Question: It seems to me that there is a fairly big contradiction in whether or not God allowed the Israelites to intermarry. How does one explain this? "Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man" […]
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: On the site http://bibleblunders.com, many claims are made based on failed prophecies and contradictions. Can you please address some of them, Dr. Oakes? Answer: Which ones do you want me to address? I have already responded to most of these supposed contradiction at my web site. If you go the question and answer section, then […]
Question: A couple of my buddies always ask about God in the Old Testament: especially about how harsh he can seem to be at times. Have any advice or recommended reading about the topic? Answer: Clearly this is a good question. I have gotten one version or another many times. If you do a […]
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: What do you think about the time factor explained by Dr Zakir? He says that Christ did not complete the three days & three nights in the heart of the earth. Please, enlighten me on that issue. Answer; I looked around for a while but could not find the specific Youtube video you are talking about. […]
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: (a very long one!!!) The books of the Bible are written by people claiming inspiration from God. Many people claim inspiration from God or supernatural forces. Muslims claim the Koran is divinely inspired, Mormons claim their Book of Mormon is divinely inspired, and I am sure many pagan sects say that their "book of […]
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 […]
Question: Our senior high pastor recently resigned and tit was brought to light what he thought were termed inconsistencies, which made him doubt the inerrant quality of the Bible. For example, in the same verse of scripture 2 Sam 8:4 the different versions don’t agree. The youth in my group want to know why the different versions differ, […]
Question: I don’t understand the whole "hardening your heart" idea in the Bible. For example in Hebrews 6:4-7, is the situation that the person can try to repent and cannot be restored or is it because their heart is hardened so they won’t repent or turn to God? The Bible says that He will always forgive us when we turn to […]
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: Do all Christians confirm that God (ie. one who creates the heavens and earth) and Jesus Christ are one? If God and Jesus Christ are the same why when Jesus Christ was on earth did he preach sometimes opposite to the old rules and regulations in the Old Testament? Answer: It is my opinion that, […]
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 […]
Question: How can you explain Matthew 12:7? Doesnt it say that God offers mercy and not sacrifice? How, then, can Jesus be the Sacrifice? Answer: As a general rule, when one finds what might appear to be a contradiction in the Bible, the first thing to do is to look at the context of the passage […]
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: When did the ascension happen, on the first day of the new week as stated in Luke 24:51 or was it 40 days later, as stated in Acts 1:3? Answer: Of course, it was about forty days later. Luke does not say when it happened. The scene in Luke 24:33-49 takes place in Jerusalem, as […]
Question: Can you please explain to me Numbers Chapter 23:19? Wouldn’t that disprove the trinity? Can you please help me understand contradictions in the Bible? I am very confused with these. Answer: This is an interesting question. The answer involves how the phrase "son of man" is used in the Bible. Let me discuss "contradictions" in […]
Questions: In my study I have come to realize a few things. One of them is that Paul, "called to be an apostle", never really knew Jesus. How then can he claim that "For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you…" (1 Corinthians 11:23)? How can he formulate theologies that […]
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: In 2 Kings 2 v 23 Right after Elisha heals the dodgy water, some kids call him a baldhead. He then turns around and curses them in the name of God… Two bears pitch up and maul 42 of the kids. This seems to go against everything that prophets stand for. I get it […]
Question: An orthodox Jew said that Jesus sinned by practicing human sacrifice which was forbidden. That is a good point however I was unable to give an answer to his point……Any suggestions? Answer: Jesus did not take part in human sacrifice. Jesus was against all kinds of killing, especially human sacrifice. It is absolutely inconceivable […]
Question: Jesus is a human form. Should we worship him? I ask this because in Deutronomy 5:7 God said do not make a an idol in any form. Jesus is inthe flesh.but when Jesus? disciples worshiped him he acceptedit. It appears to be a kind of contradiction. Answer: First comment is that it is worth […]
Question:,One of my sons asked me a Bible question tonight and after doing a little study I am still baffled, so I wondered if you had any insight into it. The question is: how do we reconcile Matthew 16:27 and Matthew 16:28? I read your response to a questioner who asked about Matthew 16:28 and […]
Question:,I would like some help with something someone said to me about the Bible. They said that it can’t all be true as Matthew and Luke do not agree about lots of things about the story of Jesus. They said that Matthew says Jesus was born 28 generations after King David and Luke says it […]
Question: I had a question regarding (Acts 7:15-16), (Matthew 9:18 / Mark 5:22-23) and (Matthew 27:8-10).;-In the Acts passage, it says that Abraham bought the tomb from the sons of Hamor, but it seems to conflict between what Genesis says.;-In the first Matthew passage compared with Mark, did the daughter die or was she dying? […]
Question: Please clarify Romans 2: 6. If we sinful humans are justified by Jesus’ blood then why will “God give to each person according to what he has done” ? I have read in the bible that all the christians will stand for judgement in front of God at judgement day. Answer: In answer to […]
Question:,I had a question regarding (Acts 7:15-16), (Matthew 9:18 / Mark 5:22-23) and (Matthew 27:8-10). In the Acts passage, it says that Abraham bought the tomb from the sons of Hamor, but it seems to conflict between what Genesis says. In the first Matthew passage compared with Mark, did the daughter die or was she […]
Question: I was reading 1 and 2 Samuel this morning and I found two different accounts in the way Saul dies. Did he killed himself or did the Amalekite who Saul asked to kill him do it? This is found at the the end of 1Sam and beginning of 2 Sam. Answer: Good question. I […]
Questions:,1. Why did Jesus give the care of his mother to John? Why wouldn’t that,responsibility have fallen to one of his many brothers? James was,apparently close by as Paul refers to the resurrected Jesus appearing to,him.,2. It is said that the first churches met in homes and synagogues because it,was illegal for crowds to gather […]
Question: In 1 Samuel 20:4 has David pushing Jonathan to lie to his father. How do you explain this? Response: First of all, David clearly advised Jonathan to lie in this case. Bear in mind that David sinned many times as we know from the books of 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. Just […]
Question: I noticed something interesting while contrasting the gospels of Mark and Luke the other day. The passages specifically were Mark 16:5-7 and Luke 24:4-7. On the surface these two passages appear to conflict in their stories. Mark tells that when they entered the sepulcher they saw a young man sitting inside clothed in white. […]
Comment: Leaving all nitpicking on one side, my main objection to the historicity of Daniel is that the Persians and the Medes were devout Zoroastrians and as such did not even have idols. It would be totally unthinkable for them to even consider being worshipped as a god. Anyone living at the time of the […]
Question: Why the change from “God incited” to “Satan incited” in 2 Sam 24 and in 1 Chronicles 21? Ponder also on the theological change from “ha-satan” a helper of God who sometimes asked people hard questions to test their faith such as Job, into “the Prince of this World” and an adversary of God, […]
Question: Please explain to me the discrepancies, both theological and numerical, between 2 Samuel 24 and 1Chronicles 21. Answer: If you read my book Reasons for Belief on the reliability of the biblical texts, you will find the comment that we have a NT which is a virtually perfect copy of the original. With the […]
Question: I detect an anachronism in the burial practice described in 2 Chron 16:14. To the best of my knowledge there is no Jewish custom recorded elsewhere regarding this clearly ongoing practice. What therefore is its explanation? Answer We do not know all the cultural practices of the Philistines. If the Bible were to mention […]
Question: There is evidence of proto-Israelite settlement in Canaan around 1400BC. The Iron Age in Canaan is dated to 1150BC at the earliest. How then can Moses be the author of Leviticus when he reports God as speaking of iron in 26;19 when it was not to be discovered until 200 years after his death […]
Question: What is your take on the strange passage Exodus 4:24-27 in which God almost kills Moses? Answer: I found a web site which presents a range of responses from a Judaic Christian perspective, which I think might be the best. Bottom line, we are not sure why God wanted to kill Moses, but we […]
Question: I had a question about a passage I read recently. It’s the passage in 1 Corinthians 10 that talks about the 23,000 killed for sexual immorality. However, in Numbers, it states that 24,000 were killed. I ‘ve read Paul was referring to Ex 32 and not the passage in Numbers. I’ve also read that […]
Question: Why does Jude quote apocryphal literature in verse 9 and 14? People often immediatley dismiss this by saying “just because he quotes apocryphal literature doesn’t mean he considers it scripture”, and point out to where Paul quotes other pagan poets. This is true, however what bothers me is that he refers the prophecy directly […]
Question: I run a “myspace” for Christianity and I had my first tough post. I don’t know how to respond to it. Where did Jesus first appear to the eleven disciples after the resurrection? Here is the comment I got at my site: ;Where did Jesus first appear to the eleven disciples? oh wait i […]
Question Do you have a book that addresses a variety of alleged inconsistencies in the Bible. I recently bought a book called Encylopedia of Bible Difficulties. I have been able to resolve my questions through research. I must admit that I came upon some recently that concerned me. Is that normal? To see something that […]
The other gospels say that only ONE of the robbers mocked Jesus, while the other praised him. This is contrary to what Matt. 27:44 says which is that both robbers mocked the Lord. Please explain. One thing to bear in mind is that with the four gospels we have four independent accounts. Two of them […]
Question: If you place so much faith on the reliability of the synoptic Gospels and refuse to accept that they are not plain eyewitness statements,how do you account for the blatant contradiction between John 19:17 and Matt. 27:32 ? Answer: Jesus carried the cross-beam. Notice, it said “As they were going out.” Most likely, Jesus […]
Question: How do you reconcile: 1) Gen.23:2 with Joshua 14: 13 – 15 and 2) Gen. 14:14 with Judges 18:29? Answer: I am having trouble finding the potential contradiction in the first two. This may be because of the translation I have in front of me. I have Gen 23:2 “She died in Kiriath Arba […]
Question: Please explain the contradiction between Acts9:7 and 22:9. Answer: Acts 9:7 (NIV) “The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.” Acts 22:9 (NIV) “My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking ot me.” I do not […]
Question: My question is partly related to the problem of theodicy. In Joshua 7 we see Achan and all his family executed for a sin which only Achan is responsible for. For years i’ve wrestled trying to reconcile this passage in light of clear divine instruction in Deut 24:16 and Ezekiel 18:4,20. I will acknowledge […]
Question: How can you explain the seeming contradiction in the Genesis story which has the sun and the moon being created on the fourth day, if there was already day and night on the first day of creation? Isn?t this an example of the Bible being contradicted by science and by common sense? Answer: I […]
Question The earliest Gospel was written c. 70 AD. We have only purported reports of what Jesus said – see for example Geza Vermes ” The Authentic Gospel of Jesus” or further ” The Jesus Mysteries” by Freke & Gandy. Even evangelical writers such as Mark Stibbe talk of “redactors” and “interpretations.” The claims you […]
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