Was Jesus of Nazareth a real, historical figure? Join us in this brief episode where we take a deep yet concise dive into three primary sources from non-Christian Roman historians and writers to assess whether a human named Jesus actually existed, was killed by Pontius Pilate, and founded the Christian religion. We discuss the testimonies of Pliny the Younger, Tacitus, and Flavius Josephus -- three men who were not sympathetic to Christianity in the slightest (one of them calling it a "depraved superstition"), therefore three sources not biased in Christianity's favor.

Watch this episode online here.

We’ve all heard the charge levelled at Artificial Intelligence (AI) that it is a demonic technology that should never be used. However, AI already underpins many technologies in our lives, from Netflix suggestions to software for clinical decisionmaking. Can AI be stewarded wisely for use by the church to support its mission without denigrating its community? Will AI ever reach the status of human intelligence, and what does it actually mean to be human? Dr. Todd Korpi, author of the acclaimed book AI Goes to Church: Pastoral Wisdom for Artificial Intelligence, joins Dr. Noller, a scientist who uses artificial intelligence for cancer research, to discuss the Christian perspective on AI. We discuss whether AI will ever reach a human-like level of intelligence and what Christian theology teaches us about being human. We also discuss the challenges and opportunities AI poses for pastors, ministry leaders, and laypeople and grapple with the ethical concerns of leveraging AI for Christian missions.

Resources:

• AI Goes to Church: Pastoral Wisdom for Artificial Intelligence
• What is Artificial Intelligence? Introductory article from IBM

You may or may not be aware of the debates surrounding the historicity of the Gospel of John. Many scholars have suggested that John’s Gospel contains unhistorical embellishments or is “metaphorically” but not historically true as are Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This accusation has serious implications for our understanding of Jesus and His teachings, as well as for the reliability of the New Testament as a whole. Did John truly alter the facts and put words in Jesus’ mouth to serve his own theological goals? Analytic philosopher Lydia McGrew refutes these claims in The Eye of the Beholder: The Gospel of John as Historical Reportage, arguing in detail that John never invents material and that he is robustly reliable and honestly historical.

Resources:

• Dr. McGrew’s website
• The Eye of the Beholder: The Gospel of John as Historical Reportage by Lydia McGrew