What evidence do we have that points to the fact that the gospels were written by the apostles themselves? The first one who believed that they were written by them was Irenaius in 180 AD. It is impossible to prove absolutely that the apostles wrote the letters of the New Testament. Actually, you should be […]
I was looking for some credible evidence for the historicity of Jesus. Two main historians who wrote about Jesus, Thallus and Josephus, are controversial. It is not clear if they wrote it and when they wrote it. Are there records which date to the 1st century which we know where scholars are sure that they […]
Why are the Dead Sea Scrolls important? The Dead Sea Scrolls are a large number of manuscripts which have been found in a series of caves in the general area site of the ruins of the desert community of Qumran. Qumran was a settlement in the steep and arid hills at the Northwest end of […]
How do scholars date the ancient manuscripts and written records from the past and are there methods accurate? Scholars use a number of methods. You might think that carbon-14 dating, which gives an objective date for when the papyrus or vellum or other material was produced, would be the principal method, but actually it is […]
I understand that the Greek of the NT testament was Koine Greek. What can you tell me about this? I am not an expert on this subject, and would encourage you to do your own research into the style of Greek used by the writers of the New Testament. If you have a good commentary […]
I’ve heard different information about the earliest NT manuscript. Is the ms from John (125 AD) the earliest? And what about the Magdalene manuscripts and of these from Mark (46 AD) found in Egypt are these the earliest MS? The manuscripts you refer to are the Rylands Papyrus and the Magdalene Manuscript. The Rylands Papyrus […]
How can I tell the OT of the Bible is the real OT (ie the original Hebrew Bible) or if it is really just a more modern day Jewish OT? They claim the Bible’s OT is rewritten and has mistakes. Can you please clear things up for me? I believe I give a pretty thorough […]
What is the difference between the Hebrew name Yeshua, Yahweh and God, Jesus? The bible says that it is through his name that we are saved. Then why do we call him Jesus instead of his Hebrew name, Yeshua? First, let me be humble and confess that I am absolutely not an expert in either […]
Q-Source, Do you believe that there was a Q? If so, then was God’s inspired word lost? The Q-Source is a hypothesis contrived to explain both the similarities and the differences between Matthew, Mark and Luke. Was there a written source of sayings and acts of Jesus available before Mark or Matthew wrote their gospels? […]
I understand that Thomas went as far as India, but I am not so sure whether he is the one who wrote ?The Gospel of Thomas.? Should this book be in the Bible? Indeed, tradition is strong that the apostle Thomas established the church in India sometime in the ?40s. Although I started out skeptical […]
The book of Jashar is one of the many books cited in the OT. Following is a list (possibly incomplete) of sources cited in the O.T. books. The list omits references to other O.T. books. These works are “extrabiblical”-outside (extra, Latin) the Bible. The Book of the Wars of the Lord-Numbers 21:14The Poets-Numbers 21:27The Book […]
I recently read of books called ‘Q’ and the Gospel of Thomas. Interesting reading! I was wondering what you thought of them and their authenticity. Why are they not included in the Bible? Actually, much of “Q”-the hypothetical source of material common to Matthew and Luke-is in the New Testament. Let me recommend you read […]
If one can assume that this question is about the additions to the Old Testament which are included in the Roman Catholic Bible, then the bottom line answer is simple. The canon of the Old Testament was set by the teachers of Judaism. The Old Testament Apocrypha was never accepted by any of the Jewish […]
