why religion is not a bad word, conversation etiquette, and end with a Pet the Peeve segment about where waitresses place the bill on the table.

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I covered the final four differences in the gospel accounts:

1.  Did Peter just look into the tomb, or did he enter it?
2.  Why did the angels tell the women to tell the male disciples to meet Him in Galilee if Jesus was going to appear to the apostles that same day in Jerusalem?
3.  Why did Jesus tell the apostles to stay in Jerusalem if they had not yet gone to Galilee?
4.  Did Jesus ascend to heaven from Bethany or th...

I address three Gospel differences:

1. Did all of the apostles disbelieve the report of the Emmaus Disciples, or only some of them?
2. Did Jesus ascend to heaven the same day as His resurrection, or weeks later
3. Was Jesus’ first appearance to the apostles to 10 or 11 apostles

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We know the Synoptic gospels simplified their empty tomb narratives, so how did that affect their portrayal of the event? Why did Luke leave out the appearance of Jesus to the women? I also explore differences related to the Emmaus disciples narrative. 

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I continue to examine differences in the empty tomb narratives. In this episode, I address differences in where the women were when the angels appeared to them. I show how the differences can be resolved when we recognize that there were two tomb visits. Mary Magdalene went to the tomb twice. She left before the angels/Jesus appeared to the remaining women, but saw the angels/Jesus when she returned to the tomb for the second time....

I do a walkthrough of the four gospel accounts’ concerning the empty tomb, resurrection, and post-mortem appearances of Jesus, comparing and contrasting them to identify similarities and differences. Then I begin to harmonize the empty tomb narratives, addressing the following differences:

1. Which women went to the tomb?

2. Did the women journey to the tomb when it was dark or at dawn?

3. Did the women see angels or men?

4. Did the wo...

I explored the various compositional devices used in Greco-Roman biographies and provided Biblical examples of their use in the Gospels. These compositional devices explain many of the so-called errors and differences in the Gospels.  

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Part 2 of harmonizing the resurrection accounts. Still establishing the foundation  for harmonization by looking at how the ancients recorded history. Explained how differences in words and events can be explained. Started looking at Mike Licona's work on compositional devices. 

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Skeptics point to so-called contradictions in the Gospel accounts as reasons to doubt their claims that Jesus rose from the dead. I'll spend several episodes harmonizing the resurrection accounts in the Gospels, but in this episode I begin to lay the foundation for how we should think about so-called contradictions and what's really at stake. 

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