I’ve learned to test witnesses in my criminal investigations before trusting their testimony, and I evaluate them with the template we typically use in jury trials. One dimension of this template is corroboration: Is there any verifying evidence supporting the claims of the eyewitness? Corroborative evidence is what I refer to as “touch point” evidence. …
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The Truth About Easter: Did The Disciples Lie About the Resurrection?
Homicide detectives are perhaps the least trusting people in the country. My own experience investigating murders has taught me to consider everyone a liar – until, at least, I have good reason to believe otherwise. I know that sounds pessimistic, but I learned a long time ago that mysteries don’t …
Read More »Why Shouldn’t We Trust the Non-Canonical Gospels Attributed to Peter?
When I first started investigating the reliability of the New Testament Gospels, I was fascinated by the ancient non-Canonical stories and legends related to Jesus. While they were written too late to be legitimate eyewitness accounts, they were built on the core truths of Gospels (albeit altered and embellished by …
Read More »Why It’s Important to Ask the Right Questions as a Religious Seeker
Many years ago, as an undergraduate student, my astronomy teacher used an illustration with our class to demonstrate the importance of specificity when asking a question. He cleverly told us about a dispute he had been called to settle between a professor colleague and a student (in fact, he was …
Read More »Do the Non-Canonical Gospels Challenge the Historicity of the New Testament?
A recent press release described a conference in the United Kingdom in which two “scholars” argued the story of Jesus was “actually constructed, tip to stern, on prior stories, but especially on the biography of a Roman Caesar” in an effort to keep order amongst the citizenry of Rome. The …
Read More »Why Differences Between the Gospels Demonstrate Their Reliability (Video)
In this video from a message delivered at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, J. Warner Wallace describes why the differences between Gospel accounts help validate them and demonstrate their reliability. What attributes of reliable eyewitness testimony, as identified in criminal investigations, can be found in the Gospel accounts related to Jesus? …
Read More »The Biblical Case for Adam and Eve
I’ve been investigating murders for over 20 years, and along the way, I’ve learned to appreciate the importance of language selection. Consider the following three statements: “The Nuggets killed the Lakers last night. They beat ‘em by 25 points.” “I love this comic; he always kills me!” “I deeply regret …
Read More »Don’t the Gospels Contradict One Another? (Video)
J. Warner Wallace answers an important question as part of the Summit Worldview Ministries video series. There are differences between the Gospel accounts of the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. Do these differences disqualify them as reliable eyewitness reports? For more information about Summit Ministries and their amazing …
Read More »Reasonable Atheists and Reasonable Believers Are Targeting the Same Group
Portland State University philosophy professor and vocal atheist, Peter Boghossian, wrote a book entitled, A Manual for Creating Atheists. Boghossian describes the effort as “the first-ever guide not for talking people into faith–but for talking them out of it.” He hopes to teach atheists “to engage the faithful in conversations …
Read More »A Thorough Guide to the Non-Canonical Gospels
Many years ago, when I first became interested in Christianity, I encountered a book at a local bookstore entitled, The Lost Books of the Bible. As a new investigator of the claims of the New Testament, I was immediately intrigued. “What?” I thought, “There are books about Jesus that were …
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