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Stephen Hawking Detained in Russia for Bible Smuggling

The new autobiography from scientist and well-known atheist Stephen Hawking entitled My Brief History is full of many interesting and at times surprising details. One of the...

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Credo House Ministries
Dan Wallace - Contra Mundane
5Comments

The Chester Beatty Papyri at CSNTM!

The Chester Beatty papyri, published in the 1930s and 1950s, are some of the oldest and most important biblical manuscripts known to exist. Housed at the Chester Beatty...

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Credo House Ministries
Depression
8Comments

What If Noah Never Saw It Rain?

As the current NFL season progresses from week to week I must admit: I’m missing Tim Tebow. Yes, I know that’s a typical response from an evangelical Christian. I...

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Credo House Ministries
Personal (Michael Patton)
11Comments

The Wisdom of a Mother

I don’t think there is anything that rules our lives more than a moment by moment attempt to be happy. We will try just about anything to stabilize our moods and...

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Credo House Ministries
Personal (Michael Patton)
16Comments

Why I Can’t Open My Mouth

Lately I have felt like Zechariah, John the Baptist’s dad, who had his mouth shut for a time because he did not believe the angel’s message that he and Elizabeth...

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Credo House Ministries
Apologetics
18Comments

That Age-Old Question: Why Do Good Things Happen?

Forget for a moment the question of why there is evil in the world. Ask: why is there good in the world? Bad things happen to people, but have you noticed that good things do...

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Credo House Ministries
Christian Philosophy
15Comments

Worldviews in a Nutshell

Theism A theistic worldview which believes that an eternal God freely created all of existence (time, space, matter, celestial realms and bodies) out of nothing (ex nihilo),...

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Credo House Ministries
Apologetics
29Comments

Top 5 Resurrection Myths – #3: The Resurrection Was Borrowed from Ancient Myths

Contention: The story of Christ’s resurrection was actually borrowed from ancient mythology that predated it by many years. While these myths eventually died out, for...

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Credo House Ministries
Credo House of Theology
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Last Day to Get the Resurrection by Gary Habermas on DVD

Well, that is not entirely correct. There are less than 24-hours to get involved in this project and get the DVD at a price that you will not be offered again. This is Gary...

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Theology Unplugged

Theology Unplugged
Theology Unplugged

Get your weekly dose of one of the longest-running theology podcasts there is.

88. Through Theology in a Year: Why the Gospels Are Embarrassing
byC. Michael Patton

Why do the Gospel writers preserve stories that appear awkward, damaging, or even embarrassing to the earliest Christians? If the Gospels were invented to persuade people to follow Jesus, why did their authors include details that made Jesus’ family, His disciples, and some of His most important witnesses appear doubtful, confused, and unreliable?

In this episode of Theology Unplugged, Michael continues developing the cumulative case for the historical reliability and inspiration of Scripture by examining the criterion of embarrassment. Historians recognize that people who fabricate stories normally avoid including material that damages their credibility. Nations celebrate their victories, movements polish the reputations of their founders, and religious communities generally portray their earliest leaders as courageous and faithful. The Gospels repeatedly do the opposite.

Michael considers Jesus’ baptism by John, whose baptism was associated with repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Why would the sinless Messiah submit to a baptism intended for sinners? He also examines the unbelief of Jesus’ brothers, the claim that His family thought He was out of His mind, and John the Baptist’s question from prison about whether Jesus truly was the one who was to come.

The Gospel writers are equally candid about the failures of the disciples. Matthew records that some doubted even while standing before the risen Christ. Mark preserves Jesus’ statement that no one knew the day or hour of His return—not even the Son. The Gospels place women at the center of the empty-tomb testimony despite the limited public and legal standing often given to women’s testimony in the ancient world. They also preserve the strange account of Jesus cursing the fig tree when it was not the season for figs.

Most significantly, the earliest Christians proclaimed a crucified and bodily risen Messiah. Crucifixion represented weakness, shame, rejection, and apparent divine curse. Bodily resurrection also sounded foolish to many within the Greco-Roman world. These were not culturally convenient beliefs created to make Christianity easier to accept. As Paul acknowledged, Christ crucified was a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.

The criterion of embarrassment does not prove that every Gospel account is historical, nor should it be applied mechanically or in isolation. Nevertheless, these embarrassing details contribute to a powerful cumulative argument when considered alongside the historical context, eyewitness characteristics, incidental details, manuscript evidence, and other marks of authenticity. The Gospels do not read like carefully sanitized propaganda. They preserve the story in all its difficulty because the writers believed these events actually happened.

Get involved:
Michael’s public blog: https://credohouse.org
Courses and Manuscript Reproductions from Michael and other scholars: https://credocourses.com
Join us as we go through the great Fathers of the Faith in a year: https://throughthechurchfathers.com
Support Michael and receive exclusive podcasts, courses, and much more: https://patreon.com/cmichaelpatton

88. Through Theology in a Year: Why the Gospels Are Embarrassing
88. Through Theology in a Year: Why the Gospels Are Embarrassing
2026-07-16
C. Michael Patton
87. Through Theology in a Year: Evidencing Inspiration
2026-07-15
C. Michael Patton
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  • 87. Through Theology in a Year: Evidencing Inspiration 2026-07-15
    How can we be certain that the Bible is inspired? What evidence supports the Christian claim that the Scriptures are uniquely the Word of God? In this episode of Theology Unplugged, Michael begins examining the cumulative case for biblical inspiration, including Scripture's self-attestation, its uniqueness, its historicity, its prophetic character, the testimony of Christ, its […]
  • Will the True Church Please Stand Up? 2026-06-24
    What happens when we become convinced that our church, our tradition, or our denomination is the official gatekeeper of the kingdom of God? In this episode of Theology Unplugged, Michael explores a surprising pattern that runs throughout the Gospels. Again and again, the disciples appoint themselves as the guardians of God's kingdom. They try to […]

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