ARE THE GOSPELS RELIABLE? By John Oakes A number of questions have come to the web site from people who question the validity of the gospel accounts. Groups such as the Jesus Seminar have sought to find the ?genuine? sayings and acts of Jesus among what they consider to be the chaff added by believers […]
Question: What do you think of human reasoning? What are its boundaries when it comes to religion? Would you say that using reason is the wrong way to approach religion? Would you ever say that human reasoning is inaccurate? I was talking to a pastor and he said that reasoning was biased and it got […]
Question: If the Bible/Christianity is so obviously the truth and the correct religion, why isn’t the whole world Christian by now? Or, why aren’t there more articles in the newspaper or more things on TV about it? I mean, when the whole thing with DNA was figured out, most people knew within …a few years?? […]
I was rereading your article on the ID debate after reading through an interesting article found at the link below http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/0 0002583/ It made me reconsider your statement: "There is no experiment one can even conceive of which can test the design hypothesis. What could one do in a laboratory to test whether a system […]
Question: I’m doing my senior project in high school on this topic of whether Jesus was actually the Son of God, and thus everything he said was actually true. I have a few more questions: Is it possible that the Bible lasted for so many years just because no one questioned it? For example, Aristotle’s […]
Question: What is known about The Leningrad Codex of the Prophets? I have only been able to obtain information such as what books of the Bible it contains, when it was written, and who discovered it. If you could send me any additional information I would really appreciate it. Answer: I do not normally do […]
Question: Is there physical or hard evidence for Christ? Or, is it all reasoning? Answer: The answer to this question will depend on what you mean by hard, physical evidence. What do you mean by hard, physical evidence? What sort of evidence would this be? How would we judge such date? Are you thinking of […]
Question; The Mormons claim that when Jesus died he traveled in the time so that he was able to preach to long-dead people in the Old Testament. Any comment on this claim? Secondly what are those sins that do not lead to death? Thirdly, what kind of sins that are unforgiveable? thank you so much.. […]
Quesiton: About Judas , it seems that he was destined to betray Jesus? If so, then it seems that God isn’t just. Please correct me if I am wrong. It seems that God caused Judas to betray Jesus so the scriptures would be fulfilled. What do you think about this? Answer: You raise one of […]
Question: A Muslim friend made an outrageous claim to me that in Deuteronomy 18: 15-19 it is speaking of Muhammed and not Jesus. One hole in this claim is that Muhammad was an Arab, not a Jew. (Genesis 22:18). He would be of the house of David (Jeremiah 21:5). What do you think of this? […]
Are The Gospels Accounts Reliable? It is a very common phenomenon for scholars and theologians to question the reliability of the gospel accounts as history. Groups such as the Jesus Seminar have sought to find the ?genuine? sayings and acts of Jesus among what they consider to be the chaff added by believers in […]
Question: Where can one find the book where the kings in the old testament such as David, Solomon and other prominent leaders were mentioned, such as BOOK OF THE HISTORY OF THE KINGS OF ISRAEL, HISTORY OF THE KINGS OF JUDAH? Answer: These books have been lost. There were several books used as sources for […]
Question: I heard that the Sphinx’s base is eroded by water due to the flood of Noah. Is this true? Also have they found Noahs Ark? Answer: I believe this is an example of a person who is scanning all available information to create a case for the flood. Such people tend to use extremely […]
Question: If you feel like a heart attack, go to the University of Idaho website, type N.F.Gier in the search box and then select GRE.It’s a reference to his book ” God Reason and the Evangelicals”. Then select Chapter 13. The point is that Genesis one describes the earth as surrounded by a solid “firmament.” […]
Question: I am currently studying the resurrection of Jesus in an apologetic manner and have started looking into the Greek texts. Matthew 27:65 mentions the guard requested by the Jews, I noticed that the word translated as “you have” appears to be “I have” (echo as opposed to the ete ending denoting you plural). Unfortunately […]
Question: My question is on your interpretation on the two olive trees on pg 102 of you book “From Shadow to Reality.” You said ” The two who are anointed are a reference to the high priest Joshua and the governor Zerubabbel, both of whom were foreshadows of the anointed one: the Messiah”. I was […]
Question: How can you explain the seeming contradiction in the Genesis story which has the sun and the moon being created on the fourth day, if there was already day and night on the first day of creation? Isn?t this an example of the Bible being contradicted by science and by common sense? Answer: I […]
Question: I was talking to a Muslim and he told me that the word that was used in the original Hebrew New Testament for the cross actually meant Stick and that the word has changes over time to mean cross, is this true? Also I am readibng your book “Reasons for Belief.” It is very […]
Question: How did we get light on the first day when the sun was not created until the fourth ? Answer: I have studied current theories of the early earth and its atmosphere. As far as I understand it, the early earth most likely had much higher quantities of sufur dioxide, methane, ammonia and so […]
Questions (there are several here): Let us take the final 11 verses of Mark for which the earliest evidence is non-existent. Why and by whom were they later added? Why was Jesus described as riding on a donkey? Because the writer knew it would be seen as the fulfilment of OT prophecy and would therefore […]
How can you disprove Mormonism? I am currently a Mormon now. Also, why are there so many diffrent versions of the Bible? I have produced a fair amount of material on Mormonism at the web site. One can consider the validity of this religion from two main perspectives. First of all, are the teachings of […]
Pregunta: En DANIEL 11:33 al 35, habla de los apostoles que recibieron persecucion, o puede referirse, a cuando alguien se va de la fe, y despues regresa? Respuesta: Daniel 11:33-35 refiere a los Judeos en el tiempo del Rey Antiochus Epiphanes en el ano 164 antes de Cristo. Este rey hice cosas muy malas a […]
Question The earliest Gospel was written c. 70 AD. We have only purported reports of what Jesus said – see for example Geza Vermes ” The Authentic Gospel of Jesus” or further ” The Jesus Mysteries” by Freke & Gandy. Even evangelical writers such as Mark Stibbe talk of “redactors” and “interpretations.” The claims you […]
Question: I was looking on the internet and i saw some intresting books in PDF form at this website, http://www.ellisskolfield.com/downloadable-books.shtml, they are intersting but I would like to know what you think of them. Answer: This person’s arguments work as long as he is only talking with people who already agree with him and who […]
Question: In your section on the 10 horns-the 11th being Domitian, what historical sources can you site that show that Vespesian and/or Domitian subdued Otho and Galba? I have only been able to find sources for Vitellius’s overthrow by armed forces who supported Vespesian. Could the three who were subdued actually be ordinal… For example, […]
Question:Please comment on three quotes I found in your book, “Is There a God?” Page 23. ” If in asking questions about the Bible one is unwilling to reach the conclusion that the Bible is wrong, then it is easy to predict what conclusion will be reached. Page 25.” Belief in Adam and Eve can […]
Question: I’m trying to reconcile an apparent discrepancy/contradiction between Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts of the Gerasene demoniac. Matthew says there were two while Mark says there was just one. I’m conviced the Bible is inspired, but it seems strange (to me at least). Wasn’t Matthew an eye-witness? And isn’t Mark’s Gospel Peter’s (another eye-witness) memoires? […]
Question: What is your take on mitochondrial Eve? Answer: My take on “mitochondrial Eve,” is that there is evidence that all human beings are related by direct descent to a single female progenitor from about (this is not my area of expertise) 20 or 30,000 years ago. The fact which forms the basis of this […]
Question: Does the denial of macro-evolutionary theory fly in the face of decades of evidence & research? Isn’t the idea of ‘theory’, in regards to macro-evolution, really a fact on balance of probabilities (considering paleontological discoveries)? Is it incredibly simplistic & naive to say that people like Richard Dawkins (who wrote ‘The Selfish Gene’ & […]
Question: I am currently a college student and have taken several religion courses. Often I find information that bothers me. One is that it is often very biased due to the teacher. What has been bothering me recently is some information that has been presented to us, and claimed as “factual.” It is said that […]
Question: Some Muslims believe that soon everyone in the world will be Islamic, and this will be started by the return of the perfect one who they regard to be Jesus. Could this supposed Jesus be one of the anti-Christs, who we are warned of repeatedly in the Bible? I was also thinking that maybe […]
Question: I was rereading your article on the ID debate after reading through an interesting article found at the link below http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00002583/ It made me reconsider your statement: “There is no experiment one can even conceive of which can test the design hypothesis. What could one do in a laboratory to test whether a system […]
Question: How do you reconcile the Biblical date (Ussher) for Adam, with the age of Homo Sapiens of approx. 150,000 years? Answer: First of all, a bit of history. Bishop Ussher’s date is not authoritative. He claimed that the universe was created on October 23, 4004 BC. He used lengths of reigns of kings of […]
Question: I have a friend who is a Muslim, and as most people know, they believe in only one God. My friend asked me if I thought that Jesus was God and further emphasized that the Bible does not talk about the trinity. He also pointed out that Jesus never refered to himself as God. […]
Question: With regard to Islam, it seems the religion shows a worldly image of heaven. This thought came to mind when I looked at your power point on Islam at the web site. I think Muhammad wanted to build on people’s darkest desires in order to make converts, while still trying to keep some kind […]
Question: I just recently shared my faith with a man who claimed you cannot trust the Bible as it is just a theory. He also holds that history has been altered and that the stories of the New Testament were most likely alteredt. I told him about the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in […]
Question: I was wondering when the three wise men came to see the baby Jesus? It seems like it was a few years later–is that right? Answer: To begin with, you have noticed what many miss, which is that the wise men did not come to the stable on the night of Jesus? birth. Tradition […]
Question: I have a colleague at work who professes to believe in Christ and yet lives a lifestyle which does not reflect this. During discussions on the issues in the Bible I am repeatedly confronted by the accusation that God cannot be just and still punish people for different crimes in the same way (I […]
Question: Do you think that it is possible that Judgement Day is near because many of the signs are happening such as earthquakes famines and pestilences? Also, it is now possible to have battles of 200,000,000 men as described in Revelation. Answer: I think it is possible that Judgement Day is near, but I do […]
Question: Why did God allow people in the Old Testament to have more than one wife, even though we do not practice this today? What about “white lies?” Did Rahab sin when she lied? Did God allow immorality, such as with Jacob and his maidservant, which was consented to by his wives Leah and Rachel? […]
Letters to the Editor, December Edition Is Christmas A Christian Holiday? When people claim a late date for NT writings, another great question for them is why there is no mention of the Jewish Temple being destroyed, the ritual sacrifices with it, and the scattering of the Jews. To most people who understand the Jewish […]
Consider a second example of a criticism of the Qur’an which was raised by a questioner. This involves what the Qur’an appears to say about the nature of earth’s mountains and their purpose. Examples include Suras 16:15,21:31,31:10,78:6- 7. Sura 16:15 says, "And He has cast great mountains in the earth lest it might be […]
Question: Is Partial Preterism wrong? Answer: If partial preterism is wrong, then I am wrong as well, as that is a fair description of how I view the book of Revelation. I am confident you know the meaning of this term, but for the sake of anyone else reading this question and answer, let me […]
Question: How can only Matthew through Revelation be considered divine scripture? What about the Apocrypha? What about the thousands of other writings? Besides, it was man who canonized scripture and man is not perfect so that would obvisouly mean that scripture runs the risk of not being perfect right? What I am really struggling with […]
Question: Will you give me evidence on whether “Christianity is the foundation of liberty”? Answer: I will need to guess what the person from whom you are quoting is trying to claim. I am going to guess that this person is saying that the indirect influence of Christianity on human culture and means of government […]
Question: I was recently reading material from a conspiracy theorist named David Icke, and tried to look into what he believes and preaches. I ran into a bunch of articles that try to debunk Christianity and the bible. I am highly offended by his work, and although he seems to have put a lot of […]
Question: What is your opinion on whether babies should be baptized or not? I am a member of the Church of England, so I would say yes but is it really necessary to be a Christian? My freind is a non- denominational Christian and hasn’t been baptized. Is he a Christian, or is the essence […]
Author’s Note. The article below is a response to a question, so it will begin with the question which motivated its writing. I was looking online about the Qur’an and found claims of errors which seem impossible to deny. For example, With regard to Sura 18:83-100 which is about Alexander the Great, which seems proposterous […]
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