I noticed that one of the top Ratio Christi leaders, Eric Chabot, has a plan to bring in one of the best scholars on the resurrection to speak at a major university campus – the Ohio State University. I thought I would bring it to your attention, in case you want to know what sorts of things are good to support. I learned a lot about Christian apologetics while at university, it’s the perfect time to learn.

Here’s the flyer for the event:

IMPORTANT: You can donate to Eric Chabot, who leads Ratio Christi Ohio State University to help pay for this event if you want to help.

Here’s the biography of the speaker, Dr. Michael Licona:

Born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1961, Mike became a Christian at the age of 10 and grew up in a Christian home. He attended Liberty University where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance (Saxophone). During his undergraduate studies, he had a strong desire to know God, devoting himself to studying the Bible daily. He decided to learn Koine Greek in order to read the New Testament in its original language and later completed a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies.

[…]Mike has a Ph.D. in New Testament (University of Pretoria). He completed all requirements “with distinction” and the highest marks. He is a frequent speaker on university campuses, churches, Christian groups, retreats, frequently debates, and has appeared as a guest on dozens of radio and television programs. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological and Philosophical Societies, the Institute for Biblical Research, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the prestigious Studitorum Novi Testamenti Societas. Mike is Professor of New Testament Studies at Houston Christian University and the president of Risen Jesus, Inc.

Mike is married to Debbie and they have two grown children, Alexandra and Zachary.

His wife is very clever at Christian living, I remember there was some famous Christian artist who was having doubts, and she took it on herself to create an event where he could ask his questions to Christian scholars who had debates all these issues with atheists. I mean, she married Mike, and that makes her very clever already.

If you check out Dr. Licona’s web site, Risen Jesus, then you can find a whole section of helpful FREE resources.

Dr. Licona has a mix of books – some for general audiences, and some for academic audiences. I’ve been snooping around in the Audible store this week, and I noticed that his older popular-level book, co-authored with the famous Gary Habermas, is “INCLUDED” if you have an Audible Plus membership.

His most famous book is probably the one that he published with Oxford University Press, which is entitled “Why Are There Differences in the Gospels?: What We Can Learn from Ancient Biography“. I bought it, but I have not yet read it.

But another of his academic books is also available on Audible:

Finally, I noticed that he has a NEW book coming out. It looks like it is a popular-level version of the one that I linked you to, above.

And here are the details about the new book:

The differences and discrepancies in the Gospels constitute the foremost objections to their reliability and the credibility of their message. Some have tried to resolve Gospels contradictions with strained harmonization efforts. Many others conclude that the Gospels are hopelessly contradictory and, therefore, historically unreliable accounts of Jesus.

In Jesus, Contradicted, New Testament scholar Michael Licona shows how the genre of ancient biography, to which the Gospels belong, actually allows biographers to be flexible in how they report events, construct a narrative, and make an argument. Licona demonstrates that the intentional changes to the Jesus tradition by the Evangelists reveal that the differences in how the Gospels report events are not grounds for their rejection. Instead, they are a result of the Gospel writers employing standard literary conventions common in their time for writing ancient biography.

Licona introduces listeners to the genre of ancient biography through Plutarch, who wrote 48 of the 90 extent biographies written within 150 years of Jesus, giving numerous examples of compositional devices employed by Plutarch, and comparing them with instances in the Gospels where the Evangelists appear to use similar techniques. Licona also examines Theon’s Progymnasmata, a first-century textbook that provides six techniques for paraphrasing one’s sources when writing a narrative. In doing so, he helps listeners understand why the Gospels report many events differently. Finally, Licona concludes by addressing the thorny question of whether the editorial moves commonplace in ancient biography are compatible with the doctrines of the divine inspiration and the inerrancy of Scripture.

Rather than trying to resolve discrepancies by bending the Gospel narrative, which risks making them say things they aren’t saying, Jesus, Contradicted situates the Gospels within their proper context and helps listeners account for differences in the Gospels in a cohesive and historically cogent way.

I saw him debate on this exact topic at a recent National Apologetics Conference. They have those every year at Southern Evangelical Seminary. Have you ever been to one? They are really good.

If you don’t yet feel comfortable answering questions about whether the resurrection of Jesus was a historical event, then definitely pick up Mike’s books. And if you are in the Columbus, OH area on April 11th, then go see Dr. Licona speak. Tell Eric that Wintery Knight sent you.