By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative There is no doubt that Christians affirm the central claim that Jesus is a sacrifice for the sins of humanity. In the New Testament, Jesus seen as a Passover sacrifice (e.g, Jn. 19:14;1 Cor. 5:7-8); an unblemished sacrifice (1 Pet.1:19; 2 Cor. 5:21;…
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative I direct two apologetic ministries. One is at The Ohio State University and Columbus State Community College. We tend to use a question of the day which helps us engage students in a gentle and respectful manner. Probably my favorite question is “Does God…
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative Michael S. Kogan is a Jewish scholar who does not think Jesus is the Messiah. However, in his book “Opening the Covenant: A Jewish Theology of Christianity, he says the following: “If we view the Nazarene sect—later, Christianity—as one of the Judaisms of…
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative In the book The Bible With And Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read The Same Stories Differently, the authors Amy- Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler say the following: “According to the Gospel of Mark, which makes no mention of Jonah,…
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative Jewish messianism is a concept study. The word “messiah” means “anointed one” and is derived from verbs that have the general meaning of “to rub something” or, more specifically, “to anoint someone.” The Hebrew Bible records the anointing with oil of priests (…
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative In this post, I want to examine some of the methods and apologetic approaches that Paul used in reaching his culture for the Gospel. There has been a lot of debate on the topic of apologetic methodology. Which approach should we take in following…
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one…
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative The “Why” Questions How can we talk to people in the midst of all the raclial tension in our country.? Just yesterday, while in a part of downtown Columbus, Ohio (see my display here), I saw two young girls with a…
Over the years I have seen more than my share of articles and books written on what is called "The Historical Reliability of the New Testament." The irony is that hardly any of them have actually defined what "historically reliable" even means. I recently finished Michael Bird’s book The Gospel…
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative Anyone who has been reading some our posts here knows we have spent a lot of time on Jewish messianism and messianic prophecy. I have discussed messianic expectations and whether the Hebrew Bible teaches a two act play of the coming of the Messiah. …
Not to my surprise, topics that center on the existence of God or the resurrection of Jesus, brings up the issue of relevancy. In other words, people aren’t always asking whether it is true. Instead, they are asking, “What difference does this issue make in my life?” I previously did …
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative Over the years, I have had my share of discussions about what we can know about Jesus. I think a good starting place about historical discussions about Jesus is seen in the book The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach by…
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative Worldview is a buzzword people hear throughout their lives. But while it may be a buzzword, everyone does have a worldview, or they are in the process of forming their worldview. A worldview is the way we view reality. A worldview answers large…
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative This past year we had a family member suffer a stroke. As this 83 year old elderly person lost their ability to fully walk and do the things they once did, it caused me to ponder the issue of purpose. I even asked…
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative When it comes to the formation of the early Jesus movement, 1 Corinthians 15: 3-7 is a crucial element to the proclamation of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. In relation to early testimony, historian David Hacket Fisher says, “An historian…
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative In discussions about the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus, it is common to start with the Gospels. But in my opinion, I think it is best to back up and start with Paul. After all, Paul’s writings are the earliest records we have …
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative A common Jewish objection that I continue to hear is that Jewish people don’t believe that a human can be sacrificed for sins. In other words, a human can’t atone for the sins of the Jewish people. First, let me give some background to …
Recently, I wrote a post called The Problem of God’s Visibility and Invisibility. I note the following quote by Marvin Wilson. He says: “The claim that Jesus is God incarnate is foundational to traditional Christianity but is one of the most difficult concepts for Jews to understand. Going back to…
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative We are two days away from 2020 and a new decade. Some woill be asking God for a new vision or a stong leading on what to do this year. Over the years, I have read a slew of books on...
By Eric Chabot, CJFM Midwest Representative The Incarnation “I used to think the becoming incarnate was impossible for God. But recently I have come to the conclusion that it is un-Jewish to say that this is something that the God of the Bible cannot do, that he cannot come...
