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Credo House Ministries
Soteriology
157Comments

This Calvinist’s Problem with “Once Saved, Always Saved”

I have often said that it is easier to tell when someone is a true Christian than to tell when they are not. In other words, some people wear their convictions on their...

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Credo House Ministries
Apologetics
87Comments

Top 5 Resurrection Myths – #4: The Apostles Stole Christ’s Body

Seminary level course on the Resurrection taught by Gary Habermas: 13 more days to get it at a price you will never see again.  We need your help to make this course a...

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Credo House Ministries
Roman Catholicism
5Comments

Theology Unplugged: Roman Catholicism – Part 16 – Wrap-Up

[display_podcast] Join Michael Patton, Tim Kimberley, JJ Seid and Sam Storms as they wrap-up their series on Roman Catholicism by discussing Icons, Images and Relics. Theology...

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Credo House Ministries
Apologetics
8Comments

Top 5 Resurrection Myths – #5: Christ Never Really Died

This is a series on objections to the resurrection. It is to promote Gary Habermas’ course on the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus that he will be teaching here...

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Credo House Ministries
Roman Catholicism
56Comments

Six Myths About Sola Scriptura

The Protestant doctrine of sola Scriptura is one of the most misunderstood doctrines I know of. The misconceptions come not only from those who repudiate the doctrine (such as...

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Credo House Ministries
Christian Life
82Comments

Why I Lack Certainty About Christianity

Belief does not come easy for me. I have a little “unbeliever” who has set up camp in the back of my mind, and he has no idea when, or how, to shut up. He is...

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Credo House Ministries
Ecclesiology (Church)
12Comments

Should We Abandon Structured Leadership?

(Lisa Robinson) Increasingly, I am encountering a definition of the priesthood of the believer to mean a rejection of structured leadership in our local assemblies. Because we...

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Credo House Ministries
Christian Life
134Comments

Have I Committed the Unforgivable Sin?

Have I committed the unforgivable sin? Some of you will be surprised, but this is a terrifying feeling of panic, doubt, and spiritual fatigue expressed by some Christians. I...

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Have I Committed the Unforgivable Sin?
Christian Life
49Comments

Have I Committed the Unforgivable Sin?

Some of you will be surprised, but this is a terrifying feeling of panic, doubt, and spiritual fatigue expressed by some Christians. I receive email after email from scared...

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Theology Unplugged

Theology Unplugged
Theology Unplugged

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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
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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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