Ask the Atheist

Welcome back to the world of blogging. You realise of course that an explicitly anti-religious blog will expose you to a multitude of people each of whom thinks they know exactly what will change your mind.

And you know what? Maybe one of them will. You might read a comment or an article which, try as you might, you cannot fault and must accept as a good reason to believe in a god. I hasten to add that this is REALLY unlikely if you fully analyse what you read.

I encourage you to read as much of the theist-suggested material as you can, because it'll be useful to familiarise yourself with the common arguments and good analysis practice. Also, if something has you stumped we want to know about it.

Like the RRS did long ago, you've stepped on a hornet's nest by expressing doubt on the existence of Jesus, even only as a man. The most common view is that enough extra-Biblical sources mention him within a century of his death for it to be likely that he was at least based on a real person. Apologists fight tooth and nail to defend the supposed evidence.

Rook Hawkins is our resident historian who has thrown himself at that evidence hard, and his answers here are joined by plenty of other writings on the RRS main site. Otherwise, a good place to start is the Wikipedia article on the historicity of Jesus, and especially the links at the bottom.

As for links to other documentation, try searching Amazon and your local library. Amazon will have ready-made reader critiques of controversial books, and the library will of course let you read them for free. Have a browser window open as you read, so that you can check facts as you go.

My advice for improving your writing is simply to read. Read similar blogs to understand the style and the audience, read fiction to fuel your creativity and read the news to learn brevity.

Finally, decide what the main purpose of your blog is. What do you want people who read your blog to do? This will drive your writing and your research. Work it out.

Best of good fortune in your endeavours.

- SmartLX