Reliability of the Bible – Evidence for Christianity

If we use “copying errors” in the manuscripts to explain supposed biblical contradictions, doesn’t that open the door for people to claim the Bible cannot be trusted?

John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, General Apologetics, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

[Editor’s note: This question is a follow-up from the class Answering the Hard Questions which we have been teaching the past three weeks.] Question: Hi guys! Thanks for the great apologetics series! I left last session with two questions. One is regarding the use of the “copying error” as a tool for explaining discrepancies between texts. […]

Are the mythicists right that the Testimonium Flavium by Josephus is a forgery and that the Jesus in the James passage is not Jesus of Nazareth?

John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Help me! Mythicists insist that Josephus’ account of Jesus of Nazareth in BK XVIII of his *antiquities* is a wholesale forgery. They also insist that the passage about “James the brother of Jesus who was called Messiah” is not, in fact, about Jesus of Nazareth but “Jesus, son of Damneus” They also insist […]

I read that it is proved that the Jews were never enslaved in Egypt because there is not a single loan-word in ancient Egyptian from Hebrew or in ancient Hebrew from Egyptian. Response?

John Oakes wrote in General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Hey all at EFC, how would you respond to this quote from Robert Ingersoll in 1885: “We now know that the Hebrews were never enslaved by the Egyptians, that the entire story (Exodus) is a fiction. We know this because there cannot be found in the Egyptian language one word of Hebrew origin and […]

Many say that Paul was not a genuine Christian, including some influenced by N. T. Wright. What is your response?

John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: There are some people influenced by NT Wright, and some are even Christians, who have doubt whether Paul was a genuine Christian. It is said that one must study the second temple period of Jewish history if we want an unfiltered understanding of the first-century church and all things about Paul. More so, it […]

Bible critics and atheists say that all nine of the non-Christian writers who wrote about Jesus of Nazareth are really just fabrications by Christians. Your response?

John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Bible critics and atheists say that none of the nine non-Christian writers like Thallus, Josephus, Tacitus and others actually wrote about Jesus of Nazareth of the Bible in their documents. They say those documents were all fabrications by a Christian. Your response? Response: This is quite simply a lie, and ought to be labeled […]

Is there any extra-biblical evidence for the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem?

John Oakes wrote in General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Is there any extra-biblical evidence for the triumphal entry? Answer: No. There is no mention of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The non-believers who mentioned Jesus and Christians only mentioned the most general facts, such as their devotion to Christ, the death of Jesus, the fact that people believed in his resurrection […]

Is there historical evidence that supports the occurrence of the darkness and earthquake at the time of the death of Jesus?

John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I read a passage in the Bible where it said that there was a blackness and an earthquake after Jesus died. [Editor’s note: Luke 23:44 for the darkness, Matthew 27:51 for the earthquake] Is there historical evidence of people seeing this? Answer: Many people fail to recognize that we have very little information about […]

Many of my Muslim friends tell me that Jesus did not die on the cross and that this came, not from Muhammad but from the second century. Your response?

John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, History, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I want to know about the reliability of the Bible because many of my friends who are Muslims tell me that Jesus did not die on the cross nor was he risen. They tell me that this is not written 600 yrs later but from 2nd century or the end of 1st century itself […]

Can we prove that Jesus claimed to be God from the gospels other than John, which was written latest?

John Oakes wrote in General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I have a question. Muslims always say that Bible corrupted, but there is no evidence for it, in fact there is evidence for reliability of the Gospels. Now in gospel of John we can see how Jesus made claims about His divine nature, but is the Gospel of John reliable, since it latest of […]

How can I respond to criticisms from the Muslim apologist Shabir Ally that the Bible contradicts itself and that the resurrection did not happen?

John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: In a recent debate Muslim imam Shabir Ally tells us that John’s gospel is contradictory to synoptics because in John Jesus said to the people who arrested him I am he without forcing his arrest but in synoptics it’s different. In John, Jesus carries his cross, indicating that he was strong, but in the […]

Muslims, including Shabir Ally, say that Jesus was not crucified, and that Muhammad was only saying what had been said before. Your response?

John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, History, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Questions: I’m not being able to protect my faith because of Muslims and they are telling that the Bible I hold in my hand is corrupted and the original manuscripts are lost. They showed me the video of a debate of Micheal licona a Christian apologist and Shabir Ally who is a Muslim apologist. They […]

Is Rezin,the king of Aram in Isaiah 7:1 confirmed by extra-biblical sources?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I have a question concerning the kings of Syria as mentioned in Isaiah 7:1, it identifies the kings Uzziah, Pekah,and Rezin. Do we have evidence for these three kings? My special concern is for Rezin, the king of Syria. Do we have evidence for Rezin as a Syrian King? Alexander: Yes we do. He […]

Do you have a literature reference for your earlier claim that Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt in 567 BC, fulfilling Ezekiel 29 and Jeremiah 43?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Uncategorized .

[Editor’s note: the one asking this question did some follow-up research, finding his own really useful additional information on what Nebuchadnezzar did to fulfill the prophecies in Ezekiel and Jeremiah. His additional information is at the end of my original response.] Question: I want to ask some things relating to some answers you’ve given on […]

How can we reconcile the different accounts of the anointing of Jesus?

John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: How can we reconcile the account of Jesus’ anointing at Bethany near the end of his life? Where, when and by whom was Jesus anointed?Was is at a Pharisee’s house as said by Luke, at the house of Simon the leaper, as said by Matthew and Mark, or was it at the house of […]

If the evidence for the Bible is so strong, then why to Christians convert to Hinduism, Islam or Buddhism?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, General Apologetics, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Resurrection of Jesus .

Question: How can I keep my faith strong when people of great faith are walking away from my faith? And if we have historical evidences for Jesus outside the Bible that are more convincing than any other religion, why is it that people who are Christians convert into other religions like Hinduism or Islam? If […]

Acts 8:37 is in none of the ancient manuscripts, but it is in the King James Version. How can we trust this or any other version of the Bible?

John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: As for Acts 8:37 none of the most ancient manuscripts include this material. The King James Version is the one which got it wrong. You are telling here here that the King James Version of the Bible is wrong. So how can we trust the other versions of the Bible because KJV is the […]

Is there any historical or archaeological evidence outside the Bible for the prophets of Israel such as Daniel and Jeremiah?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I am a Christian but I have become very doubtful. I ask you to pray for me, and maybe you will be so kind and answer one of my questions. Is there any other historical documents or archeological evidence that tells us about the Prophets of the Old Testament? For example Daniel became a […]

How can we trust the Bible? What are the historical records of Jesus outside the Bible? What about the fact that Jesus went to India?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Church History, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: How can we trust the Bible? We know that Jesus existed for sure which every historian would agree but what about what he did ? If his miracles were true as gospels record them why don’t we have historical records of them outside the Bible?There were books that say that the 1st prime minister […]

How do you reconcile the contradictory accounts of Peter’s denial of Jesus? What about other unresolvable contradictions?

John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: If the gospels are eyewitness accounts how do we deal with contradictions in them? Most of them can be reconciled but what about things that cannot be reconciled? For example, the denial accounts of Peter differ heavily. Is this not a contradiction? The possible solution would be Peter denied Jesus 6 times and if […]

The Westar Institute claim that Jesus was an exceptional man but not the Son of God. What do you think about their methodology?

John Oakes wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Miracles, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: John, have you heard/do you have thoughts about the Westar Institute material? They claim that Jesus was an exceptional man, but not the ‘son of God’. They are very learned and seem less ’emotionally motivated’ than a Bart Ehrman type account. https://www.westarinstitute.org/projects/the-jesus-seminar https://s3.amazonaws.com/tgc-documents/carson/1994_five_gospels_no_Christ_Jesus_Seminar.pdf They are saying, yes Jesus existed, and he said and […]

How many Greek manuscripts in total do we have from the second and third centuries? How does this compare to all other non-biblical manuscripts?

John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: 1. How many Greek manuscripts we have dated before the 3rd century? I will be so happy if you give total manuscript numbers by century up to the 3rd century 2. How many copies do we have for the New Testament compared to secular ancient texts within the 3 centuries from the writing of […]

How do you explain the apparent contradiction between Matthew and Luke about the resurrection appearances and where the apostles were told to go?

John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: Can you help me with this supposed contradiction? https://infidels.org/library/modern/j_c_jackson/galilee-or-jerusalem.html [Editor’s note: As you will see below, this is a claim that there is a contradiction between the resurrection accounts in Luke/Acts and Matthew with regard to where and when the apostles went to Galilee and Jerusalem.] Answer The claim is that the post-resurrection accounts […]

How to you deal with the fact that so-called Saint Peter was a cruel murderer?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

[Editor’s note: The answers from this Hindu gentleman are interspersed with the questions] Questions and Answers: Acts 5: 1-11 show that the so-called Saint Peter was a cruel murderer who murdered in cold blood both, Annanias & his wife Sapphira. I am sure Peter would be horrified to be falsely accused of murder. This is terrible false […]

How do you explain the textual variant in Mark 1:41 (Jesus felt indignation vs. Jesus felt compassion)?

John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: How do you explain the background to the textual variant in Mark 1:41 (whether Jesus felt anger or compassion)? It seems that it is very hard to resolve this variant. We can detect and resolve many textual variants easily…but when it comes to Mark 1:41 how do you consider this variant and explain its […]

According to Rabbi Singer there is a contradiction between John which says Nicodemus added spices when Jesus was laid in the tomb and Luke/Matthew which says women did this two days later. Response?

John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: Why would the women go back to the tomb to spice the body after it was already in the cave? The spices usually were used to mask the smell of the corpse during the burial. Rabbi Tovias Singer says this verse is fake and not true. He adds that Nicodemus was created by John […]

Bart Ehrman says that the tomb of Jesus is lost. Does that matter? He also says that the Exodus is a myth. Is that true?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Dear Sir, Please help! I have two questions: 1. Some like Bart D. Ehrman don’t believe in the empty tomb. Ehrman posted on the internet google page stating that the tomb of Jesus Christ was lost. Is the tomb of Jesus Christ actually lost and not found by his disciples or by other people? […]

You say that the Council of Jamnia set the Hebrew canon, but scholars all agree that this supposed council did not even happen.

John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: In some posts concerning Enoch, you have stated that determining the canon of the Old Testament belongs to the Jews. How is this possible if the Jews themselves had no Old Testament canon? The Sadducees, Pharisees, and Greek Jews all had different canons. I predict that you will appeal to the Council of Jamnia, […]

Is there any evidence other than the Bible that shows that the twelve apostles existed?

John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Is there any evidence other than the Bible that show that the 12 disciples existed? Answer: Yes, there is plenty of evidence that the twelve disciples were real people. In fact, no one who knows the evidence can seriously entertain the thought that these men were not real people. We have evidence from both […]

Is there evidence for the crossing of the Red Sea by the Jews under Moses?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Is there evidence for the Red Sea crossing by the Jews under Moses? Answer; The answer is no. No physical evidence has been found to support the story in Exodus of the crossing of the Red Sea. But this is only what we would expect. What could we possibly find that would prove a […]

If the Ussher chronology is correct, and Adam was created in 4004 BC, then how can we explain Egyptian chronology?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: What is your comment on the Ussher chronology? He concluded that Adam was created in 4004 BC, and the flood covered the Earth 2348 BC, but this is incompatible with what we know about Egyptian history. The first king of Egypt, Menes died in 3150 BC (before the flood by 800 years!!!!) Can the […]

If John was an “unschooled” man, then how could he write the book of John in Greek?

John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: How do I explain to someone who doesn’t believe in the inspiration of the gospels, how it is that John was able to write his gospel in Greek even though he was called “unschooled” Acts 4:13? “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they […]

How Did Luke get his historical information? Did he interview eye-witnesses?

John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Please explain to me the introduction of Luke’s account? 1. Is Luke stating or implying that he checked facts with those first eye-witnesses to the Gospel and the words of Jesus Christ of Nazareth? 2. Or, was Luke just stating that those eye-witnesses just left accounts he referenced, like the Gospel/documents? 3. Did […]

Some say that good research will tell us that Jesus did not exist. What is your response to this claim?

John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I have three questions: 1. It is said by some who do a lot of research that Jesus Christ of Nazareth did not exist and all stories about Jesus Christ of Nazareth were retellings of older pagan myths by relatively well educated Greek-speaking (and writing) Christians during the 2nd half of the first century. […]

How can Daniel be a prophet is none of the prophecies in Daniel 9:24 are fulfilled? Also, how do we know Mark was written in the 50s AD?

John Oakes wrote in Daniel, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: My friend asked “Does Daniel live up to the criteria for a true prophet laid out in Deuteronomy 18? Daniel 9:24 says that 70 weeks are decreed to put an end to sin, bring in everlasting righteousness and seal up vision and prophecy. Sin continues to this day, everlasting righteousness has not been brought […]

Did Paul really write the 13 letters normally attributed to him? Is Ehrman right that most of the New Testament letters are forgeries?

John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Questions: Did Paul really write Ephesians, Colossians and the Pastoral Epistles? In other words, did Paul really write all the 13 epistles of the New Testament normally attributed to him? One scholar, Bart D.Ehrman says that only the seven books, the undisputed letters of St.Paul are authentic and the rest 20 books of the New […]

How do I defend my faith to skeptics who say that Moses in the Old Testament did not exist?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: How can I defend my faith to skeptics who say that Moses of the Old Testament did not exist? Answer: To be honest, this is not an easy question. Here is why. The evidence for the historical reality of Moses is relatively indirect. There is no ancient inscription from the second millennium BC which […]

Why would a sovereign God allow interpolations–in essence, errors–into the New Testament text? How reliable is Irenaeus on church history?

John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I have learned that there are many interpolations of several Bible verses in the Bible. Even Irenaeus and other early church fathers interpolated the version of Luke 23:34 which says ” Father forgives them,for they do not know what they are doing.” Here,I have two questions: 1. If God is a sovereign God, why does He […]

Robert Price and others say that the historical figure Jesus of Nazareth is not a real person. Can we be sure 100% that he was a real person?

John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Skeptics like Robert McNair Price and others says that a historical figure Jesus Christ of the Nazareth of our Christian Bible did not exist. Is there any historical evidences to their claim that a historical figure Jesus Christ of the Nazareth of our Christian Bible did not exist? My question is: Did the historical […]

I heard it said that both the writings of Tacitus and Josephus are forgeries. Is this true?

John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: It is said that the writings of the historians Publius Cornelius Tacitus and Titus Flavius Josephus, born Yosef ben Matityahu were forgeries. Is there any historical evidence that the writings of the historians Publius Cornelius Tacitus and Titus Flavius Josephus were forgeries? How far it is true? Answer: About these authors, the answer depends […]

Paul saw a bright light on a dark desert highway. Why should we believe his or any other testimony about the resurrection of Jesus?

John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Resurrection of Jesus .

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 […]

Bart Ehrman claims that there is evidence from Papias that a different Mark wrote Mark and a different Matthew wrote Matthew. Is this true? What is your response?

John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

How can we know for sure that the Gnostic gospels such as Thomas, Philip, Mary and Judas were not actually written by disciples of Jesus?

John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

Help! Is Bart Ehrman right and the four gospels are forgeries?

John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

C-14 data shows that Jericho was destroyed in the early 16th century BC. How can this be aligned with the apparent biblical date for the destruction?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: What are your thoughts on the 1995 radiocarbon dating performed on charred cereal remains found at Jericho’s (Tell Es-Sultan) Middle Bronze Age City IV which dated these remains to the 17th or early 16th century BC? (Link to report below) Many use this finding as a counter to Bryant Wood’s conclusion that the Middle […]

Is Bart Ehrman right that we have almost no evidence about Jesus?

John Oakes wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]

You say that Paul was an apostle, but I say that he was a false apostle. Your response?

John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Comment: I was reading some of your explanations as to why Paul was a valid apostle. I must disagree with you for a number of reasons. You made this claim, “Paul is described as an apostle multiple times, both by himself and by others” Paul describing himself as an apostle invalidates his claim because he becomes […]

How to I respond to those who claim that Joseph raped Mary?

John Oakes wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Miracles, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: It is said that Matthew and Luke have skirted around the obvious contradiction of Jesus’ conception; that Mary and Joseph were only betrothed and not married. Clearly, Virgin Mary would not have allowed Joseph to have sex until they were married. Thus, he must have raped her. This is covered up by using his […]

Did Jesus cleanse the temple twice (John 2:12-25 and Mark 11:15-18)?

John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: I am doubtful about Jesus’ purification of the temple in John 2:12-25 / Mark 11:15-18, were there two purifications or only one? Answer: There are three possibilities: 1. Jesus never cleansed the Jewish temple and these stories are all just made up in order to create a false narrative about Jesus. 2. Jesus cleared […]

How do you account for the contradictions in the three accounts of the healing of the demoniac in Matthew 8, Mark 5 and Luke 8, especially the difference in the location?

John Oakes wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

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 […]

How do I respond to the allegation that the Jesus of Christianity was invented by the Flavian Roman imperial family?

John Oakes wrote in Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

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 […]