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How Christianity Started
Apologetics
17Comments

Christianity, the World’s Most Falsifiable Religion

This belief has been a source of contention with many people, even Christians, in the past. But the more I research, the more I find it to be the case that Christianity is the...

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Credo House Ministries
Text Criticism
9Comments

Some Intentional Errors in Scripture

Types of intentional changes made to the Greek manuscripts: Spelling/Grammar Changes Harmonizations Correcting apparent discrepancies Conflations Explanatory glosses...

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Credo House Ministries
Text Criticism
1Comments

Live Blog: Dan Wallace, Credo Course on Textual Criticism – Day Two

During this week, I will be live blogging Dan Wallace’s Credo Course on Textual Criticism. This is the first of what will over the years be dozens of extensive courses...

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Credo House Ministries
Apologetics
25Comments

Arrogant Beliefs (and the arrogant believers who arrogantly believe them)

Nobody likes arrogance. If you know someone who is described by most people as arrogant, it’s a safe bet you don’t have a high view of that person. A great athlete can turn a...

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Credo House Ministries
Text Criticism
4Comments

Live Blog: Dan Wallace, Credo Course on Textual Criticism – Day One

During this week, I will be live blogging Dan Wallace’s Credo Course on Textual Criticism. This is the first of what will over the years be dozens of extensive courses...

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Credo House Ministries
Lisa Robinson
12Comments

Can We Please Stop Fearing Love?

(Lisa Robinson) The title is more of a rhetorical question. In fact, its a question posed with an increasing chagrin as I see love fought against in the quest to avoid the...

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Credo House Ministries
Culture
94Comments

The Supreme Court vs. Sola Scriptura

How should Christians process the findings of the Supreme Court today regarding same-sex marriages? Should Christians get with the 21st century and let all people be happy?...

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Credo House Ministries
Christian Life
8Comments

Doubting Your Faith? So What?

“So what?” seem to be the most dismissive and insensitive words one can say to someone who is in trouble. Of course, often it is. If someone says, “I’m...

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Credo House Ministries
Credo House of Theology
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Introducing Credo House Certificates!

Credo House Certificates are a brand new powerful way for you to ensure a certain level of proficiency from the Credo House Members Area. Pastors, elders, small-group leaders...

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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.

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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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