The Virgin Birth Myth
The Virgin Birth Myth

Author: Gerald Sigal

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2013-02

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 9781479766000

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The author of the Gospel of Matthew sought to portray alleged events in the life of Jesus as fulfillments of biblical passages. Ample evidence has shown that there is no validity to his claims. Luke's author merely states that a virginal conception took place. Both present a story their readers can relate to from the familiar Hellenistic worldview: a god impregnates a virgin thereby sending his hybrid son into the world to do a certain task. Matthew and Luke are not the originators of the core belief that a virginal conception took place. According to the Gospels, Mary conceived as a divinely impregnated virgin betrothed to a Davidic descendant named Joseph. If there was no biological relationship between Joseph and the child Mary bore, the story presented is not pertinent to the claim that Jesus is the Davidic Messiah on the basis of Joseph's lineage. That Matthew and Luke solely through Joseph trace Jesus' lineage in two variant forms becomes a meaningless exercise. As it became clear that attempts to connect Jesus to David through Joseph were futile, efforts were made to make the connection through Mary by claiming one or the other genealogy was really hers. It is to no avail. This too has failed. What most Christians do now is live in a theological state of denial maintaining that there are no real problems only unbelievers quibbling over minor points. Alas! What else can Christian believers do, but hide their heads in a theological sand box and blame quibblers?

Virgin Birth?
Virgin Birth?

Author: Gerd Lüdemann

Publisher: Trinity Press International

Published: 1998-05

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13:

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What historical realities lie behind the birth of Jesus and the description of the Holy Family by the evangelists? In this book, controversial New Testament scholar Gerd Ludemann investigates all of the references to Jesus' birth and the Holy Family in the writings of the earliest church and rival Jewish sources.

Jesus Before the Gospels
Jesus Before the Gospels

Author: Bart D. Ehrman

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2016-03-01

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 0062285238

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The bestselling author of Misquoting Jesus, one of the most renowned and controversial Bible scholars in the world today examines oral tradition and its role in shaping the stories about Jesus we encounter in the New Testament—and ultimately in our understanding of Christianity. Throughout much of human history, our most important stories were passed down orally—including the stories about Jesus before they became written down in the Gospels. In this fascinating and deeply researched work, leading Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman investigates the role oral history has played in the New Testament—how the telling of these stories not only spread Jesus’ message but helped shape it. A master explainer of Christian history, texts, and traditions, Ehrman draws on a range of disciplines, including psychology and anthropology, to examine the role of memory in the creation of the Gospels. Explaining how oral tradition evolves based on the latest scientific research, he demonstrates how the act of telling and retelling impacts the story, the storyteller, and the listener—crucial insights that challenge our typical historical understanding of the silent period between when Jesus lived and died and when his stories began to be written down. As he did in his previous books on religious scholarship, debates on New Testament authorship, and the existence of Jesus of Nazareth, Ehrman combines his deep knowledge and meticulous scholarship in a compelling and eye-opening narrative that will change the way we read and think about these sacred texts.

The Apostles' Creed
The Apostles' Creed

Author: R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Published: 2019-03-26

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 0718099184

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I believe. These two words are among the most explosive words any human can utter. The Apostles' Creed has shaped and guided Christian faith for almost two thousand years. Shared by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox traditions, it is perhaps the most compelling statement of Christian doctrine the world has ever known. But do we know what it really means—and how it applies to us today? In The Apostles' Creed, renowned theologian and pastor R. Albert Mohler Jr. works line-by-line and phrase-by-phrase through each section of the Creed, revealing the rich truths it contains, including: the profound mystery of the Trinity the miracle of the Incarnation the world-shaking truth of the resurrection the hope of Christ's return the theological heritage contained in this ancient statement The Apostles’ Creed is an often-overlooked treasure that contains the power to shape us for vibrant and steadfast living today, equipping believers to live faithfully in a post-Christian culture.

The Virgin Birth of Christ
The Virgin Birth of Christ

Author: J. Gresham Machen

Publisher:

Published: 2011-10-01

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 9781599252650

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"This volume sustains, and more than sustains, Dr. Machen's reputation as not only one of the world's foremost New Testament scholars but as one of the ablest defenders of historic Christianity. His former books, 'The Origin of Paul's Religion' (1921), 'Christianity and Liberalism' (1923) and 'What is Faith?' (1925), have so whetted the appetites of their thousands of readers that the announcement of a new book by Dr. Machen fills them with eager expectancy---whatever may be their theological position. It will be recalled that Mr. Walter Lippmann, whose theological position is about as far removed as possible from that of Dr. Machen's, in his widely read book, 'A Preface to Morals', not only speaks of Dr. Machen as 'both a scholar and a gentleman' but says of his book, 'Christianity and Liberalism': 'It is an admirable book. For its acumen, for its saliency, and for its wit, this cool and stringent defense of orthodox Protestantism is, I think, the best popular argument produced by either side in the current controversy. We shall do well to listen to Dr. Machen.' Dr. Machen's latest book, it is true, like 'The Origin of Paul's Religion', moves throughout in the field of exact scholarship. It would be difficult to point to a book anywhere that is more thorough-going in its recital and examination of all that bears upon the subject with which it deals. But while this is the case, Dr. Machen writes so simply and lucidly that men and women of intelligence everywhere, whatever their standing as technical scholars, will be able to read it with understanding and profit. Certainly no minister or Bible teacher of adults can afford to ignore this book. To the reviewer at least it is a source of much satisfaction to know that what is confessedly the most exhaustive and most scholarly book on the problem of the Virgin Birth of Christ ever published, at least in English, has been written by a man who after having acquainted himself with everything of importance that has been written on the subject since the first century, no matter in what language, holds to the historic belief of the Christian Church that its founder was born without human father, being conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary." -Samuel Craig

Wisdom in Leadership
Wisdom in Leadership

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 495

ISBN-13: 9781922206718

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Reading this book won't make Christian leadership easy. But it will make it easier. The strategies and principles here won't remove all frustration from Christian leadership.But they will make it less frustrating. This book won't solve every problem. But it will help you solve a whole bunch of unnecessary problems that you really don't need to face.- Craig Hamilton, Author.- Back cover.

Cold-Case Christianity
Cold-Case Christianity

Author: J. Warner Wallace

Publisher: David C Cook

Published: 2013-01-01

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1434705463

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Written by an L. A. County homicide detective and former atheist, Cold-Case Christianity examines the claims of the New Testament using the skills and strategies of a hard-to-convince criminal investigator. Christianity could be defined as a “cold case”: it makes a claim about an event from the distant past for which there is little forensic evidence. In Cold-Case Christianity, J. Warner Wallace uses his nationally recognized skills as a homicide detective to look at the evidence and eyewitnesses behind Christian beliefs. Including gripping stories from his career and the visual techniques he developed in the courtroom, Wallace uses illustration to examine the powerful evidence that validates the claims of Christianity. A unique apologetic that speaks to readers’ intense interest in detective stories, Cold-Case Christianity inspires readers to have confidence in Christ as it prepares them to articulate the case for Christianity.

The Virgin Birth Myth
The Virgin Birth Myth

Author: Gerald Sigal

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2013-02-19

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 147976602X

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The author of the Gospel of Matthew sought to portray alleged events in the life of Jesus as fulfillments of biblical passages. Ample evidence has shown that there is no validity to his claims. Lukes author merely states that a virginal conception took place. Both present a story their readers can relate to from the familiar Hellenistic worldview: a god impregnates a virgin thereby sending his hybrid son into the world to do a certain task. Matthew and Luke are not the originators of the core belief that a virginal conception took place. According to the Gospels, Mary conceived as a divinely impregnated virgin betrothed to a Davidic descendant named Joseph. If there was no biological relationship between Joseph and the child Mary bore, the story presented is not pertinent to the claim that Jesus is the Davidic Messiah on the basis of Josephs lineage. That Matthew and Luke solely through Joseph trace Jesus lineage in two variant forms becomes a meaningless exercise. As it became clear that attempts to connect Jesus to David through Joseph were futile, efforts were made to make the connection through Mary by claiming one or the other genealogy was really hers. It is to no avail. This too has failed. What most Christians do now is live in a theological state of denial maintaining that there are no real problems only unbelievers quibbling over minor points. Alas! What else can Christian believers do, but hide their heads in a theological sand box and blame quibblers?

Iesus Deus
Iesus Deus

Author: M. David Litwa

Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 1451473036

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What does it mean for Jesus to be deified in early Christian literature? Early Christians did not simply assert Jesus divinity; in their literature, they depicted Jesus with the specific and widely recognized traits of Mediterranean deities.Relying on the methods of the history of religions and ranging judiciously across Hellenistic literature, M. David Litwa shows that at each stage in their depiction of Jesus life and ministry, early Christian writings from the beginning relied on categories drawn not from Judaism alone, but on a wide, pan-Mediterranean understanding of deity.