I thought I would complete this week’s series of Christmas blogs by addressing three common objections to the virgin conception of Jesus. I’ll start with the objection that the virgin conception was borrowed from prior pagan mythologies such as those of Mithras or Horus. Skeptics have properly observed that many …
Read More »Did the Resurrection of Jesus Really Happen? (Podcast)
In this podcast, J. Warner Wallace is interviewed by Dr. Frank Turek and discusses the evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus. Are there good reasons to believe the Resurrection really occurred? Why is the Resurrection of Jesus the most reasonable inference from the evidence? For more great episodes of Frank …
Read More »There’s a Difference Between Evidence and Proof
Several years ago I presented a talk at the Apologetics Canada Conference in which I examined the reaction Bart Ehrman had related to the textual variants he found in the Biblical text. As he pursued his education over the years and poured over the manuscripts of the Bible, he evaluated …
Read More »Why I Know the Story of Jesus Wasn’t Changed Over Time
As an unbelieving skeptic, I was willing to accept the possibility that Jesus lived and taught as a 1st Century Rabbi, but I rejected much of the gospel accounts as fiction. I suspected the gospels had been corrupted and altered through the centuries. Defense attorneys often have similar questions about …
Read More »There’s No Good Reason to Deny the Early Dating of the Gospels
Not long ago, Daniel Wallace (no relationship to me, except that all us Wallace’s claim to descend from William) posted some great news about an early fragment of the Book of Romans that was recently discovered. This fragment dates to the early third century which puts it in rare company. …
Read More »The First Question to Ask of an Ancient, Holy Book: Is It Ancient?
Many of the world’s best known religious texts are silent when it comes to claims about history. Many Eastern religious scriptures, for example, describe spiritual principles devoid of historical location or setting. Texts such as these are proverbial in nature, proclaiming ancient wisdom without any connection to historical context. The …
Read More »Jesus Specifically Said, “I am God”
As a skeptic, I was willing to accept a “nice guy” version of Jesus. You know, the wise sage from the past who was misunderstood and mythicized into something divine by leaders of a movement who were either mistaken or deceptive. Jesus might have been a nice guy and a …
Read More »How Can We Trust the Gospels When the Genealogy of Jesus Is So Different?
Skeptics have written quite a bit about the allegedly “irreconcilable” differences between the genealogies of Jesus recorded in the gospels of Matthew (Matthew 1) and Luke (Luke 3:23-38). The genealogies appear to be quite different, especially as each author traces the lineage from King David down to Jesus. While I …
Read More »The Problem with the Christian Explanation
Even if we accept a few minimal truths related to the alleged Resurrection of Jesus (i.e. the tomb was empty, the disciples believed they saw the risen Jesus, and the disciples were transformed following their alleged Resurrection observations), there are still a number of possible explanations for this set of …
Read More »The Circumstantial Statements of Jesus’ Divinity
Even if you reject the direct statements of Jesus related to his Deity, the circumstantial case constructed from Jesus’ other statements is overwhelming. As you examine the words of Jesus, it’s hard to ignore His repeated claims of Deity: He Made Statements About His “Place” of Origin When asked about …
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