The Death of Judas: A Hopeless Bible Contradiction?

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Skeptics accuse Christians of not paying attention while they’re reading their Bible. If they didn’t rush through their daily devotional, they’d catch some obvious contradictions. One of the more famous of these contradictions is the two accounts of the death of Judas. Here’s Biblical scholar and critic Bart Ehrman: “The two reports give different accounts of how Judas died. However mysterious it may be to say he fell headlong and burst open, at least that is not “hanging” oneself. And they are flat out contradictory on two other points: who purchased the field (the priests, as per Matthew, or Judas, as per Acts?) and why the field was called the field of blood (because it … Read more

Podcast: Did the Gospel Writers Get Historical Facts Right?

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Skeptics say that the Gospel writers were reporting events from far away long after the events. Therefore, they bungle their facts when it comes to the history of their time and they can’t be relied upon. Here I demonstrate that the Gospel writers did, in fact, know their contemporary history extensively. An error made on my part in the video. I said the Jews worship on Sinai, which would be in Egypt! It’s supposed to be the Mount of Olives. 🤦‍♂️

Podcast Episode: What Can We Learn About Jesus From the Roman Historian Tacitus?

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What can we learn about Jesus and early Christianity from a Roman historian who hated Christians? As it turns out quite a bit. Some skeptics will even go so far as to dispute that Tacitus’ testimony about Jesus is even valid. I address those concerns as well as 6 key facts we can learn about Jesus from Tacitus. Resources: The Jesus Legend, Paul Rhodes Eddy and Greg Boyd Did Jesus Exist?, Bart Ehrman Can We Trust the Gospels?, Peter J.Williams (Not Who Wrote the Gospels? 🤦) Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence (Studying the Historical Jesus), Robert Van Voorst Watch: Listen:

Were the Gospel Writers Really Geographically Inept?

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Skeptics say that Mark and the other Gospel writers knew little about Palestinian geography. They made grave geographical gaffes. Had the Gospel writers knew their stuff, they wouldn’t make such blatant mistakes. Therefore, we can’t trust them as reliable historical documents.  For Matthew’s Gospel, this is especially problematic. A real Judean local like Matthew wouldn’t borrow from someone as geographically incompetent as Mark. Some critics have concluded from this that whoever wrote Matthew, it couldn’t be Matthew the disciple.  I want to look at three times the Gospel writers supposedly flunk at Palestinian geography and see if these objections really carry any weight. Is There a Blunder in Mark 7:31? Here’s the text: “Then he … Read more

Video: Would the Gospel Authors Flunk a Palestinian Geography Test?

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Skeptics say that the Gospel writers make serious geographical errors, making them unreliable. Here I answer several examples that the critics provide. I also make the case that the Gospel writers were intimately familiar with Palestinian geography. This shows that they were not likely to be written by authors who were from far away or at least had no access to those very familiar with the land where the events reportedly happened. For the podcast version, you can listen and subscribe here: Sources and helpful links: Can We Trust the Gospels?, Peter J Williams, Alleged Historical Errors in the Gospels by Tim McGrew Part 1 Part 2 The Gospel Writers Knew Palestinian Geography, Ryan Leasure … Read more

Video: The Names of the 12: Evidence That the Gospel Writers Knew Their Stuff

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Do Matthew and Luke contradict each other when it comes to the names of the Twelve Apostles? Some skeptics say yes, but there’s actually a very plausible solution that’s rooted in the historical data we have about what people were named during Jesus’ time. And as it turns out, the names actually provide good evidence that the Gospels were based on eyewitness testimony. If you’re more of a podcast person, You can listen and Subscribe here: References: Can We Trust the Gospels?, Peter J Williams, https://amzn.to/2QHP8s5 Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, Richard Bauckham https://amzn.to/3a2J4Cr

Video: A Case for the Early Dating of the Gospels

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Here is Episode 2 of Sunday School Apologetics. Skeptics like Bart Ehrman say that the Gospels were written between 70-100 AD. This leaves plenty of time for legendary development to happen. But what if I told you that the main reason for dating the Gospels late is not particularly good, and there’s plenty of good reasons to date the Gospels early?

New Video: Are the Gospels Really Anonymous?

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I’d like to introduce you to my new YouTube channel. It’s called Sunday School Apologetics. I’m excited about this new channel! The idea behind it is to do a Sunday School type of curriculum covering various apologetic topics. The first series is going to be on the historical reliability of the Gospels. Today we start with the genuineness of the Gospels. Were they really written by the traditional authors? Skeptics like Bart Ehrman say that the Gospels were anonymously written and the traditional authors like Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were names added long after the disciples were dead. But is this theory right? Here I defend the traditional authorship of the gospels and answer … Read more

How I Got Into Apologetics (And How You Can Too!)

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I am often asked, “how did you get into apologetics?” For some believers, they’ll get interested in apologetics because of a crisis of faith. They’ll have intellectual hurdles that come up that they have to overcome. For me, I never was plagued with doubts. While I spent several years of my life as an atheist, I had a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit. As I walked with God, the inner witness of the Holy Spirit was a real and regular experience. After coming to faith, I felt burdened to share my faith. I would share my testimony with anyone who would give me the time of day and led several of my friends to … Read more

Episode 8 – Is There Hidden Polytheism in the Bible? An Interview with Michael Jones of Inspiring Philosophy

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In this podcast, I interview Michael Jones of Inspiring Philosophy. Skeptics say that the ancient Israelites weren’t religiously different than their near Eastern neighbors. Yahweh was just their tribalistic god among the pantheon. It was only until the time of the Babylonian captivity did the Jews become monotheistic. But is there any evidence for these claims? Jones takes on these arguments and makes the case for ancient Biblical monotheism. For More: Michael’s YouTube channel and Patreon Unseen Realm by Michael Heiser God in Translation by Michael Smith Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament by John Walton Spiritual Beings Playlist by The Bible Project is a good video intro that incorporates some of Heiser’s … Read more

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