Reliability of the Bible – Evidence for Christianity

My Muslim friend tells me there are several prophecies in the Old Testament that failed, such as Ezekiel 26:7-17, Haggai 2:21-13 and Zechariah 4:6-7. Your response?

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

Question: My Muslim friend says: There were a number of oracles delivered by recognized prophets which did not come true. For example, Ezekiel predicted the destruction of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek. 26:7-14), but he himself later acknowledges that the king’s siege of the city was UNSUCCESSFUL (Ezek. 29:17-20). Both Haggai’s (2:21-23) & Zechariah’s (4:6-7) glorious […]

The writings of several of the prophets were destroyed by the ruling class of the Jews. What is your response?

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

Question: The writings of several prophets were destroyed by the ruling class of the Jews. According to Justin Martyr, the Jews have omitted sayings by Jeremiah and Ezra, as well as the words “from the wood” after “The Lord reigns” in Psalm 95(96):10 (Dialogue with Trypho, 71-73). It means Jews were NOT honest keepers of […]

Philo, a Jewish philosopher, lived from 20 BCE to 50 CE. He never mentioned the crucifixion. Why do we believe Josephus who mentioned Jesus long after he lived, but ignore Philo?

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

Question: Philo (c. 20 BCE – 50 CE) did not mention the crucifixion of Jesus or the 3 hours’ darkness although he was contemporary of Jesus. Christians present Josephus and Tacitus as Non-Christian proof of Crucifixion but they wrote long after Jesus. What’s your response? Answer: We have no idea of whether Philo ever mentioned […]

Is there solid evidence that Old Testament prophecies such as those in Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Nahum and Jeremiah were given before the events prophesied?

John Oakes wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Daniel, General Apologetics, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Is there evidence that Old testament prophecies like those in Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Nahum, Jeremiah etc. were made prior to the events they prophesied? Answer: Yes, of course. Many of the prophecies in the Old Testament certainly were fulfilled after the prophecies were written down. However, there are also Old Testament prophecies–especially in Jeremiah and […]

How do we know that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were actually the authors of those gospels? How does this relate to their reliability?

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

Question: How do we know that Mathew Mark Luke and John were actually written by the people whose names they were accredited to? I will grant that it was probably at least written by a member of the church because it was widely accepted as the holy word of God by the early church who […]

The gospels promote a pagan man/God idea which was fashionable at that time. Paul is a liar who transformed God’s prophet Jesus into deity.

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

Comments: Can you show the continuity of the chain of transmission of So-called Gospels? These were not revealed by God but promote a pagan concept of God/Son or Man-God which was in fashion during times of Jesus. You will know after your death that what have you done to yourself. Good Luck! For your kind information, […]

In the Qur’an Allah is a God of the whole universe. The God of the Bible is a tribal deity. The prophets of the Qur’an has prophets of many nations. Bible prophets are only Jews. How does a Christian respond to this?

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

[Editor’s Note: This is a series of several questions from a Muslim who has criticism of the Bible. Q & As are interspersed] Question: If you read Quran, you will observe that God is addressed as God for All Universe but in case of Bible, God is just a Tribal God addressed as “God of […]

Muslims deny Jesus died on the cross. Can you help respond to an article making this claim?

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

[Editor’s note: This is a VERY long question, which is simply copied and pasted from a web site. There are far too many issues raised for me to answer all of them in limited time. What I do afterward is give a general response, rather than address all of the issues raised. If this article […]

You wrote that Judaism did not borrow the idea of resurrection from Zoroastrianism, but I found a lot of evidence that they did. Your response?

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

Question: In an article in your website you talked about Zoroastrianism on some context. I’m a Christian with a broken faith. I have learned of so many discoveries of made up stories in the Bible when you look from a historical/archeological point of view at the OT. You said in the article you wrote that […]

In Hebrews 1:10 it says that God says… but in the Psalm being quoted from, Psalm 102, it is not God but a person speaking. How would you explain this?

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

Question: In Hebrews 1:10 we see that God is telling the Son that “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth…” However, Hebrews is quoting from Psalms 102:25-27 in which God isn’t speaking to the Son but rather a person is lamenting to God. How would you explain to someone who’s reading […]

How did the gospel writers know what was spoken between Jesus and Pilate? How did Luke know Herod was glad to see Jesus?

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

Question: How did Mark, Luke and John know what was said between Jesus and Pilate before the crucifixion? And how did Luke know that Herod was very glad to see Jesus and that Jesus answered Herod nothing. Also, how did Luke know that Pilate and Herod became friends on that day? Answer: I have been […]

My friend says the Bible is inaccurate and has contradictions. He says this proves Jesus was not God. Your response?

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

Questions: My friend claims that the Bible is inaccurate and that means that Jesus was not God. Also because of the contradictions in the Bible, plus we do not have the original biblical texts, so Jesus is not God. By the way is there a way to get your book “Is There a God?” as […]

Do 1 Cor 15:28 and 11:3 prove that Jesus is not God? Why did Lot–a prophet–have sex with his daughters? How can a prophet do such a thing?

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

Questions: [Editor’s note: These questions are coming from someone in India who is clearly dealing with typical attacks on Christianity from Muslims there] I have 3 questions:- 1. Does 1 Corinthians 15:28 and 1 Corinthians 11:3 proves that Jesus is not God? 2. Why did Lot- a Prophet of LORD God- have sexual relations with […]

It has been discovered that there were two different Bethlehems at the time Jesus was born and that he was born in the wrong one, or not in Bethlehem at all. He did not fulfill the OT prophecy and is not the Messiah.

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

Question: I have recently read an article that makes the argument that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. However, there is archeological evidence of another Bethlehem this therefore means that Jesus was not born in the town of David and that the gospel writers may have either lied about him being born in David’s Bethlehem or […]

My Hindu friend says that Jesus taught pantheism, and that the original teachings of Jesus are all lost. He also says the God of Christianity is a disgusting God. What is your response?

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

Questions: My Hindu friend asked 4 questions, please help me with how to respond i. Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda teach real Christianity. ii. Jesus taught Pantheism and Monism (as said by Swami Vivekananda). He claims that ultimately what is in the Gospels were written 40-100 years after Jesus’s death- and that’s why the real […]

The Bible says that we can ask anything in prayer and we will receive it, but experience tells me something quite different. This is confusing. Your thoughts?

John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Practical Christianity, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: My question is in regards to these types of scriptures on prayer (I capitalised some of the bits I’m trying to unpack). 1 John 5:14-15. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: That if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us–WHATEVER […]

Robert Price says a miracle-worker like Jesus should have mention in non-Christian writings in the first century, but there is none. He concludes Jesus is a fictional character. Your response?

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

Question: I want to ask one question. One skeptic New Testament scholar Robert McNair Price says that since our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth was a miracle working historical person who did many miracles like multiplying thousands of bread and fishes, raised the deaths, turning water into wine, healed the sick persons, resurrected, ascended and […]

How do I respond to a query about Jesus–whether he is a liar, a lunatic or God?

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

Question: How to respond to a query about Jesus–whether he is a liar, a lunatic or God? Answer: I respond to this by asking the people to read my book “Reasons for Belief” (available at www.ipibooks.com). In this book I spend two chapters delving into the liar/lord/lunatic question. If they do not want to spend the […]

How did Moses know what to write in Genesis?

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

Question: How did Moses know what to write in Genesis? If we say God revealed things to Moses, why did he write allegorical things and why did he use literary figures? Answer: I have no reason to believe that Moses wrote Genesis. This is a tradition which has been accepted by many believers for a […]

Did Moses copy the Old Testament from another source? If so, does this make the Old Testament not reliable?

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

Questions: Did Moses copy the Old Testament from another book or source? If the last statement is true then would that mean that the only reliable thing in the Bible are in the New Testament? Answer: First of all, Moses was only responsible for a limited portion of the Old Testament. Almost certainly he did […]

Were the Jews in the first century aware that the Christians claimed they were responsible for the death of Jesus? If the OT prophecies of the Messiah came true, why did Jews not believe in Jesus?

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

Question: I have three questions. 1. The New Testament says that non believing Jewish leaders were accused of handing Jesus over to be killed by the Romans. The first century Jews did not deny this historical fact, as they knew that they played a role in killing Jesus by handing him to the Romans soldiers. […]

Did Moses copy the Old Testament from other sources? If so, then is the Old Testament not reliable?

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

Question: Did Moses copy the Old Testament from another book or source? If the last statement is true then is the only reliable part of the Bible the New Testament? Answer: First of all, Moses was only responsible for a limited portion of the Old Testament. Almost certainly he did not write Genesis. There is […]

How did Matthew learn about the dream that Pilate’s wife had? What kind of person was Pontius Pilate? Is Ehrman right?

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

Question: How do you thing the gospel writer Matthew could have gotten information about Pontius Pilate wife’s dream regarding Jesus in his Gospel? What kind of person do you think Pilate was? For this question please see these two links: [Editor’s note: these are two articles in which Bart Ehrman argues against the reliability of […]

How do you respond to the claim that acc. to Josephus John the Baptist died 5 years after Jesus and that the gospel writers rewrote history to fit the Jesus narrative?

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

[Editor’s note: An excerpt from the article this question refers to, as well as a link to the article are found after my response to her question. It would be a good idea to look at the link in order to understand the issue being raised] Question: What do you make of this article that […]

Bart Ehrman claims that the Bible was changed and is unreliable. Can you comment on these claims?

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

[Editor’s note: This is a long question with an even longer answer. The questioner makes some rather personal comments, so my response is more personal that I normally would use. Feel free to give me feedback. J. O.] Question: Bart Ehrman claims the Bible was changed and is unreliable in his book “Misquoting Jesus–The Story […]

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. […]

If Jesus did such great miracles and was resurrected, why don’t non-Christians in the first century mention him in their writings?

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

Question: If Jesus of Nazareth indeed did miracles, healed the sick and raised many dead people, was crucified and was resurrected, then why don’t we have documents by non-Christian authors (Romans or Greeks or others) within His lifetime or within the first century. Many prominent leaders, kings, historians will surely have heard about such unique […]

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 […]