One way or another people sometimes make this claim while trying to deny the historicity of Jesus and the resurrection. It was just a legend. Jesus died and then legends about him arose later, and that was where we get the gospels and Paul’s letters. The problem with this is that we have eyewitnesses reports (that go back to the … Read More
21 Myths–Jesus’ Body was Stolen
One of the myths people tell to try to deny the resurrection of Jesus is that his body was stolen. Almost no scholars actually believe this, and for good reason! The death of nearly all the apostles who would have been in on the conspiracy is one of the strongest arguments against the idea that Jesus’ body was stolen from … Read More
21 Myths–Jesus Mirrors Pagan Religions
This myth is repeated a lot on the internet. I’ve heard and read all kinds of conspiracy theories (especially on the internet). Osiris. Krishna. Horus. Mithras. Dionysus. Adonis. Just to name a few. As Dan Brown, the author of The Da Vinci Code, put it, “Nothing in Christianity is original.” So how does one answer these criticisms? For one, these … Read More
21 Myths: The Gospels Contradict Each Other
This is one of the favorite myths put forth by atheists and skeptics. The fact is no formal historian would agree that the gospels contradict each other. They would say that there may be some disagreement on peripheral details between the gospel accounts, but the core facts are in clear agreement with each other. For example, in 1912, when the … Read More
21 Myths: There are Other Gospels
CNN loves to talk about them. National Geographic has spilled plenty of ink covering them. They are the darlings of the media whenever they turn up somehow and especially when they tell any kind of story or say anything that directly casts doubt on any of the four canonical gospels. They also stir up plenty of money for those who … Read More
21 Myths: Jesus’ Story Has Been Changed Over Time
Myth: The biblical story of Jesus can’t be trusted because it’s been changed significantly over the last 2,000 years. It’s a common question: how can anyone be sure that the Bible contains the same words that were written thousands of years ago? This question concerns a discipline called ‘textual criticism’. Its goal is to evaluate all the available copied manuscripts … Read More
21 Myths: Jesus of Faith, Not of History
Myth: The Bible gives us theological insights about Jesus, but not historical ones. Some people are interested in the Jesus’ religious ideas, but deny that the Bible provides, or even intends to provide, any historical accounts about him. Are they right? Is the Bible meant to be taken seriously as a historical description of Jesus’ life and ministry? I would … Read More
21 Myths: A Natural Explanation for the “Resurrection”
Maybe you’ve heard or thought a version of this myth– “He never really died, but became conscious and left the tomb.” “His disciples stole the body and fabricated the story of resurrection.” “The disciples had hallucinations about Jesus and that’s where we get the stories of a risen Christ.” “Jesus’ enemies stole his body, and his disciples made it up.” … Read More
21 Myths: Jesus & Mohammed Taught the Same Thing
I bet you’ve heard some version of this myth about Jesus. I would guess it’s most often repeated by people who don’t really want to come to terms with the fact that claims about religious truth aren’t all equal or the same.The versions I’ve heard of this myth kind of go along these tired and cozy lines:“Well, Jesus and Mohammed … Read More
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