MiddleMan

Where does he pull this stuff from? Certainly not the Bible. I mean, for the dove assertion to be true, JP would have to crawl in side Jesus' head and demonstrate that the "vicious" quality of the animal is what was intended. What in the text gives him that opportunity? Similarly for the bear assertion. What in the text allows JP to conclude that the kids taunting Elisha were ancient gangbangers with the potential and intent of threatening the life of an entire town...so much so that God had to allow a bear to come along and eat them at Elisha's request?

I'm surprised JP can tolerate the sound of his arms popping out of their sockets by how far he reaches to make the Bible say what it really doesn't say.

diana

That's certainly an interesting stretch. Why didn't he just stick with the children's lack of respect for their elders and be done with it?

Just another of life's great mysteries.

d

NFLP

...OR...maybe he didn't want to be caught posting to his website while he was on the clock as a prison librarian. Think Holding is sneaky enough to do that?

He lost his job as a librarian, so what does he do now besides live off his wife's salary? Internet insults, dubious 'research' and drawing cartoons. That's a real man for ya.

Toto

The tektonics website reveals that JP Holding has enrolled in Mike Licona's Certified Apologetics Instructor (CAI) Program. This involves getting a "Certificate in Christian Apologetics" from Biola University (via distance learning), and attending the "Dynamic Communicators Workshop (DCW)" This is a week of intensive professional public speaking training from prominent instructor and comedian Ken Davis. This costs almost $2,000 - but the program thinks that it is essential. Then there are extra seminars.

This appears to be set up as a career path. So that's what JP is going to do to support his family.

MiddleMan

Wow. A CAI certificate and a week's long public speaking class with a comedian. And this qualifies him to debate and critique the scholarship of professors with 7 or more years of specialized work and profession in the field? I mean, nothing stopped him from being a horses's ass before and shooting his mouth off whenever he felt like it. What's this 2 grand buying him he doesn't already have?

Jayrok

My guess is that JP got a taste of being on camera and wants to get better at that venue. A couple of years ago someone challenged him to a debate and he specifically said he'd only debate online. It's easier to carefully articulate your position on paper if no one is there looking over your shoulder. He knew he wasn't strong at oral debating, so this may be his attempt to get more adept at that. Plus in written debates he always had that opportunity to go back and edit his presentation without his opponent's knowledge. Several people have commented on him doing that, so they said you should copy his argument so you'll have it and he can't change it later after running into trouble.

A oral debate doesn't give that opportunity. To my knowledge he's never had an oral debate because he isn't good at them or comfortable with them. This may be his first steps to getting his apologetics on TV.

Maybe he was approached by Kirk Cameron to appear on a series on their network. Kirk's group will love him... until they find out he is a Preterist anyway, then they may label him a heretic, who knows.

NFLP

Does Mike Licona know that Holding has a reputation as a prodigious hurler of insults and ad hominem attacks? Does Licona know that Holding attempts to deflect Christians' criticism of his behavior by misrepresenting Matthew 10:16's "be gentle as doves"?

Holding says "according to the metaphorical lexicons of the period, doves were reputed as vicious fighters." Does Licona want to be known by his superiors as a conniver in that brazen eisegesis?

Toto

Well, Holding will have to produce a letter from his pastor saying that he is of good Christian character. I think he will rely on some line about not perfect just forgiven.

NFLP

That would require him to admit he was wrong and ask forgiveness. That's not terribly likely---but he must be getting weary of suffering the big-fish-in-a-small-pond toadies of TheologyWeb, so maybe he'll change his colors.

Does his pastor know of his dubious reputation?

Toto

I don't know how pastors measure reputation. The scorn of lots of atheists on the interent probably doesn't count.