MVFlowers

Thanks to Courtney for hosting me on her Biblical Apologetics channel. For a more in-depth study on this topic, see my play list on Psalm 22.

Video discusses: • key Egyptian gods • mythologies (creation, sun-related, propagandist, mystery-cult) • morality • afterlife • anthropology (i.e. the human constitution) • religious rituals relating to the dead (mortuary cult)

Video discusses: • Some of the methodological challenges in studying ancient Egyptian religion; • The most important primary sources; • The evolution of the pyramid; • The relationship between the pyramids of Egypt and the Meso-Americas; • Some historical highlights, such as the so-called "Hyksos invasion" and the developments or distinctive beliefs and practices of the New Kingdom dynasties.

Video discusses the arguments for and against the "majority reading" of Psalm 22:17 (English Bible 22:16): "Like a lion, my hands and my feet." Although this reading is supported by the majority of surviving manuscripts, it is problematic syntactically and its originality is questionable for text critical reasons. The video is based on one of my published articles. You can find it by going to the Vetus Testamentum website and searching for my name, or by following the steps that I show in the video.

Response to Dan McClellan. Does the Bible teach that breath is the necessary and sufficient feature of life and thus that an unborn baby is not to be counted as a living being? Would any pregnant woman believe that what she's carrying inside of her is not alive? That seems unlikely on its face. But I offer three other reasons as to why Dan's inference does not seem justified.

Response to Kipp Davis and others. The claim is sometimes made that Christianity (and the earlier religion of the Hebrews) advocates a "magical" conception of blood. If true, what would this actually mean? Do those who use this kind of language even know what they mean by the term "magic"? In this video I attempt to address these questions, arguing that ancient magic had certain characteristic features that the biblical writers dif not endorse. I also argue that blood was not itself envisaged as the "agent of purification" for sin, as Davis alleges. Rather, it was a symbol for the life that was offered in the place of another. While the idea of a substitutionary atonement may seem objectionable to many modern people, it was not a distinctively "magical" idea. Rather, it is one that reflects a different understanding of justice than many are willing to accept.

Response to Dan McClellan. There are exegetical reasons to reject his reading of Exodus 21:22-25 and the inferences he draws from it. Injuries to women would have already been covered under the general talionic laws (cf. Lev 24:19-20; Deut 19:16-21). What is addressed in Exod 21:22-25 is injury perpetrated against unborn children. The fact that talionic justice applies no less in cases where the unborn are injured, implies that the unborn were regarded as persons with the same legal standing as others.

Response to Richard Dawkins. Why have I and others, who still believe in one God, not devote our lives to the worship of other gods like Zeus, Thor, and Vishnu? Wouldn't it be more philosophically consistent just to abandon our belief in ALL gods? In this video I examine the origins of Zeus, as well as his rise to power within the Greek pantheon, his general mode of life, and his relationship with us human beings. I also offer an "internal critique" of the Zeus worshiper's worldview. In other words, I take for granted the Zeus worshiper's views and ask whether these views are compatible with other things that we take for granted in life, such as the regularity and predictability of nature, the objectivity of morality, the notion of an action being intrinsically moral, and the universal validity of morality.