Question: What was the oldest manuscript we had before the Dead Sea Scrolls?  Was it the Aleppo Codex or Leningrad codex?  If  it is the Leningrad Codex, why do we compare the Aleppo codex with the Dead sea scrolls?   Can you please give me the dates of these manuscripts?   On the internet every site has a  different […]

Read More

[Editor’s note: This question is coming from a person responding to Muslim claims that Jesus never claimed to be God] Question: I’d like to ask you 2 questions.  1 What’s your comment on the New World Translation of Zechariah 12:10  “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem […]

Read More

Question: How can I decide if a particular writing by one of the church fathers is authentic?  I’m asking this question because critics [editor’s note: he is talking about Muslim critics of Christianity] criticize any writing, not only Irenaeus.  They say, for example, that we don’t know who wrote the writings of Justin Martyr, Origen… […]

Read More

[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 […]

Read More

[Editor’s Note:  This is two different but similar questions from the same person, so I am joining them as one article.  These questions concern letters from the church “Fathers” of the late first and the second century AD which help to inform us how the early church lived and what they taught.] Question: I’d like […]

Read More

Question: What is the evidence that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John really wrote the four gospels? I have searched and found that the oldest man (whose writings are available now) who said that the four gospels were written by these four men was Irenaeus.  Irenaeus said that about 180 AD about a century after the […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

Question: I thank you for taking your time out of the day to answer questions that I have. I am learning about Islam and while researching I came across an article about the prophesying of Muhammad in the New Testament. This was just one of the examples presented:   John 14:16  “And I will pray the […]

Read More

[editor’s note: The person sending this comment included a document claiming that the NIV (and presumably nearly all other translations) have omitted major portions of the New Testament, including John 5:4, Acts 8:37, Acts 15:34, Matthew 17:21, Matthew 23:14, Acts 24:7 and several others.] Comment: As I dug deeper into your site I had to […]

Read More

Editor’s note:  This is actually a series of questions and answers. Question: I came across this statement in Sura III in the Quran, but I cannot find the exact scripture. “Jesus was of virgin birth, And performed many miracles. But those to whom he came as Prophet rejected him, and plotted his death. Their plots […]

Read More

Question: I live in India where 80% are Hindus and believe in reincarnation. I don’t believe in it but yesterday I checked out a website that has testimonies regarding Near to Death experiences. Some of them have seen Jesus after their death and he told them either to go back or reincarnate to a new […]

Read More

Question: My teacher just told us that the verse in Luke where Jesus sweats blood was not in the original text and is a textual issue. Have you heard this argument before? Answer: It is true that Luke 22:43-44 is not included in the majority of the oldest and most reliable manuscripts of Luke.  This […]

Read More

Question: I recently received an email response from the Muslim: Khalid Choudhary.  Here is what he said to me: We do have the original manuscripts of the Quran. Our Prophet’s companions gave those manuscripts a book form. Since we have only one Quran all over the world, that’s enough proof in itself of the original […]

Read More

Question: I believe that the Bible is the word of God and is the greatest text ever written. It is 100% accurate and reliable. That being said, are there any other inspired texts that were written in the first century that one can look at and research and that are reliable? I’m asking about other […]

Read More

Question: I am trying to share the Gospel message to a Muslim, and I need help in responding to his email. Here is his response:  [Editor’s note: Because there are so many questions here, the answers are interspersed among the different questions.  The questions are in italics.  J. O.] God created human being, showed them […]

Read More

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. […]

Read More

Question: I wonder why isn’t the name Yahweh mentioned anywhere in the NT?   We only see Christ calling him Father in the gospels as well as the apostles addressing Him in the same way.  Has it been omitted anywhere in various translations?  For a new believer isn’t it essential to know that the Father […]

Read More

Question: Hello Dr Oakes. I am taking an early Judaism and Christianity course in university and I have a question about the Bible.  My teacher is very critical towards the New Testament writers and writings (as most are in the department of religion) and he told us in class the other day that the first […]

Read More

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, […]

Read More

Question: Parchment 470–a Catholic writing from 250 AD that says they worshipped Mary in the early Christian church..this is from a Catholic scholar’s site from Canterbury England, I should have written down his name but I forgot to….he is trying to win Protestants to his Catholic faith. Answer: It is true that there is a […]

Read More

Question: I’ve been studying out prophecies of the Old Testament and in studying out the prophecies of Isaiah I looked up what Wikipedia had to say about it.  According to Wikipedia “The exact relationship between the Book of Isaiah and any such historical Isaiah is complicated.  One widespread view sees parts of the first half […]

Read More

Question: I have some general questions concerning Christianity. How can the Bible be considered inerrant if there are instances of copyist errors such as tht which occurs in 2 Samuel 10:18 and 1 Chronicles 19:18.  The second passage mentions 700 and the first mentionsr 7000 slain charioteers? I realize that most of these copyist errors […]

Read More

Question: I’m doing a paper on Isaiah. Do you believe it is written by one author, two, or more…? Answer: Many scholars claim that the prophet Isaiah wrote Isaiah 1-39 and that another author influenced by Isaiah wrote “deuteroisaiah” which would be Ch 40-66.  They base this claim on supposed and sudden differences in subject, […]

Read More

[Editor’s Note:    I recently answered a question about R. G. Price but, not knowing his middle name, thought the question was about a different critic of Christianity named Robert Price.  Interestingly, the positions of the Robert Price and of R. G. Price are actually fairly similar.  Nevertheless, I am a bit embarrassed and apologize […]

Read More

Question: I have a question regarding the disputed texts in the Bible i.e. the Adultery Pericope, the extended ending of Mark 16 and the Comma Johanneum. I’ve encountered some Muslims who try using these disputed texts in the Bible to prove that the Bible has been corrupted. While I’m aware that there is overwhelming consensus […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

Question: Do critics have a case for the allegation that since Jesus’ life and events were recorded way after his actual death that they cannot truly reflect his image and deeds during his life? Are there any other examples of historical texts that were recorded 20 to 40 years after the fact? Is the reason […]

Read More

Question: Mark 16::17-18 describes divine abilities believers should possess but not observant to the contrary. You think the same principle of miracles apply today? Answer: Scholars are nearly unanimous that Mark 16:9-20 was not in the original Book of Mark, so I see relatively little need to explain this section in Mark.   It is […]

Read More

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, […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

(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 […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

QUESTION: Hello.  I was wondering about the information on the Gospel of Barnabas. I’d like to know who after this site and from which point of view was the gospel taken. I couldn’t find about the writer or the author? Another question please, how can the author judge the language of the bible and even the […]

Read More

QUESTION: I have been a devout follower of Jesus Christ for 22 years.  Recently, I have been questioning the validity of Christianity. The Freemasons tell their members that they have made up Christianity and all world religions as a way to better society. When I look at the ancient Sun God worship Mithraism and other forms […]

Read More

QUESTION: If the Bible is the most accurate historical text, and doesn’t have any direct proof against it, then what makes the Old and New Testament only 99% accurate and not 100% accurate? Answer: The original writings of the New Testament authors (known as the “autographs” to scholars) are perfect and inspired. These letters were […]

Read More

Question: Quick question for you regarding Matthew 23:35, Is this a copyist error? Is this referring to Zechariah son of Jehoiada? Answer: It is possible that this is a copyist’s error, substituting Berekiah for Jehoiada. I cannot rule that out. More likely, though, there was an actual Zechariah, son of Berekiah who was killed, but […]

Read More

Comment: I think Mr Oakes needs to take a course in logic. He attempts to discredit Robert Eisenman by using, not the extant historical evidence, but the unsubstantiated writings of “early church fathers”,and the new testament “writings” of Peter and Luke. First of all there is not a single writing of the church fathers and […]

Read More

Question: I can’t find any solid information on the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and why these books are not considered inspired scripture.  I know they are considered false writings, but why?  Are the Old Testament pseudepigrapha and the Old Testament apocrypha consideredto be the same thing?   Is the OT Pseudepigrapha just a branch of the OT apocryphal writings?   […]

Read More

Question: I have spent the last two years trying to learn from the Holy Spirit. During this time the issue of Bible translations has arisen. The Lord led me to look at and compare all the different versions. I found the NIV translation to have omitted many vital scriptures. This has also left me wondering […]

Read More

Question: I am a 20 year old college student from Louisiana and I have been a Christian all my life. There came a time this past summer where I began to question my faith and why I believed what I did. I began searching and instead found a lot of atheist arguments which proceeded to […]

Read More

Question: This is starting to circulate on the internet. Facebook……etc. I am sure young christians in our congregations may have a hard time with it. Just curious if you guys have heard about it yet.  http://uk.prweb.com/releases/2013/10/prweb11201273.htm Response: Ancient Confession Found: ‘We Invented Jesus Christ.’ A new “theory” to explain the genesis of Christianity is making […]

Read More

Question: Professor, one of the characters that I find most curious that there isn’t a lot of information about is Melchizedek. Besides Hebrews Chapter 7, Genesis 14, several references in Psalms, and mention in the Pseudoepigraph “The Book of the Bee” of the Book of the Cave of Treasures, are there any legitimate sources in […]

Read More

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 […]

Read More

Question:   [editor’s note: this lengthy question and points being made come from a Jewish Christian who believes that Christians are required to obey kosher food laws, such as the prohibition of eating pork and shellfish.  The article he and I both refer to is one about the interpretation of Acts 10.  I am attaching […]

Read More