Book Plunge: The Resurrection of God Incarnate

What is the probability that you will be benefited by reading Swinburne’s book? Let’s talk about it on Deeper Waters.

Richard Swinburne is one of the world’s foremost Christian philosophers and in “The Resurrection of God Incarnate” he seeks to answer the question of the resurrection of Jesus from the perspective of probability.

That’s what is said, but the huge majority of the book reads as history. This is not a problem of course, but it does seem to affect the whole of the argument. It becomes just taking the historical data and then adding math. This is fine in some cases, but most readers will probably not be convinced. After all, few think in such terms and want just the historical data.

Swinburne’s case starts off with one for theism that will result in a concept of God compatible with natural theology. I have no problem with that. I think the arguments of natural theology do work and that that certainly means that there is a deity of some sort. When looking at the mathematics for the likelihood of the resurrection, this definitely would change any outworkings of the system.

Swinburne does say that most of the statements he’s reaching would not likely be reached prior and this is an important admission. It is highly doubtful that by pure reason alone, anyone could make a case for Christianity, but Swinburne’s approach comes after the fact to show that the way that Jesus behaved and acted is entirely compatible with natural theology.

Swinburne makes the case that if there is a God, He will want to reveal to us the way that we are to live and will do so to fulfill His obligations to us. Now at this point, I do have a problem as I don’t think God has any obligations to us until He makes a promise and even then, the obligation is more to His own nature. He cannot deny Himself. I think we can describe God as a good being who acts in good ways, but not as a moral being who acts in moral ways. It is not the latter because there is no standard outside of Him that He submits to.

For the historical arguments, they’re fine by and large. There were some points I disagreed with here and there, such as his statements about Jesus and the timing of his parousia, (coming) but those do not affect the overall scope of the book.

It is interesting to see a philosophical perspective on certain historical events, but if you’re one who’s familiar with the historical arguments, you probably won’t see much here that is new to you.

I conclude that it is an interesting approach to take and I think it is one that is worthy of more consideration. The world of NT scholarship does need to make sure it is in interaction with the world of philosophy and with the world of theology, but let us remember that history must still be done by historiographical methods. I see Swinburne’s book as a reminder to not isolate history from philosophy, but let us be sure of the danger that our philosophy does not drive our history.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

Deeper Waters Podcast 8/3/2013 Robert Gagnon

What’s coming up on this edition of the Deeper Waters Podcast? Let’s talk about it on Deeper Waters.

The news has recently been talking about the striking down of DOMA and what it means for the future of marriage in our country. Right now, there are several people who are in favor of redefining marriage and unfortunately, a lot of them are Christians. For the church, it is said that the Bible really doesn’t say anything clearly on this issue.

Robert Gagnon disagrees.

Dr. Gagnon will be my guest and is an informed speaker on this area, having written the book “The Bible and Homosexual Practice.” This is one of the most thorough works if not the most thorough (And certainly the most thorough I’ve read) on the matter of what the Bible has to say about homosexuality.

Gagnon doesn’t even begin with Scripture but rather begins with the ancient society that the people of the Bible lived in. How was homosexuality viewed in their culture? What did the other societies do in relation to homosexuals or even to simple accusations of homosexuality? How did Israel behave in comparison to them?

Then, there’s the looking at the biblical texts and even texts that some people would think at the start have nothing to do with homosexuality. Does the story of Noah being shamed by his son have anything to do with homosexuality? It just might.

Of course, there is then time spent on accounts like Sodom and Gomorrah and looking at any argument against that being about homosexuality that can be found. Certainly, Gagnon takes us through the arguments of the holiness code in Leviticus and argues why it should be treated as a prohibition and explains why eating shellfish would not fall in the same category.

What about the writings of Jews outside of the Bible? Gagnon also looks at the positions of Philo and Josephus for instance to see what they say. Now some could say “Well Jesus never says anything about it?” According to Gagnon, Jesus in fact does say something about it and we’ll be definitely looking at that this Saturday.

Then we come to the NT and especially the passage in Romans 1. Is this a condemnation by Paul of homosexual behavior? Is it true that Paul knows nothing about loving and committed homosexual relationships? Do modern studies on sexual orientation change anything that Paul has said?

For those who want more, Gagnon also looks at modern discussion on the topic and even scientific studies on the matter. We’ll be discussing what the implications are of accepting the redefinition of marriage and why it is so important that we win this battle today.

I urge everyone to listen in and please be willing to call in and ask your questions, though I’m suspecting that some that champion tolerance in calling in might reveal themselves to be people who are in fact only tolerant of that which already agrees with them. In other words, intolerant. If you want to call in, the number is 714-242-5180. The time is 3-5 PM EST.

The link can be found here

In Christ,
Nick Peters