The results are in!

And there you have it … can't say the results are too surprising, really.

[Shout outs to John DePoe for his original post about this]

Congratuations – You are this week's Frappr winner. Thanks very much for listening to STR's podcast and posting on our Frappr map. Greg will announce your name on Sunday's show and your signed book will be in the mail next week.

Yay! ^_^ For those wondering what this is all about …

Frappr: A Google Maps "mashup" which allows people to form online communities.

STR: Stand to Reason, one of the premiere sources of clear thinking on tough issues on the web.

STR Podcast: Greg Koukl's radio show archives are available online.

So STR has a Frappr map set up on their podcast page (registration req'd to see it unfortunately) and each week they choose a winner to receive a free autographed book by Greg.

BTW the STR radio show is on Sundays 6-8pm EST (5-7pm PST) via online streaming audio, or locally on KBRT 740AM in Southern California. (And I think it's also syndicated on some other stations too.) It's the only radio show I listen to regularly, and I highly recommend it! (And not just because of the free book!)

Finally completed my update of my essay/eBook The Historical Reliability of the New Testament! My original essay was rather short (due to the prescribed limits of the seminary class assignment for which it was written) however I have greatly expanded the essay (from approximately 3,000 words to over 8,000 words) and included many more details, observations, and citation of important thinkers on many subjects. Therefore, I now feel it's more legitimate to consider it an eBook on its own, although if I ever finish my more comprehensive eBook, this will likely become a single chapter within that larger work. The only entirely new section in this update is "The Copycat Argument", which refutes theories that the New Testament is merely the product of copying other religious myths. (Though I lent out my copy of Strobel's newest, The Case for the Real Jesus, so I may add some material from that book once I get it back.)

If you've read it before, check out the new version! If not, no better time than the present to read it now! (It's got a swanky new cover and everything! :))

You can also use this shorter URL to link to the eBook: http://www.whyfaith.com/nt/

After posting my essay, I realized that there were some areas that should be expanded. There was a word limit on the paper when I originally wrote it so I had to shorten some sections and leave other things out entirely. I'm working on a rewrite to expand its scope and add more detail. When it's done, it'll be released as a PDF instead of HTML, since it's way too time consuming to convert it. (Saving in a PDF: instant. HTML: an hour or more) Also it'll be under a Creative Commons license so hopefully it'll get copied & passed around.

So look for that hopefully soon! I'll probably wait until I receive the copy of Mark D. Roberts' new book Can We Trust the Gospels? I ordered so I can review it before I post the new version of my article. (It's on its way right now from Amazon! :))