BIBLICAL CRITICISMS

NOTICE: PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH BEFORE CONTINUING!
Note To Our Readers: After considerable reflection, I've finally decided to add this list of links. At first I hesitated to do this, since none of the linked articles are written from the Muslim point-of-view and many of them contain statements that are directly offensive to Muslims. Overall, however, I concluded that the good in these articles outweighs the bad, and since we live in the "Information Age" where people (especially those on the Web) have access to all sorts of diverse opinions, I decided to post this Biblical Criticism links page. The large majority of the articles below are written by atheists and agnostics - many of whom are former Christian ministers and preachers, and contain very sharp criticism of the reliability of the Bible as a religious text. Overall, the articles are scholarly, well thought out, articulate and in some cases even humorous - so I just couldn't resist making them known to our readers. For years Christians have been using the works of Orientalists - many of whom are atheists - to attack Islam, so I figured that it was about time that we reciprocated the favour. The majority of the links point to articles from The Skeptical Review magazine, which is a publication dedicated to refuting the myth that the Bible is the "inerrant Word of God". However, there are links to other sites, including Jews for Judaism and others. Where appropriate, I have included rebuttal articles by Christians in order to try to keep things fair. Additionally, since some of the articles generated several responses, I have grouped articles together based on their subject. I encourage all "Truth Seekers" to sincerely read and reflect on these articles. We hope that all sincere believers in Almighty God come to the clear conclusion that Christianity and its "scripture" do not present a reasonable option for sincere, thinking people - there must be another way, another scripture. Anyway . . . the list is rather long (over 50K), so I suggest that you read through the whole list before following any links - since you might miss something that you're really looking for. Our Christian readers, who may be a bit intimidated by the list, should remember that according to Acts 17:11, Paul praised the Jews at Beroea because they "searched the scriptures daily" in order to see if the things Paul was preaching to them "were so". (Acts 17:11). That's all we're asking you to do here - read the "scriptures" and see if what the Church has been telling you is really "so". As Isaiah 1:18 says: "Come now, let us reason together" . . .
GENERAL / INTRODUCTION
  • Introduction to the Bible and Biblical Problems

    • A short introduction to the history of the Biblical text.
  • We Come Not to Destroy the Bible

    • The editor of The Skeptical Review discusses reader reaction to the first issue of his magazine which is dedicated to proving that the Bible is errant and NOT the "Word of God". This article offers some keen insights to the mentality of fundamentalist Christians.
  • The Jeremiah Dilemma

    • In spite of Christian claims, the discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran refute the claim that the present day Bible is essentially the same as what was in the "original autographs." An important essay which introduces important facts that Christians don't want you to know . . .
  • BIBLE ABSURDITIES

    • From a flat-earth to four-footed fowl, a list of some Biblical passages that range from scientifically incorrect to clear exaggerations.
  • BIBLE ATROCITIES

    • From divinely directed mass genocide to baby killing - the Bible has it all.
  • BIBLICAL INCONSISTENCIES

    • A list that shows why it is rather difficult for Biblical inerrantists to "have their cake and eat it too".
  • BIBLICAL PRECEPTS: QUESTIONABLE GUIDELINES

    • Read this and see why the Bible is a rather questionable guide to human morality.
  • BIBLICAL VULGARITIES & OBSCENITIES

    • Warning: For Adults Only!!! I wonder how often these verses get read in church? I hope that they won't offend anyone . . .
  • FATAL BIBLICAL FLAWS

    • A list of some rather apparent contradictions.
  • Bible Contradictions

    • (St.) Paul said: "God is not the author of confusion," (I Corinthians 14:33), yet never has a book produced more confusion than the Bible! Some clear contradictions which were compiled by a former Evangelical minister. Recommended!!!
  • Textual Contradictions in the Bible

    • The Bible contains numerous contradictions and is not the work of perfect harmony as inerrancy believers claim it is.
  • About the Holy Bible

    • As the author of this article says: "Somebody ought to tell the truth about the Bible. The preachers dare not, because they would be driven from their pulpits. Professors in colleges dare not, because they would lose their salaries. Politicians dare not. They would be defeated. Editors dare not. They would lose subscribers. Merchants dare not, because they might lose customers. Men of fashion dare not, fearing that they would lose caste. Even clerks dare not, because they might be discharged. And so I thought I would do it myself . . . "
  • Inspiration of the Bible

    • Sixty-one reasons to doubt the inspiration of the Bible.

  • Why I Believe in the Inerrancy of the Scriptures

    • A Christian defends the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy.
  • Bible Inerrancy: A Belief Without Evidence

    • Farrell Till's rebuttal to the above defense of Biblical inerrancy.
  • Additional Errors Committed by Farrell Till (2)

    • Martin Fox, a Christian, picks apart the above Biblical errancy arguments.
  • What Farrell Really Said

    • Farrell responds to Marion Fox's accusations with a few challenges of his own.
  • Is The Bible The Word Of God?

    • This essay was written to be delivered as a lecture and is worded accordingly. It was part of a two day debate with a Fundamentalist Christian minister. For each evening there are two parts, one of thirty minutes and a conclusion of ten minutes. This essay takes the negative position.
  • No Takers

    • The editor of The Skeptical Review claims there is a contradiction between II Kings 9; 10:1-30 and Hosea 1:4. He also discusses II Timothy 3:16 and II Peter 1:20-21, which claim the Bible is inspired.
  • Silence in Fantasyland

    • The Skeptical Review, a publication which is dedicating to proving that the Bible is "errant" (i.e. that it contains errors), has a policy of giving free space to inerrantists in which they can respond to rebuttals-- so why aren't there any takers? According to the editor, "The silence of men like Archer and Jackson when they are offered publishing space to defend their belief in inerrancy only deepens our suspicion that they know enough to realize their position cannot survive close public scrutiny." Archer and Jackson, it should be noted, are two well known Evangelical Christian scholars who believe that the Bible is the "Word of God" and completely free from error.
  • More Problems for Bibliolaters

    • Is the Bible so harmonious that it can only be explained by divine inspiration? Farrell Till writes that "bibliolaters cannot harmonize the Bible without resorting to scenarios so preposterously far-fetched that only the very credulous can believe them."
  • The Evolution and Devolution of the Bible

    • A look at the apocryphal books of the Bible and what they tell us about how the evolutionary process of the Biblical text.
  • Once Upon a Time

    • Christian fundamentalists dismiss as liberal nonsense any interpretation of scriptures that is based on the existence of myths and legends in the Biblical text, yet they themselves often take doctrinal positions that reflect a fairy-tale view of the Bible.
  • A Perfect Work of Harmony?

    • Inerrantists claim that the Bible "is characterized by such an amazing unity and beautiful continuity as to be inexplicable on the basis of human origin", but it just ain't so. Read this and see why . . .
  • What is Wrong With Any-Loophole-Will-Do Hermenuetics

    • More problems with the implausible "how-it-could-have-been" scenarios offered by Biblical inerrantists.
  • A Case in Point

    • The Biblical inerrancy doctrine, if true, should apply to any verse or phrase or word of the Biblical "scriptures". This article examines a few approaches to this problem.
  • Textual Contradictions in the Bible

    • Is the Bible the work of perfect harmony that inerrancy believers claim it is? Suppose we let the Bible speak for itself and see what answer we get.
  • More Trouble for the Perfect-Harmony Theory

    • This article cites several examples of Biblical contradictions to show that the "perfect unity" of the Bible is anything but perfect.
  • Evidence That Doesn't Demand a Verdict

    • Even in the Bible, people rejected Christian testimony and waited for hard evidence before believing. Who are we to disagree?
  • A List of Biblical Contradictions

    • A long list with some introductory comments, including a discussion of the methodology that Christians use in order to try to resolve these contradictions. Recommended!!!
  • Another Preacher Who Never Ceases to Be Amazed

    • Farrell Till never ceases to be amazed at the extremes that religionists will go to find inerrancy in God's word.
    SCIENTIFIC MISTAKES
  • Scientific Boo-Boos in the Bible

    • Bibliolaters claim that the Bible is inerrant in every detail, in matters of history, science, geography, chronology, etc., as well as faith and practice. It is a claim that has won wide acceptance among fundamentalist Christians, but, as is true of most zealotic tributes that have been paid to the Bible, it has no basis in fact. This article shows what anyone who wants to know truth already does: the Bible is riddled with mistakes. Many of those mistakes were scientific ones.
  • What About Scientific Foreknowledge in the Bible?

    • Any challenge to the Bible inerrancy doctrine will sooner or later encounter the scientific-foreknowledge argument. "If the Bible is not the inspired word of God", the inerrancy spokesmen ask, "then how do you explain the many examples of scientific foreknowledge in it?" The claim implied in this question is that men writing in an age of relative ignorance indicated in various passages of the Bible that they understood scientific truths that were completely unknown at the time. The response the question seeks is that these scientific facts could not have been known to Bible writers without God's having revealed them during the verbal inspiration process. They see this as a compelling argument for the inerrancy doctrine. A basic problem with this argument is the same as the one found in the familiar harmonious-content, unity-of-theme, and fulfillment-of-prophecy arguments so often presented in the Bible's defense. It is based more on speculation, imaginative interpretations, and wishful thinking than on verifiable facts.
  • Bible Biology

    • Did Bible writers demonstrate knowledge of scientific facts that were unknown at the time the Bible was being written? According to Farrell Till, "there is no more 'scientific knowledge' in the Bible than in any other literature of the same era." Seemingly, many of the Biblical authors would have flunked Biology 101.
  • Chew on This...Again!

    • Leviticus 11:6 mistakenly classifies the rabbit as a ruminant or cud-chewer, a problem for inerrantists, who claim that the Bible is scientifically accurate in every detail. This article shows why the inerrantist explanation of Leviticus 11:6 is difficult to swallow.
  • Still Chewing: Chasing Rabbits With Dr. Geisler

    • Jeffrey A. Justice responds to Dr. Geisler's attempt to explain away the biological error in Leviticus 11:5-6, in which it is said that rabbits chew their cud.
  • Does the Bible Speak of the Brain?

    • If the authors of the Bible were really inspired by God, how come they believed that the mind was centered in our intestines?
  • The Flat-Earth Belief of Bible Writers

    • Have you ever heard the claim that "the Bible teaches the earth is flat?" Adrian Swindler surveys the appropriate Biblical evidence to defend this view.
  • A Reply to "The Flat-Earth Belief of Bible Writers"

    • Christian fundamentalist minister Jerry McDonald responds to Adrian Swindler's flat-earth article.
  • The Flat-Earth: Still an Embarassment to Bible Inerrantists

    • Adrian Swindler responds to Jerry McDonald's above article.
  • Sarah's Power to Conceive

    • As the author says: "Living in a time when people believed that females emitted semen during sexual intercourse, the author of Hebrews wrote in . . . [Hebrews 11:11] something that he thought was a scientific fact. As it turned out, he was wrong. He made a mistake . . . ". Read it for yourself!!!
  • Sarah's "Power" to Conceive: A Response

    • Bill Lockwood, a Christian, responds to the above article.
  • A Typically Inadequate Response

    • Farrell Till critiques the Christian attempt to resolve the problem of Sarah's alleged power to make "a deposit of semen" in Hebrews 11:11.
  • Sarah's Power to Conceive: A Response (II)

    • Bill Lockwood's attempt to rebut Farrell Till's article "A Typically Inadequate Response."
    ALLEGED PROPHECY FULFILLMENT
  • Prophecies: Imaginary and Unfulfilled

    • Excellent!!! Since alleged prophecy fulfillment is a popular argument that Bibliolaters rely on in trying to prove the divine inspiration of the Bible, the author of this article (who is a former minister and missionary) takes it upon himself to refute their claim. Definitely classified as a "Must Read"!
  • A Look at Isaiah 53 - on the Jews for Judaism home page

    • A Jewish analysis of the alleged Messianic prophecies of Isaiah 53.
  • An Example of "Prophecy Fulfillment"

    • An example of the extremes that fundamentalists will go to in their search for fulfilled prophecy in the Bible.
  • The Fabulous Prophecies of the Messiah

    • by Jim Lippard
  • Response to "The Fabulous Prophecies Of The Messiah"

    • by Glenn Miller
  • Response to Jim Lippard's "The Fabulous Prophecies of the Messiah"

    • by James D. Price
  • Why Did Matthew Need Dead Babies?

    • What was Matthew's purpose in telling the tale of the slaughter of the infants in Bethlehem?
  • A Virgin-Birth Prophecy

    • Prophecy is a muddy science, and Bible prophecy more muddy than most. One example of this is the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, which inerrantists claim is a prediction of the virgin birth. As it turns out, it is no such thing.
  • Prophecy Fulfillment and Probability

    • What are the odds that statistical arguments concerning Biblical prophecy are valid? Pretty low, as Farrell Till shows.

  • The Essence of Prophecy

    • Bobby Liddell (a Christian) defends Biblical prophecy in this article.
  • The Myth of Prophecy Fulfillment

    • Farrell Till rebuts Liddell's "The Essence Of Prophecy".
  • Fulfilled Prophecy: Evidence for the Reliability of the Bible

    • Dr. Hugh Ross (a Christian) attempts to prove the infallibility of the Bible by stating some unusual probability statistics.
  • Prophecy Fulfillment: An Unprovable Claim

    • Farrell Till counters Dr. Ross' claims. Excellent!!!
  • Fulfilled Prophecy: An Unprovable Claim (2)

    • Farrell Till continues his rebuttal to Dr. Hugh Ross's article claiming that prophecy fulfillments prove the divine origin of the Bible. Recommended!!!
    OLD TESTAMENT
  • A Very Great City

    • Jonah 3:3 informs us that the old Assyrian capital, Nineveh, was an exceedingly great city, being "three days' journey across"! This article argues that archaeological evidence shows it was not more than 3 miles across. Excellent!!!
  • Insights into Leviticus - on the Jews for Judaism home page

    • One of the cornerstones of Christian theology is that the only way to achieve atonement for sins is through the offering of a sacrifice whose blood is shed in our place. The Greek Testament makes this very clear in Hebrews 9:22 " . . . without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Is this idea consistent with the teachings of the Torah, or do the Jewish and Christian bibles diverge on this issue? Christians generally insist that the absolute need for a vicarious blood sacrifice is rooted in the Torah, and cite as proof Leviticus 17:11 "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul." This article shows that the Christian position takes only part of the Biblical evidence into account, and ranks as a thorough and logical refutation of a ridiculous doctrine to which many Christian adhere. Highly recommended!!!
  • Sexual Conduct Pentateuchal Style

    • A look at sexual rules of conduct in the Pentateuch (which is the Greek name for the first five books of the Old Testament). So much for the idea that the Bible condemns all sex outside of marriage . . .
  • The Last Hurrah of the Inerrancy Doctrine

    • This article discusses the verbal inspiration of the Bible, the contradiction between Exodus 6:16-20 and Exodus 12:40, the "original autographs" of the Bible, etc.
  • Was It Morally Right for God to Order the Killing of the Canaanites?

    • Yes, says Clarence Lavender (a Christian). In a chilling article that has Lavender comparing innocent children with cancerous tumors, Lavender calls the massacre "the highest manifestation of the goodness of God." If that's the highest, I'd hate to see the lowest.
  • Suffer, Little Children

    • Till takes Lavender to task for his moral insensibility is the above article.
  • Squeezing Fifty Years Into Twenty

  • A Perfect Work of Harmony?

    • This article discusses "the divergent views of Jehu's slaughter of the royal family of Israel" in II Kings 9; 10:1-30 and Hosea 1:4, as an example of the inconsistencies in the Bible.
  • The Blood of Jezreel

    • Jerry McDonald replies to Farrell Till's article entitled "A Perfect Work of Harmony?". He claims there is no contradiction between 2 Kings 10:30 and Hosea 1:4.
  • Ahab, Jezebel, Jehu, and the Blood of Jezreel

    • Till responds to Jerry McDonald and claims that the contradiction between 2 Kings 10:30 and Hosea 1:4 still stands.
  • Those Amazing Biblical Numbers: Taking Stock of the Armies of Ancient Israel

    • An examination of Biblical records relating to the size of ancient armies poses still more problems for Biblical the inerrantists.
  • What About Casualty Numbers?

    • Another article in the same vein as the above one, this time focusing on the number of casualties instead of the number of soldiers.
  • Another Flaw in the Perfect-Harmony Theory

    • Inerrantists boast that the Bible possesses a thematic unity so amazing that it can be explained only on the basis of divine inspiration, but the facts do not support this claim. As an example, Till considers Yahweh's promise in Jeremiah 18:7-8, and his failure to keep this promise for King Josiah.
  • Was the Amalekite Massacre a Moral Atrocity?

    • The opening salvo in the debate over the morality of the Amalekite massacre is a bloody one. The author discusses the incident in the Bible where God orders the Israelis to kill the Amalekites - men, women and children - even babies, and reflects on the moral lessons of this (allegedly) God-ordered holocaust.
  • The Amalekite Destruction a Moral Atrocity?

    • According to Lindell Mitchell (a Christian), killing babies is wrong, unless God orders it, in which case it's just fine. (Not a man I'd want for a babysitter.)
  • Just Whose Legs Are Unequal?

    • In the first exchange between Farrell Till and Lindell Mitchell on the subject of the Amalekite massacre, Mitchell accused Till of poor logic and evasion of the issue. But readers should have no difficulty seeing whose logic is faulty.
  • Mr. Till, Your Legs Are Unequal!

    • Lindell Mitchell continues to argue that "God stands ontologically on a higher plane than man", and is therefore morally entitled to order acts of genocide. So much for the moral superiority of Christianity.
  • Affirmations that Mitchell Did Indeed Make

    • In the course of the debate over the Amalekite massacre, Mitchell has refused to answer questions on the grounds that he is not the affirmant. Is Mitchell within his rights here, or is he using this to dodge questions he would not be comfortable answering? Till claims the latter is true, and explains why.
  • No Bastards Allowed

    • The law of Moses barred those of illegitimate birth from entering into the assembly of God, but this law was apparently not enforced when the descendants of "bastards" had achieved important social status.
  • What Was a "Mamzer"?

    • A closer look at the use of the word mamzer (trans: "bastard") in Deuteronomy 23:2 reveals more problems for Biblical inerrantists.
  • Answers to a Claim of Errancy of the Scriptures

    • An attempted Christian response to "No Bastards Allowed".
  • Bent Over Double For God

    • A response to the above Christian attempt to show that the banning of bastards from the assembly of Yahweh (Dt. 23:2) does not contradict any other Biblical passages. Farrell Till counters that Fox's explanations have little or nothing in the Bible to support them.
  • Leaning Over Backwards for God

    • Farrell Till (again) uses the Bible to prove that bastards aren't allowed in God's assembly.
  • Yahweh's Failed Land Promise

    • This discusses the evidence that some of the alleged land promises that Yahweh made to the Israelites were not fulfilled.
  • Possession of the Promised Land

    • Charles Coats gives a Christian response to the above article, contending that Yahweh did not break his promise. According to Coats, Yahweh's promise was a conditional promise and the Israelites had not lived up to the conditions of his promise.
  • Saul & The Witch of Endor

    • An example of glaring inconsistency can be found in the two accounts of the death of Saul, the first king of Israel, as told by the writers of 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. Both writers claimed that Yahweh engineered Saul's death because of his disobedience, but the two versions of his disobedience differ significantly.
  • Letter from a Dead Man

    • Dead men tell no tales -- but they do write letters -- at least according to the Bible. This article details a contradiction between 2 Chronicles and 2 Kings, in which Elijah writes a letter to King Jehoram, despite the fact that he wasn't alive (on Earth, anyway) during Jehoram's reign.
  • Letter from a Dead Man: A Response

    • Jerry Moffitt responds to "Letter From A Dead Man".
  • The 430-Year Sojourn

    • Among the examples cited in an effort to disprove the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy is an apparent contradiction between Exodus 12:40-41 and Exodus 6:16-20.
  • Just Another Far-Fetched How-It-Could-Have-Been: a Rejoinder

    • Roger Hutchinson (a Christian) debates Farrell Till's response to his explanation of the discrepancy between the length of the Israelite sojourn in Egypt and the Exodus 6 chronology in the Aaronic genealogy.
  • Not Much To Do

    • Why doesn't Roger Hutchinson just admit that in this case we have an obvious example of Biblical discrepancy?
    NEW TESTAMENT
  • New Testament Contradictions

    • More than just a list of contradictions, since there are detailed comments on each one. Nice reading!
  • Truth in the Christian Bible? - on the Jews for Judaism home page

    • A short Jewish critique of the New Testament.
  • Did Paul's Men Hear A Voice?

    • In the 9th chapter of Acts, Luke tells the story of the conversion of Saul, saying that "the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man." In the 22nd chapter of the same book, Luke quotes Paul's own words regarding the same experience: "And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake unto me."
  • The Jannes-Jambres Syndrome

    • How did Paul know the names of the magicians who opposed Moses (2 Tim. 3:8)? Farrell Till shows that Paul knew their names from a widely known oral and written tradition and that, therefore, this verse hardly constitutes evidence for the inspiration of the Bible.
  • Contextual Problems with the Gospel of John

    • The Johannine material (Gospel of John) is a radical departure from the synoptics of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. This article shows that John's psuedepigraphical author relied solely on the Greek Septuagint and did not have a Semitic-language background. Highly recommended!
  • The Gospel of John and the Hellenization of Jesus

    • In John we find the culmination of Greek philosophy that has created the Jesus that we are the most familiar with today. A fully-formed Hellenized Jesus has emerged to become an equal with God. The Gospel of John (ca. 120 CE) is complex and mystical. It's purpose is to propagandize the message that Jesus is God Himself, creator of the universe, and so powerful that "whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (3:16). Excellent!!!
  • Critique of New Testament Reliability and "Bias" in NT Development

    • A balanced look at the status and authenticity of the New Testament texts. Recommended!!!
  • The Problem with Jesus' Arrest and Trial

    • There is a problem when dealing with the various contradictory Biblical accounts of Jesus' arrest and trial as they relate to each other and Jewish practice of the day.
  • Touring The Middle East, Jesus Style

    • A more appropriate (and less offensive title) might have been "Touring the Middle East New Testament Style", but anyway . . . this article has some very strong arguments. The author points out a tremendous geographical "oops!" which shows that either the God of the Bible works in very mysterious-- even absurd-- ways, or whoever wrote Mark did not know anything about the geography of the Middle East and certainly was not a disciple of Jesus. Highly recommended!!!
  • The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors

    • Some of the points which this author makes are a bit far fetched, and his knowledge of Islam is obviously rather weak, but there is some valid information as well. Check it out . . .
  • Jairus's Daughter: Was She Dead or Wasn't She?

    • Inconsistencies in the gospel stories of Jairus' daughter suggest that the gospels are the product of fallible humans, not the product of inspiration from God.
  • Why Did Matthew Need Dead Babies?

    • What was Matthew's purpose in telling the tale of the slaughter of the infants in Bethlehem?
  • Is Jesus God?

    • A detailed critique of Maisel's "Is Jesus God?" pamphlet
    THE (ALLEGED) RESURRECTION
    "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain." (I Corinthians 15:14)
  • Leave No Stone Unturned: An Easter Challenge For Christians

    • To successfully complete this challenge, all you have to do is explain what happened on Easter. The author doesn't demand "proof", but only that Christians tell him exactly what happened on the day that Jesus supposedly rose from the dead. The only catch: you can't leave out a single detail of any of the separate Biblical accounts - all of which were supposedly inspired by the Holy Spirit. As mentioned below, the first person to solve this puzzle can win $2,000. The prize is still unclaimed, so have fun . . .
  • A Two-Thousand-Dollar Oppurtunity

    • There is a longstanding offer of a $1,000 reward to anyone who can take all accounts of the resurrection in the four gospels, Acts, and 1 Corinthians 15, and write a single narrative in which he includes every event and detail mentioned in the separate accounts and do so without omitting anything or injecting inconsistency, contradiction, or purely speculative materials into the narrative. To sweeten the pot a little, The Skeptical Review will add another $1,000 to the original offer.
  • What Happened to the Resurrected Saints?

    • This essay discusses two verses in the Gospel of Matthew which say that at the moment of Jesus' death "the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many" (27:52-53). Isn't it odd that no other gospel writer mentioned such a great miracle? Isn't it odd that no contemporary historian of the time mentioned such a thing, even though they mentioned much lesser events? A "Must Read"!
  • More About the Resurrected Saints

    • The article "What Happened to the Resurrected Saints?" generated several rebuttals. The article contains a response to reader criticisms of the original article.
  • The Resurrection - on the Jews for Judaism home page

    • A short Biblical study to assist in evaluating this most central of Christian claims - from the Jewish point of view.
  • Why Didn't They Know?

    • According to the author, "just about everyone who had been associated with Jesus knew that he was supposed to be resurrected except the apostles." This article examines the numerous New Testament references to the apostles' skepticism of a resurrection. Perhaps the most interesting part of this article even though Luke (24:46) and Paul (1 Cor. 15:4) alleged that the "scriptures" said that Jesus would be raised on the "third day ", no such prophecy exists. As the author puts it, " . . . the claim and the reality are two different things. One could search the OT scriptures until doom's day, and he would find nothing written about a Messiah who would rise from the dead on the third day. One will find nothing in the OT scriptures about a risen Messiah, period!" Read it and see . . .
  • Did They or Didn't They?

    • After the women supposedly saw Jesus' empty tomb, did they tell anyone what they saw or didn't they? "That's the problem that inerrantists must resolve."
  • Did They Tarry in the City?

    • This essay address the apparent contradiction between an alleged post-resurrection appearance of Jesus on a mountain in Galilee and John 20:48 which commands the disciples to "tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high".
  • The Resurrection Maze

    • If the four gospel authors were divinely inspired, "there would be no maze of inconsistencies in the juxtaposition of their stories."
  • What Third-Day Prophecy?

    • The New Testament claims that the Messiah rose on the third day "according to the scriptures", but where in the Old Testament is a prophecy whose face-value meaning was so obvious that no reasonable person could deny that the prophets were indeed predicting that the Messiah would rise from the dead? Claiming prophecy fulfillment when there was no prophecy . . . a BIG problem for Christians. Excellent . . . so read it!!!
  • The Historicity of Jesus' Resurrection

    • A lengthy article of several chapters, that deals with the historicity of the alleged resurrection of Jesus. Responds to many of the arguments made by Christian apologists such as Josh McDowell and William Lane Craig. Recommended!!!

    The Jury Is In: The Ruling on McDowell's "Evidence That Demands a Verdict"
    Note: The section below deals with a book by Josh McDowell, who is a relatively well known Christian apologist. Actually, Josh McDowell might be one of most popular Christian apologists ever. He has written several books and has been quite active in the Campus Crusade for Christ. According to the back cover of his book The Resurrection Factor, "he has spoken to more students than anyone else lecturing at universities". Due to this, we thought that it would be worthwhile to include links to a detailed rebuttal of his book Evidence That Demands a Verdict. In this book, McDowell tries to portray the resurrection, and the alleged "evidence" for it, as something that no reasonable person could deny. However, the rebuttal articles listed below provide even stronger evidence that McDowell's claims are unreasonable and that all "evidence" for the alleged resurrection is extremely weak.
     
    Introduction
    Chapter 1. The Uniqueness of the Bible
    Chapter 2. How Was the Bible Prepared?
    Chapter 3. The Canon
    Chapter 4. The Reliability of the Bible
    Chapter 5. Jesus - A Man of History
    Chapter 6. Jesus - God's Son
    Chapter 7. The Trilemma - Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?
    Chapter 8. The Great Proposition
    Chapter 9. The Messianic Prophecies of the Old Testament Fulfilled in Jesus Christ
    Chapter 10. The Resurrection - Hoax or History?
    Chapter 11. Prophecy Fulfilled in History
    Chapter 12. The Uniqueness of the Christian Experience
  • A Verdict That Defies the "Evidence"

    • A short reply to Josh McDowell's book "Evidence That Demands a Verdict".
  • Answers to Tough Questions

    • More responses to Josh McDowell and his methodology.
    MISCELLANEOUS
  • What Does The Bible Say About Abortion?

    • Certainly, Muslims and "fundamentalist" Christians are anti-abortion, but can Christians justify this belief on the basis of the Bible? Muslims certainly can on the basis of the Qur'an and Sunnah, but as the former Evangelical author of this thought provoking tract shows, there is no basis in the Bible for the "Pro-Life" Christian position. Quite the opposite actually . . . "Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones" (Psalm 137:9). Read it!!!
  • New Biblical Archaeology

    • A Christian condemns "new" Biblical archaeologists because their findings disprove common Bible stories.
  • The Old Logic

    • A reply to the above article on "New Biblical Archaeology". Excellent, so read it!!!
  • Christianity and Hindu Influence

    • An explanation of the evidence that early Christian writings incorporated some Hindu ideas and beliefs.
  • Christianity's Hindu Heritage

    • Could it be that Hinduism played a major role in the development of Trinitarian and Incarnational Christianity? The author of this article thinks so, and shows several similarities between the two religions which Christians will find hard to explain.
  • Zoroastrianism: The Forgotten Source

    • Even though Zoroastrianism is almost unheard of today, this religion played a major role in shaping Christian beliefs. This article provides some additional evidence that Christians borrowed (or inherited) some of their beliefs from pagan sources.
  • The "Testimony" of Mara Bar-Serapion

    • The absence of extrabiblical evidence of the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth has long been an embarrassment to Christian apologists. In our modern age of enlightenment, the fact that no contemporary testimony to the life of Jesus can be found outside of the New Testament and apocryphal documents (all of which were penned by obviously biased writers) continues to trouble Christian apologists, possibly more so than at any time in church history. In their frustration, Christians have resorted to some rather imaginative efforts to find Jesus of Nazareth in ancient secular records. One such effort has focused on a letter that may have been written toward the end of the first century. This article refutes this effort.
  • Christian Terrorism In Oklahoma City

    • This article certainly is not written from the Muslim perspective, but it does give some thoughts on the double-standards in the media and in some people's minds. Christians sure have been whining a lot after experiencing just a taste of what Muslims have had to put up with for years. A nice tit-for-tat, so read it!!!
  • "God's" Opinion of Woman

    • Well . . . at least according to the Bible. Recommended!!!
    Qur'an 9:33
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