QUESTION: I used to be a follower of Christ. I was wondering is there any PROOF outside of the Bible that proves the miracles that he performed including him coming back from the dead? I would like the sources that where written by non-believers at that time period if this is all possible with you. […]
QUESTION: I really need help on the following-I was on a website recently that claims that Aaron’s feast day of the golden calf that is said to have occurred in around 1446 BC in Exodus was copied from a events that took place within the same time period (between 17-15 century BC) by a group […]
Comment: I am currently reading your book “Reasons for Belief”. I’m not that far into yet but I wanted to point out that the passage that you use from Josephus to support the miracles of Jesus is considered to be a Christian interpolation and therefore not reliable. From what I understand, several passages from Josephus […]
QUESTION: Hello Dr. Oakes, I was wondering why – with all of the biblical and secular evidence of Jesus actually existing – do atheists contend there is new evidence that Jesus’ existance may not be true? Is this just another attempt to try and prove there can be no God or is there some new […]
QUESTION: I would like to know about the accusations against the Bible. 1. The fallacies and inconsistancies that people claim are there… 2. How accurate do we know the Old Testament to be historically speaking. Response: It is impossible for me to answer the first question because it is too broad to address. What I […]
Question: (maybe you need to change 4 Kings to 2 Kings. In the Russian Bible, 2 Kings is 4 Kings) Can I ask you to help me deal with the chronology of events in the life of Hezekiah? In the Bible, king Sennacherib wanted to conquer Jerusalem, threatening its residents. After this comes a description […]
Suggestion: Hi, please do read the doctoral thesis by the late Thomas Herron in which he presents a persuasive argument for re-dating 1 Clement to just before 70 AD. There are of course explosive implications if 1 Clement was pre 70 AD – for example if Clement is quoting at least one of the gospels […]
QUESTION: Since the birthplace of Jesus is too far from the Indian subcontinent, there is a viable chance for him travelling to India or Tibet. All the story of Jesus is mythological like Indian mythology. Hence, there is solid proof that Jesus Christ came to India and has made a deep study of Hindu religion. After returning […]
Question: Hi, John! I have some questions about discoveries. Tell me, please, if I am not right. 1. This tablet now in Germany – http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/evil-merodach-562-560-graciously-freed-jehoiachin/ 2. This tablet now in London (from your PDF) – text from tablet: [In] the seventh year, the month of Kislev, the king of Babylonia mustered his forces and marched […]
Question; I want to ask you about the one discovery – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezekiah%27s_Tunnel Is this the real tunnel from the Bible or not? Could you give me, please, a good web site about Bible discoveries? Answer: Yes, this is almost certainly the same tunnel which, according to 2 Kings, was constructed under Hezekiah in about 705 […]
Editor’s Note: This is a series of interactions with a person who is obviously a Muslim making a typical argument against Isaiah 7:14 as a messianic prophecy. See below for further arguments from this person. Question: If you say that the Hebrew word in Isaiah 14 means a virgin and that it is a dual prophecy, […]
Question: What i’m looking for is any info. to debunk “Ring of Power” outside of the scriptures. They say Abraham is Amenemhet 1st. and Moses is Thutmoses 3rd and Jacob is Jakububher(1655 to 1646 B.C.) and King David is really Psusemes(1039 to 911B.C.) and King Solomon is really the son of Psusemes (Simion?). They say […]
Question: If the Bible is correct then why did the prophecy in Ezekiel 29:17-20 fail? We know that Ezekiel made this prophecy in about 571 BC, and Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Egypt in 568 BC failed? Nebuchadnezzar was suppose to conquer Egypt according to those verses – “Behold, I will GIVE the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar […]
Question: I am getting hit with this subject more often. The bassist in my band who I basically live with when on tour sent me this video after a long talk we had on the tour bus. There are a lot of claims with no evidence to back it up however I think it’d be great […]
QUESTION: Have you read Sigmund Freud’s Moses and Monotheism? Freud suggests that Moses was actually an Egyptian, based on the origin of his name, and that Judaism was passed down from Egyptian monotheistic beliefs. Apparently most Egyptologists hold this to be true. Could you tell me about the historical accuracy of the claim that Moses […]
Question: My dad brought this scriptire to my attention. What is your take on it? Revelation 11:19 (NIV) Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm. So the ark is not […]
Question: I am referring to one of the powerpoint presentations at the web site (Reflections on the Passion of Christ). It indicates that the decree of Artaxerxes (Ezra Chapter 7) was issued around 458 BC. I am impressed with the overall insight into the prophecy (Daniel Chp 9). However, how did you reach the conclusion that […]
Question: Is there any evidence against the theory that the book of Daniel was written by two people or multiple people? Also I assume that you know about the discovery of Daniel’s three friends in a list of Babylonian officials. I was wondering why Daniel’s name was not found in the list of Babylonian officials, […]
Question: When were the Gospels written? I saw something on the History Channel that said that the first Gospel was Mark and was written 40 years after the death of Jesus and that the other three Gospels copied Mark’s Gospel and added to it. If this is true, how accurate could they be if they […]
Question: I am in no way a religious scholar. I just today had an epiphany regarding Akhenaten, whom I have read everything I can find about. I looked up the dates of Moses and Akenhaten. What I read, which may be inaccurate was Moses was around 1200 BC and Akhenaten 1336 BC or thereabouts. It […]
Question: I am a Christian from Turkey. Grace to you. I couldn’t understand the connection between 1420 BC. and the letters of Tel el Amarna. In an article at your site you say that; “The letter is addressed to Akhnaton, which implies it was written somewhere between 1387 and 1366 BC. This fits well with […]
QUESTION: Did Jesus travel India and study ? Answer: I have already answerwed this question at the site. I am copying and pasting below. Let me deal with the question about the life of Jesus first. It is true that there are “sources” which claim that Jesus traveled outside the area of Israel. By […]
In what year was Jesus Baptised? Glenn: We cannot calculate the date Jesus was baptized exactly. The most reliable way to do the calculation is to work backward from the crucifixion. The majority view is that Jesus’ ministry lasted approximately three years. This is based on counting the number of Jewish holidays recorded in the […]
Who wrote 1st Kings? Why is Revelation not included in Codex Vaticanus? (many more) Question: Who wrote the books of kings? What is the evidence? Why is it that the vaticanus codex does NOT have the book of Revelation? Did the human part of Jesus worship the divine part of Jesus? The rabbit chews the […]
Question: According to a show is watched, people believed in multiple God’s for a long time until many years after the earth was formed; then, the Jews started talking about one God. If this is true, how did God tell the Jews about one God and when? If this is true, did the pagans (before […]
Question: I was trying to get some quality, unbiased information regarding the evidence for Christianity when I stumbled across your piece on Genesis possibly being written by four different groups. https://www.evidenceforchristianity.org/index.php?option=com_custom_content&task=view&id=4962 I have to say, if your objective is to prove your side of the story than surely you will need to provide some evidence […]
Question: I am very iffy about this book that someone has mentioned to me which is titled Hebrew is Greek by Joseph Yehuda. This book is really hard to find, but the basic idea is that the Hebrew and Arabic languages are descended from the Greek language. I did research on the author, and what […]
Question: I was hoping you could answer my a question on Isaiah 45:14. It seems to say that Cyrus the Great would gain tribute or conquer Egypt, Cush and the Sabeans (which I believe are Ethiopians). But Cyrus the Great never conquered Egypt. Rather Cyrus’ son Cambyses invaded Egypt and conquered Egypt. He then tried […]
Question: In Mark 15:38 it says that the Temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. Is there any historical evidence that this actually happened: Either in some Jewish texts or some other credible writing outside of the New Testament? Answer: As far as I know there is not other written source confirming […]
Question: I am a Jew who lives in Israel, in recent times I began to wonder why my way, Judaism, is true. I talked with some rabbis, and their best claim against the other religion was that Judaism has survived thousands years. Despite all of the pogroms, anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, even though they were […]
Question: I recently read a report prepared by an archaeologist from the Israeli Antiquities Authority which stated that Bethlehem could not have been occupied during the Herodian Period (the time of the birth of Jesus Christ) because no ruins or other archaeological evidence from that period had been found in or around Bethlehem. He did […]
Question: I recently read a report prepared by an archaeologist from the Israeli Antiquities Authority which stated that Nazareth could not have been occupied during the Herodian Period (the time of the birth of Jesus Christ) because no ruins or other archaeological evidence from that period had been found in or around Nazareth. He did […]
Question: Why was the field called the field of blood (Matthew 27:8)? Is it because it was bought with blood money or because Judas died there? Answer: Because the Bible does not answer this question, we are left to make reasonable speculations. First of all, it is almost certainly not called this because Judas died […]
Question: Who is the person that invades all those countries in Dan 11:40-45? Is this event still in the future because the Angel says ‘and at that time’ and then talks about the waking of the dead to everlasting life or shame? Answer: I answer this in my book "Daniel, Prophet to the Nations." You […]
Questions: I have 3 questions regarding the interpretation of scripture. The first is in Esther 8:17 it states the following, "And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them." From my understanding in Jewish tradition, people from other nationalities (Gentiles) could not become or convert to Judaism. The […]
Question: My cousin is an atheist and I had high hopes that he would read your article "How do I respond to the claims of parallels between heathen god/man myths…" and have new insight. However, this was his response "This article is because he says so it’s true. He doesn’t really make an argument to […]
Question: How could Domitian subdue Galba if Galba was killed by Otho amd how could Domitian subdue Otho if Otho killed himself? I’m confused. Answer: I am not sure where you are getting your information. However, I assume you have read material critical of the prophecy in Daniel 7. This is the prophecy which predicted […]
Comment: In Jer. 51:27 it says that Ararat,Minni and Ashkenaz will attack Babylon. But the kingdom of Ararat(Urartu) was conquered by the Medes in 612-590. The Minni (Mannaeans) were conquered by the Medes in 612 and Ashkenaz is the ancestor of Germanic people they never attacked Bablyon. J Response: Do you have a question? What […]
Question: What are the ten horns/kings that came out of the fourth beast in Daniel 7:8? Answer: The ten horns in Daniel 7:7 are the first ten kings/emperors of Rome. I know this because the angel interpreted the vision for Daniel in Daniel 7:23-24. "The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, […]
Question: Is Jeremiah 33:18 literal? Does it mean that the Levites will always offer sacrifices. How can this be if we are under the New Covenant? Also in Ezekiel 26:12 is this a prophecy about Alexander or is it about Babylon plundering Tyre? If it is Babylon, how could that be if Nebuchadnezzar got no […]
Question: I have a question regarding Acts 7:2-8. There seems to be contradiction between Stephen’s speech and the Genesis account. Verse 3 quotes the words of God to Abraham given in Genesis 12:1 and implies by its juxtaposition with v. 2 that this message came to Abraham "while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he […]
Question: Can you explain the Baha’i prophecies in this website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%AD_prophecies Response: I have looked at these "prophecies" of Baha-ullah. To be honest, I am not all that impressed. For example, he predicted in the 1860s that the Ottoman Empire would fall apart. The reason this is not all that impressive is that by the […]
Comment: The Historia Augusta is an astonishing piece of bogus history. It is perhaps showing us a Roman sense of humour, but I think scholars are generally unaware of why it was done. There are 130 fake documents and they even invent sources that disagree with them. Sounds a bit like Christianity to me. The Flavians […]
Question: Are the 4 Gospels writen by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John historical documents? Can you send historical or any proof of Jesus from the first century when your N.T. claims the miracle worker, crucified and resurrected Jesus was here on earth? Answer: What do we know about Jesus from extra-Biblical sources? Let me list […]
Question: I have a question I hope you will kindly answer. I need an expert Bible opinion about the similarity of this Quranic passage that deals with the birth story of Jesus to that account we find in Luke. Thanks for taking my question seriously. Editor’s note: The passage from Surah 19 of the Qu’ran […]
Question: (note, this is actually a series of two questions and responses) We’ve been studying the book of Daniel here in Athens, GA. I’m teaching a lesson to the women, primarily using information from your book. In studying what information I could find online about Domitian, I could not find anywhere that he demanded disciples […]
Question: Speaking with a Jewish acquaintance about Jesus and this was his response…..not sure how to respond just yet but will research it more. Would love your thoughts. Note: Answers are interspersed with the claims of this person. Criticism/claims are in black italics, responses are in blue. "Romans. They recorded all kinds of insignificant details […]
Question: I am a student at Florida Christian College writing a paper on Chapter 3 of Richard Dawkins Book "The God Delusion." In his book he makes a claim that there is no historical evidence for the divinity of Christ. I was wondering, as I read from your article, that Quirinius had two different office […]
Question: I was reading some Wikipedia articles about early Israel and came across and interesting section regarding the origin of Yahweh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ancient_Israel_and_Judah#Religion Ill let you read it but I’m adding quotes from it that I was hoping you could respond to. "It is generally accepted among modern scholars that the narrative of […]
Question: I’m am reading your book,"Reasons for Belief" and I had a question on p.38… Can we be sure about Babylonia Sandhedrin 43a in the Talmud is refering to Jesus of Nazareth? Do we have any Jewish sources confirming that it is Jesus of Nazareth? The Talmud certainly fits very well with what we know […]
