Archaeology and the Bible – Evidence for Christianity

Robert Price says a miracle-worker like Jesus should have mention in non-Christian writings in the first century, but there is none. He concludes Jesus is a fictional character. Your response?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Church History, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I want to ask one question. One skeptic New Testament scholar Robert McNair Price says that since our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth was a miracle working historical person who did many miracles like multiplying thousands of bread and fishes, raised the deaths, turning water into wine, healed the sick persons, resurrected, ascended and […]

Did Moses copy the Old Testament from another source? If so, does this make the Old Testament not reliable?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, General Apologetics, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Questions: Did Moses copy the Old Testament from another book or source? If the last statement is true then would that mean that the only reliable thing in the Bible are in the New Testament? Answer: First of all, Moses was only responsible for a limited portion of the Old Testament. Almost certainly he did […]

If we date biblical manuscripts based on the type of script style, isn’t this circular reasoning?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A .

Question: Hi, I was just reading your article from May of 2005 about how scholars date ancient manuscripts and I had a question. In the article, you lay out the different methods of determining the dates, like styles of script or types of paper. My question is, how did historians determine when each style was […]

Is Rezin,the king of Aram in Isaiah 7:1 confirmed by extra-biblical sources?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I have a question concerning the kings of Syria as mentioned in Isaiah 7:1, it identifies the kings Uzziah, Pekah,and Rezin. Do we have evidence for these three kings? My special concern is for Rezin, the king of Syria. Do we have evidence for Rezin as a Syrian King? Alexander: Yes we do. He […]

Do you have a literature reference for your earlier claim that Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt in 567 BC, fulfilling Ezekiel 29 and Jeremiah 43?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Uncategorized .

[Editor’s note: the one asking this question did some follow-up research, finding his own really useful additional information on what Nebuchadnezzar did to fulfill the prophecies in Ezekiel and Jeremiah. His additional information is at the end of my original response.] Question: I want to ask some things relating to some answers you’ve given on […]

If the evidence for the Bible is so strong, then why to Christians convert to Hinduism, Islam or Buddhism?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, General Apologetics, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Resurrection of Jesus .

Question: How can I keep my faith strong when people of great faith are walking away from my faith? And if we have historical evidences for Jesus outside the Bible that are more convincing than any other religion, why is it that people who are Christians convert into other religions like Hinduism or Islam? If […]

Is there any historical or archaeological evidence outside the Bible for the prophets of Israel such as Daniel and Jeremiah?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I am a Christian but I have become very doubtful. I ask you to pray for me, and maybe you will be so kind and answer one of my questions. Is there any other historical documents or archeological evidence that tells us about the Prophets of the Old Testament? For example Daniel became a […]

How can we trust the Bible? What are the historical records of Jesus outside the Bible? What about the fact that Jesus went to India?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Church History, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: How can we trust the Bible? We know that Jesus existed for sure which every historian would agree but what about what he did ? If his miracles were true as gospels record them why don’t we have historical records of them outside the Bible?There were books that say that the 1st prime minister […]

Are the excavations of Tyre that of the ancient city from biblical times. I thought it was a sunken city.

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A .

Question: I have a question about the excavation of Tyre. Are these excavations really the city of Tyre. How do they know this if it is a sunken city? Alexander: I have been to the modern city of Tyre myself. I have also walked the ruins of Tyre–or more accurately the Tyre of the Roman […]

How to you deal with the fact that so-called Saint Peter was a cruel murderer?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

[Editor’s note: The answers from this Hindu gentleman are interspersed with the questions] Questions and Answers: Acts 5: 1-11 show that the so-called Saint Peter was a cruel murderer who murdered in cold blood both, Annanias & his wife Sapphira. I am sure Peter would be horrified to be falsely accused of murder. This is terrible false […]

Do history and archaeology confirm the historical accounts in Daniel?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Daniel, General, History, Q & A .

Question: Many thanks for your kind replies to my recent questions. They are helpful. Ancient history books of Iran & Iraq confirm incidents such as the dream of Nebuchadnezer, Daniel’s interpreteion of it, God saving Daniel & his friends from fire and the mouths of lions. They also confirm both Nebuchdnezer accepting Jehovah/God is real […]

Bart Ehrman says that the tomb of Jesus is lost. Does that matter? He also says that the Exodus is a myth. Is that true?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Dear Sir, Please help! I have two questions: 1. Some like Bart D. Ehrman don’t believe in the empty tomb. Ehrman posted on the internet google page stating that the tomb of Jesus Christ was lost. Is the tomb of Jesus Christ actually lost and not found by his disciples or by other people? […]

Is there evidence for the crossing of the Red Sea by the Jews under Moses?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Is there evidence for the Red Sea crossing by the Jews under Moses? Answer; The answer is no. No physical evidence has been found to support the story in Exodus of the crossing of the Red Sea. But this is only what we would expect. What could we possibly find that would prove a […]

If the Ussher chronology is correct, and Adam was created in 4004 BC, then how can we explain Egyptian chronology?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: What is your comment on the Ussher chronology? He concluded that Adam was created in 4004 BC, and the flood covered the Earth 2348 BC, but this is incompatible with what we know about Egyptian history. The first king of Egypt, Menes died in 3150 BC (before the flood by 800 years!!!!) Can the […]

How do I defend my faith to skeptics who say that Moses in the Old Testament did not exist?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: How can I defend my faith to skeptics who say that Moses of the Old Testament did not exist? Answer: To be honest, this is not an easy question. Here is why. The evidence for the historical reality of Moses is relatively indirect. There is no ancient inscription from the second millennium BC which […]

C-14 data shows that Jericho was destroyed in the early 16th century BC. How can this be aligned with the apparent biblical date for the destruction?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: What are your thoughts on the 1995 radiocarbon dating performed on charred cereal remains found at Jericho’s (Tell Es-Sultan) Middle Bronze Age City IV which dated these remains to the 17th or early 16th century BC? (Link to report below) Many use this finding as a counter to Bryant Wood’s conclusion that the Middle […]

Is Bart Ehrman right that we have almost no evidence about Jesus?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Scholar Bart D. Ehrman says that we have very scanty evidence and documentation of Jesus’ life. Bart D. Ehrman says that Jesus is never mentioned in any Greek or Roman, non-Christian sources until 80 years after his death. There is no record of Jesus having lived in these sources. In the entire first Christian […]

What is your response to the claim that a cup found in Alexandria from the early first century is the earliest written reference to Jesus Christ?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Q & A .

Question: An archaeologist excavating the underwater ruins of Alexandria’s ancient harbor turned up something of divine interest: a bowl engraved with what could be the earliest reference to Christ. Scientists dated the bowl to between the late second century BC and the early first century AD. According to the team, the full inscription reads “DIA […]

My Hindu friends insist that Krishna and Rama are historical figures as proved by archaeology. Your response?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Whenever I approach my Hindu friends to present Jesus to them, they usually talk about their gods Rama and Krishna. What they say is that archaeology has proven both Ramayan and Mahabharat as historic events and hence were Rama and Krishna. How shall I give response to them regarding historicity of Ramayan, Mahabharata, Rama […]

How can we explain the evidence for humans widely spread around the world 40,000 years ago in light of what happened at the Tower of Babel?

John Oakes wrote in Anthropology, Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I have a question regarding the biblical history of humanity and the archaeological view which has been bugging me lately. Allow me to explain: In the early chapters of Genesis, there is evidence of human agricultural activity (Gen 2:15) (Gen 4:2) before the Tower of Babel incident which spread humanity across the face of the […]

The religions of Egypt, Rome, etc. have archaeology to support their faith. How is this different from Christianity?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: A coworker of mine make a point I do not know how to reply to. He said that other cultures such as Rome, Egypt and Greece have records and archeology to prove their faiths exist and we do too. That being true, what separates ours from theirs to help us win souls for the […]

Is the history of the kings in the Old Testament confirmed by other historical sources?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Is the history of Israel’s kings recorded in the OT/NT all there is we have on those kings? O r is there significant Israeli history we should know outside the biblical narrative that can help our faith? Answer: The Old Testament is the most thorough and reliable source of historical information from the ancient […]

Is it likely that the biblical Mt. Sinai is actually Jebel al Lawz on the Arabian Peninsula?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A .

Question: I have a question about some archaeological information regarding the Exodus. I recently saw some information that is out there that puts the original Mt. Sinai in western Arabia near Midian. It is specifically mentioned in Exodus 2 and 3. Archaeologists know where the ancient city of Midian was located and when they went […]

Can you explain the parallels between the stories of Sargon and Moses? Could the story of Moses be borrowed?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: My question is, do you have any insight into the story of Sargon vs. the story of Moses? It seems that these tablets from Ashurbanipal are dated much earlier than the account of Moses’ origins written in Exodus. I would greatly appreciate just a brief exposition of your knowledge on the subject. Answer: First […]

The Sennacherib Prism states that the Assyrians made Hezekiah a prisoner. Why does 2 Kings not include this important information?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Miracles, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I recently got a new study Bible, which describes historical events. In a part of the Bible that says “Ancient Texts Relating to the Old Testament” it describes “Sennacherib’s Prism”: “Sennacherib vividly describes his siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC, making Hezekiah a prisoner of his own royal city (but cf. 2 Kings 19:35-37).” […]

Is the recently uncovered document by a Roman historian who witnessed Jesus raising a stillborn child genuine?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, General Apologetics, Q & A .

Question: I read a recent article about an ancient Roman document written by a Roman historian who says he witnessed Jesus performing the miracle of bringing a still born infant to life. Have you heard about this? Is this story credible? Answer: Sorry but this is a bogus claim put up by a satirical anti-Christian […]

In Jeremiah 46 there is a prophecy about the destruction of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, yet this never happened. What is your response?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: In Jeremiah 45, God says that Egypt will fall and most all the remnant of Judah will be destroyed. How does this work historically? I don’t see where Babylon invaded Egypt at this time in history. Am I incorrect? Thanks for clarifying. Answer: I assume you mean Jeremiah 46. In this prophecy we are […]

How do you respond to those who say archaeology tells us the Exodus did not happen?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: It makes me extremely uncomfortable to be the devil’s advocate regarding Exodus but just to give fair treatment to both sides of the story, I read the Wikipedia section summary of numbers, logistics, and archaeology. They all seem to have strong arguments of how the Exodus just couldn’t have happened. Do you have any […]

What is your response to the Flying Spaghetti Monster argument? (believe it or not this is a serious question)

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, General Apologetics, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Science and the Bible .

Question: I believe that you have heard about the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Reading its historical background, I see that this was used by Bobby Henderson as a logical supportive argument why Intelligent Design should not have equal attention in science classes along with evolution. The argument is that a religious faith such as a belief […]

How can we know that the Bible, a collection of many different books over centuries, is from a deity?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, General Apologetics, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Miracles, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: How do we know the Bible, a collection of books and letters written of centuries, is the word of a deity? Answer: Given the amazing evidence for the inspiration of the Bible, the fact that it is a collection of writings written over many centuries makes it even more impressive. The Bible contains the […]

What is your impression of the recent excavations at the tomb of Jesus Christ?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Church History, General, Q & A .

Question: What is your impression of the excavation of Christ’s tomb going on right now? Answer: No one knows exactly where Jesus’ tomb was, although archaeologists and Bible scholars have a general idea where to look. Besides, he was only there for three days and surely there would be no physical remains from his stay […]

Could the Akkadian emperor Sargon be Moses? Could the Roman Church have changed the Bible?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I was reading on your website an article about Nimrod and any evidence for Nimrod. I would like to take it a step farther. What if Sargon of Akkad was actually Moses? What if the Enuma Elish which talks about Apsu the fresh pure water god and Tiamat who was the bitter salty water […]

Where does gnostic belief about the Old Testament and about Jesus come from?

John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, Archaeology and the Bible, Church History, General, Other Religions, Q & A .

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 […]

We have extra-biblical sources confirming Jesus (Tacitus, Josephus, etc.). Are there any similar mentions of Paul in extra-biblical literature?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: There is a substantial amount of extra-biblical material written by historians that lived within a couple generations of Christ’s ministry supporting His existence, His status as a well-known miracle worker, and His crucifixion (Josephus, Tacitus, Seutonius, Pliny the Younger, Philo, as well as mention in much later editions to the Talmud). However, there is […]

What does the phrase “whatever help you might otherwise receive from me is a gift devoted to God” mean in Matthew 15:6

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I wanted to ask you about Matthew 15:3-6. What does Jesus mean when he told the Pharasees in verse 5 that “whatever help you might otherwise receive from me is a gift devoted to God”? Answer: This is a reference to a common Jewish practice of giving a sacrifice (actually, more accurately a gift) […]

Why did Daniel get all of the historical facts wrong in Daniel 11:35-35?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I am happy to find your resourceful website and I hope you can help solve my puzzle. Why did the book of Daniel get all the history wrong from verse 11:35 to the end? I tried to find answers in your power point but you list the historical facts just up to 11:35. This […]

Is the Darius who built the temple after Artaxerxes in Ezra 4 Darius I or Darius II?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: The book of Ezra mentions that after Artaxerxes stopped the rebuilding of the temple that it began again during the reign of Darius. Is this Darius II that reigned after Artexerxes or is this Darius I and the Ahasuerus and Artexerxes mentioned in chapter 4 Cambyses and Smerdis? This is all a bit confusing. […]

Is it true that the population of Jerusalem in AD 70 was about 20,000 and that, therefore, Luke wildly exaggerates?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

[editor’s note: This is a follow-up from an inquiry last week. The original question is below to give context to the concern of the one who asked. As you read the question, bear in mind it is a follow-up to the original, which is if Luke grossly exaggerated the number of converts in Jerusalem in […]

Are fulgurites useful evidence to support the reality of the ten plagues in Egypt?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A, Science and the Bible .

Question: [editor’s note: This is a series of two questions from the same member of the same topic] I wanted to know if you know much about fulgurites and the evidence they give to support the reality of the ten plagues in Egypt? How about this for a bible study? Studying out about […]

At what point in Genesis does it change from being a “true myth” to historical? Is it Chapter 12 (Abraham)?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Interpretation, Creation, General, Reliability of the Bible, The Flood .

Question: I see from your articles that you view Genesis 1-3 as ‘true myths’ and I found this view really helpful. I wanted to ask how you determine at what point Genesis stops being a record of hebrew myth and becomes historical. Why, for example, do you not consider chapters 4-11 true myths? I know […]

What proof is there that the Bible is true?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, General Apologetics, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Reliability of the Bible, Science and the Bible .

Question: What proof is there that the Bible is true? Answer: To tell you the truth, this is a rather broad question. My first answer is please just start looking around the web site. We have more than 2500 articles, each of which is intended to answer your question! But you asked, so […]

Can you justify biblically identifying the King of the North in Daniel 11:40 as Rome?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Interpretation, Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History .

Question: I read in a question at the web site concerning the prophecies of Daniel 11 in which you said that the Kingdom of the North which were the Seleucids become later identified as the Romans. Why is it that this change seems random as if to accommodate for the fact that Antiochus IV did […]

Can you explain all the unfulfilled Old Testament prophecies listed at RationalWiki?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Reliability of the Bible .

Editor’s note: This is a series of about ten questions. For ease of following the arguments, I will intersperse my answers between the questions. Question: I stumbled upon a website known as “RationalWiki” which lists supposed unfulfilled prophecies of the Bible which deeply trouble me in my understanding of the Bible. The most difficult of […]

Questions Concerning Archaeology and the Bible

John Oakes wrote in Anthropology, Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Reliability of the Bible .

Editor’s note: The person making this inquiry included material found from a web site. This material is included, unedited, after my response. Question: I have some questions concerning archaeology and the Bible. 1.) Why is there such an absence of evidence concerning anyone mentioned in the Bible prior to Solomon or David, there is virtually […]

Was Daniel written in the 2nd century BC by a person pretending to be Daniel like a Christian friend of mine claimed?

John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, Archaeology and the Bible, Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

Is it true that Josiah removed polytheistic elements from the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges and Kings?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I recently came across a video titled “A History of God” and it suggests that Josiah ordered religious reforms commanding the Deuteronomists to delete all Polytheistic themes in the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, and Kings. Additionally the Israelites were supposedly always polytheistic and that the “Yahwists” apparently enforced strict monotheism as late as the 8th, […]

Can you comment on a wikipedia article claiming that early Judaism included worship of a number of gods?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

QUESTION: Recently I was browsing an article on Wikipedia titled “History of ancient Israel and Judah” and I read some passages I extracted and wanted to know of you could tell me if there is any actual historical credibility to them. 1 The religion of the Israelites of Iron Age I, like the Canaanite faith […]

Do the ethnic depictions of biblical figures matter?

John Oakes wrote in Anthropology, Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A .

Question: Do the ethnic depictions of biblical figures matter? I had a discussion with someone regarding an allegedly “white-washed and racist” depiction of biblical figures in a recent movie. Putting aside Hollywood or possible racial agendas, do we really need to be concerned about what color Bible characters are depicted as? Or could history provide […]

Is there historical evidence outside the Bible that Jesus was put in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb or that Pilate placed guards at the tomb?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

QUESTION: Other than in the Bible, do we have any historical evidence that Jesus’ body was put in a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea and that Pilate placed guards around the tomb? Answer: The simple answer is no. We do not have external confirmation of this particular historical event. What we have is the record […]

What is your response to a recent claim concerning a papyrus which was used as an early good luck charm?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General .

Request: Hi, John! Can you comment this news, please? http://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/article/?id=12687 Thank you! Response: I had already seen this article. The papyrus is an interesting find, but I believe the author exaggerates the significance. This is not unusual, as authors have a tendency to overstate the significance of a particular piece, for the obvious reason that […]