[Editor’s note: This is a follow-up to a question just posted a couple of days ago. I asked the questioner to send specific examples from a rather long article by an atheist who claims that Jesus did not even live at all. The material in italics is the material he asked me to comment on […]
Question: If an atheist sent you the website below claiming that Jesus did not even exist, how would you debunk it? I know there is a lot to this article but what are some thing that stand out to you that he may have gotten wrong. https://www.atheists.org/activism/resources/did-jesus-exist/ Answer: This article is too long for me […]
Question: We read in the gospels that Jesus informed his disciples that he would be resurrected on the third day, but we read also that the disciples at first didn’t believe the resurrection (Luke 24 :11). Isn’t this a contradiction? Isn’t this an evidence against the resurrection? Answer: If the Bible was a whitewashed version of […]
Question: Our Hindu friends often quote from the Bhaghavad Gita where Krishna himself says that he would incarnate from age to age in order to protect the righteous and punish the wicked. He came thus to destroy the evil from the world. How shall we give our response and present Jesus as only the true […]
Question: Whenever I approach my Hindu friends to present Jesus to them, they usually talk about their gods Rama and Krishna. What they say is that archaeology has proven both Ramayan and Mahabharat as historic events and hence were Rama and Krishna. How shall I give response to them regarding historicity of Ramayan, Mahabharata, Rama […]
[Editor’s note: This question comes from a believer somewhere in the Middle East and the criticism he/she is reacting to is almost certainly coming from a Muslim critic who teaches that the Bible is corrupt. This will explain part of the response.] Question: I have a question about the inerrancy of Bible. In the first […]
Question: The other day I overheard an atheist talking to someone about the Bible. I didn’t join in on their conversation, but they were loud enough and close enough for me to hear every word they said. Anyway, the atheist (I know he’s an atheist because I heard him say it) said that all the […]
Question: What would you say to an atheist who is a complete materialist (who believes in only the things he can see) to convince him that Jesus is the truth? Answer: That would depend on the person. Not every materialist is the same. If the person is even an iota open, I might do a […]
Question: The definitions of both anger and disappointment are emotions based on an unmet expectation by either a person or circumstance. There are numerous Bible verses that refer to God’s anger, wrath and disappointment. I don’t understand why God would be disappointed or angry if He knew in advance what the outcome would be. Also, as […]
[editor’s note: The third of three sets of comments that came into the site with responses] Comments: 5. The reporting of miracles in Bible is NOT surprising, convincing or unique. Why? Throughout history reported attested miracles are a dime a dozen. The Middle Ages are awash with them. Monasteries competed with each other for power, […]
[Note: the second of a series of three sets of comments from a site user] Claims: 3. The versions of events that didn’t make it into the Bible [Apocrypha] are very strange – ie: Jesus slaying children & blinding their parents. The early Church [up to 400 years after the life of Jesus] accepted this […]
Question: I came upon your page while researching some Old Testament Biblical prophecies. I have a couple questions about two of them if you have the time. I’ve read two responses of yours to the Ezekiel prophecy regarding Nebuchadnezzar and Egypt, and found them very enlightening. However, in neither of your responses did I see […]
Request: Please, can you refute this video, I’d really appreciate it (considering Islam). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R27Kb__1Ko&feature=youtu.be Response: I cannot refute a video. I can attempt to refute particular things said in a video. What you ask I cannot do. In fact, a number of the things said in this video are actually true. I certainly cannot refute […]
Question: It is written in the Bible that God never changes. But when you look at the Old and New Testament, God seems to be quite different in the two testaments. It is written that Jesus has always existed. So is it correct to say that God was not changing himself from what He was […]
Question: In Leviticus God tells the Jews not to eat winged insects which fly. Why, then, did John the Baptist eat unclean locusts and honey in the desert? Answer: About locusts being clean, Leviticus 11:20-23 addresses this issue. This passage declares all flying insects as unclean with the exception of those which walk and hop […]
Question: Esther 2:6 says Mordecai was captured and brought to Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem. That makes him a contemporary to Daniel yet he is Esther’s older cousin. Am I wrong about the timing? Please clear up the chronology for me. Thank you . Answer: Here is Esther 2:5-6. Now there was at the citadel in […]
Question: I came across this forum on Reddit about the Old Testament. It says that it is mostly oral histories rather than detailed written histories. See the comment by BigBennP. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/8k455b/there_are_two_places_that_i_know_of_in_the_bible/ He referenced Schinderman’s book that I’m quite familiar with. I’m not sure if this is correct. But if it is true, then I have to ask […]
Question: I have a question regarding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Do we know if the disciple Christians fled to the mountains like Jesus advised or did they participate in the Jewish-Roman war? Mark 13:14-15 14 “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong– let the […]
Question: I have a question regarding the biblical history of humanity and the archaeological view which has been bugging me lately. Allow me to explain: In the early chapters of Genesis, there is evidence of human agricultural activity (Gen 2:15) (Gen 4:2) before the Tower of Babel incident which spread humanity across the face of the […]
Question: My questions are about authorship of the gospels. We know that the first man to say that the second gospel was written by Mark was Papias, However some skeptics say that it’s a long time between Mark (who may have died in 60s) and Papias (who may have been born at the same time). It’s […]
Question: My questions are about authorship of the gospels. We know that the first man to say that the second gospel was written by Mark was Papias, However some skeptics say that it’s a long time between Mark (who may have died in 60s) and Papias (who may have been born at about the same […]
Question: I have a question regarding Jesus as being God. It is clearly stated in the Gospel of John, and in some of the epistles that Jesus is God as well as the Son of God. But after some research I found that the reliability of the Gospel of John and of those epistles are […]
Question: Recently, I read a Muslim’s article and the writer stated that the Bible itself says that it is corrupted using Jeremiah 8:8. How would you respond to this? Answer: First of all, almost without exception Muslim writers are disingenuous in their treatment of the Bible. If they study the Bible, they only do so […]
Question: I have recently had some doubts in my faith. I am worried about the many similarities between Christianity and Zoroastrianism. I have already read your posts on the subject, but I have also seen how the major scholars of this religion like Mary Boyce unanimously believe that Zoroaster lived in 1200 BC. I am […]
Question: Is the history of Israel’s kings recorded in the OT/NT all there is we have on those kings? O r is there significant Israeli history we should know outside the biblical narrative that can help our faith? Answer: The Old Testament is the most thorough and reliable source of historical information from the ancient […]
Question: I recently heard an argument that Bill Maher uses to debunk the authority and authenticity of the Bible. It says, “the Bible was a book written by men and edited by men as well”. How would you respond to this? Answer: My response would be to say that this is true. Maher is right. […]
Question: I found the cartoon below on the internet. It is about calculating the amount of rain water which supposedly would have been enough to destroy Noah’s Ark. I’m not sure how they measure rain water so any comment would be appreciated. Kind regards. Answer: I have never believed or taught that the level of […]
Question: I’ve read that most scholars believe that Gospel of Mark was the first gospel written, but a number of scholars say Matthew is the first.. Then I was surprised when I read that there are people who argue that Gospel of Luke was the first!!!! What are their evidences for Lukan priority? Are these […]
Question: Some people claim that Jesus Christ didn’t rise on Sunday but on Saturday. This claim is based on that the Bible said that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb very early in the morning in the first day of the week, and Jesus rose before that, perhaps on Saturday. They also claim that the […]
[Editor’s note: this is a follow-up question from a Christian who is in debates with Muslims over the reliability of the Bible. The Gospel of Barnabas is a pseudepigraph (falsely claimed authorship) from about the sixteenth century by a Muslim person who is trying to make it appear that the Gospels are in line with […]
Question: I wanted to ask about how JESUS OUR LORD fulfilled the prophecy of the PROPHET LIKE MOSES. Did Moses mean he would be like him in life similarities such as his infancy in Egypt, being rejected, etc. or more because of the miracles he worked? Thanks in advance Answer: A good rule of thumb […]
Question: I found this article particularly interesting due to the impact it may have on a historical interpretation of Revelation. I am not familiar with much of the evidence the author uses to support his perspective but I do understand the bottom line. In short the author claims that there was no Domitian persecution of […]
Question: If we have no idea about who the author of the book of Hebrews is, why is it included in the canon? Answer: We do not have a detailed record of how the leaders of the early church came to consensus on what would eventually be accepted into the New Testament canon. The general […]
Question: My question is, do you have any insight into the story of Sargon vs. the story of Moses? It seems that these tablets from Ashurbanipal are dated much earlier than the account of Moses’ origins written in Exodus. I would greatly appreciate just a brief exposition of your knowledge on the subject. Answer: First […]
I have a question regarding an article that was posted a few days ago. In this article it talks about how Satan is linked to the serpent in Genesis. The author then goes on to state that the idea of a “prince of darkness” only came about in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC and […]
Question: I read your book Daniel: A Prophet to the Nations (editor’s note: available at www.ipibooks.com) and enjoyed it very much. I was going over my notes from it and got to the part where you talked about the prophesies in Daniel about Antiochus IV and how he was going to desecrate the temple and […]
Question: I recently got a new study Bible, which describes historical events. In a part of the Bible that says “Ancient Texts Relating to the Old Testament” it describes “Sennacherib’s Prism”: “Sennacherib vividly describes his siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC, making Hezekiah a prisoner of his own royal city (but cf. 2 Kings 19:35-37).” […]
Question: While reading the book of John, I noticed that Jesus drives out the moneylenders out of the temple long before the triumphant entry in Jerusalem. This differs from the other 3 gospels which shows the scene of cleansing the temple just after the triumphant entry. What do you think of this? Answer: There are […]
Question: I live in Dubai and have a lot of great Muslim friends. Sometimes we get in discussions on who Jesus is and as you know their view of Jesus is different. They are using Bible quotes to argue that Jesus himself said that he is not God. I can argue that there are many […]
Question: My question is about John 1:18. If we use a modern translation, we can clearly notice that the verse says that Jesus is God. But the textus receptus translations just say that Jesus is Son. Which do you think is authentic? Answer: This is a question of translation, not of an error, either in the […]
Question: This is a question that has been bothering me quite a bit for a long time. It can be easily found that there are differences in the four gospels on certain events. For instance, Jesus says to bring a donkey and its colt for the ride to Jerusalem in Matthew, while it is mentioned […]
Question: What is your response to Robert Eisenman’s theories on the Dead Sea scrolls and New Testament? He states that James is the teacher of righteous and the true leader of the church instead of Peter while Paul is the man of lies and tried to corrupt the Church from within. He also states that […]
[Editor’s note: this question is coming from a Christian in a Muslim country who is answering criticism from Muslims who claim the New Testament has been corrupted] Question: Please, I have questions about the time of writing of the gospels. The first source outside the New Testament that quoted from the gospels is Clement of […]
Question: What is your response to the claim in the Clementine Homilies stating that there are falsehoods in scripture and that the Bible was written to try us and test our faith. Apparently it was Peter who told Clement that. Also Simon was used as an alias for Paul in the Clementine Homilies, and in […]
Questions: 1) In your answer of my previous question, you said that Original Sin is unbiblical. But doesn’t the Bible say that all humans inherit the evil tendencies/desires ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God for the first time? 2) In the book of Joshua, it is mentioned that God stopped the sun from moving […]
Question: I would like to ask about John 20 : 28. While I was searching in Islamic websites, I found one that claimed that there are some manuscripts that don’t contain the word “the”, so the verse will mean that Thomas thought that Jesus was a god not God, like Moses. What is your […]
Question: In Jeremiah 45, God says that Egypt will fall and most all the remnant of Judah will be destroyed. How does this work historically? I don’t see where Babylon invaded Egypt at this time in history. Am I incorrect? Thanks for clarifying. Answer: I assume you mean Jeremiah 46. In this prophecy we are […]
Question: I have seen so many contradictory claims about the philological and linguistic analysis of the Book of Daniel. Does the Book of Daniel resemble Aramaic and Hebrew dialects from an earlier or later period? Does this depend on what part of the book one is looking at? Typically the sources I have found on […]
Question: Should I have faith in the canonical Bible being reliable and inspired because of those who established it back then, or should I mix this with trying to see the biblical evidence for myself? It is tempting to want to find all the evidence myself, as if I am the one who determines what […]
Question: It makes me extremely uncomfortable to be the devil’s advocate regarding Exodus but just to give fair treatment to both sides of the story, I read the Wikipedia section summary of numbers, logistics, and archaeology. They all seem to have strong arguments of how the Exodus just couldn’t have happened. Do you have any […]
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