Question: Scholars say that the concept of hell in the Bible developed throughout time . Hell as a place of eternal suffering didn’t exist in the Old Testament, only the New Testament, which has led scholars to draw the conclusion that early Christians took the idea of hell being a place of eternal suffering from […]
Question: How do we know what New Testament scripture is inspired apart from tradition? I understand Luke and Paul are quoted as Scripture but here is the problem. Luke wrote 2 books and Paul wrote 13. There are only 7 of Paul’s letters that are recognized by modern scholarship as “undisputed” (there is no contention […]
Question: I’ve been reading a good amount on the Old Testament canon. Jesus quoted some of the Deuterocanonical texts. The writer of the book of Hebrews did so as well. This books mention events that happened in the Deuterocanon as well. Not to mention that many early church fathers quote the Deuterocanonical books as well. […]
Question: In reading the book of Jude, I discovered this: Jude 1:14 Enoch, the seventh of our ancestors after Adam, spoke of these people in advance, saying: “Behold, the Lord is coming with millions of angels” There are two questions to ask in this text: 1-Do you think Enoch is seventh in the Genealogy […]
Question: I have been doing a lot of research on Biblical authorship. Recently, I came across an article entitled “A biblical text with ‘new’ facts about Jesus was found — and Christians ignore it.” In this article the authors claimed that Luke wrote a document called “The Dialogue of Jason and Papiscus.” Apparently, it was […]
Questions: Could you do an exhaustive defense of Sola Scriptura? I heard Roman Catholics using arguments, claiming that Sola Scriptura is never mentioned in the Bible. I also have heard that since the Bible doesn’t give us a list of what is inspired scriptures, we have to look outside to know what is inspired and […]
Question: According to Jews, many of the Torah’s laws are entirely meaningless without further elaboration. Therefore, some type of “Talmud” was taught to Moses at Sinai together with the written Torah. This is what we know as the Oral Law. Thus, the wisdom and debates of the Talmud, in all their diverseness and variety, may […]
Question: We are told in the Talmud that an assembly of priests were about to reject the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Ezekiel because those writings were contradictory to the Law but a certain Rabbi had tried to reconcile them and they were preserved as “canonical”. Those three books are confessedly presented to us as […]
There is a short prophecy appended to the book of Jeremiah in Ethiopic Bible which August Dillmann translates: A Prophecy of Jeremiah. And Jeremiah spake thus unto Pashur: But ye all your days fight against the truth, with your fathers and your sons that shall come after you. And they shall commit a sin more damnable […]
Question: Adam Clarke (1831) wrote a commentary on Jeremiah 8:8 that: It is too bold an assertion to say that “the Jews have never falsified the sacred oracles;” they have done it again and again. They have written falsities when they knew they were such. John Chrysostom (4th Century) wrote in his homily on Matthew 2:23 that: The […]
Question: Why did Jesus not make efforts to stop the promulgation of apocryphal/pseudepigraphal books, for e.g. the apocalypse of Enoch, apocryphon of Ezekiel, apocalypse of Zephaniah, etc.? Answer: A good question. At the time Jesus lived, these books were NOT considered part of the Jewish canon. They were non-canonical but popular spiritual books. Toward the […]
Comment: I have some comments regarding accuracy of biblical texts and the importance of genealogies in the Bible in response to your reply to my question: Which is correct on the time Adam to Abraham–the Masoretic text or the Septuagint? [Editor’s note: Here is the article: https://evidenceforchristianity.org/which-is-correct-on-the-time-from-adam-to-abraham-the-masoretic-text-or-the-septuagint/ There were statements made in the article that weren’t […]
[Editor’s Note: This is a rather long question with a fairly long response] Question: I read your article “Is Chapter 2 of Wisdom (part of the Apocrypha) inspired prophecy of Jesus?” and wanted to address your points. First, you asked where the Messianic prophecy is. Wisdom 2:12-20 contains a very clear Messianic prophecy: “For if […]
Question; The Ascension of Isaiah mentions unknown Hebrew prophets named Aged, Ananias & Josab. Why did they not get canonical status? Answer: The so-called Ascension of Isaiah is an apocryphal book. One thing we can know with certainty is that it was not written by Isaiah (and therefore it is pseudepigraphal, ie. falsely attributed), as […]
Question: Dr Oakes, can you view this article: https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2021/09/17/heres-how-we-know-the-canonical-gospels-were-originally-anonymous/ This came from a historical scholar it seems. She tried to refute an apologist regarding the gospel’s names and authors. But I found several of her interpretation are quite forced (Like the Mark verses she cited) and how she said Didache and Didascallia just got accepted without […]
Question: This person claims that there have been entire books removed from the bible. https://quranicwarners.org/gospel They all seem legitimate. What’s your opinion? Answer: It is hard to know exactly how to respond to this article, because the author is not specific as to which “entire books” were removed from the Bible. If he does not specify […]
(Editor’s note: Questions are in italics and answers are in normal type) Questions: It is said that the Gnostic Gospel of the Judas shows a gospel where God (our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth) is the bad guy and a fascinating contrast from the theology of Nicean Christianity. Early Christianity was diverse, unlike how many […]
Question: Why was The book of Enoch taken out of the Old Testament and why has this book been forgotten since New Testament times? Answer: The answer is that the Book of Enoch, also known as 1st Enoch, certainly has not been lost, and neither has it been forgotten. It was not taken out of […]
Question: I want to know about the reliability of the Bible because many of my friends who are Muslims tell me that Jesus did not die on the cross nor was he risen. They tell me that this is not written 600 yrs later but from 2nd century or the end of 1st century itself […]
Questions: We know that the Bible prohibits idolatry. If Catholics were the first denomination of Christians, why then do they do everything contradictory to the Bible? Can we trust the additional books of OT in the Catholic Bible? Why did Protestants came years later after Catholics? It seems to me that they should have come […]
Question: In some posts concerning Enoch, you have stated that determining the canon of the Old Testament belongs to the Jews. How is this possible if the Jews themselves had no Old Testament canon? The Sadducees, Pharisees, and Greek Jews all had different canons. I predict that you will appeal to the Council of Jamnia, […]
[Editor’s note: This person is asking about the book of Enoch and its discovery in the eighteenth century] Question: Before James Bruce stole the book in Ethiopia, Western world Christians did not know the book [of Enoch] existed, so why after studying the book, did they say the book is false or non canonical? Was […]
Question: How can we really know for sure that the Gnostic gospels- The gospel of Thomas, the gospel of Philip, the gospel of Mary, the gospel of Judas, etc. were actually not written by the disciples of Jesus Christ? Answer: I suppose we cannot absolutely “prove” in the mathematical sense of proof that Thomas did […]
[Editor’s note: I received a long and somewhat rambling set of comments and questions from someone. I asked for a more succinct set of comments and questions so that I could respond. You will see below that the shorter version is still a bit unfocused, but this person asks sufficiently important questions that I felt […]
Questions: 1.Why did the council have to meet to discuss if Jesus was the Son of God or if he was human or a spirit? 2.If God inspired man to write the Bible and he lives in me, why do I need the Bible or Jesus to tell me how to live when I can […]
[Editor’s note: for those who are not aware, Wisdom (also known as Wisdom of Solomon) is part of the Old Testament Apocrypha. It can be found in the Jerusalem Bible or in any Catholic Bible] Question: Since the Wisdom of Solomon chapter 2 contains many good MESSIANIC prophecies is there any evidence of its authenticity […]
Question: Is there any proof that Joseph of Arimathea went to the British Isles to procure tin and took the young Jesus with him? I came across this claim presented as historical research with a significant amount of “documentation” from ancient sources. I was not aware of any evidence for the “missing” years of Jesus’ […]
[Note: the second of a series of three sets of comments from a site user] Claims: 3. The versions of events that didn’t make it into the Bible [Apocrypha] are very strange – ie: Jesus slaying children & blinding their parents. The early Church [up to 400 years after the life of Jesus] accepted this […]
Question: A couple of months ago, I had a keen interest in the Gnostic Christian writings. Many of them sounded weird but some really did catch my interest. Those that caught my interest include the “Protoevagelion of James”, “Arabic Infancy Gospel”, “Acts of Thomas” and “Gospel of Nicodemus”. Now let me tell you why. The Protoevangelion […]
Question: I’d like to ask a question. It’s about the book of Revelation. I read that the book of Revelation wasn’t accepted until now in the Syriac Orthodox Church… Is that right??? In addition, is there another difference between churches about the canonicity of the books of the New Testament today? Another question, Why were […]
[Editor’s note: This question is coming from a believer who lives in the Middle East and is clearly receiving a lot of attacking questions from his Muslim friends. They are using rhetoric, false dilemmas and other logical fallacies to try to prove that the Bible is corrupt. This will explain why I get a bit […]
Question: Protestants such as myself use the Masoretic Text for the translation of our Bibles. However, the Eastern Orthodox Church uses the Septuagint, a Greek translation we get primarily from the three large codices: Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, and Alexandrinus. How can I explain to someone why the Septuagint is good, but has problems (aside from the […]
Question: Where does the gnostic belief that the Old Testament God is the Demiurge and not the true creator come from? Also, where did the belief in archons tricking people into being reincarnated at death come from? I’ve been reading some material about this and it has troubled me. What is the evidence against these […]
Question: I wanted to ask you a question about several verses in the book of Jude. In Jude 1:14-15 Jude references an apocryphal book called 1 Enoch. I was wondering what you thought about this reference to the book of Enoch. And do you think that this might hint at an apocryphal book as being […]
Question: Is the material found below about Jesus having a wife valid or false? http://www.livescience.com/34229-what-does-the-gospel-of-jesus-s-wife-say.html?cmpid=514627_20150825_51404246&adbid=10152957444286761&adbpl=fb&adbpr=30478646760 Answer: I would have to do some more care research to validate the age and to look at other attempts to translate, but please allow me to give my first quick impression. I would say that with a quick glance, […]
Question: I am writing to ask you a quick question: a Christian friend of mine shared his conviction that Daniel was not truly written by Daniel, but was written some time in the second century BC. I would like to know what are the arguments for and against this view, and the same for the […]
Question: How do you explain to anyone, specifically Catholics, the canonization of the Bible and the fact that the Apocrypha is not part of the canon? Answer: I suggest you read either my book “Reasons for Belief” which describes the process of canonization of the OT and the NT, or my book “Daniel, Prophet to […]
(editor’s note: This is a follow-up to a previous question which explains his asking about my “methodology used to acquire the [claim of] 99% [accuracy for the Greek NT]) Question: Thanks Dr. Oakes for taking the time to look at my contact form. he openly admits that we should avoid like the plague knowing with […]
Comment: Saw this pop up today on Facebook. Not sure how old the whole thing is but it often cracks me up even though I find it sad at the same time that people throw this around social media to discredit Christianity and in their eyes it’s always that one “smoking gun”. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3ALspOA4xo4GAJ%3Amoorishharem.com%2FCulture-detail%2F1500-year-old-bible-confirms-that-jesus-christ-was-not-crucified-vatican-in-awe%2F+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a Response: I […]
Question: I have seen your view about the book of Enoch.first I have to tell you where I am from , I am actually from Ethiopia. the only christian country that accepted the book of Enoch as canon.please I want much evidences that can disprove its authenticity. do you have? Answer: I did not say […]
Question: I have been reading at your site which I have found to be very intresting and informative…. I noticed a little there on the Gnostic gospels. My question is…since there is no proof that the main 4 gospels..Matthew Mark Luke and John..are legitimate .. I was wondering where you get the information on the […]
Question: I wanted to ask you a question in regards to the book of Daniel. The LXX [editor’s note: this is the Septuagint Greek version] version of the book of Daniel has three additional passages, “The Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children, the stories of Susannah and the Elders and Bel […]
QUESTION: The Greek translation of the Hebrew OT was called the Septuagint and I’ve read it was used in the early NT church and often quoted by NT writers. I’ve also read that it contained the Apocrypha, which was not accepted into the Hebrew OT canon. Question #1 “Was the Septuagint read in the NT […]
Question: I have “heard” that there are other letters Paul wrote that are not in the Bible. For example, there was a Third letter to the Church of Corinth that was not included in the Bible — Why not? Answer: It is hard to respond to the general question about “other letters.” There are many […]
QUESTION: I was recently browsing youtube,and found a video about a banned book called Book of Enoch. What is it? Answer: As far as I know, no important group has banned the book of Enoch. Just so you know, some call this book the 1st (1 Enoch) because other pseudepigraphal books (books with a falsely-claimed […]
QUESTION: I have a question about this article http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/chris_sandoval/daniel.html#forgeries. In paragraph 7 of the section called religious forgeries the writer writes “We read in the Book of Daniel that God’s angels ordered the venerable prophet Daniel to “shut up” and “seal” his book (Daniel 8:26; 12:4,9). Perhaps the author meant us to understand that Daniel […]
QUESTION: In what way did Daniel seal the words of the scroll in Daniel 12:4? Answer: I will have to say I really am not sure that Daniel DID anything. I will be honest that I have not really thought all that much about the meaning of this passage. I have not seen any deep, […]
Question: Why does the Septuagint Bible consist of additional books (3 Kings, 4 kings, Maccabees,etc.) and psalms (151,152)? From my understanding some of these books and psalms were found in the DSS, so why wasn’t it included in the canon? Answer: The question of what the content of the Septuagint is/was is not an easy […]
Question: I wanted to ask you a question about several verses in the book of Jude. In Jude 1:14-15 Jude references an apocryphal book called 1 Enoch. I was wondering what you thought about this reference to the book of Enoch. And do you think that this might hint at an apocryphal book as being […]
Question: Note: The points made and my responses are interspersed. About the Q & A https://www.evidenceforchristianity.org/index.php?option=com_custom_content&t ask=view&id=5162 This answer is so full of errors and/or misleading lies I don’t even know where to begin. I guess I’ll just throw out some of the whoppers. First of all, your quotes from "Wisdom" are not from Wisdom, but from […]
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