Arguments suporting the Bible’s reliability as a collection of historical documents, with a particular emphasis on the New Testament
Jesus being interviewed privately by Pontius Pilate by William Brassey Hole
This is the seventh installment in our series on undesigned coincidences in the gospels, based on a presentation by Dr. Tim McGrew. For an introduction to undesigned coincidences and this series, go here.
In this article, we consider a pair of undesigned coincidences in Luke and John. Let’s dive in with Luke 23:2-4 (NIV), as Pilate is hearing accusations against Jesus: Continue reading
Driving of the Merchants from the Temple, Scarsellino, 1580-1585
This is the sixth installment in our series on undesigned coincidences in the gospels, based on a presentation by Dr. Tim McGrew. For an introduction to undesigned coincidences and this series, go here.
In this article, we’ll consider an undesigned coincidence between Mark 14:57-58, Mark 15:29-30, and John 2:18-20. Continue reading
Bethsaida and Chorazin near the shores of the Sea of Galilee (Tiberias)
This is the fifth installment in our series on undesigned coincidences in the gospels, based on a presentation by Dr. Tim McGrew. For an introduction to undesigned coincidences and this series, go here.
In this article, we’ll consider several undesigned coincidences that are spread across three gospels that provide an even more complete picture of the feeding of the 5,000.
Let’s get started with Matthew 11:21 (NIV), in which Jesus is castigating some unrepentant towns: Continue reading
Jesus Before Herod Antipas, Albrecht Durer, 1509
This is the fourth installment in our series on undesigned coincidences in the gospels, based on a presentation by Dr. Tim McGrew. For an introduction to undesigned coincidences and this series, go here.
In this article, we’ll consider the undesigned coincidence in Matthew 14:1-2 and Luke 8:3.
Let’s start with Matthew 14:1-2, in which Herod Antipas, the Jewish king—and Roman puppet—was fretting about this man, Jesus: Continue reading
This is the third installment in our series on undesigned coincidences in the gospels, based on a presentation by Dr. Tim McGrew. For an introduction to undesigned coincidences and this series, go here.
In this article, we offer you a two-for-one deal. Continue reading
The Transfiguration by Raphael, 1520
This is the second installment in our series on undesigned coincidences in the gospels, based on a presentation by Dr. Tim McGrew. For an introduction to undesigned coincidences and this series, go here.
In this article, we’ll consider the undesigned coincidence in Luke 9:36 and Mark 9:9. Continue reading
On this blog, we spend a lot of time shooting down the criticisms, myths, and outright lies that anti-Christian authors spread about Christianity and the gospels. This upcoming series of short articles (about 10-12) does not focus on the critics.
Instead, it focuses on one type of positive evidence for historical accuracy: Undesigned coincidences within the gospels. Continue reading
All four Gospels describe the events that happened when female followers of Jesus discovered his body was missing from the tomb on Easter morning. The four accounts are quite similar to one another and agree on the major points.
However, there are some differences between them, and there appear to be slight differences recorded in the order of events on that momentous and confusing morning. Critics over the years have seized upon these differences, claiming that the accounts contradict one another. Such contradictions, they add, are evidence of the gospel accounts’ historical unreliability. Continue reading
The gospel accounts of what happened at Jesus’ tomb on Easter Sunday are another favorite target of Bible critics. They point to several inconsistencies in the accounts’ details to illustrate that the gospels are inaccurate and contradictory.
In fact, a close reading of the text shows neither inaccuracy nor contradiction. Those who use this as a means of tearing down the text’s credibility do so either because they’re biased and have never actually read the text, or because they are intentionally attempting to deceive others into believing that these accounts are contradictory. Continue reading
Papyrus 46, an ancient fragment of a copy of Paul’s 2nd letter to the Corinthian church, likely dating to 175-225 A.D.
Christianity is unique among world religions because it is so firmly rooted in history. Its sacred documents, collected within the New Testament (NT), are not simply the writings of a single person, nor are they just “pronouncements of divine wisdom” devoid of any historical context. Rather, the books of the New Testament are incredibly important historical documents.
They bring to us information about various peoples and societies, governments, laws, events, political conditions, and daily life during the first century. As historical documents, their accuracy can be judged against other sources from the same time period. The NT documents have been more closely scrutinized than any others in history and, contrary to some critics, they actually have a great track record for accuracy. Numerous times, critical scholars have declared them to be in error, only to be proven wrong by subsequent archeological or documentary finds.
But how did we get these documents? Continue reading
