"Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah." 2 Kings 25:1-2 According to the Bible's description … [Read more...]
Can We Trust the New Testament?
Can the New Testament documents be trusted? Do the Gospels accurately report what Jesus said and did? In this presentation, I investigate the historical data bearing on the dating of the New Testament documents, and ask whether there is good reason to think the four canonical gospels are written by the individuals with whom they are traditionally associated, and whether they … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 20
If you were fortunate enough to be able to visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City the last few months of 2014, you could have visited the amazing exhibition titled – “Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age.” One of the extraordinary archaeological objects available to view was the House of David Stele from the 9th century BC. The year was 1993 AD. … [Read more...]
What Happens When a Crisis of Faith Propels You on a Quest?
A Promo for Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus For something like 1500 years of Western Civilization, and going back another roughly 1500 prior to that in Jewish history, the Exodus narrative of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt was more or less accepted as a historical event. But today, mainstream archaeology says it probably didn’t happen. Yes, some artifacts have … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 19
“Now the Lord said to Joshua: ‘Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king.’" Joshua 8:1-2 Investigating what the Bible claims Joshua and the army of Israel did in Canaan … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 18
“And Joshua said to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” Joshua 3:5 Here we go again with the supernatural. Atheists don’t believe in the supernatural, so it’s time to close the book. But I didn’t close the book – I kept reading. This series, Convince Me There’s A God, is my answer to questions atheists have been asking me for … [Read more...]
What Was the Shape of Jesus’ Cross?
Last weekend, after speaking at the NRB National Apologetics Conference, I was approached by a man who asked a question about the shape of crucifixion cross of Jesus. He’d been approached by Jehovah’s Witnesses who challenged the traditional shape of the cross. They argued the Greek word for "cross" (stauros) simply meant an “upright pole”, “upright stake” or “torture stake”. … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 17
“And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.” 1 Kings 6:1 As an atheist, I thought the Bible was a bunch of fairy tales. I grew up learning stories in the … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 16
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” Exodus 6:1 “Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it before … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 15
“Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, ‘Go, return to Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead.’ Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand. And the Lord said to Moses, ‘When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in … [Read more...]