Erik Manning

Erik is the creative force behind the YouTube channel Testify, which is an educational channel built to help inspire people's confidence in the text of the New Testament and the truth of the Christian faith.

The Question No Muslim Can Answer

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Muslims: Here’s a challenge. From pre-Muhammad sources, name someone who lived between 40 AD and 600 AD who you consider to be a true follower of Jesus. No excuses. Don’t say “Islam believes” or “the Quran says.” A name, and a pre-Muhammad historical source. Go. Cue the crickets. Prediction: You can’t, and that’s a big problem. In Quran 3:55, it says: “Allah said, ‘O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify you from those who disbelieve and make those who follow you superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection.’” Allah promised Jesus that his followers would be superior. Quran 61:14 says that they will be dominant: … Read more

Deen Responds Fails the Muslim Challenge

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Guys, I’m living in Deen’s head. The rent is free, but the view is terrible. Here’s his video response to me on the question no Muslim can answer. Here’s my original video for context: And finally, here’s another similar version of the argument: First, Deen Responds says I’ve “refuted myself” by using an argument from silence against Islam but not applying it consistently to the way I defend the New Testament. But let’s get this straight—not all arguments from silence are created equal. I’ve never claimed all arguments from silence are fallacious. See Dr. Tim McGrew’s 2013 peer-reviewed paper on the argument from silence. (Link) That’s what I reference when I discuss this topic. A … Read more

No, DeenResponds. Muhammad Ain’t the Paraclete.

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A while back, I dropped a video breaking down why Muhammad isn’t the Paraclete Jesus promised in John 14-16. Fast forward a few months, and now DeenResponds and his buddy are trying to hit me with a rebuttal. Spoiler alert: it’s… well, let’s just say creative is putting it kindly. Let’s take a look at some of his “top-tier” critiques and claims. Sorry this isn’t a video—edited response videos aren’t really my thing. Maybe I’d do one live, but honestly, I don’t have tons of spare time, so you’re stuck with this for now. For context, here’s Deen’s video and my original breakdown: Here’s my original video: The Paraclete would be a Prophet like Moses? … Read more

Muhammad and Joseph Smith: Two Peas in a Pod (Isa Insight Response)

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The dawagandists are unhappy with me again. In a recent video, I laid out why Muhammad is a false prophet. Here’s a quick recap: The funny thing? Joseph Smith did the same self-certifying thing—he inserted himself into Genesis (Genesis 50:33, Smith’s own “translation”) and had Joseph, the son of Jacob, prophesy about him. Christians and Muslims agree Smith was a false prophet, but Muslims should reject Muhammad for the same common sense reason we’d reject Smith.  Why? Because this claim makes God look like a total klutz. Here’s the supposed sequence: This is clearly dumb, we all know what happened. Smith wrote himself into the Bible. And Muhammad basically did the same thing. So consistency … Read more

Deen Responds, I guess

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Deen Responds, the same guy who just spent two hours embarrassing himself defending child marriage and his disgusting false prophet in a conversation with my friend Michael Jones from Inspiring Philosophy, took a swing at one of my videos. Looks like Grandpa’s got to take this kid behind the wood shed. In a previous video, I showed how the Quran claims that Jesus’s disciples were Muslims (Surah 3:52). But what if the apostles actually rejected key Islamic teachings? Let’s break it down: Muslims might try to dodge this by saying the disciples were fooled or corrupted the message later on. But Surah 61:14 says Allah made Jesus’s apostles victorious, meaning their message had His approval. … Read more

Farhan Ahmed Zia’s Low Evidential Bar

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Okay, this is part three in a series of responses to YouTuber Farhan Ahmed Zia, who generously throws around words like “ignorant” and “liar” when discussing me, yet curiously refuses a public conversation with yours truly, an inexperienced debater and utter jahil. Honestly, I’m sure Farhan is a decent person at heart. He’s simply trying to defend his beliefs, which is understandable to a degree. However, I believe his faith is misguided, his personal attacks are unwarranted, and I sincerely hope he eventually discovers the truth. My door is still open to him to have a public conversation. Anywho, this time, I’ll be responding to his claims about Muhammad and miracles. Here’s my original video: … Read more

Farhan Ahmed Zia: Clueless About Islam’s Biggest Contradiction

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So, my buddy Farhan is back at it again, calling me a “liar” and “delusional” and questioning my ability to read the Quran. Let’s see if his response is more impressive than his previous attempt, where he totally missed the mark. Here’s my original video: And here is his “response” video: First up, Farhan’s big accusation: I’m being dishonest for suggesting that Surah 3:3-4 hints at the inspiration and trustworthiness of the Gospels. But his accusation doesn’t even hold water. Here’s the āyah: 3:3  He has revealed upon you this Scripture with the Truth, confirming that which was before it; and He revealed the Tawrât and the Injîl, 3:4  in the past as a guidance … Read more

Farhan Ahmed Zia Ignores the Point Entirely

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Farhan Ahmed Zia, huh? Seems our friend has a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Here’s his original video: Farhan tries to poison the well right out of the gate, claiming I’m making stuff up without any knowledge. He says: “Testify is a Christian YouTuber that has recently started to upload videos about Islam. I’ve already made a refutation of one of his videos. You can go check it out. The brother can upload anything without any knowledge or make up lies, and everyone will still hype him up no matter what he says.” Okay, dude. I’ve offered to have a discussion with him from another video he made in response to me several … Read more

What Would It Be Like for the Pastorals to Be Forgeries?

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In my recent video about undesigned coincidences between 1 & 2 Timothy and Acts, Dr. Kipp Davis, a biblical scholar (and someone I like and respect despite our differences), commented. He wrote: “In this video, @Testify demonstrates that he is just as clever as second-century Christian writers were in crafting their highly convincing forgeries. If you can connect a few of the same dots, Erik, then so could anyone familiar enough with early Christian writings, no?” Now I get that a blog reply seems like overkill for a single comment. Initially, I was planning to just leave a comment, but then I thought, why not dive deeper into Kipp’s theory and see where it takes … Read more

Recommended Books on Historical Apologetics

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I am often asked which books I recommend for defending the reliability of the Gospels/Acts and Christianity in general, so here is my list. It is not exhaustive, but it will definitely give you a good start. The categorized as “mandatory” are more basic, while some of those labeled as “recommended” or “supplementary” delve into more profound and scholarly content. Any item marked with a * can be accessed for free online as PDF files. A significant number of these works are downloadable from http://historicalapologetics.org, http://books.google.com, or http://archive.org. Mandatory Reading: Author Book Title Bennett, Edmund * The Four Gospels from a Lawyer’s Standpoint Lewis, CS Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism (Essay in Christian Reflections) McGrew, … Read more

Is Jesus Alive?