Question: Could you help me to understand this apparent contradiction? Did Jesus ascend to heaven Easter evening (Luke 24:13-52) or forty days later (Acts 1:3-9)? This is one of the apparent bible contradictions which has led many skeptics to say the Bible is not the word of God. But I believe there must be a […]
Question: Can you please explain the variation in the Bible between Mathew 8:28, Mark 5:1, and Luke 8:26-27 with regard to where the miracle took place and the drowning of the swine after casting out demons from a man by Jesus? Mathew places the event in Gadara and Mark and Luke in Gerasa. They are […]
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 want to ask a few questions. Is there any historical evidences that: 1. Jesus actually died on the cross 2 . The tomb (Jesus’ tomb ) was indeed empty on the third day and 3. Jesus actually resurrected from the death? Answer: Yes, indeed, there is evidence for the first two. […]
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 […]
Question: Do you believe Adam had an alternative to not to sin or God has predestined the sin of Adam and Adam had not an alternative and he must only have sinned? Since our choices are determined by our DNA, our environment, our past experiences, our education (all factors we have not chosen) do you […]
Question: A Jewish Rabbi said that the Hebrew Tanakh (Tanach) and the Christian Old Testament are quite different . It seems Tanakh is not an Old Testament. More so, he said that Catholic Church misinterpreted several important verses (over and over) of the Old Testament to suits New Testament claims in order to make it fit […]
Question: I have seen a line of thinking on social media that says “Christianity was made because people fear death/ was made for people who fear death. “ I don’t know if it’s because I personally fear death, but this view is really getting to me. Is there any insight or words you would like […]
Question: Jehovah’s witnesses teach that no one goes to heaven after death. In proof of this they cite Acts 2,34 and they say that here Peter denies that David ascended into heaven and so if a man of God like David did not go to heaven it means no one go to heaven. Personally I […]
Question: Jesus—who had no sin (Hebrews 4:15)—is said to be “perfected” (Hebrews 2:10). I can’t understand what Jesus was missing. What was still imperfect in him? Answer: The word translated as “perfect” from the Greek in the New Testmanet is teleos or teleon. This word is not identical to the English word “perfect.” It has […]
Question: What is the meaning of “All Israel will be saved” in Romans 11:26? Does it teach that every single Israelite will be saved? If some Israelites are lost (for example Judas Iscariot) why did Paul say “All Israel will be saved”? Maybe Paul it referring to a future event in which every single member […]
Question: If Jeremiah 33 15 says that Messiah will sprout up in the days of Israel’s restoration doesn’t this contradict the time of Christ’s appearance? Answer: The timing and meaning of a prophecy is determined by the context. Besides, many of the restoration prophecies in both Jeremiah and Ezekiel are what I call “double prophecies.” […]
Question: I have a question on your thoughts about Robert Eisenman who says that Paul was a Herodian? He gives evidences that both men in question were named paul/saul , persecuted and killed many , were of Herodian bloodline (Romans 16:11) .. the assertions here are pretty serious and I’d like advice on countering these […]
Question: Is Satan responsible for every bad thing we do? I was recently told there are demons of divination, sleep, procrastination, fear, and basically anything considered bad. I know there are definitely demons/evil spirits of divination and the like but my issue with this theory is that sleep isn’t inherently bad, only when it is […]
Question: Question: If Jeremiah 33 15 says that Messiah will sprout up in the days of Israel’s restoration, doesn’t this contradict the time of Christ’s appearance Answer: The timing and meaning of a prophecy is determined by the context. Besides, many of the restoration prophecies in both Jeremiah and Ezekiel are what I call “double […]
Question: One area of Old/New Testament which I’m interested in is the genealogy of Jesus. Now what I’m wanting to find out is whether the genealogy of the line of David (as the Jews know the Messiah must come from his line) is still being recorded to this day? Is there any record of it […]
[editor’s note: Tis is a pretty long, but nevertheless simple question. I hope you do not mind reading such a long question. My answer is below.] Question: In one of the articles at your web site someone was asking about how we can trust that the Bible came out correctly b/c it was written by […]
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 want to read the entire Bible. I’m very familiar with the New Testament, as I have read it many times. However, I find the Old Testament difficult to dive into because I don’t find it as applicable to everyday Christian living. Yet, I know there’s much to be gleaned from it. How can […]
Question: Is faith in God and in the things of God reasonable? I mean do you believe with a reason? Answer Yes, certainly. Paul told Festus on Acts 26:25 that what we believe about Jesus is “true and reasonable.” Of course, this is just a statement and you should not believe it is true and […]
[Editor’s note: this is part of an interaction with a questioner who feels my treatment of Peter Enns’ book How the Bible Actually Works is not fair. The article is found here: https://evidenceforchristianity.org/a-review-of-peter-enns-book-how-the-bible-actually-works/ ] Question: I have worked my way through some fairly lengthy portions of your sermon at the Boston Church of Christ on […]
Question: Recently my home state of Alabama passed the most restrictive abortion law in the nation to date. I wanted to ask you if we as Christians can allow abortion. Many well-meaning people have differing opinions on this, as there are some morally difficult cases. For instance, while there are not that many cases of […]
Question: Does witchcraft truly exist? If yes how can a Christian shield himself from it? If no, how can a Christian handle this belief? Answer: Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rules, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces […]
Question: I am reading a book called With by Skye Jethani who mentions in chapter two that God is genderless based on Genesis 1:26-27. I don’t quite see the inference, the scripture affirms that we are made in the image of God. God made us both male and female. Jethani states, “It was explained to […]
Question: How does God’s sovereignty work together with human choices? Answer: My answer is that I do not know exactly how this works. I just know that it does because the Bible so clearly demonstrates that God gives us sovereignty over our own choices. We have free will. He does not force us to obey him […]
Question: Does a person’s motive justify his or her actions? ie. Is it possible to justify a good reason for doing something bad? I want to know that the Bible says about this. Emmanuel: This is a good question. I am afraid that there is no solid, clear-cut, definite answer in the Bible to this […]
Question: Do you think it is ok to take communion if you have not been baptized? If someone says they have been saved–for example that they ‘placed their faith in Christ, repented of their sins, believe Jesus died on the cross for their sins, accepted Christ as their Lord and savior’ etc….should they be able […]
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 […]
Question: Do you believe homosexuality is a sin? I read an article that discusses the use of the term homosexuality in the New Testament and how it had a completely different meaning when it was written. The article argued that homosexuality in the terms of two people loving each other didn’t exist back then and […]
Questions: I have two questions that cause a lot of troubles to me: Some people believe that the concept of hell is a pagan idea which Jesus copied from Egyptian and Greek culture. In the Old Testament they find nothing about the existence of hell and believe that the idea of hell was born in Egypt and […]
Question: About Mark 14:51 – What is the significance of this verse (the one about the young man who fled the scene of the arrest of Jesus without his clothes)? Answer: The story about the young man losing his clothes is a surprisingly insignificant detail to be included in the Scripture, causing many to wonder […]
Question: I have a question on the spelling of the name Jesus based on an article I found at https://evidenceforchristianity.org/ask-question/ It talks about the history of the letter J and what that means about the name Jesus. I heard stories that the letter J is only 400 or 500 years old and Jesus been around […]
Question: Is demon possession like in the gospels real? Does it still occur today? Answer: Yes, demon possession was and is real. The principle reason I believe this is that Jesus clearly believed in it. He drove demons out of the man called Legion (Mark 5:6-10), out of the boy after being on the Mount […]
Question: 1 – I’m reading a book where an atheist asks: “How can the heavenly voice at Jesus’ baptism have said both ” You are my beloved Son” (Mark 1:11) and ” This is my beloved Son” (Matt 3:17) at the same time? “ 2 – Why did God order killed the Canaanite children? Are […]
Question: Mark 14:51 – What is the significance of this verse? Answer: The story about the young man losing his clothes seems a surprisingly insignificant detail to include in the Gospel of Mark. This has caused many to wonder why Mark included it (including you!). The most reasonable answer I have heard is that this […]
Question: I have been seeking to understand the development of communion as it is practiced in the church today and how communion was practiced in the first century Church. I referred to written works from authors with a Jewish understanding and perspective about the practice of breaking bread and communion, To understand the original intent […]
Question: My son has a “logical” but non-Biblical idea. He believes that God’s will is omnipotent, sovereign and therefore (because God is good) all obey His will and therefore are not responsible for what they do. Their actions are all predetermined. How do you respond to this quandary? Answer: This may be the single most common […]
Question: Once you allow the multiverse, is it not possible that life on earth just popped into existence kind of like Boltzmann brains? Answer: First of all, there is absolutely zero evidence for the multiverse. This is utter speculation. This speculation only exists, in my opinion, because atheists need a fall-back argument against the FACT […]
[Editor’s note: This question comes from a person who has asked many questions, as you will see from my answer. To find more on Ehrman, go to the site and do a search on his name] Question: Bart Ehrman claims that the “we” passages in Acts are forgery by the author to convince the readers […]
Question: I have a question. In a recent video that I saw, an atheist argued that the Bible teaches that Christians are to have a hostile and distasteful attitude toward nonbelievers. He cites 2 John 1:9-11 as evidence of this claim which says, “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching […]
Question: I read an article that claims that John 7:53-8:11 was not part of the original book of John. https://www.gotquestions.org/John-7-53-8-11.html Please comment on this article. Is today’s KJV bible accurate as to the original manuscripts written by the original gospel writers? Are there any additional example of material that has been added to the Gospels over the […]
Question: Ephesians 4:8 is a quote from Psalm 68:18, but it is miss-quoted by Paul. The verse in Ephesians says “gave gifts to men,” while Psalms says “received gifts from men”. Please explain. Thank you. Answer: In Ephesians 4:8 it is likely that Paul is quoting the Aramaic Targum rather than the Septuagint. The Aramaic […]
Question: I’ve been trying to understand if Daniel 9 actually presents a credible prophecy. I’m at least familiar with (though do not completely understand) all the different perspectives. I’m aware that some interpretations involve the beginning of the “decree” [Daniel 9:25] in 444/445 B.C. (Nehemiah 2:1). You begin the period of 490 years from 458 […]
Question: How can free will exist if God is omnipotent? Answer: First of all, I assume you are asking about free will in light of God’s sovereignty, not his omnipotence. I see no logical problem in God being all-powerful preventing him from using his power to create a sentient being with free will. I know […]
Question: What are the origins and influences of the science of positive thinking and personal development? Is it biblical when we know that this science mainly advocates the exaltation of the self? Autosuggestion, visualization and mental imagery? What do you think of the fact that some philosophers or psychologists claim that Jesus is a great […]
Question: After leaving Egypt, did the Hebrew worship the True God of Israel in the desert through the Golden calf or did they worship another god through the use of the Golden calf ? Answer: The Hebrew may be subject to two different interpretations. Aaron said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you out […]
Question: How did the Jewish government handle the resurrections of the dead during the Good Friday story? I mean today once your social security file is closed its over for you! Imagine how our government would handle the dead coming back into the cities! Is there any Jewish mention of these saints when they came back […]
Question: Why do bad things happen to good people? Answer: This is a complex and difficult question and there is no simple answer. I have written an essay on the question of suffering. I am attaching it here and copying and pasting below. The Problem of Pain and Suffering Here is the “quick” version. Everything God […]
Question: I heard about discovery of Jesus’ blood on the ark of covenant by Ryan Watt. He concluded they found Jesus’ blood ….when they tested this blood the results were that Jesus’ blood is still alive today, and it has 24 chromosomes: 23 from his mother and 1 from the Holy Spirit which proves the […]
[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 […]
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