Updated: 16 December, 2008

Home page for Christ the Tao

• Recent Articles and Essays by David Marshall
• Personal Essays
• Mind-Expanding Essays on Christ and Culture

---

Recent Articles and Essays by David Marshall

• The God Delusion: 160 Errors, Gross Exaggerations, and Highly Dubious Claims (Adobe Acrobat .pdf)
  • The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins, launched what has come to be called "the New Atheism," a movement that radically critiques Christianity and seeks to make an "end of faith," as Dawkins' co-conspirator Sam Harris put it. From the author of The Truth Behind the New Atheism, here's our list of 160 errors in Dawkins' book. This is meant to be an interactive list — feel free to respond at christthetao@msn.com, and we'll make adjustments as feedback comes in! (First posted June 7, 2008, revised June 14.)
• Interview with Michael Behe (Adobe Acrobat .pdf)
• China Trip 2007 (Adobe Acrobat .pdf)
• "Does Faith in God Up the Murder Rate?" (Adobe Acrobat .pdf)
• "How the Brothers Grimm Overthrew the Evil Empire: A Fairy Tale", Books and Culture
• "Faith and Reason" (Adobe Acrobat .pdf)
• Collected reviews of books on the historical Jesus (Adobe Acrobat .pdf)
• "Easter Greetings from Kuai Mu Institute" by David Marshall
• "The Tao Made Flesh: Rediscovering the Ancient Roots of Chinese Christianity," Books & Culture, January/February 2003, Vol. 9, No. 1.
  • A review of The Jesus Sutras: Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity, by Martin Palmer.
    
• "Can Jesus Save Islam? The Promising Effects of Christ on Other Cultures,"Touchstone Magazine, November 2002, Vol. 15, Issue 9.
• "Gospel Art in Mainland China and the Sinofication of Christianity: Notes from Four Churches," Siebold Journal. (Adobe Acrobat .pdf)
• "Is God a Social Construct? Liberalization in East Asia and the Theistic Anomaly," Siebold Journal. (Adobe Acrobat .pdf)
• "The Dharma, the Gospel, and Chinese Culture,"Taiwan Missionary Journal, Fall 2001. (Adobe Acrobat .pdf)
• "Is the Gospel a Myth?," Part I and "Is the Gospel a Myth?," Part II. (Acrobat .pdf files)

---

Personal Essays

• "Does Faith in God Up the Murder Rate?" (Adobe Acrobat .pdf)
• "Faith and Reason" (Adobe Acrobat .pdf)
• "What Is the Tao?"
• "How I Learned Jesus Is the Tao"
• "China Travel Diary"
• See the Book Information page for book excerpts.

---

Essays on Christ and Culture

On Rationality and the Gospels

• "Are the Gospels Mythical?" by Rene Girard, First Things, April 1996, Issue 62.
  • Girard, a famous Stanford professor, says "Yes," in a way that may change the way you see both the Gospels and world history.
• "Jesus Christ and Mythology, Part II" by Edwin Yamaguchi.
  • Are the Gospels myths, Yamaguchi asks, presenting the outline of a historical argument that they are not.
• "Is the Gospel a Myth?," Part I and "Is the Gospel a Myth?," Part II, by David Marshall. (Acrobat .pdf files)
  • This paper describes the characteristics that the Gospels share and do not share with the most famous epic mythology and other ancient myths, as well as with ancient historical writings. (Parts I and II are posted.)
• "The Public Square," subsection "Dostoevsky and the Fiery Word" by Richard John Neuhaus, First Things, March 2003, Issue 131.
  • Did you get the impression the great Russian writer took a blind leap of faith, to place faith in Christ? Take a closer look.
• "How does the memory research of Elizabeth Loftus on eyewitness testimony affect the credibility of the NT documents?"
  • Glenn Miller analyzes the work of Elizabeth Loftus as it relates, or does not relate, to the Gospels. A response to common skeptical objections. Also see my article on the same subject.

On "Redemptive Analogies"

• "Pagans Preach Jesus: Surprising Referrals from the Rig Veda, Dao De Jing, and Analects" by David Marshall.
• "How the Brothers Grimm Overthrew the Evil Empire: A Fairy Tale", Books and Culture, Sept./Oct. 2005.
• "Books In Review: The Owl, the Raven, and the Dove: The Religious Meaning of the Grimms’ Magic Fairy Tales" Philip Zaleski reviews the book by G. Ronald Murphy, S.J., First Things, January 2001, Issue 109.
  • Who was the prince who brought Snow White back to life? What did the tree that Hansel and Gretel took refuge in when they were lost in the woods represent? Why did Little Red Riding Hood carry bread and wine to her grandmother?
• "Correspondence," subsection "Elfland and Christianity," David Marshall and Philip Zaleski, First Things, April 2001, Issue 112.
  • A follow-up exchange on the book review.
    
    

On God in Non-Christian Cultures

• "Universal God Consciousness: An Argument for Monotheism from World Cultures" by David Marshall. (Acrobat .pdf file)
• "Theism, Atheism, and Rationality" by Alvin Plantinga, Truth Journal, July 2002.
• "Pascal's Anthropological Argument" by Robert Velarde, Cornerstone Magazine.
• "Matteo Ricci," The Catholic Encyclopedia.
  • Did Matteo Ricci find God in China?
• "Nestorian Tablet: Eulogizing the Propagation of the Illustrious Religion in China, with a Preface, composed by a priest of the Syriac Church, 781 A.D." East Asian History Sourcebook.
  • A fascinating record from the first Christians in China.
    
    

  On the Still, Small Voice of God

• "The Revenge of Conscience" by J. Budziszewski, First Things, June-July 1998, Issue 84.
  • Why do things get worse? A most brilliant essay on human conscience and moral decline . . . Should be hung in every classroom, church, and brothel.
• "Nietzche's Truth" by Damon Linker, First Things, September-October 2002, Issue 125.
  • Can even an anti-Christ who despises kindness escape from morality?
• "Anthropology Afoul of the Facts: Margaret Mead’s Flights of Fancy in Samoa" by Benjamin Wiker, National Catholic Register, May 19, 2002.
  • Margaret Mead proved Mark Twain's claim that a lie can travel half way around the world (and make it spin backwards) before the truth puts his boots on . . .
    
    

  On the Influence of Christianity on World Culture

• "Retelling the Story of Science" by Stephen Barr, First Things, March 2003, Issue 131.
  • A particle physicist shows how modern science took an unexpected turn back toward God. The best essay-length summary I have read on the subject.
• "The Great European Witch Hunt: What If Everything You Thought You Knew About the Burning Times was Wrong?" by Jenny Gibbons, PanGaia, Autumn 1999, Issue 21.
  • An honest Wiccan historian sets a very confused record straight.