Question: I have a doubt about the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that Jesus appeared to 500 after he rose from the dead. If this is true why didn’t the gospels or the book of Acts confirm this event which is very important? And why didn’t Jesus appear […]
Question: [editor’s note, this is a rather long question] I want you to respond to the following article: “The Resurrection Story of Jesus” Claims of “resurrection appearances of Jesus” in the earliest source, 1 Cor., do not list time, place, circumstances, nor whether Jesus spoke or did anything other than “appear,” and, Jesus appears […]
Question: Dear doctor, I’ve been doing apologetic and history research and I wanted to ask you about Yahweh being a Midianite deity that Moses eventually adopted into their worship. Apparently this is the scholarly consensus. Does this theory have any proof? Why is it the scholarly consensus? Is there even any evidence or is it […]
[Editor’s note: The article below concerns an article the inquirer found by Richard Carrier. Carrier is an atheist who tries to present himself as a scholar, but who writes fantastically poorly reasoned nonsense. My suggestion: Do not waste your time reading his blog, but it is up to you.] Request: Could I ask you to […]
Question: I’ve been reading a good amount on the Old Testament canon. Jesus quoted some of the Deuterocanonical texts. The writer of the book of Hebrews did so as well. This books mention events that happened in the Deuterocanon as well. Not to mention that many early church fathers quote the Deuterocanonical books as well. […]
Question: Could you please make a response to this atheist who claims Galatians 1:9 is an interpolation?https://vridar.org/2011/06/03/a-case-for-interpolation-does-not-rely-on-manuscript-evidence/ Response: First of all, I am pretty sure you are talking about Galatians 1:19, not Galatians 1:9. This question has been “out there” in the internet lately, so I assume you made a little error in your question. […]
Question: I have recently read claims that Paul’s supposed vision on the road to Damascus are just hallucinations. Critics claim that the word used by Paul to describe the event refers to spiritual sight not a physical appearance. Could you respond to his claims about Paul? This really bothered me, and I am struggling. Can […]
Question: My question is this, Is there technically the same and/or more evidence for Jesus/resurrection and his existing than there is for guys like Abe Lincoln and George Washington exosting (historical figures that everyone accepts as real men even though we’ve never seen them)? Abe and George are in school textbooks with a few anecdotes […]
Editor’s note: This question is most likely coming from a Muslim source who is trying to undercut the evidence for the reliability of the New Testament manuscripts. He/she is attempting to undermine the evidence, to claim its strength is exaggerated by believers. Question: Not all NT writings are attested by 5000+ manuscripts. Thus, by stating […]
Question: Some Apostolic-Pentecostal Christians claim that being baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38) is the correct form of baptism, and disregard baptism in the name of the Trinity (Matt. 28:18-20). They claim that there is a great importance concerning what you are baptized into. My question is this: are these baptisms the […]
Question: The Gospel authors weave OT passages and themes into their various portraits of Christ, e.g., John’s Gospel fabricated a narrative that depicts Jesus being offered sour wine to fulfill the second half of Psalms 69:21, but that lacks anyone trying to poison Jesus to fulfill the first half of this passage. In reality, there […]
Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up from a questioner who wanted to know how important is the statements in the Babylonian Talmud about a certain Jesu who was hanged on the eve of the Passover. This passage is often mentioned as non-Christian support for the reality of Jesus and the fact of his crucifixion. Therefore, […]
Question: The writings of Paul and the Gospel of John are NOT credible. Reasons are: 1. John was written around 90 CE. If the author of John was with Jesus, it was over 55 years prior! John would have been a senile, Alzheimer ridden 90 year old man! And yet, we are to believe that […]
Question: The Gospels’ writers fabricated stories about Jesus which have no strong evidence, e.g., the sky grows dark for 3 hours at midday at the crucifixion, an earthquake rips the curtain in the Jewish temple & opens the tombs of the saints, from which dead people resurrect and then appear throughout Jerusalem. This is an […]
Question: As stated in the Koran 3:183, the Israelites even killed the prophets who presented a fiery sign from heaven that consumed their sacrificial offerings, but why does the Bible not mention this happening? Answer: This is an easy question. The Bible does not mention this because it did not happen. The Qur’an is the […]
Question: According to a Muslim Clergy, the current Pentateuch is not reliable because it has immoral stories about Abraham’s relatives which can’t be from God. Your response? Answer: I am well aware of this charge by Muslims. My response is that there is no such thing as an immoral story. There are immoral actions, but not […]
Question: Generally speaking, are ancient accounts about events which were written 1-3 centuries after the events they record reliable records of the actual events they record? Answer: Let me give a commo-sense answer, which is that the later an event is recorded after it occurs, the less reliable that account will be. However, there were […]
Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up from an earlier question in which the questioner made claims of Christian borrowing from Zoroastrian sources, and I respectfully asked for actual quotes from which the borrowing occurred. Thankfully, the questioner responded to the request. Question: The NT authors copied elements of Zoroastrianism from the Jews and fit them […]
Question: According to a Muslim Clergy, the current Pentateuch is not reliable because it has immoral stories about Abraham’s relatives which can’t be from God. Your response? Answer: I am well aware of this charge by Muslims. My response is that there is no such thing as an immoral story. There are immoral actions, but […]
Question: 1. I read more than a couple of your articles about Krishna a deity in Hinduism. You said that Krishna is a mythical figure demanding details like where did he live? Where was he born? When was he born? What did he look like? Who were his parents and where did they come from? These […]
Editor’s note: This is a series of two questions and two answers. Question #1: How do we demonstrate to non-Christians the Christian understanding of life after death – that we will either be sent to hell or go to heaven based on whether or not we have accepted God’s gift of eternal life in this […]
Question: Is 2 Samuel 7:16 a failed prophecy? “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”” 2 Samuel 7:16 ESV..I saw a critic claims that this is a failed prophecy, because “houses” and kingdoms do not last forever. Answer: This is in fact a […]
Question: Are you a believer in Christian Universalism (restoration of ALL) Apocatastasis rather than Unitarian Universalism? I believe the Bible in the original writings support this. You mention in some of your writings you believe in heaven but don’t mention hell. Hell–meaning eternal, conscious torment for all who don’t believe in Christ. To me that […]
Question: Tacticus wrote almost nothing about Jesus – just one small passage. Tacitus only said that Christians in Rome believed such a thing. It does not prove that Jesus was crucified. Further, we do not find any mention of Jesus in Seneca’s (4 BCE – 65 CE) writings and the historian Pliny the Elder (23 […]
Question: Can you give me factual references to scriptures/books using which I can use to refute reincarnation theory? I was born in a Hindu family. However God blessed me and I found my true faith. My entire family is Hindu. I have read Bhagavad Gita and Bible. Both have strongly written verses and theories in […]
Question: The editors of the Bible were not interested to preserve the history of Minor Prophets except Jonah. If editors mentioned the histories of Elijah and Elisha, then why were the Minor Prophets were left out? Answer: By “the editors” I assume you mean those who put together the historical books of the Bible. The […]
Questions: 1. I believe there is good evidence for Christianity, but why do so many people not accept it if it’s true? Would a good answer to this question be that Jesus said most people would be condemned? (Matthew 7:13) 2. Does archaeology align well with the Bible? The New Testament is well supported by […]
Question: God created humans and other living beings for nothing else but that they could serve him. He did not desire from them any provision or food. It was revealed to the Prophets to not associate any others with God in his Divinity. Didn’t Paul challenge OT teachings and make a mockery of them by […]
Question/Comment: The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) do not prove the inerrancy or historical accuracy of the Bible. The writings in DSS show a hugely different history than in the Bible. The Genesis Apocryphon is noticeably different from the Bible’s Genesis. Exodus, 1-2 Samuel and Jeremiah are extremely different in the DSS than in the Bible. […]
Question: You preach everywhere regarding the means of Jesus’ death, but my Muslim friend said to me: “They are spreading lies which will lead them in Hell.” That would include you. What should be our response? Answer: Your Muslim friend is claiming that when we Christians teach that Jesus died on a cross in Jerusalem, […]
Question: In the Gospel of Matthew 11:19, one version says wisdom is justified of her children(KJV) and another version says wisdom is justified by her deeds(ESV). Please explain this variant “children and deeds” Answer: This is a familiar example of a textual variant with a fairly well-understood explanation. The explanation of the textual variant is found […]
[Editor’s note: I am doing the reverse of what I normally do here. The question is so long, that I despair anyone would read to the end of it to find my response. So, I am doing something that might be a bit confusing here, which is to publish my response before the question] Response: […]
[Editor’s note: This is a two-part question. The first question needed clarification, which was given, allowing me to give a more nuanced answer to the original] Question: According to Duet. 13:1-3, if a prophet appears among the Israelites and announces a sign and if that sign takes place, and then that prophet orders them to […]
Question: In reading the book of Jude, I discovered this: Jude 1:14 Enoch, the seventh of our ancestors after Adam, spoke of these people in advance, saying: “Behold, the Lord is coming with millions of angels” There are two questions to ask in this text: 1-Do you think Enoch is seventh in the Genealogy […]
Question: According to Philip R. Davies, a British biblical scholar, prophetic books are primarily the product of scribes who imitated the traditional style of intermediaries and wrote for their own interest. Does it mean our prophetic books are fake? Answer: Philip R. Davies is an unbeliever. He is not a Christian and it is not […]
Question: I have been doing a lot of research on Biblical authorship. Recently, I came across an article entitled “A biblical text with ‘new’ facts about Jesus was found — and Christians ignore it.” In this article the authors claimed that Luke wrote a document called “The Dialogue of Jason and Papiscus.” Apparently, it was […]
Questions: Could you do an exhaustive defense of Sola Scriptura? I heard Roman Catholics using arguments, claiming that Sola Scriptura is never mentioned in the Bible. I also have heard that since the Bible doesn’t give us a list of what is inspired scriptures, we have to look outside to know what is inspired and […]
Question: I’ve been hesitant to ask this question because I suspect this would be slightly annoying to do on your part, but here it goes… I read one of your past Q & As addressing unfulfilled prophecies on rationalWiki: https://evidenceforchristianity.org/can-you-explain-all-the-unfulfilled-old-testament-prophecies-listed-at-rationalwiki/ You may or may not know this, but some authors on rationalwiki have actually posted your […]
Question: Did Alice Whealey prove conclusively that Agapius was translating the Syriac edition not of Josephus, but of Eusebius and did she refute the thesis that the Arabic fragment of the Testimonium supports its authenticity? Answer: I have not read Alice Whealy’s discussion of the Testamonium Flavianum in its entirety. In fact, I have only […]
Question: Thank you very much, Dr. Oakes. Thank God I found you. There are also 6 more objections I found and was wondering what you think of these: [Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up to fourteen previous questions from the same person. The answers are interspersed between the questions.] 15. The historians who supposedly offered […]
Editor’s Note: This is a series of 14 questions, so I disperse my answers after the questions. Most of these criticisms are already refuted elsewhere at the web site, but since this poor unfortunate believer has been assaulted with so many false claims, I am including answers to all of them below. My responses are […]
Question: As an apologist, how do you always stand by your convictions and beliefs, as so often the arguments put forth to refute the Bible are so strong, rational and logical. Also, there is always the confirmation bias that could influence one’s judgement. Thank you. Answer: A very good question. I get literally thousands of […]
Question: Why does the book of Jeremiah have the appearance of being a medley of unconnected passages which are sometimes in contradiction to each other for e.g. chapter 37:11-21 and chapter 38 are divergent accounts of one and the same course of events? Answer: Part of your description is a reasonable assessment of Jeremiah, and […]
Question: Why can’t Jews/Christians prove that the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, etc. are the amalgamation of exact words of the prophets? Jonah is surely not written by Jonah as it is a historical narrative. Your response? Answer: It is the nature of ancient documents that no one can ever “prove” the provenance of any […]
Question: Up to what percentage can we reconstruct the New Testament text/ content from early church fathers’ quotations/citations? And I want to know from when in the church’s history did believers start using NT scriptures as a base to preach the Gospel as we do now in our churches. When did Christians start having serious […]
Question: I just read your refutation of Jesus being plagiarized off of previous Mediterranean deities and I must say you cannot believe your own drivel. To argue that it couldn’t be plagiarized because only portions of the stories are similar is beyond ridiculous. I have several questions for you: 1) Was Jesus the first deity born […]
Question: How can we be sure that the current books of the Major & Minor Prophets are actual words of the Hebrew Prophets? Christians interpret predictions of Israel’s glorious future fulfilled in the Church, but it’s their interpretation because prophets apparently never meant that. Jews are still looking for fulfilment of the glorious future predictions. […]
Question: The incest story of Lot and his daughters has been borrowed from Zoroastrian traditions of the incest performed between Jam and Jamag, who were brother and sister. Jamag took advantage of the intoxicated state of her brother and had sex with him. What’s your response? Answer: My response is that this is so obviously […]
[Editor’s note: This exchange is part of a longer discussion in which the questioner believes that there are literally no mistakes in either the Greek text or in the King James translation of that text.] Comments and Questions: I just wanted to thank you for responding so quickly again and wanted to say a few […]
[Editor’s note: The question below is a follow-up from a previous one in which the questioner is quite surprised that a faithful believer would agree that Christians do not have access to a perfect text of the Bible, to which I replied about the textual evidence for the great (but not perfect) reliability of the […]
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