Continuing with our “Busted” series, in this article we tackle the charge that Luke is an unreliable historian because he demonstrates in Luke 17:11 that he doesn’t even know basic geography. Here is the “offending” passage:
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. (Luke 17:11, NIV) Continue reading
Like many Christians, I was “born and raised” in the church. There was never a time when we didn’t attend regularly. As I grew up and became exposed to more of the world, I never doubted God’s existence, but I certainly wrestled with questions about whether what I believed was true. Occasional doubts are normal since the topic of God is one that requires some amount of faith. But I have learned over time that faith is not “belief despite the evidence” as some claim. Continue reading
In a previous article, we explored how critics falsely accuse Luke of gross inaccuracy in Luke 3:1. Here, we return to the same verse to explore another alleged mistake. Let’s review the relevant part of the passage, from the English Standard Version:
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea,…
Some critics have pointed out that Luke refers to Pontius Pilate as the governor or “hegemon” (ἡγεμών) of Judea, rather than by his actual title, which was prefect (νομάρχης). If, the critics say, Luke was wrong about something that simple, then he surely was wrong about other things, too. Continue reading
It seems that whenever one of the gospel accounts disagrees with that of a non-Christian historian, skeptical scholars assume it’s the gospel-writer who got it wrong. That’s a dangerous thing to assume.
Luke 3:1 is a passage that many critics have used to “prove” Luke’s incompetence as an historian. Here’s the passage (ESV): Continue reading
In this article, we tackle an alleged error in the Gospel of Luke that some critics use to paint Luke as an unreliable historian. Let’s take a look at the offending verse, Luke 3:2 (English Standard Version): “…during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.”
So, what is the alleged mistake? Continue reading
The gospels, the book of Acts, and other New Testament documents have proven their worth as historically accurate documents over the centuries. Nevertheless, anti-Christian scholars persist in their efforts to paint the gospel writers as liars at worst and careless historians at best. Continue reading
This is the last in our series of posts sharing Ben Witherington’s critiques of Bart Ehrman’s work. Today, we share a critique of Misquoting Jesus: The Story of Who Changed the Bible and Why.
I have to ask the question: Does Bart Ehrman have any original thoughts? This book, like his others, contains many criticisms that are old, as well as busted. Misquoting Jesus asserts that belief in the divinity of Christ, as well as many other core tenets of Christianity, are basically the result of scribes altering the original texts over the centuries, either intentionally or unintentionally. Continue reading
Dr. Ben Witherington
Below is the description from Amazon.com of Bart Ehrman’s book, Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don’t Know About Them):
The problems with the Bible that New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman discussed in his bestseller Misquoting Jesus—and on The Daily Show with John Stewart, NPR, and Dateline NBC, among others—are expanded upon exponentially in his latest book: Jesus, Interrupted. This New York Times bestseller reveals how books in the Bible were actually forged by later authors, and that the New Testament itself is riddled with contradictory claims about Jesus—information that scholars know… but the general public does not. If you enjoy the work of Elaine Pagels, Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, and John Shelby Spong, you’ll find much to ponder in Jesus, Interrupted.
Dr. Bart Ehrman
Bart Ehrman is the man that gives Christians more heartburn than any other academic these days. Erhman is a well-known Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a specialist in New Testament textual criticism, and he has written a wide range of books that are, in my opinion, damaging the Christian faith by repeating and amplifying various false theories.
Ehrman is an agnostic, but he didn’t start out that way. Raised with a fundamentalist background, he seems to have “rebelled” against that during his time as an academic, and now works to deconstruct the Christian faith. Continue reading
The disciples Peter and John running to the tomb the morning of the resurrection, by Eugène Burnand, painted 1898
On Easter Sunday, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the salvation of mankind. Here, we share a condensed retelling of the resurrection event using all four gospels. The full story is, of course, far more robust and inspiring than this shortened compilation. We encourage you to read (or re-read) the accounts for yourself. Happy Easter… Continue reading
