White Horse Inn Blog

Do we have any evidence about the existence of Jesus or the rise of Christianity from sources outside the New Testament? Is it true that passages about Jesus in the writings of Josephus have been proven to be fabrications? Joining the panel is historian Paul L. Maier, author of In The Fullness of Time and editor of Josephus: The Essential Works (originally aired June 27, 2010).

In his many books and speaking engagements, Bart Ehrman claims that—given the late date of most extant manuscripts and numerous copyist errors—the New Testament that we have today is basically unreliable. On this program, we will evaluate these claims with Daniel B. Wallace, a New Testament scholar who has engaged with Ehrman in a number of public debates over the past few years. Wallace is also the editor of Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament, and is a contributor to The Reliability of the New Testament: Bart Ehrman and Daniel Wallace in Dialogue.

What can we learn about the Bible from the study of archaeology? Are there any discoveries in particular that shed light on the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth? What are we to think of skeptics who refuse to believe in the historicity of biblical stories unless they are confirmed by archaeological evidence? Joining us to discuss these issues is Craig Evans, author of Fabricating Jesus, Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies, and, more recently, Jesus and His World: The Archaeological Evidence.

What do today’s college students think of Jesus or the Bible? What do they think about churches in our day and why have some of them abandoned their faith? The hosts will discuss these issues as they interact with the views and opinions of today’s college students in the fourth and final program on Questions of Faith.

Are all religions basically the same? Why should a person choose Christianity as opposed to other faith traditions? Is evolution compatible with Christianity? Are miracles impossible? Joined once again by Greg Koukl, we will discuss these questions and more as they continue to interact with a number of “on-the-street” interviews recorded at a University of California campus.

If there is no God, and matter is all there is, then how can we account for order and design in the universe? How are we to account for morality if we are nothing more than matter in motion? We recently asked a number of college students several questions like these. On this program the hosts will listen to and interact with their answers. Joining the panel again is Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason.

Most people in our day tend to think of religious faith as a blind leap, something that’s opposed to reason and rationality. Though that may be true for many religions, is this true of the Christian faith? Joining the panel to discuss this issue is Greg Koukl, author of Tactics and Faith is Not Wishing.

According to Josephus and others, the testimony of women was not considered trustworthy in the first century. So why, if—as some allege—the Gospel records are fictitious accounts, would women be listed as the first eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus? Is it possible that the resurrection could be explained as “wishful thinking” on the part of the disciples? We will unpack these questions and more as we conclude our series through John’s Gospel.

When men come to arrest Jesus, Peter pulls out his sword and strikes one of the men, cutting off his ear. Why does Jesus rebuke Peter for this, and what does it say both about his mission and the way his kingdom advances? On this edition of the program we will delve into these central chapters of John’s Gospel: the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus.

In Isaiah, God says, “I will not give my glory to another,” yet in his high priestly prayer recorded in John 17 we find Jesus praying, “Father… glorify your son that the son may glorify you.” How are we to understand these words? Also what is the meaning of his words, “for their sake I sanctify myself that they may be truly sanctified”? In this edition, we will consider the implications of this prayer of Jesus for the church today.