Exploring the Bible

 The bible records the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus in some detail. In the Gospel of Luke, we are told "It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining." (23:44) This is an astounding claim which is obviously disputed by critics, scientist and non-believers. After all, claiming the sun stopped shining for three hours is a most remarkable and bold claim. Surely this was just an exaggeration of the biblical authors and should not be taken literally. Gospel of Matthew - " From noon on, darkness came over the whole land [ or , earth] until three in the afternoon". Gospel of Mark - " When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour."   We know the crucifixion took place following a full moon, so no eclipse would be possible, and there is no other scientific reason for the sun to 'appear' to stop shining. If such an event had taken...

[Excerpt from "The Bible - Some Assembly Required" ] The early Christian church was no stranger to oppression and persecution. Jesus had been beaten and crucified, which the religious leaders of the time hoped would put a stop to this new cult. When Jesus rose from the dead on Easter morning, He destroyed these hopes and plans. Unfortunately, the opponents of Jesus were not so easily silenced. Their violence continued as is evident by the death of Stephen, James and also with the persecution of Christians by such people as Saul, who in a short time would become one of the new church's greatest leaders. Throughout the early years and even centuries of the Christian church there were many who opposed it. Not only were they opposed and persecuted by the Jewish religious leaders, but also by the Roman government. Under rulers such as Nero and Diocletian, Christians were stripped of their property and legal rights. They were often imprisoned, and many put to death. Because of ...

In the Bible we see there are a limited number of people who are present or who are called to be present at the birth of Jesus. One of the best-known groups are the shepherds who were tending their flocks nearby.  These people, most probably men, were not there by chance, but as a very special part of the Christmas Story. Below is an excerpt from my book "Bible Archaeology and The Christmas Story" . As with many elements of the stories within the Bible, there is very often more to the story.   And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Luke 2:8-10 Another interesting element of the Christmas story to examine are the Shepherds who were tending their flocks in a nearby field. When most of us think ...

The Bible tells us the story of how Moses led the Hebrew people out of Egypt and into the wilderness. Eventually, under the command of Joshua, the Hebrew people invading the promised lands and conquered the lands that would become Israel. It should come as no surprise that critics of the Bible insist none of this ever happened. These critics insists archaeologists have found no signs of battles, war, or the conquest of the cities of Canaan during the time indicated in the Bible. If there was no conquest, no war, then the story of Joshua is not an historical event, but perhaps just a story of fiction created centuries later. These critics go on to say that since there was no conquest of the Promised Lands, there was no Joshua, there was also no Exodus, no Moses. These elements, like the conquest, were fiction created centuries later to provide Israel with a more dynamic history. It is their own domino theory showing the Bible cannot be trusted as a historically accurate text. Does this...

The Beatitudes are a group of teachings recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. In perhaps His best known sermon, The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the people and gave them a short list of eight teachings. Each of these eight teachings begin with the word 'Blessed". The word 'Beati' is the Latin term for happy, rich, or blessed. This term was eventually lengthen to become Beatitudes.  Four of the Beatitudes recorded in the Gospel of Matthew are repeated in the Gospel of Luke when he records the Sermon on the plain. The Gospel of Luke also contains a list of four woes, or counterparts to the Blessing listed in the Beatitudes. Each of the Beatitudes has two parts, a condition and a result. In the Gospel of Matthew he lists the eight Beatitudes which are followed by two additional blessings, but these are traditionally considered to be separate from the Beatitudes. In some newer translations of the Gospel these blessings are included as a ninth Beatitude.  The purpose of t...

Twelve+ Findings That Prove the Exodus Story  The story of the Exodus is central to the formation of Israel. For decades, even centuries, the story of the Exodus was accepted as historically accurate. Somewhat recently a new movement known as the minimalist brought the entire story of the Exodus and the person of Moses into question. They are convinced the person of Moses was a fictional character and the story of the Exodus never really happened. Moreover, the story of the Patriarchs is also fiction and never took place. You might ask, what new information or archaeological discoveries brought about these dramatic change in attitude? The unfortunate truth is that these new thoughts and theories are not based on new archaeological discoveries or even new discoveries of old manuscripts or scrolls. Most, if not all, of the claims made by this group are based on a lack of evidence. Their argument states that no archaeological evidence exist to confirm the biblical story and it must th...

 Solomon's Temple The Temple of Solomon was completed in 957 B.C. and would stand for an amazing 410 years before it was destroyed in 587 B.C. by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. The Temple would be replaced by the second temple in 516 B.C. Nearly 500 years later, King Herod would build another grand temple on the same location in 37 B.C.  This temple would stand for just over 100 years before being destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Romans. The original (first) temple was conceived by King David, but God decided David would not be the one to actually construct the Temple. “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in" 1 Chronicles 17:4  The reason for God not allowing King David to build the Temple is explained latter in the book of 1 Chronicles.  " But the word of the  Lord  came to me, saying, ‘ You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because ...