Question: The only evidence of the Septuagint translation is the pseudepigraphical letter of Aristeas. It says: “six elders out of every tribe of Israel wrote it.” First, 10 tribes of Israelites had already been lost in history a long time ago, before this time, which shows that this story is fabricated. Second, if they wrote, […]
Question: My teacher says: The current Gospels are not reliable because they were written in Greek, whereas the language of Jesus and his followers was Aramaic. Christians don’t have manuscripts from 40 AD in Aramaic. Further, when Titus destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE, his speech was translated from Roman to Aramaic. It means Greek/Latin was not […]
Question: According to 1 Samuel 15:22, “Samuel said, Does the Lord take pleasure in whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in hearing the words of the Lord? behold, obedience better than a good sacrifice.” Therefore, the whole story of Jesus’ crucifixion is bogus and God didn’t order Jesus to do it. Your response? Answer: This statement is riddles […]
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 […]
Question: Jesus was also a borrower who copied text from the book of II Esdras 1:30-33 and presented it as an inspired word. “I gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But now, what shall I do to you? I will cast you out from my presence. When you offer oblations […]
Question: St. Eucharius (3rd Century) said: “It is evident why we have not remaining the books which the Holy Scriptures approve of, because Judea having been ravaged by the Chaldeans, and the ancient bibliotheque being burnt. There remaining only a small number of the books which at present make up the Holy Scriptures and which were […]
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: Although the Isaiah scroll [Editor’s comment: The questioner is referring to the Dead Sea Scrolls] is similar in structure to today’s book of Isaiah, it contains alternative spellings, scribal errors, corrections, and other variant readings. Strictly speaking, the number of textual variants is well over 2600, ranging from a single letter, sometimes one or […]
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 […]
Question: If Jesus’ followers were thousands at the time of crucifixion, why did they not save him? They were such cowards who let their Prophet/Messiah beaten by the Romans. Muslims were far more brave, whose 15,000 men fought against the Byzantine Empire’s army of 140,000 in 636 CE and captured the Christian Levant. Why were […]
Question: I read that in the 7th century, Christians of Najran interacted with Muhammad in Medina. The event of the mubahala (mutual cursing) took place to resolve a theological dispute between Muslims and Christians circa 632 CE by invoking the curse of God upon liars. The Christian delegation withdrew from the challenge and negotiated a […]
Question: What or who is the ark of covenant in New Testament? Catholics claim that Mary is the ark of the covenant because she carried God’s covenant in her body. What is your response? Answer: The Ark of the Covenant was the wooden box, covered with gold, that contained Aaron’s rod, a piece of manna, […]
Question: Christians deliberately corrupted the Jewish Scriptures to prove that Jesus is God, for e.g. they altered the translation of Isa. 9:6. They translate: “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” but the Jewish translation is: “The wondrous adviser, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, called his name, “the prince of […]
Question: Jesus came to the Jews to show them the right path, which was unacceptable for them. The New Testament tells us that he brought the concept of “God’s Son” or “Human-God” which was not prophesied in the Jewish Scriptures. That’s the reason the majority of the Jews rejected him. Similarly, when Muhammad came to […]
Question: Ezek. 38:17 mentions the Israelite prophets who prophesied about Gog, but no prophecy earlier than Ezekiel’s prophecy talks about Gog. Then who were those Israelite prophets and why did Ezekiel not name them? Answer: I do not know for sure what prophets Ezekiel is referring to. He does not tell us. However, it is […]
Question: Are there any historians who write about Luke as a real person? Answer: Sure. There are many. Sir William Ramsay is one of the most famous to discuss Luke. Here is a quote about him: It is almost universally acknowledged that the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts were written by the […]
Question: Why did Peter boast about Jesus that all the prophets testified about him (Acts 10:43) although they have a meagre record of 15-16 prophets and among them Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Obadiah not talk about Jesus? What is your response? Answer: My response is that all the true prophets of Jehovah did in fact prophesy about […]
Question: I often hear Jesus Mythicists arguing that Paul believed Jesus was a celestial being who put on a body of flesh to be crucified by demonic powers in the heavens. Hence I ask: did Paul ever situate Jesus on earth? Answer: First of all, unless you make reference to an actual person who makes […]
Question: What are your thoughts on the tower of Babel; particularly on its historical reality? And also on the topic of the different languages? How should we interpret this? Answer: I believe that the Tower of Babel story is semi-historical. What I mean by this is that I believe that there was an actual city, […]
Question: I have a question regarding a man who was baptized in my local church for the forgiveness of his sins. We found out later that this man did not know about the passage in Romans 6:1-7 when he was baptized. How does this lack of knowledge of Romans 6:1-7 affect his baptism? Should this […]
Question: Could Jesus have received a proper burial by the Jews, rather than be tossed into an unmarked grave? Answer: The Jewish perspective is influenced by the passage Deuteronomy 21:23, which is referenced by Paul in Galatians 3:13 and possibly in 2 Corinthians 5:21. Here is the Deuteronomy 21:23 passage: (NIV) “If someone guilty of […]
Question: Jer. 23:6 does not talk about Jesus because it says: “this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.” Jesus was never called by this name or title in his lifetime as New Testament depicted. What is your response? Answer: As they say, lack of evidence is not evidence of […]
Question: Amos predicted that God will plant Jews in their own land, never again to be uprooted (Am. 9:15), but they were banished by Titus in 70 CE. Zechariah predicted that ten people from all nations will take firm hold of one Jew and say, Let us go with you, because we have heard that […]
Question: If John the Baptist was sure that Jesus was a Messiah (Matt. 3:14), then why did he doubt him in the other place (Matt. 11:3)? Does that mean NT accounts have contradictions? Answer: This question has troubled me in the past as well. It seems surprising that John the Baptist was the prophesied “one […]
Question: What does the Bible say about reincarnation? Answer: That is an easy question. The Bible says nothing about reincarnation except to deny the reality of reincarnation. In fact, the Bible quite specifically, denies the reality of reincarnation. Hundreds of passages could be used to prove the biblical reality that after this life we die […]
Question: Is there any scripture evidence for the way that Apostolic/Pentecostal churches operate in tongues today? Is it biblical for people to gather and have many different people in the congregation speaking in tongues at the same time? Answer: Let me be honest with you. This is a debatable matter. I have a rather strong […]
Question: Dr. Oakes, After deep study of the prophetic books, I come to the conclusion that, on one hand, the Bible portrays opponents of Jeremiah & Ezekiel as false prophets and blames them for lying, adultery and wickedness and, on the other hand, its accepted prophets did the same things for e.g. Hosea had an […]
Question: I have a serious question about the Bible’s authenticity. Why did the biblical Prophets borrow characteristics from Canaanite/Ugaritic epic poetry and apply them to Yahweh? For e.g., Nahum (1:4-6) and Habakkuk (3:14-15) describe God as an avenging warrior God similar to Canaanite/Ugaritic storm god Baal. Your response? Answer: First of all, you say this […]
Question: My question is about Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) In the case of a Christian married couple where the wife is said to be infertile, and doctor recommends ART. This means that the wife accepts a donor egg of which her husband’s sperm will be used to fertilize and eventually the embryo transferred to wife’s […]
Question: I read that: Deut. 18:15 is about Muhammad because he was similar to Moses, i.e. he brought law to, and war against non-believers, etc. The same is true of Isa. 2:2-3, which is about Mecca, not Zion, because millions of pilgrims visit Mecca but nothing like that happens at Jerusalem. Isa. 42:4 is not […]
Question: Jesus failed to bring universal peace (Mic. 4:1-4; Isa. 11:6-9) because, after him, bloodshed occurred multiple times in Jerusalem. Former dominion was not restored nor was kingship established as predicted (Mic. 4:6-8). What’s your response? Answer: Jesus fulfilled Micah 4:1-4 word-for-word and in detail. He died to establish the Church, which is the Mountain […]
Question: Theologian Bernhard Duhm (1912) wrote: “This process of editing the Prophetic Writings, with such added expositions, enlargements, and supplementation, went on to so large an extent that now no single prophetic writing exists in its original form. Indeed, more than once we find that what was originally not at all the work of Prophets […]
Questions: I have a few questions concerning baptism and repentance. For baptism my 3 questions are: If someone has repented and has made the decision to be baptized and make Jesus Lord of their life and is on the way to their baptism, and tragically dies in a car accident, is there any way to […]
Question: When did Mary worship first start? I’m trying to witness to my Christian Catholic friend who still prays to Mary. I asked SIRI and an article came up with your web page entitled: “Was Mary worshipped by the early Christian Church in 250 AD as my Catholic friend claims?” I would like to print […]
Question: Liberal Rabbi Mark L. Solomon says: “We have no way of knowing for certain the authorship of any of the Biblical books, including the prophecies in Neviim (Prophets), since they were probably based on oral teaching handed down for generations before being written down by anonymous scribes.” What’s your opinion? Answer: My opinion is […]
Question: Jesus had no need to prove himself Messiah through corrupted Jewish prophecies. Jews fabricated the concept of “King like David”. Those prophecies will neither be fulfilled in the distant future for Jews, not as the Davidic Kingdom will never come to exist. Indeed, Jesus came as Messiah to teach Jews to leave their worldly […]
Question: If the Levites and Priests already knew the criteria for recognizing the true prophet and false prophet (Deut. 13:1-5; 18:21-22), then why did false prophets flourish among Israelites? Why is there no mention of the execution of false prophets by the hands of Levites and Priests? Answer: The answer to this question is really […]
Questions: I’ve got a couple of questions. Some atheists and Jesus-mythers claim that a book like the Bible and the miracles in it are not surprising because during that time such writings and legends were common, with even serious historians like Tacitus adding miraculous or bizarre things to their writings. They say it was very […]
Question: Is the New Covenant everlasting? Will we be under the New Covenant in heaven? Answer: Believe it or not, this is a difficult question. Logically, it would seem that if the answer to the first question is yes, then the answer to the second question also needs to be yes, but this is not […]
Question: Mary (mother of Jesus) was a devout woman who was well aware of God’s scriptures, then why did she doubt Gabriel about virgin birth, when she already knew the prophecy of Isa. 7:14? Did it mean Christians fabricated the prophecy of Isa. 7:14? Answer: Mary was indeed a devout woman. And we can assume […]
Question: Did Jesus have two fathers, as Luke mentioned in 1:32, i.e. God and David? If Jesus was not a Son of God in a literal sense, then why did Christians make him a deity? Answer: Good question. I am not sure what your background in Christianity is, so I will start with the basics. […]
Question: A Jewish friend of mine says: According to Megillah 14b, eight prophets, who were also priests, descended from Rahab the prostitute, and they are: Neriah; his son Baruch; Seraiah; Mahseiah; Jeremiah; his father, Hilkiah; Jeremiah’s cousin Hanamel; and Hanamel’s father, Shallum. None of them are considered prophets by Christians except Jeremiah. If Christians are […]
Editor’s Note: This question comes from a Muslim, which might explain the tone of the question. Question: 1. The Christian Zionists claim that the modern Israelite state is made according to the Biblical prophecies for e.g., Ezek. 37:21-22, but the problem is: where is that king who will rule over them? Did all Jews return to Israel? […]
Question: My question is going to be about Romans 13:1-7. Here, Paul talks about submission to authorities. My question is this… Is Paul only referring to authorities in the time of him writing Romans, (especially when he says the authorities have been established by God) or does this apply to today as well? If this […]
Questions: Do we have the exact words of Jesus or a paraphrase? How does it affect the credibility of Jesus’s words?What is your definition or understanding of a contradiction? Did Jesus say to loose and bring one or two animals( a colt and donkey) Thanks Answers: No, we definitely do not have the exact words […]
Question: If Amos, Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai, Malachi were names of real people, why are they not found elsewhere in Biblical history? Answer: You are asking the wrong question, in my opinion. Here is the correct question to ask: Are Amos, Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai and Malachi real people? It is not the job of a historian […]
Question: Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel allegedly received “Oracles against Nations”, but what purpose do they have other than consoling Jews? On the one hand, God used foreign nations to punish Israelites, then on the other hand, God wants to punish them without giving them a chance of repentance. Although the Israelites continuously mocked Moses, […]
Question: Where does your soul go when you die? Some say heaven (or hell) but if that’s true then the people that were raised from the dead were taken out of heaven and brought back to earth…? Jesus raised people before his crucifixion and Peter and Paul did too after Jesus died and rose again. […]
Question: According to Jewish tradition, four messianic figures, called the Four Craftsmen, from a vision found in the Book of Zechariah (Zech.1:18-21). The four craftsmen are discussed in the Babylonian Talmud Suk. 52b. which identifies these four craftsmen as Messiah ben David, Messiah ben Joseph, Elijah, and the Righteous Priest. My question is: If Jesus […]
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