“I do not expect that the mere fact that I was once an evangelical apologist and now see things differently should itself count as evidence that I must be right. That would be the genetic fallacy. It would be just as erroneous to think that John Rankin must be right in having embraced evangelical Christianity since he had once been an agnostic Unitarian and repudiated it for the Christian faith.” ThinkingShouldFactsWould BeChristianChristianityAtheismEvidenceMerePositive AtheismAgnosticChristian FaithEvangelicalFallacyUnitarian Author:Robert M. Price
“"Heresy," by the way, simply means "choice." It came to mean "thoughtcrime," implying it was blasphemy to presume to choose your own belief instead of swallowing what the bishops spoonfed you.” WayMeanChoicesBeliefAtheismPositive AtheismHeresyBishopsBlasphemySwallowingImplying Author:Robert M. Price
“In broad outline and in detail, the life of Jesus as portrayed in the gospels corresponds to the worldwide Mythic Hero Archetype in which a divine hero's birth is supernaturally predicted and conceived, the infant hero escapes attempts to kill him, demonstrates his precocious wisdom already as a child, receives a divine commission, defeats demons, wins acclaim, is hailed as king, then betrayed, losing popular favor, executed, often on a hilltop, and is vindicated and taken up to heaven.” ChildrenJesusWinningHeavenTakenAtheismDivineBirthKingsHeroLosingDefeatDetailsPositive AtheismFavorsDemonBroadsBetrayedInfantOutlinesArchetypeAcclaimPrecociousVindicated Author:Robert M. Price
“Today's Politically Correct "historical Jesuses" are no different, being mere clones of the scholars who design them.” DifferentTodayJesusAtheismDesignHistoricalMereScholarBeing MePolitically CorrectHistorical Jesus Author:Robert M. Price
“The very admission of the need to harmonize is an admission that the burden of proof is on the narratives, not on those who doubt them. What harmonizing shows is that despite appearances, the texts still might be true.” NeedsStillsShowsMightReligionDoubtAtheismBurdenAppearanceProofDespiteBeing TrueNarrativeAdmissionBurden Of Proof Book:Beyond Born Again: Toward Evangelical Maturity Source: Beyond Born Again: Toward Evangelical Maturity
“If, when we compare two versions of a story, the second known to be a retelling of the first, and find that the second has more of a miraculous element, we may reasonably conclude we have legendary (or midrashic or whatever) embellishment. The tale has grown in the telling. This sort of comparison is common in extrabiblical research and no one holds that it cannot properly indicate legend formation there.” IfsFirstsMayTwoStoriesReligionCommonKnownAtheismElementsResearchPositive AtheismTalesVersionsCompareComparisonLegendsMiraculousFormationLegendaryRetellingEmbellishment Book:Beyond Born Again: Toward Evangelical Maturity Source: Beyond Born Again: Toward Evangelical Maturity
“"You ask me how I know he lives?" asks the revival chorus. "He lives within my heart." Exactly! A figment.” KnowsHeartAsksAtheismMy HeartPositive AtheismAsk MeRevivalChorusFigments Author:Robert M. Price
“The piety of "having a personal relationship with Christ" ... is alien to the New Testament... but evangelicals elevate it to the shibboleth of salvation! Unless you have a personal relationship with Jesus, buster, one day you will be boiling in Hell. Sheesh! Talk about the fury of a personal savior scorned!” JesusChristHellAtheismOne DaySalvationPositive AtheismAliensSaviorTestamentFuryNew TestamentPietyPersonal RelationshipsBoilingScornedBusters Author:Robert M. Price
“But if they did really refer to some kind of a "personal relationship," it would in effect be a case of channeling. I suspect this is why fundamentalists who condemn New Age channelers do not dismiss it as a fraud..., but instead think that Ramtha and the others are channeling demons. If they said it was sheer delusion, they know where the other four fingers would wind up pointing!” IfsThinkingKnowsKindSaidAgeCasesFourAtheismEffectsWindFingersPositive AtheismDemonDelusionSuspectsFraudSheerThey SaidNew AgePointingChannelingPersonal Relationships Author:Robert M. Price
“It is quite likely ... that the central figure of the gospels is not based on any historical individual. Put simply, not only is the theological "Christ of faith" a synthetic construct of theologians, a symbolic "Uncle Sam" figure, but if you could travel ... back to First-Century Nazareth, you would not find a Jesus living there.” IfsFirstsJesusIndividualChristAtheismCenturyFiguresHistoricalPositive AtheismUnclesConstructsTheologianSymbolicTheologicalSyntheticNazarethUncle Sam Author:Robert M. Price
“I wonder how appropriate it is to try to 'argue someone into the kingdom.' Many apologists hotly deny any such charge, but I don't believe them. The tenor of almost all apologetics literature makes it plain that this is their intent.” TryingBelieveReligionLiteratureWonderAtheismDon't BelieveDenyArguingKingdomsAppropriateTenorsApologetic Book:Beyond Born Again: Toward Evangelical Maturity Source: Beyond Born Again: Toward Evangelical Maturity
