The Humble Skeptic

Most translations of the New Testament refer to Golgotha as “The Place of the Skull.” But is this correct? On this episode of The Humble Skeptic podcast, Shane Rosenthal talks with Egyptologist David Rohl about a variety of historical and textual clues that help us to better understand, not only the precise location of Golgotha, but also it’s meaning and significance.SHOW NOTES• Recommended articles by Shane Rosenthal, “Where Was Jesus Crucified?,” “How to Detect Deception,” “Authenticating The Fourth Gospel,” “Why Should We Believe The Bible?,” “On Faith & History,” and “Did Palm Trees Grow in Jerusalem?”• Recommended books by David Rohl, Exodus: Myth or History, and Legendary Kings: The Real Bible Unearthed (which is currently only available in Kindle format).• To listen to Shane’s previous interviews with David Rohl, use the following links: “Questioning Conventional Wisdom Part 1” and “Part 2”, “Exodus, Myth or History?”, and “The Search for the Historical Joseph.”• To find out more about the Joanna ossuary or the chiastic structure of Luke 24:1-12, check out some of the slides from Shane’s lecture: “Who is Joanna?” To read a journal article about the ossuary, click here. For further reading see: Gospel Women, by Richard Bauckham, and Who Are Joanna & Theophilus, by Richard Anderson. • To read the Journal of the American Medical Association article, “On The Physical Death of Jesus Christ” click here.We Need Your Help!Consider supporting The Humble Skeptic podcast by making a one-time gift or upgrading to a paid subscription via Substack ($5.95 per month, $59 per year). Use the button below for more information about giving options. Get full access to The Humble Skeptic at www.humbleskeptic.com/subscribe

On this episode, Shane continues weaving together various interviews he’s recorded on topics related to the reasons Christians can have confidence in the portrait of Jesus presented in the New Testament Gospels. During this podcast, you’ll hear from Peter J. Williams, Richard Bauckham, John Dickson, D.A. Carson, Craig Blomberg, Lydia McGrew, and Daniel Wallace. SHOW NOTESRelated AudioFor Part 1 of this discussion, click here. For the complete interview with Richard Bauckham, click here, and here. For the complete interview with Daniel Wallace and other resources related to an early date for John’s Gospel, click here.Related BooksCan We Trust The Gospels? Peter J. WilliamsJesus & The Eyewitnesses, Richard BauckhamJesus: A Very Short Introduction, Richard BauckhamTestimony of The Beloved Disciple, Richard BauckhamIs Jesus History? John DicksonA Doubter’s Guide To Jesus, John DicksonThe Gospel According to John, D.A. CarsonIntroduction to the New Testament, D.A. CarsonCan We Still Believe The Bible? Craig BlombergThe Historical Reliability of the Gospels, Craig BlombergRevisiting the Corruption of the New Testament, Daniel WallaceRedating the New Testament, John A.T. RobinsonRelated ArticlesThe Gospels as Authentic Testimony, Richard BauckhamThe Gospel of John: An Introduction, Daniel WallaceYou Can Trust the Four Gospels, Craig BlombergThe Authenticity & Genuineness of the Fourth Gospel, J.B. LightfootAuthenticating The Fourth Gospel, Shane RosenthalWater Into Wine? Shane RosenthalWhy Should We Believe The Bible? Shane RosenthalOutside The Gospels, What Can We Know About Jesus? Shane RosenthalHow to Detect Deception, Shane RosenthalCan We Trust Luke’s History of the Early Jesus Movement? Shane RosenthalSimon of Cyrene: An Intriguing Archaeological Discovery, Shane RosenthalUndesigned Coincidences, Lydia McGrew & Shane RosenthalOther Related ResourcesNew Evidence for the Gospels, Peter J. Williams (video)Are the Gospels Reliable? Peter J. Williams & Bart Ehrman (video)Authenticating The Book of Acts, Humble Skeptic #24 with Lydia McGrewAn Interview with D.A. Carson, Shane Rosenthal, WHI #1456The Historical Reliability of John’s Gospel, Craig Blomberg, WHI #1462Has the Bible Been Miscopied or Mistranslated? Daniel Wallace, WHI #1377We Need Your Help!Consider supporting The Humble Skeptic podcast by making a one-time gift or by upgrading to a paid subscription via Substack ($5.95 per month, $59 per year). Use the button below for more information about giving options. Get full access to The Humble Skeptic at www.humbleskeptic.com/subscribe

On this episode, Shane weaves together several interviews he’s recorded over the years on topics related to the Christian view of “faith,” how it’s grounded in the facts of the real world, and why we can be confident that it’s true. So during this podcast, you’ll hear from scholars such as John Lennox, Peter J. Williams, Richard Bauckham, John Dickson, and D.A. Carson.SHOW NOTESRelated AudioFor Part 2 of this discussion, click here. For the complete interview with Richard Bauckham, click here, and here. For the complete interview with John Lennox, click here, and here.Recommended BooksCan We Trust The Gospels? Peter J. WilliamsThe Surprising Genius of Jesus, Peter J. WilliamsJesus & The Eyewitnesses, Richard BauckhamJesus: A Very Short Introduction, Richard BauckhamTestimony of The Beloved Disciple, Richard BauckhamIs Jesus History? John DicksonA Doubter’s Guide To Jesus, John DicksonCan Science Explain Everything? John LennoxGunning for God, John LennoxThe Gospel According to John, D.A. CarsonIntroduction to the New Testament, D.A. CarsonRecommended ArticlesThe Gospels as Authentic Testimony, Richard BauckhamYou Can Trust the Four Gospels, Craig BlombergThe Authenticity & Genuineness of the Fourth Gospel, J.B. LightfootIs Luke a Trustworthy Historian? Sir William RamsayOutside the Gospels, What Can We Know About Jesus? Shane Rosenthal?Can We Trust Luke’s History of the Early Jesus’ Movement? Shane RosenthalAuthenticating The Fourth Gospel, Shane RosenthalWhy Should We Believe The Bible? Shane RosenthalHow to Detect Deception, Shane RosenthalOn Faith & History, Shane RosenthalOther Related ResourcesAgainst the Tide, John Lennox (documentary)Has Science Buried God? John Lennox (video)By Design, John Lennox, Michael Behe & Stephen Meyer (video)New Evidence for the Gospels, Peter J. Williams (video)Evidence for the Resurrection, Peter J. Williams (video)Are the Gospels Reliable?, Peter J. Williams & Bart Ehrman (video)Authenticating The Book of Acts, Lydia McGrew (podcast)We Need Your Help!Consider supporting The Humble Skeptic podcast by making a one-time gift or upgrading to a paid subscription via Substack ($5.95 per month, $59 per year). Use the button below for more information about giving options. Get full access to The Humble Skeptic at www.humbleskeptic.com/subscribe

On this episode, we’ll pick up where we left off last week with Egyptologist, David Rohl. During this part of the conversation, Shane talks with Dr. Rohl about various archaeological discoveries which he argues are connected to the lives Saul and David. Later in the program, the discussion shifts to the recent discovery of the Mt Ebal curse tablet, as well as to questions related to the history and chronology of events recorded in the New Testament.Click here to listen to Part 1SHOW NOTES• To order an English edition of The Amarna Letters, click here.• To watch a series of videos featuring Scott Stripling’s discussion of the recently discovered Mt. Ebal curse tablet, use the following links: 1) The Altar, 2) Curses & Covenants, 3) The Name of God, 4) Translating, 5) Biblical Archaeology, 6) The Future• To order a copy of David Rohl’s book, Legendary Kings (currently only available in Kindle format) click here; for Exodus: Myth or History, click here.• To order a series of lectures by David Rohl on video, click here. To order The Patterns of Evidence: Exodus documentary featuring Dr. Rohl, click here.• Shane interviewed David Rohl on two other occasions, and you can find those interviews here.• Click here to read Shane’s article “Where Was Jesus Crucified,” and here to listen to Shane’s discussion of this topic with David Rohl on Episode 17.• Reference was made on this program to the work of John A.T. Robinson who famously argued for a pre-70 date for all the NT documents in his book, Redating the New Testament. Shane also discussed Robinson’s work in his conversation with Daniel Wallace on episode 51: Is John’s Gospel Late & Unreliable?, and interacts with his views (along with many others) in the following post: John 5:2 “There is in Jerusalem”We Need Your Help!Consider supporting The Humble Skeptic podcast by making a one-time gift or by upgrading to a paid subscription via Substack ($5.95 per month, $59 per year). Use the button below for more information about giving options. Get full access to The Humble Skeptic at www.humbleskeptic.com/subscribe

On this episode, Shane tells the story of Egyptologist David Rohl by weaving together various interviews and audio clips over the past few decades related to his research into the New Chronology. In the second half of the program, Shane talks with Dr. Rohl about a number of fascinating discoveries that he writes about in his latest book, Legendary Kings: The Real Bible Unearthed.Click here to Begin Part 2SHOW NOTES• To order a copy of David Rohl’s latest book, Legendary Kings (which is currently only available in Kindle format) click here, and to order a copy of Exodus: Myth or History, click here. • To order a video copy of some of David Rohl’s lectures, click here. To order The Patterns of Evidence: Exodus documentary featuring David Rohl, click here.We Need Your Help!Consider supporting The Humble Skeptic podcast by making a one-time gift or upgrading to a paid subscription via Substack ($5.95 per month, $59 per year). Use the button below for more information about giving options. Get full access to The Humble Skeptic at www.humbleskeptic.com/subscribe

On this episode, Shane interacts with statements made on a History Channel documentary about the reference to Jesus in the writings of Josephus. Some claim that the passage is a complete forgery, while others argue that the passage was mildly interpolated. So, outside the Gospels, what can we really know about Jesus from history? Do the Gospels qualify as history, or should they be set aside as works of religious propaganda? SHOW NOTES• For further reading on this topic, check out Shane’s articles: “On Faith & History,” “Why Should We Believe the Bible?”, and “Authenticating the Fourth Gospel.”• If you’d like to listen to other interviews related to this episode, check out Shane’s interview with John Dickson (author of A Doubter’s Guide to Jesus), as well as his conversation with Daniel Boyarin (author of The Jewish Gospels). If you’d like to hear the full discussion related to Josephus, here’s a link to the complete interview with Paul Maier.• The clips featuring Simcha Jacobovici originally appeared on this episode of The Naked Archaeologist. We Need Your Help!Consider supporting The Humble Skeptic podcast by making a one-time gift or by upgrading to a paid subscription via Substack ($5.95 per month, $59 per year). Use the button below for more information about giving options. Get full access to The Humble Skeptic at www.humbleskeptic.com/subscribe

How can we tell whether a painting signed by Claude Monet is authentic or not? Similarly, how can we know for certain that the New Testament Gospels aren’t fictional stories, but real historical accounts of the life of Jesus? On this episode, Shane Rosenthal continues his conversation of this subject with Dr. Lydia McGrew, author of Testimonies to the Truth: Why You Can Trust the Gospels.SHOW NOTES• For further reading on this topic, check out Testimonies to the Truth: Why You Can Trust the Gospels, and Hidden in Plain View by Lydia McGrew. See also Shane’s articles How to Detect Deception, and Authenticating the Fourth Gospel.• Click here to listen to Shane’s interview with Richard Bauckham, author of Jesus & The Eyewitnesses, on the topic of the reliability of John’s Gospel, and here to listen to his discussion with New Testament scholar Daniel Wallace regarding an early date for John’s Gospel.We Need Your Help!Consider supporting The Humble Skeptic podcast by making a one-time gift or upgrading to a paid subscription via Substack ($5.95 per month, $59 per year). Use the button below for more information about giving options. Get full access to The Humble Skeptic at www.humbleskeptic.com/subscribe

How can we know whether the New Testament Gospels are authentic accounts of the life of Jesus, as opposed to fictional documents written as a part of some larger hoax or conspiracy? Shane Rosenthal discusses this question with Dr. Lydia McGrew, author of Testimonies to the Truth: Why You Can Trust the Gospels.Click here to begin Part 2SHOW NOTES• Click here to order a copy of Lydia McGrew’s new book, Testimonies to the Truth: Why You Can Trust the Gospels, and here to read an article by Shane Rosenthal that outlines his interpretation of the parable of The Rich Man & Lazarus.• Lydia McGrew also appeared on Episode 24 of The Humble Skeptic: Authenticating the Book of Acts.• For more info about The Humble Skeptic vision and how you can help, click here.We Need Your Help!Consider supporting The Humble Skeptic podcast by making a one-time gift or by upgrading to a paid subscription via Substack ($5.95 per month, $59 per year). Use the button below for more information about giving options. Get full access to The Humble Skeptic at www.humbleskeptic.com/subscribe

On this bonus edition of The Humble Skeptic podcast, Shane reads lessons 6 through 8 of Richard Whately’s  Introduction to Christian Evidences.SHOW NOTES • Click here to access an online version of Richard Whately’s Introduction to Christian Evidences. If you would like to obtain a paperback reprint, click here.• Click here to read Shane’s article, “Why Should We Believe The Bible?”• For more info about The Humble Skeptic vision and how you can help, click here.We Need Your Help!Consider supporting The Humble Skeptic podcast by making a YEAR-END gift! Another way to help is by upgrading to a paid subscription via Substack ($5.95 per month, $59 per year). Use the button below for more information about giving options.To Listen to PART 4 of Evidence & Faith, click below: Get full access to The Humble Skeptic at www.humbleskeptic.com/subscribe

On this special bonus edition of The Humble Skeptic podcast, Shane continues reading selections from the Introduction to Christian Evidences by Richard Whately.SHOW NOTES • Click here to access an online version of Richard Whately’s Introduction to Christian Evidences. If you would like to obtain a paperback reprint, click here.• Other related articles include: Why Should We Believe The Bible?, What is Faith?, History & Faith, Authenticating the Fourth Gospel, and On Faith & Doubt.• For more info about The Humble Skeptic vision and how you can help, click here.We Need Your Help!Consider supporting The Humble Skeptic podcast by making a YEAR-END gift! Another way to help is by upgrading to a paid subscription via Substack ($5.95 per month, $59 per year). Use the button below for more information about giving options.To Listen to Part 3 of Evidence & Faith click below: Get full access to The Humble Skeptic at www.humbleskeptic.com/subscribe