Rick Mattson's Blog, page 9

On Coping, Part 1: How It Was

I grew up on the prairies of Marshall, Minnesota and attended a local college, living at home to save money. But half-way through school my parents sold the house and moved to Florida, leaving me in the cold, literally. Don’t feel sorry for me. I never did. They invited me along to Florida but I declined. I stayed in Marshall ...

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On Happiness, Part 1: How It Was

I grew up on the prairies of Marshall, MN and attended a local college, living at home to save money. But then my parents sold the house and moved to Florida, leaving me in the cold, literally. But don’t feel sorry for me. I never did. They invited me along but I declined. I stayed in Marshall and gutted it ...

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Index of 8 Posts, Invitation to Consider the Trustworthiness of the Gospels

Hi, welcome to this series. Each post is a five-minute read, and builds upon the prior post, so I recommend starting at Part 1 and working your way through. Thanks for taking time to read. Part 1: Evidence and Faith Part 2: Monotheism and No New Gods Part 3: Multiple Sources Part 4: An Apology to the Wounded Part 5: ...

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Index of Posts, Invitation to Consider the Trustworthiness of the Gospels

Hi, welcome to this series. Each post is a five-minute read, and builds upon the prior post. So it’s best to start at Part 1, though of course you’re free to read them in any order. Thanks for taking the time to read. Part 1: Evidence and Faith Part 2: Monotheism and No New Gods Part 3: Multiple Sources Part ...

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Invitation to Consider the Trustworthiness of the Gospels, Part 8 of 8: The Telephone Game

In the prior post I did a bit of preaching about God’s ways of relating to human beings, suggesting that God’s nature and methods are often the opposite of what we might expect. In this post: One of the objections I hear on college campuses about the Bible is that it’s been corrupted over the centuries due to copyist and ...

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Invitation to Consider the Trustworthiness of the Gospels, Part 7 of 8: Me Preaching A Bit

The prior post on Embarrassing Material is here. In the process of writing this series of posts I found myself getting preachy at times. So I thought automatically to exclude that material because I promised in the first post to refrain from such. But then it occurred to me that certain readers might appreciate a more passionate voice from a ...

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Invitation to Consider the Trustworthiness of the Gospels, Part 6 of 8: Embarrassing Material

Again, I want to pause and say thanks if you if you’ve been following along in these blogs but don’t think of yourself as a Christian. I truly hope they are helpful to your spiritual journey. This is part six in my series of short arguments for the historical Jesus. In the prior post I asked what we are to ...

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Invitation to Consider the Trustworthiness of the Gospels, Part 5 of 8: Differences

In the prior post I paused to reach out to those who’ve been put off by the church. And I talked about evaluating miracle claims, suggesting that philosopher David Hume’s “doctrine” of skepticism would blind a person to a true miracle if it occurred. In this post: What can be said about the disagreements between the four Gospel accounts? If ...

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Invitation to Consider the Trustworthiness of the Gospels, Part 3 of 8: Do Multiple Sources Matter?

In the last post I mentioned that, historically speaking, it’s highly unlikely that Jesus’ followers fabricated his divinity. More likely, they discovered the Son of God in their midst. In this post, a simple argument: Palestinian Jews and their close associates were eyewitnesses of the Son of God, and they recorded their observations. They wrote down what they saw and experienced, and ...

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Invitation to Consider the Trustworthiness of the Gospels, Part 2 of 8: Monotheism and No New Gods

Hi again. In my prior post I suggested the possibility that faith and reason belong together. This may seem strange to some but the idea goes all the way back to Jesus himself who said, “Though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand . . .” Jesus was essentially saying, “Use your head. Examine ...

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