Certainly one of the most important and convincing books on Paul’s theology and rhetoric written in the last decade or so is James Thompson’s Apostle of Persuasion.Theology and Rhetoric in the Pauline Letters, (Baker Academic, 2020; 309 pages). I will certainly be using this book in my classes on Paul and on rhetoric as well.  The book is fair, balanced, interacts with a good swath of the scholarly discussion of the last 30 years, and is comprehensive– dealing with the whole Pauline... Read more

Q. Sometimes faith is pitted against reason and logic, but clearly you think this is wrong. We are not called to blind faith, spitting into the prevailing wind of contradictory evidence. Faith involves trusting in the truths for which there is good evidence. But as you know, especially in some more Evangelical contexts there is a strong anti-intellectual ethos. It’s like my old granny who only had an eight grade education. When I went off to seminary she gave me... Read more

Q. Sometimes the big problem is anachronism, asking the wrong and all too modern questions of the Bible. The Bible’s subject matter is history, theology, and ethics, not cosmology, not anthropology, not modern science, and we could go on. Knowing what the Bible actually teaches is where the issue of the truthfulness and trustworthiness of Scripture should be assessed. The Bible touches on many things, like the sun rising and setting, which it does not teach. So I agree that... Read more

Q. I appreciate your stress on the fact that science and Christian faith are not inherently at odds with one another. It often seems to me that Christians get trapped into defending a certain view of say Genesis or the age of the earth or the origin of human beings, and they end up dying by inches. I thought it was judicious of you to say that various devout Christians take various different views on the issue of evolution, and... Read more

Q. The issue of meaning and significance is also a big one. Explain to my readers why you think the arguments of atheists about this are unsatisfying and even illogical? A. Many in life seek significance. They cry out from their deep selves wanting to be liked, loved, and important. Some are so desperate they become narcissistic feeders on attention and praise. This aspect of humanity speaks not only to the way people are hard-wired for more in this life,... Read more

Q. The issue of suffering and evil in the world is a tough one, and it’s often been pointed out to me that theodicy is really a problem for monotheism of any sort, not for polytheism which can suggest there are mean deities out there, like say Shiva. I like your approach which is several pronged which talks about humans being endowed with some limited freedom of choice and further that God’s almightiness doesn’t mean God can do anything— for... Read more

Q. To me, one of your strongest arguments is the argument from how people world-wide seem to be hard-wired to be concerned about justice and fairness issues. Please explain why you see this as such a strong argument for God’s existence. And why does this strong sense of absolute right and wrong in regard to some things suggest that it comes from somewhere other than the upward evolutionary spiral of life? After all, the survival of fittest doesn’t much seem... Read more

Q. One of your major points throughout the book is the illogic of various arguments by atheists and agnostics like— Since you can’t prove that the Biblical God exists, then this must mean he doesn’t’. But surely the burden of proof must lie with those who want to deny God’s existence since it is still a minority opinion throughout the world? And what exactly do you think atheists mean by ‘proof’? A. Most published atheists try to avoid “proof” that... Read more

Q. Let’s talk about burden of proof. When you discuss the issue of proof, you are not talking about the sort of proof that comes from doing a science experiment in a lab which is repeatable, but rather the sort of proof that can be given in a courtroom or in a basic historical argument which deals with evidence of an historical sort. Right? And why exactly should the burden of proof be on Christians, when our arguments have a... Read more

There is no country that has more Christian sites than Turkey. The tour which I will lead towards the end of July will take you from Istanbul to Antioch, from the churches of Paul to the Johannine Churches, and various fascinating Greco-Roman sites.  Here below is the link for the full brochure for the tour as well as the link for registering for it.  There is still time to join us. Have a look and see what you think This... Read more