The Latest from The Secular Web

Some of you may have been hearing of a project underway by Richard Carrier, Jeff Lowder, and other contributors to The Secular Web. They've been mentioning a book they've been working on to answer Christian arguments for the resurrection of Christ. That book, titled The Empty Tomb: Jesus Beyond the Grave, recently came out, and J.P. Holding has posted an ongoing response.

When I first heard about this book, it was being called Jesus is Dead, which suggests something about the mindset of the authors. Peter Kirby, one of the contributors to the book, has commented that the title was changed because the publisher considered it too provocative. As far as I know, they didn't edit the mindset of the authors, though.

The contributor to this book who probably is most prominent in online skeptical circles these days is Richard Carrier. He debated Michael Licona on the subject of Jesus' resurrection in April of 2004 at the University of California at Los Angeles. Licona has specialized in the study of the resurrection, and he was a student of the resurrection scholar Gary Habermas. I recommend getting a copy of Licona's debate with Carrier.