The Secular Web has peer reviewed and published 2 of John’s essays on the New Testament
1) The Justified Lie by the Johannine Jesus in its Greco-Roman-Jewish Context https://infidels.org/library/modern/john-macdonald-justified-lie/
2) A Critique of the Penal Substitution Interpretation of the Cross of Christ https://infidels.org/library/modern/a-critique-of-the-penal-substitution-interpretation-of-the-cross-of-christ/
2b) For a good video about Jesus’s brother James taking over leadership of the original Jesus movement and the idea it was about “repentance” rather than “blood magic atonement,” see Dr. James Tabor’s video here:
John has also written an off-site tribute article to the recently deceased bishop John Shelby Spong, who was a major influence on secular religious studies in the early days of the modern secular movement such as with the old Project Reason discussion site (which is now the Sam Harris Forum). John’s article on Spong is here: https://agnosticismspectrum.blogspot.com/2021/12/lgbtq-rights-and-birth-of-christianity.html
This site is not just meant to be a resource for encouraging kids to question dog-ma, though it is that. More generally, in philosopher Michel Foucault’s language, it is an ethics site to help kids identify and challenge fascisms, both in society and in themselves. Remember, Star Wars wasn’t just about Palpatine outsmarting everyone and nearly conquering the galaxy numerous times, but also about Darth Vader coming to realize who and what Palpatine was and redeeming himself:
