Evidence and Answers

Evidence and Answers is a category where you can easily find information defending the Christian faith.  It covers topics including the reliability of the Bible, biblical people, answers to objections, and much more.

“Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing,’” (John 20:27).

 

Introduction

• Introduction to Evidence and Answers
• What does it mean that the Bible is inspired and inerrant?
• The Miracles of Jesus

Evidence supporting the Bible

• Manuscript Evidence for Superior New Testament Reliability
• Illustration of Bible text manuscript tree and variant readings
• Non-biblical accounts of New Testament events and/or people
• Archaeological Evidence verifying biblical cities
• The writings of Josephus mention many biblical people and places
• When were the gospels written and by whom?
• Evidence of biblical inspiration
• Is the battle of Jericho in Joshua a real historical event?
• Archaeology, the Bible, and Jeroboam son of Nebat
• En Gedi and the accuracy of Scripture
• Archaeology, history, and Paul’s arrest and trial at Jerusalem and Caesarea
• New Testament figures attested in other early historical sources
• The historicity of Acts 12 and the death of Herod Agrippa I
• Was Barabbas a real person or just a literary device?
• Did Barabbas’ insurrection actually happen?

Answers to Questions about the Bible

• Can we trust the New Testament as a historical document?
• Wasn’t the New Testament written hundreds of years after Christ?
• Hasn’t the Bible been rewritten so many times it can’t be trusted?
• Has the New Testament been corrupted?
• Has the Old Testament been corrupted?
• Since the NT writers were biased, can we trust what they wrote?
• What is the gospel of Q and does it prove the Gospels are false?
• Why isn’t there other evidence of the massacre of the babies?
• Why isn’t there any record of millions of Jews wandering in the desert?
• Do the lost books of the Bible prove that the Bible has been altered?
• Is there non-biblical evidence of a day of darkness at the crucifixion?
• Do references to camels in Genesis prove the Bible is false?

Evidence supporting biblical manuscripts

• Papyri, p1 through p76; 200 AD to 700 AD copies
• Letter Uncials; 4th to 10th-century copies
• Numbered Uncials, 046 through 0250; 2nd to 14th-century copies
• Numbered Minuscules, 1 through 1985; 9th to 16th-century copies
• Minuscules, 2 through 399; 9th to 16th-century copies
• Minuscules, 404 through 999; 8th to 16th-century copies
• Minuscules, 1012 through 2768; 9th to 16th-century copies

Evidence supporting Jesus’ existence

• Regarding the quotes from the historian Josephus about Jesus
• The writings of Josephus mention many biblical people and places
• 1 Cor. 15:3-4 demonstrates a creed too early for a legend to corrupt
• An analysis of the pre-Pauline creed in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Evidence supporting Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah

• Does Isaiah 53 predict that Jesus would be the Messiah?
• Does Daniel 9:24-27 predict the coming of Jesus?
• Does Micah 5:2 predict that Jesus would be the Messiah?
• Does Zechariah 12:10 predict that Jesus would be the Messiah?
• Is Psalm 22 a Messianic Prophecy?

Answers to objections concerning Jesus’ miracles and resurrection

• Is the Easter Story of Jesus’ Resurrection True?
• Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence
• Does the Bible provide extraordinary evidence for Jesus’ resurrection?
• It is improbable that Jesus rose from the dead
• The Christians were mistaken about Jesus’ resurrection
• The New Testament writers conspired together to gain power
• Jesus was a magician who made people hallucinate about His miracles
• Jesus only appeared to have died on the cross – Swoon Theory
• The disciples stole Jesus’ body and faked His resurrection
• There are no non-biblical accounts to the resurrection
• Miracles cannot happen
• Has the tomb of Jesus been found?
• Is there historical evidence of Jesus’ miracles?
• What is the Nazareth Inscription?

Answers to Questions about Jesus

• Was Jesus just a myth?
• Did Jesus really die on the cross?
• Is the empty tomb of Jesus historical?
• Did Jesus rise from the dead? An outline
• Did Jesus rise from the dead?
• Was the resurrection story of Jesus borrowed from pagan mythology?
• Didn’t Jesus simply rise in a non-physical, spirit form?
• If Jesus is God in flesh, why did He not inherit original sin?
• Can’t all of Jesus’ miracles be explained naturally?

Other Objections answered

• Are the New Testament themes found in the Old Testament?
• Apollonius of Tyana also did miracles and rose. What about him?
• Doesn’t Mithra prove that Christians borrowed from this myth?
• Why believe in Christianity over all other religions?

Answers to Questions about other things

• If God is all-powerful and loving, why is there suffering in the world?
• A loving God would never send anyone to hell
• Is there physical evidence that God is real?
• It is intolerant to say that Christianity is the only true religion
• Why did animals have to die for the sins of Adam and Eve and others?
• Why would God have to die to save people from Himself?
• If God is not the author of confusion, what about the Tower of Babel?
• If babies go to heaven when they die, why is abortion wrong?
• How do we know Christianity is true and we are not deceived?