More times than not, whether it be movies or novels, sequels are never as good as the original. Even when sequels end up being good, the original still is the one that stands out. The Star Wars prequels weren’t as good as the original trilogy; Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit was a mess compared to Lord…
Two years ago, in the spring semester of 2016, at the beginning of the Trump presidency, I began teaching a course on the Old Testament Prophets. One of the first books I had my students read and discuss was Walter Brueggemann’s The Prophetic Imagination. Now, at the time, like everyone else, the whole idea of…
We now come to the last installment of my extended book analysis of Dan Barker’s godless. In this post, we will look at Barker’s argument that Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead. Now, to be sure, the claim that Jesus rose from the dead certainly is one of the most extraordinary claims in history….
We are getting close to the end of by extended book analysis of Dan Barker’s godless. The next couple of posts will primarily focus on the final two chapters of his book: Chapter 15—Did Jesus Exist? And Chapter 16—Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead? Chapter 13 is entitled “Bible Contradictions.” As the title implies,…
In my previous post, I looked at Dan Barker’s comments in chapter 12 of his book, godless, in which he discusses his view regarding the issue of what the basis of morality is. My critique focused on his Fundamentalist caricature of the Bible as some sort of universal, external moral code dictated from on high,…
As we make our way through Dan Barker’s book, godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America’s Leading Atheists, we now come to his chapter 12: “For Goodness Sake.” The focus of this chapter is specifically the issue of morality and the question, “What is the basis for morality?” Truth be told, it is…
Ever since 1973 and the SCOTUS ruling on Roe v. Wade, abortion has been one of the most controversial issues in American society. Although focus on abortion tends to wax and wane in the news cycle, over the past few weeks, it has been in the national spotlight once again. The thing that stands out…
As I was looking through some of my older posts, I realized I’ve done quite a few series on various books and topics. And so, I thought it might be helpful if I occasionally made a post that had links to everything in one series. So, if you like C.S. Lewis and his book “Mere…
Welcome to Part 8 of my extended book analysis of Dan Barker’s book, godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America’s Leading Atheists. Try to follow this: this particular post (Part 8) is the 4th post on the 10th chapter in Barker’s book, which is the first chapter in the 3rd part of his…
The last part of chapter 10 in Dan Barker’s book, godless—How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America’s Leading Atheists, Barker attempts to make the case (primarily by looking at the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes) that the Bible is a bad and immoral rule book for life. The more I read his work, the…