Ep. #186 – A Dialogue on the Gospels w/ an Atheist
Summary
Who wrote the Gospels? Are the Gospels historically reliable? Is there any good evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus? Dana Harper, the atheist who reviewed John’s book One Less God Than You, joins him for a part II discussion on Jesus and the Gospels.
Guest Bio
Dana Harper is a retired police sergeant with over 35 years of municipal police service. He’s been married for 35 years, has two adult children and two grandchildren. He was a Senior Soldier in the Salvation Army for several years and tried to be a Christian; however, he always had some amount of doubt. Upon studying faith, science, and nature, he’s come to believe atheism is true. Also, he wrote an Amazon Review of my book One Less God Than You that anyone can read.
Topics
- What do we hope will come from this dialogue?
- Topic 1: Who wrote the Gospels?
- Topic 2: Are the Gospels historically reliable?
- Topic 3: Is there any good evidence for the Resurrection?
Resources
The Catholic Answers Debate: Jimmy Akin vs. Bart Ehrman
Jimmy Akin’s short presentation: Did Jesus Exist and Can You Trust the Gospels?
In preparation for his debate with Bart Ehrman, Jimmy Akin has made a series of blog posts responding to common alleged Bible contradictions or historical difficulties. I highly recommend them:
- The Fate of Judas
- Did Jesus name the wrong High Priest?
- Who Was Jesus’ Grandfather?
- Questions about Jesus’ Genealogies
- When Was Jesus Crucified? The Day of the Week and the Passover
- The Enrollment of Jesus’ Birth (the Quirinius issue)
The Case for Jesus by Brant Pitre
The Martyrdom of the Apostles by Sean McDowell
Hidden in Plain View by Lydia McGrew
Related Episodes
Ep. #179 – Jesus’ Genealogy in Matthew w/ Sal Ciresi
Ep. #164 – Presenting Jesus: A Teacher of Strange Things w/ Cy Kellett
Ep. #112 – Natural Theology & the Resurrection of Jesus w/ Dr. Levering
Hi John:
I have to say that when I started listening to Episode 186 I was fuming minute by minute that you weren’t lambasting the heck out of this guy, thinking something to the effect that you weren’t commenting on the fact that Dana’s rhetorical flourishes were, as he admitted, only his opinions and not backed by evidence. I was exceedingly angry that you weren’t being, as he said later, a little more snarky about his positions. However, later on I heard more and more how your approach really opened Dana up to the Catholic perspective, and I realized just how right you were to take that tack with him. He genuinely seemed to be open to the Catholic position, so I must confess to my being humbled (once again) by the true Christian approach of – They shall know we are Christians by our love. Well done, and congrats. Akin would be well served to have you as a co-debater Thursday. Excuse me now whilst I go into a corner and beat myself up. Again…Great job.