Red Pen Logic
Toddlers or Embryos: Who Do You Save?
updated
In this video, Mr. B responds to the common claim that the Gospels had no original titles or authors. With help from biblical scholars like Simon Gathercole and Brant Pitre, he shows what the earliest New Testament manuscripts really say about Gospel authorship.
Spoiler: The names weren’t added later. They were there from the start.
📖 Featuring real manuscript images (P75, P4, P66)
🧠 Clear explanations from historical and textual scholarship
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Chances are, you’ve just witnessed a Straw Man Fallacy—when someone misrepresents a view to make it easier to attack.
In this video, we’ll break down what a Straw Man is, how it shows up in criticisms of Christianity, and how to respond when it happens. We’ll look at real examples and offer a better way forward: understanding before refuting.
👉 Homework:
When have you seen Christianity misrepresented?
When have Christians misrepresented other beliefs?
Drop your thoughts in the comments!
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#StrawManFallacy #ChristianApologetics #RedPenLogic #FaithAndReason #CriticalThinking #LogicalFallacies #MisrepresentingChristianity
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✅ Let’s be clear where God is clear. And give grace where Scripture gives freedom.
✏️ Class is in session.
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🖊 Think clearly. Respond graciously. Stand firm.
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“Jesus never said anything about homosexuality.”
“Paul said celibacy is better than marriage, so we can ignore what he said about same-sex behavior.”
“Christians are just cherry-picking verses they like.”
I take each of these challenges seriously—and walk through them one-by-one using Scripture, reason, and historical context to show what the Bible really teaches.
Whether you're a Christian looking for clarity, or a skeptic wondering why Christians hold to historic sexual ethics, this is for you.
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@WesHuff did a great job, but I want to add to some things said and possibly offer another perspective on this.
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✍️ Faith isn't blind. It's reasonable.
🧠 Critical thinking isn't just for skeptics. Christians are called to use it too.
📊 Let's think this through—together.
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That's a claim. But here’s the thing: anyone can make a claim. What really matters is the evidence to back it up. So, in situations like this, it’s appropriate to ask, how did you come to that conclusion? In other words, why should we believe you? Let’s see what he says.
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It wasn’t—and here’s why.
The atheist in this video is making an argument from analogy. That’s when you point to similarities between two things to argue that what’s true of one must also be true of the other.
In this case: If a husband says to his wife, ‘Love me or I’ll set you on fire,’ we should all agree he’s unloving.
So if God says, ‘Love me or go to Hell,’ … we should all agree He must be unloving too.
See how this works? It sounds powerful—but it fails badly. Why? Because for an argument from analogy to work, the similarities must be meaningful and the differences must be superficial. However, if there are significant differences, then it’s a false analogy, and the whole argument falls apart.
And that’s exactly what happens here. Here are three reasons this is a false analogy.
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Jesus said He came “to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
John the Baptist said He’s “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Paul said “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3).
Peter said “He bore our sins in his body on the cross” (1 Peter 2:24).
In other words, Jesus and his followers aren’t vague about why Jesus gave his life. Jesus didn’t merely die because He upset the system. He died to save sinners.
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All major religions are not saying the same thing at the core. While they may share some surface similarities, they make fundamentally different—and often contradictory—claims. And two contradictory beliefs can’t both be true at the same time. That’s called the law of non-contradiction.
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If dowsing rods won’t give you reliable answers about Jesus, then what will? How about Jesus’ own words and the testimony of His followers?
So, let’s compare the dowsing rods’ answers to what Jesus really said.
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Let’s watch the video and I’ll give you my thoughts as we go.
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And, yes, in those verses, we have a description of Jesus appearing to his followers (like Mary Magdalene, two disciples on the road, likely to Emmaus, and the eleven disciples). However, we DO have Jesus’ resurrection in the earliest manuscripts of Mark (before the so-called long ending).
In fact, look at the verses they just highlighted in their video. It says, “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been rised! He is not here.”
What verse is that? Verse 6. That’s not part of the long ending.
So, while telling us Mark’s Gospel doesn’t contains Jesus’ resurrection, the video literally highlights for us where Mark’s Gospel explicitly says Jesus has been raised.
Again, this doesn’t give the full story. While the earliest surviving manuscript with the long ending, Codex Alexandrinus comes from the 5th century, the long ending was not invented in the fifth century. Irenaeus in the second century refers to the longer ending of Mark, suggesting that by his time, the long ending was in circulation.
It’s ironic that a video trying to expose the most blatant misconception of Christianity gives us a blatant misconception of Christianity.
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First, the context of Jeremiah 10 makes it clear that this is about carved idols, not Christmas trees. When you read the entire chapter (which you should do, right now!), it becomes obvious that Jeremiah is contrasting pagan idols—false gods—made by the craftsman and the goldsmith (v. 3, 9, 14) and Yahweh—the true God—who made the heavens and the earth (v. 12, 16).
Folks, context matters. The only way to find a Christmas tree in Jeremiah 10 is to read it into the text and completely ignore the context. That’s not good Bible study.
Second, the description in Jeremiah 10 fits a handcrafted idol, not a Christmas tree. After the tree is cut down, it is “worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman (v. 3). Notice the wood is being carved into something, which is exactly how an idol gets made.
Later in verse 8, Jeremiah says these idols “are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!” In verse 5, the idol is compared to a scarecrow, which has a mouth and legs but cannot talk or walk. Again, this fits a description of an impotent idol that may have human features like a mouth or legs, but can’t actually do anything. This is certainly not the description of a Christmas tree.
Third, reading a Christmas tree into Jeremiah 10 is anachronistic. An anachronism is attributing a custom, event, or object to a time period where it doesn’t belong. There is no evidence that Christmas trees date back to a pagan ritual in Jeremiah’s day. The best evidence we have traces Christmas trees back to the Middle Ages. So, reading Christmas trees into the time of the prophet Jeremiah won’t work.
Jeremiah 10 is not talking about Christmas trees.
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Kudos to @CosmicSkeptic for getting Jordan to give a straight answer to this important question.
I think Cliff and Stuart Knechtle (@givemeananswer) do a masterful job in this conversation with Alex. But there was one thing that I wish was added in responding to this question. Alex seems to think John’s Gospel culminates with the story of Doubting Thomas to communicate the moral lesson to believe without evidence. Here's why I disagree.
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Now you might be thinking, how does Jesus being baptized show He was a sinner? Well, according to the archbishop, being baptized means being washed clean from your sins. Therefore, if Jesus was baptized, then he must have been a sinner.
Okay, let’s pull out the red pen and break this down.
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This viral video is a great example. It relies on a series of strawman answers to create confusion in an attempt to make Christianity look ridiculous.
Hey, this is Red Pen Logic with Mr. B, where we assess bad thinking by using good thinking. In today’s video, I thought it might be fun to play the role of the Christian in this video, which works out well because… I am a Christian.
So what I’ll do is replay the twelve questions and offer what I think is a thoughtful Christian response. And, though, you might not agree with my position, I hope you’ll at least see the difference between the strawman presented by the Muslim playing a Christian, and what Christians actually believe.
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We need to avoid falling into the ditch on either side of this topic. On the one extreme, some will say, if you participate in Halloween, then you’re worshiping the devil and, therefore, can’t be a Christian.
On the other extreme, some will say, if you don’t participate in Halloween, then you must be a religious weirdo (or something) because Halloween is nothing to be concerned about. Both extremes are mistaken!
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For example, after his resurrection, Jesus tells Mary, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (John 20:17). There. Case-closed. Rest in peace, Christianity.
Well, not so fast.
I’ve said it before but I will say it again: If you’re going to challenge Christian theology, then you should try to understand Christian theology. This argument ignores two core Christian beliefs—the Trinity and the incarnation.
First, Christians believe in one God, who exists as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each is fully God, sharing the same divine essence, but each is a distinct Person. So the Father is God. The Son is God. And the Holy Spirit is God.
Second, Christians hold that the Son, who is God, took on a human nature without ceasing to be God. He is fully human and fully divine.
Okay, why is all this theology important? Because it helps understand how Jesus can pray and refer to God and, yet, still be God. When Jesus said “My God,” he is referring to the Father. And the reason it’s entirely appropriate for Jesus to speak of God the Father as “My God” is because Jesus is fully human. In his humanity, Jesus is a perfect man, who honors, obeys, and prays to God the Father.
So, Jesus’ reference to “My God” doesn’t deny His own divinity. Instead, it reflects His humanity. Remember, in the incarnation, the Son sets aside His independent authority and heavenly glory. Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus, though in nature God, humbled Himself, taking on the form of a servant. But this voluntary humility doesn’t negate His divinity.
Well, doesn’t the Bible and the Quran both call Jesus a prophet?
While it’s true that Jesus is called a prophet in both the Bible and the Quran, the Bible says a lot more than that! The Bible also teaches that Jesus fulfills many roles: prophet, priest, Messiah, king, and Savior. True, John 20:17 records Jesus saying to the Father, “My God.” But, in John 20:28, just 11 verses later, Thomas calls Jesus, “My Lord and my God.” Or, in John 8:58, Jesus says, “Before Abraham was, I am,” claiming the divine name for Himself. My point is, this video sets up a false dilemma: either Jesus is God, or He’s just a prophet. But, in reality, He’s both.
What do you think? Do you find this argument compelling? Let me know.
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Whether he realizes it or not, he’s treating faith in Jesus for salvation as if it’s like choosing your favorite ice cream flavor—just a matter of personal preference. Just as some people prefer chocolate, while others prefer vanilla. Some prefer to get to God through Jesus; others prefer a totally different path.
Here’s the mistake: While ice cream is merely about your personal preference, salvation is about a very particular problem that requires a very specific solution.
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So, for example, Christians seem fine with the law against homosexual behaviour in Leviticus 18:22, but then seem to ignore the command against wearing clothes with two different fabrics in the next chapter in Leviticus). How convenient!
The problem with characterization is it doesn’t accurately represent Christianity—it’s a straw man. If you actually want to understand why Christians believe homosexuality is sinful, but wearing two different fabrics isn’t, you need to understand the covenants.
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If an all-knowing God creates people that He knows will go to Hell, then those people don’t have free will. And if they don’t have free will, then God is sending them to Hell for no fault of their own. Since that is incompatible with a good God, then, therefore, Hell is incompatible with an all-knowing and all-good God.
At the heart of this challenge is a fundamental error in thinking. More specifically, this challenge has a mistaken understanding of how God’s foreknowledge works. It assumes God’s foreknowledge somehow causes my actions. And if it causes my actions, then I’m not free.
But God’s foreknowledge doesn’t cause what will happen. Rather, it reports what will happen. That’s a really important difference. It’s not God’s knowledge of my future actions that cause my future actions. Rather, it’s my actions that ground God’s knowledge.
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It’s not surprising why this argument is so appealing. After all, it seems to show how Christians affirm two contradictory ideas. On the one hand, if we say that Jesus is God, then he must also believe God can die because Jesus died. On the other hand, if we say that God can’t die, then Jesus can’t be God because Jesus died.
So, what’s wrong with this argument? This reasoning relies on an equivocation of the word ‘die.’ An equivocation, for you logic nerds, is the fallacy of using a word in two different senses in an argument.
In this case, the word ‘die’ is being used in two different senses. Webster’s dictionary defines die as ‘pass from physical life.’ But it also defines die as ‘pass out of existence.’
If this Muslim asked me, “Can God die?” I would reply, “It depends on what you mean by ‘die’ and it depends on what you mean by ‘God.’” You see, when terms are not clearly defined, people can end up talking in circles. (This video is case in point).
So, can God die? Well, God cannot cease to exist. In that sense, God cannot die. What about that other sense? Can God die physically? Well, a non-physical God can’t die physically. Since Christians believe God the Father and God the Spirit are not physical, they cannot die in that sense either.
However, Christians hold that God the Son took on flesh and dwelt among us (as John says). The one divine Person of Jesus has two distinct natures: a fully human nature and a fully divine nature. This is called the hypostatic union. And, it’s because of the hypostatic union, that everything experienced in the two natures of Christ must be said to be experienced by the one, divine Person. So, the divine Person of Christ, for example, learned to walk and talk since he is the subject of everything experienced through his two natures.
Okay, so can God die? Well, if we’re talking about God the Son incarnate and if we’re talking about physical death (not ceasing to exist), then, yes, in that sense, God can and did die!
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First, the idea that resurrection appearances are merely the product of mythological development over time is significantly undermined by an early creed found in First Corinthians 15. While First Corinthians was written early 50’s (which pre-dates Mark’s Gospel), it contains an early oral creed that likely goes back to within 5 years of the death of Jesus. Granted, these appearances read more like a shopping list than elaborate stories. My point is, there are five different appearances (plus Paul) recorded before Mark writes his Gospel. This historical fact does not fit well with the idea that resurrection appearances are the result of mythological development over time as you move further away from the source.
So, that’s the first problem. Here's the second problem. Alex is wrong about the moral lesson in John’s Gospel. Alex says John’s Gospel culminates with the story of Doubting Thomas to communicate the moral lesson to believe without evidence.
However, that’s not what the account is about. This account isn’t against evidence for faith. In fact, this account is part of the evidence for faith. It’s ironic that people pick the story of doubting Thomas to show that evidence and belief are at odds since John includes the story for one simple reason: to provide evidence for belief. As John says, “These are written so you would believe.”
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But this is not what’s actually going on with the Christian God! No, we’re not positing a god of the gaps. We are positing God where we have strong, positive evidence for God being the best explanation from the available evidence.
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Love that affirms and celebrates sin isn’t genuine love. It’s a counterfeit love. Real love for neighbor is so much better than that. It doesn’t compromise truth. Rather, it helps our neighbor live in harmony with the Truth.
#RedPenLogic #Apologetics #Christianity #Love #LoveGod #LoveOthers
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