Question/Comment: I believe that Genesis should not be read literally as it conflicts with our current scientific models such as the dating of the universe and Evolution. As a result I believe that we must read Genesis as a theological poem not a scientific textbook. Thus I see that we were created and we fell […]
Question: I have recently been looking through my Bible and have noticed that the gospel of Mark stops at 16:8 with the quote (Early manuscripts end at 16:8) I have researched this and indeed the earliest manuscripts we know of stop at 16:8 . The only problem I have with this is that I know […]
Question: Are there any strong extra-biblical sources for the life/works of Jesus of Nazareth? Can you give me the authors/sources? The answer is an emphatic yes. We have at least nine non-Christian sources on Jesus in the first and early second century. There are, of course, dozens of Christian sources on the life of Jesus […]
Question: A friend sent me this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNf-P_5u_Hw, about this movement Zeitgeist, I was looking for information about them. They believe that Jesus is a mythical story. What do you think about this? Is there any information that I can read and give to my friend that suport the existence of Jesus versus this video? Answer: I […]
Question: Hello, I had recently been in a discussion with someone who doubts the historicity of Jesus. When I tried to tell him that his facts were wrong by pointing out to videos on youtube about his historicity, he tried to counter with this: "I’ve seen plenty of those videos before. They never have all […]
Question: Hey, I love your website…I’ve found it very resourceful. I have a couplequestions that have been brought up that I can’t seem to give an answerfor. First, I’ve heard and read what Josephus had to say about Jesus. Hementions him, true. But, someone asked me, "If Josephus took the time toaccount to mention Jesus, why […]
Question;: An atheist friend of mine claimed that there a many contradictions or prophetic misinterpretations in Matthew. What is your response. The list is Matthew: 1:22-23, 2:15, 2:23, 8:16-17, 12:18-21, 12:23, 12:40, 16:4, 24:44, 27:9. Answer: These are really rather common and in my opinion fairly shallow criticisms of the Bible. Here are my responses. I […]
Question: I wondered if you could point me in the right direction with regards to the geneology in Luke which mentions Nathan and not Solomon. Forgive my ignorance, but what is the significance in your view? I read it was related to a King Jeconiah. I understood that messianic lineage goes by the father, so Mary’s lineage […]
Question: I am part of the Dubai inter-cultural fellowship here in Dubai. Some of my co-workers who are Muslim ask me how can I explain that their religion is the last & final one. They say Jesus is already passed. They say Islam is the last & final religion. How can you answer this claim? I told them that […]
Question: Could you please help enlighten me – I am trying to research what happened to Joseph. He assumed loco parentis during his early childhood, his geneology was respectfully referred to as if he were blood related , which in itself confuses me, as we don’t suppose he was his father. I can see no […]
Question: Can you please explain the Gabriel stone? How will this affect Christianity? Answer: This is a good question. The "Gabriel Stone" has now been around for a while and it is a good time to begin thinking about its significance. I have learned from experience that when a new find comes out it is […]
Question: Can you comment on the material about the "historical Jesus" at commonsenseatheism.com? The featured video clips claim that many of the messianic prophesies were taken out of context to apply to Jesus. Can you respond to particularly the claim that Psalm 22:16 is mistranslated particularly the word "pierced"? Also, Matthew 27:9-10, a prophesy from […]
Question: If the bible was written so long ago and interpreted in many different ways and has been re-written so many times how can we be sure the version we read today is not complete fiction? Answer: I have answered this question a number of times and in various ways at the web site. I […]
Question: What evidence for Jesus is there outside the Bible? Answer: Let me supply a set of notes I just put together for a class I am teaching on the subject this weekend. They may not be fully edited, but the notes are fairly complete. John Oakes Extra-Biblical references to Jesus: 1. Tacitus, Roman historian […]
Question: I read "Daniel, Prophet to the Nations" recently and was quite awestruck by the prophesies! I’ve been reading online that the Christian persecution under Domitian was historically uncertain and debated. Although the early church fathers routinely mention Domitian, the persecution is seemingly absent from the writings of Tacitus and Suetonius (and other Roman historians). […]
Question: I just read an article that puts forth some pretty convincing evidence that places the validity of Pliny the Younger, Tacitus, and Suetonius and a few other well known historians that many apologetics use to help confirm the existence of Chirst into question. Just wondering what the names of the other non-christian scholars are to […]
Question: A- Deuteronomy 30:11-12 says: "For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?" […]
Question: I’m a Christian but I’m finding it hard to rebutt some contradictions of the Bible I believe atheist are taking their questions from this website. http://humanknowledge.net/Philosophy/Metaphysics/Theology/Christianity.html Can the Bible challenge his theories? Answer: It is obviously not possible for me to respond to all the criticism of biblical Christianity at this web site. However, […]
Question: If there is so much evidence supporting the validity of the Bible. Why do some Biblical scholars still remain so skeptical? Answer: Those who do not accept the validity of the Bible ought to speak for themselves. It is not my place to determine the motives of other people. Obviously, the reasons people choose […]
Question: Would you help me? I see many answering the questions: Is the Bible true? Is the Bible inspired? Is the Bible the Word of God? I have a different question that I do not find answered anywhere — at least, not answered in so many words. Those other questions start with the Word of […]
Question: The work that I have been reading a great deal about is that of Christina Hayes, who is absolutly brilliant. Also, the work of Naham Sarna is another of my favorite biblical scholars. They both are finding many examples of symbolism and contridictions. You say that these things are simply not true, but I […]
Question: I learned that the Pentatauch is attributed to Moses was, in fact, a compilation of 4 very different sources, which reflect the interests and biases of the author. This is a highly accepted theory and can be found everywhere in the Pentatauch if you know where to look. Like the story of the ark, […]
Question: An athiest friend asked me about the story of Jonah being eaten and thrown up by a fish. She said that this seemed imposible. How can I explain this to her? Answer: Your friend is right that the story of the swallowing and later regurgitation of Jonah alive on the third day is impossible. […]
Questions and Answers: 1] In Matthew 8;12 Who are the subjects that Jesus is talking about? "The subjects of the kingdom" are the Jews who do not receive Jesus. One can generalize this to include anyone who has been saved but later chooses to ignore his own calling, but in the context, Jesus is telling […]
Some of my friends say there is evidence that during the reign of Constantine and the meetings at that time, many scholars met and decided which books to put in the Bible and eliminated others that didn’t fit their agenda and they changed the wording of many of the verses and deleted others. Yet the […]
Question; I have question about the Book of Enoch. In Jude 1:14, Enoch’s prophecy is quoted from. Why was the book of Enoch not included in the Holy Bible? Answer: We do not have a detailed account of the process by which the Jewish scribes chose what books to include or to not include in the canon of the […]
Question: I am a 23 year old Christian but I feel I am getting carried away by the talk of Muslims who say that Jesus is a prophet only and God can never have a Son. Answer: I have heard Muslim arguments that God cannot have a "Son" because God is one and for God to have […]
Question: Who put all of the books of the Bible together in one book, and how do we know that they were right? Answer: The logic of the answer to this question is fairly simple, but the evidence is a bit involved. In order to give you a sufficient answer, I suggest you read the […]
Question: Where does Jesus say he is God? I haven’t seen a verse in the Bible where Jesus says he is God. Also I am sure that you are aware that many people think that the Bible is corrupt, it this is not true, where are they getting this belief from? Answer: The answer is that Jesus […]
Question: I have heard a lot of people who argue that Christianity is false, say that the Gospels were written to conform with the political views of the time, and each author wrote to get his political views accross. What do you say about this? Answer: This is a very good question. I have not […]
Question: Were the original prophecies of the Messiah altered? Jews state that Jesus did not fulfill all of the prophecies realting to the Messiah. They also claim that the followers of Jesus in the early ages sincerely believed he was the Messiah, and altered the Old Testament to suit their needs. Answer: It is true […]
Question: What proofs are used to show the book of Daniel was written in the 600s and what evidence is used to prove a later composition, around the time of Antiochus Epi arephanes? Answer: There is no evidence to support the idea that Daniel was written in the 600s, as Daniel died in about 535 BC. […]
Question: I was reading the website of Yusuf Estes. A muslim apologist who used to be a Christian Minister. He claims that in his study of the Bible he saw the Bible is littered with contradictions, and that after reading the Koran he saw it had no errors and so could only be from God. How […]
Editor’s note: Since this article was written, a new paper which appears to identify Darius the Mede as Cyaxares II the Mede has been published. This appears to more or less settle the question. We recommend you read this paper. It is at http://www.academia.edu/9787699/Darius_the_Mede_A_Reappraisal Question: Why is it that “The Cambridge History Of Judaism” knows nothing […]
Question: A new question has been submitted by Francisco (fjgoulart@gmail.com) on [08/21/08]: Everytime I read the gospels I wonder how possible it was to keep Jesus’s exact words in each of the writings. Thus, I have a question: Is it possible that someone took notes while walking around along with Jesus, maybe one of hs disciples? Answer: This […]
Question: I was wondering as a Christian, how sure are we that Matthew the Disciple of Jesus wrote the Gospel that bears his name and if he did, when can we assert he wrote his Gospel? Answer: I wish I could say that we know for sure that Matthew wrote this gospel and that we […]
Question: A new question has been submitted by Karen (lilcricket229@aol.com) on [08/11/08]: In Genesis 6:3 God shorted mans lifespan to no more than 120 years, but Jacob live 147 years, and according to Exodus 6:16,18, and 20..three of Joseph’s brothers live 130+ years. Can you point me to what I am missing? Am I misreading […]
Question: Why does the genealogy of Christ go from Adam to Joseph, when Joseph was not the father of Jesus (The Holy Spirit conceived Christ)? Answer: Actually, the genealogy in Luke goes through Joseph, but the genealogy of Jesus goes through Mary in Matthew. That is what most scholars accept. The reason for this is […]
Question: I have recently heard that many scholars believe 2 Peter is pseudepigraphical and was written around 100-150AD. Is there any evidence that shows that it was written around 64-65 AD which is another possible date that it was written? Answer: The date of writing of the New Testament books will always generate some controversy. We […]
Question: I read an article by a Christian scholar who believes the Egyptian God Imhotep to be none other than Joseph in the Bible, deified and exaggerated to fit Egyptian beliefs. The step pyramid, which was the first pyramid to ever be built in Egypt, is historically credited by the Egyptians to be the work […]
Question: I watched a show on Discovery called "Lost Kings of the Bible". They claimed that Goliath couldn’t have worn the armour that the Bible says he was wearing at that time. The show claims that they didn’t wear heavy metal armour on their bodies at that time. I believe the Bible, however I was wondering about your response […]
Question: I was wondering when Paul refers to the 23,000 killed in one day in 1 Cor 10, is he referring to the incident in Numbers. In Numbers it says 24,000 were killed. I’ve heard different explanations. 1) Paul says one day and so the remaining 1000 were killed the next day 2) it […]
Question: Would you say the Bible is inerrant but it doesn’t HAVE to be inerrant to be inspired by God? i’ve always thought the Bible had to be inerrant. and by God’s grace i still do. but i guess what you said has made me think it doesn’t have to be for us to know […]
Question/Comment: Please explain why "nowhere in his writings does Paul appeal to the decisions of such a Council, which were clearly so completely in his favour, nor does he ever appear in the slightest allusion or reference to be conscious of their existence." (S G F Brandon p.131). Galatians 2 speaks of no Council, only a […]
Comment: The actions reported of Pilate in the Gospels bear no relation to the character of the Roman official depicted in Josephus. All you need to do,is look up every passage in Josephus where Pilate is involved and then compare the difference in personality and action between the man in Josephus and the Gospels. When […]
Question: How then do you explain the LXX & MT versions of Daniel & the story of Bel & the Dragon? Dennis; God used the Jewish teachers/rabbis as the arbiters of what is to be considered an approved text. They said no to the additions to Daniel. I agree with their assessment by looking at […]
Question:,How can Matthew 24:36 (only the Father knows the day and hour, not even the Son) be true if Jesus was God and omniscient ?,Answer:,To be honest, I do not know exactly how this worked. Jesus lowered himself in ways which I do not throroughly comprehend when he came to earth and took on a […]
Question: I have heard and seen articles so many times about the Catholic faith hiding evidence of other gospels and possibly a gospel from Jesus himself? This concerns me since I used to be Catholic (now a non-denomintated Christian) and still have many Catholic friends that may be oblivious of this information and frankly get […]
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