Weak Agnosticism Defended[1] Graham Oppy Agnosticism has had some bad press in recent years. Nonetheless, I hope to show that agnosticism can be so formulated that it is no less philosophically respectable than theism and atheism. This is not a mere philosophical exercise; for, as it happens, the formulated position is–I think–the one to which […]

The Jesus of History: A Reply to Josh McDowell Gordon Stein, Ph.D. Editor’s Note: The following essay was written by the late Gordon Stein in 1982. It is a slightly-modified version of an article that appeared in the July/August 1982 issue of The American Rationalist under the same name. In this essay, Stein claimed that […]

Josh McDowell’s Charade (1982) Gordon Stein, Ph.D. [NOTE: The following article is copyright by Gordon Stein and is reproduced with his permission.] Josh McDowell is one of the most popular writers that fundamentalist Christianity has. He is also one of the least trustworthy. Almost nothing he says in his books (e.g., Evidence That Demands a […]

Review of "Answers to Tough Questions Skeptics Ask About The Christian Faith" by Josh McDowell and Don Stewart Gordon Stein, Ph.D. [NOTE: The following review appeared in the July/August 1982 issue of The American Rationalist.] I am puzzled by this book. Is it a sincere work, faulted by the fact that a little knowledge is […]

Christianity Untrue, Says Teacher Church Wants to Stop Him from Training Students for Ministry   By Ray Waddle, Religion Editor, The Tennessean [This article was originally published in The Tennessean, August 29, 1998, pp. 1B-2B.]   Gerd Luedemann no longer believes in Christianity, and he suspects a lot of Christians secretly agree with him. The […]

July 26, 2000   Prof. Dr. E. Muehlenberg Faculty of Theology George-August University 37073 Goettingen Germany Dear Prof. Dr. Muehlenberg: I write in response to your letter of April 4, 2000. Although an “open letter” would have been quite appropriate in such a case, it was not our intention that you would learn about our […]

Ten Golden Words (1995) Gerd Lüdemann   [The following essay was originally published as the Epilogue to Gerd Lüdemann, Heretics: The Other Side of Early Christianity (trans. John Bowden, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), pp. 219-220.] 1. The view of the Bible as the Word of God or as Holy Scripture belongs to […]

Positive Humanism Gerald A. Larue, Ph.D. There is a certain aspect of Humanism that inspires a Humanist to debunk the superstitious and simplistic assumptions of pseudoscience and organized religion. Perhaps through overemphasis, Humanism may project a negative image and be seen as a joyless put-down of everything that does not represent cold, hard rationalism or […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   A Word to the Reader TO get the most from this book, you will need a Bible, preferably in modern translation. Keep the Bible at hand, for few passages are quoted and the writer has assumed that you will read the biblical references. The […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Preface THIS book is concerned with the literature, history and religious thought of the Old Testament and the Apocrypha. The approach to these themes is chronological and utilizes literary and historical analytic methodology, as well as the results of archaeological, anthropological, geographical and Near […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   PART 2 – Before There Was an Israel PROLOGUE All human events occur within dimensions of space and time. Prerequisites for adequate evaluation of happenings are knowledge of the physical environment or stage-setting and comprehension of historical antecedents or factors preceding the event. Because […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chart of Central Events in the Ancient Near East CHART XVIII. Chart of Central Events in the Ancient Near East Aegean and Greece Egypt Asia Minor Syria and Palestine Assyria Babylonia Iran 2800 Egyptian writing Early Bronze Walled Cities Cuneiform writing 2800 2600 Old […]

Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue Chapter 9 – The Settlement of Canaan THE Hebrews entered a land with its own highly developed culture. During the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages, Canaan was dotted with strong, walled, industrial and trade centers surrounded by orchards, vineyards, grain fields and pasture land. Wool […]

(1968) Gerald A. Larue Chapter 8 – Who Were the Hebrews? ACCORDING to biblical tradition, the Hebrews are peoples descended from Shem, one of Noah’s sons, through Eber, the eponymous ancestor, and Abraham. Gen. 7:22 f., reports that the flood destroyed all life except that in Noah’s ark; consequently, the whole human family descended from […]

Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 7 – The People, from the Early Bronze to the Early Iron Ages MANETHO, the Egyptian priest-historian of the third century B.C., writes of Egyptian history in terms of dynasties. Modern historians, without abandoning Manetho’s pattern, prefer broader designations of Protodynastic, Old, Middle and […]

Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chaper 6 -The People, from the Paleolithic to the Chalcolithic Periods OUR study will concentrate on the biblical period which embraces less than two millennia of human history, but long before the Hebrews entered the historical scene there were people living in the Fertile Crescent […]

Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 5 – The Land AS the land-bridge between Africa and Asia, Palestine early became a thoroughfare for wandering peoples, tradesmen, and armies. Over its highways came products and ideas from Egyptians, Hittites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Aegeans and desert nomads. In itself, the land gave […]

Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 4 -Other Methods of Approach OTHER patterns of approach to biblical literature have been developed and most of these supplement the historical-literary method. Each new methodology causes the scholar to reconsider familiar material in the light of new evidence or from a different angle […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 32 – Texts, Manuscripts and Translations THE task of the textual critic, to recover, insofar as possible, what the original writer wrote, is formidable. No autographs have been found, and in some instances our oldest manuscripts are separated by many centuries from the […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 31 – Development of the Canon THE idea of a canon rests upon belief in revelation and inspiration: the revelation of divine will to and through inspired persons. In Jeremiah’s day, those who opposed him referred to the three accepted channels of inspired […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 30 – The Hasmonean Dynasty1 Read I Macc. Chs. 14-16 WITH Simon (141-135) a new era dawned for the Jews, and for the first time since the Babylonian conquest, they breathed the pure air of freedom. The atmosphere was charged with expectation. Simon […]

Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 3 – The Analysis of the Pentateuch PERHAPS the portion of the Bible which best demonstrates the results of the historical-literary approach is the Pentateuch.1 The five books were named by the Jews of Palestine according to the opening Hebrew words: I. Bereshith: "in […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 29 – The Period of Jewish Independence Read I Macc. Chs. 1-14 THE story of Jewish Independence recorded in I Maccabees reads like an adventure story. Jewish resistance to Antiochus’ proscription of Judaism began in 168 at Modin, a village in the hill […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 28 – Wisdom Writings EARLIER we discussed possible relationships of Hebrew wisdom to the court of Solomon and to wisdom writing in the ancient Near East. We also considered some characteristics of wisdom literature, but we have not examined the words of the […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 27 – The Early Hellenistic Period THE Hellenistic period in Palestine technically begins with the defeat of the Persian empire by Alexander the Great (334-323). Greek influence had entered the Persian world much earlier, for Greek mercenaries fought in Persian armies and Greek […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 26 – The Great Documents of the Persian Period NOW the second temple stood within the walled city of Jerusalem. Cultic rites, conducted by the Levites, included sacrifice, offerings, prayers and songs. Through the work of Ezra, the people had acquired a new […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 25 – Life and Literature of the Late Period THE next major project facing the people of Jerusalem was the rebuilding of the wall of the city. Zechariah’s dramatic claim that Yahweh would protect the city with a wall of fire (Zech. 2:5) […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 24 – Life and Literature of the Early Period ONLY limited information is available concerning the Jews in the Persian period. Apart from Biblical sources and a few Persian inscriptions, contributions coming from archaeological studies or literary documents from other parts of the […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 23 – Life and Literature of the Late Period ONE of the greatest writings of the Exile was produced near the end of the time of captivity during the period we are calling "The Late Period of the Exile" (ca. 555 to 538). […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 22 – Literature of the Middle Period ABOUT thirty years are embraced in the period which we are labeling for convenience "The Middle Period" of the Exile and which extends roughly from about 585 to 555. During these years a considerable body of […]