Question/Comment: If Paul can see a bright light on a dark desert highway and believe that he has seen the physically resurrected Jesus then it is entirely plausible that this is what happened to Peter, James, the Twelve, and the “Five Hundred”. They all saw a strange bright light and believed it was an appearance […]
Question: Is it true, as said by Bart D. Ehrman, that the early church father Papias of Hierapolis ,who lived around 120-140 A.D , is not referring to our Mark or our Matthew of the gospels of the/our Christians Bible? He (Bart D. Ehrman) said that there are very solid reasons that Papias of Hierapolis […]
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 […]
Question: Bart D. Ehrman says that the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) of the Christians Bible don’t have names attached to them. The early church fathers who quote these gospels don’t say anything about them being Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Here is what Ehrman claims: 1.The gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) don’t […]
Question: The Catholic Church says that we must be perfectly sinless before we can enter heaven. So we can’t go directly to heaven after death if we have sin in us because God does not allow imperfection to enter heaven. Therefore the Catholic Church invented purgatory as a place to cleanse ourselves before we go […]
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 […]
Question: How should I respond to the false allegation that Jesus and Christianity were invented by the Roman imperial family, the Flavians (or by Titus Flavius) as claimed in a book Caesar Messiah by the scholar Joseph Atwill? He also claims that the religion (Christian religion) was headquartered in Rome. Can you explain this to […]
Question: I have heard that some early church writers interpolated several scriptures/verses into the New Testament: (For eg: Luke 23:34 was included by Irenaeus and Alexandrinus and others) Also, I heard it claimed that Luke 22:43-44, 22:19-20, 1 John 5:7-8, John 7:53-8:11, Mark 16:9-20, and 1 Cor 14:34-35 are all interpolated. Apparently, New Testament scholars […]
Request: I had a conversation with someone who knocked on my door from a “nondenominational” church. They meet on Saturdays. Can you point me in the right direction to figure out why meeting on Saturdays matter? Response: The answer is that meeting on Saturday does not matter. Christians can meet on Saturday or on Sunday […]
Question: I am trying to understand how the early Christians viewed the Sabbath, how the non-Sabbath keepers justified a neglect of the fourth commandment and particularly if we can really be clear that God doesn’t intend for us to continue upholding the seventh day as a day of rest (doing no work, also taking into consideration […]
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 […]
Question: Did Paul really write the pastoral epistles? Most scholars refuse this opinion and say that they were written later after Paul’s death. They say that the vocabulary and style are different from that of the seven undisputed epistles. Some have suggested that Paul used a secretary to write these epistles, probably Luke, because he […]
[Editor’s note: The one sending this comment read a Q & A at the site and took great exception to the article. My reply is below. The original article is here ] Comment: I am in absolute disagreement with your article on the Roman Catholic Church being able to claim its roots back to Pentecost, […]
Question: Some people think that Jesus was begotten by the father only at his resurrection because the apostle Paul said about Jesus that he was appointed Son of God by His resurrection ( Romans 1 – or the speech of Paul in the Act of the Apostle). I’m currently reading the Bart Erhman’s book “How Jesus […]
Question: Doesn’t Revelation 17: 10 show that John got his vision during the sixth king, who is Vespasian? and the seventh king who is to come is Titus, who according to this verse will rule for a short time, and he did, from 79 till 81 AD? If this is true, then John got […]
Question: My friend has argued that needing to be baptized with water to receive salvation is a false doctrine. Her argument is based on the idea that the baptism Jesus established is entirely spiritual- a baptism of the Holy Spirit- and baptism with water is only a “work” one does out of obedience after one […]
Question: How were the books of the Bible chosen? Do we know how many children Joseph and Mary had? Answer: I answer your first question in great detail in my book “Reasons for Belief” which is available at www.ipibooks.com. I am also attaching a shorter version of notes on canon to this e-mail. HOW WE […]
Question: Jehovah’s Witnesses state that Constantine made the Bible pagan, Hence their New World Translation. Do you have any evidence against this as nobody yet has been able to provide me something that backs up their claim. Thanks very much. Answer: This claim is so blatantly unfounded that for anyone to make the it they […]
Question: If an atheist sent you the website below claiming that Jesus did not even exist, how would you debunk it? I know there is a lot to this article but what are some thing that stand out to you that he may have gotten wrong. https://www.atheists.org/activism/resources/did-jesus-exist/ Answer: This article is too long for me […]
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’ […]
Question: Is Baptism an ordinance of the church? I hear Protestants say this all the time. I would appreciate your help! Answer: The word “ordinance” is not in the Bible, so I do not know exactly how to answer a question about a concept which is not clearly in the Bible. Besides, I believe the […]
Question: The other day I overheard an atheist talking to someone about the Bible. I didn’t join in on their conversation, but they were loud enough and close enough for me to hear every word they said. Anyway, the atheist (I know he’s an atheist because I heard him say it) said that all the […]
[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 […]
[Editor’s notes. I received a six-part set of claims from a visitor to the site. I will answer them in a series of responses Claims: 1. The Bible [Gospels] were not written until well after the purported events. 2. There was much dispute over the contents of the Bible. The early Church had many conflicting […]
[Editor’s note: The original question was followed up with another which is below. It became clear that the intent of the original question seems to have been to support the idea that baptism is not necessary, as the questioner quotes from Matt Slick who is a kind of self-appointed archenemy of those who believe that […]
Question: When was the Roman Catholic Church started and is their proof that Peter was the founder and the first Pope. Answer: I have already answered a similar question with regard to when the Roman Catholic Church started at the site. I am copying and pasting below. As for Peter, as far as I know, […]
Question: In Colossians 4:16,Paul asks them to read a letter he wrote to the Laodiceans. Is this book available anywhere or is it permanently lost? Answer: That is one of the easier questions I have gotten. The answer is that this letter is lost. It is possible, but very unlikely, that this letter will surface. […]
Questions: I have some questions. 1- The first question is historical and about Saint Mark the writer of the second gospel. Do we have strong reasons to think that he really visited Egypt? I think the first to say that Mark visited Egypt was Eusebius. Do you think he really visited Egypt? In addition, What […]
Question: I have a question regarding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Do we know if the disciple Christians fled to the mountains like Jesus advised or did they participate in the Jewish-Roman war? Mark 13:14-15 14 “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong– let the […]
Question: My questions are about authorship of the gospels. We know that the first man to say that the second gospel was written by Mark was Papias, However some skeptics say that it’s a long time between Mark (who may have died in 60s) and Papias (who may have been born at the same time). It’s […]
Question: My questions are about authorship of the gospels. We know that the first man to say that the second gospel was written by Mark was Papias, However some skeptics say that it’s a long time between Mark (who may have died in 60s) and Papias (who may have been born at about the same […]
Questions: Why are there so many translations of the Bible and why are there so many denominations? Did God actually walk the earth with Adam and Eve? Answers: You are asking three different questions, with very different answers. The reason there are so many translations into English is, quite simply, because there is a market […]
Question: What is the holy grail and is it relevant to Christian doctrine? Answer: Classically, the Holy Grail is the actual chalice used for drinking the wine used at the Last Supper on the night before Jesus was killed. During the Middle Ages many people became fascinated with relics. These were physical objects which were […]
Question: Among Christians there are so many doctrinal disputes. Many died making wars because of these different opinions. Why did God not intervene to clear up our understanding in order to avoid wars and disputes? Just after the Protestant Reformation eight million Christians slaughtered each other because God did not communicate the correct doctrine doctrine clearly to them. […]
[Editor’s note: Below is a series of questions and answers from a seeker who is considering converting to Catholicism but who has a lot of general questions about the reliability of the Bible. This one will take some time to wade through] Question #1: How do we know that the Bible is the Bible if […]
[Editor’s note: Below is a series of questions and answers from a seeker who is considering converting to Catholicism but who has a lot of general questions about the reliability of the Bible. This one will take some time to wade through] Question #1: How do we know that the Bible is the Bible if […]
Question: I am a Bible following Christian who follows more or less a baptist way of thinking. Recently my husband decided to make our family Catholic and I am really struggling with “mass”. I have a few questions. Can you guide me to some scriptures that support making the sign of the cross every time […]
Question: Some people claim that Jesus Christ didn’t rise on Sunday but on Saturday. This claim is based on that the Bible said that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb very early in the morning in the first day of the week, and Jesus rose before that, perhaps on Saturday. They also claim that the […]
[Editor’s note: this is a follow-up question from a Christian who is in debates with Muslims over the reliability of the Bible. The Gospel of Barnabas is a pseudepigraph (falsely claimed authorship) from about the sixteenth century by a Muslim person who is trying to make it appear that the Gospels are in line with […]
Question: I found this article particularly interesting due to the impact it may have on a historical interpretation of Revelation. I am not familiar with much of the evidence the author uses to support his perspective but I do understand the bottom line. In short the author claims that there was no Domitian persecution of […]
Question: Were the witnesses to Christs resurrection martyred? Answer: The answers is yes, some of them definitely were martyred, and most likely a significant proportion of the original witnesses of the resurrection were killed for their faith. There are two categories here. One, there are the original eyewitnesses about whom we can be virtually certain […]
Question: Recently some of the relics of St. Nicholas were brought to Russia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas). Thousands of the faithful lined up in a kilometer-long queue to kiss them and kneel before them. How should we react to this tradition to worship the relics, because it looks to be clearly idolatry? Do you know how the […]
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 was wondering what is the scholarly consensus and textual reliability regarding St. Cyprian’s Unity of the Church as well as the majority of the early church fathers, thanks. Answer: The reliability of the writings of the “Church Fathers” varies widely. For example, the First Letter of Clement of Rome is considered by most […]
Question: When was Paul killed? I’ve heard one person say AD 64 and someone else say AD 67. Also why was he killed? Answer: Here is the simple answer. No one knows. There are two general opinions, as you have heard. One is that his imprisonment in Rome, as described by Luke, led to his […]
Question: What is your response to Robert Eisenman’s theories on the Dead Sea scrolls and New Testament? He states that James is the teacher of righteous and the true leader of the church instead of Peter while Paul is the man of lies and tried to corrupt the Church from within. He also states that […]
[Editor’s note: this question is coming from a Christian in a Muslim country who is answering criticism from Muslims who claim the New Testament has been corrupted] Question: Please, I have questions about the time of writing of the gospels. The first source outside the New Testament that quoted from the gospels is Clement of […]
Question: What is your response to the claim in the Clementine Homilies stating that there are falsehoods in scripture and that the Bible was written to try us and test our faith. Apparently it was Peter who told Clement that. Also Simon was used as an alias for Paul in the Clementine Homilies, and in […]
Question: Should I have faith in the canonical Bible being reliable and inspired because of those who established it back then, or should I mix this with trying to see the biblical evidence for myself? It is tempting to want to find all the evidence myself, as if I am the one who determines what […]
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 […]
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