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🤔 Question of the day: Do you know a someone considering a Christian college? I'd love to talk with them about studying apologetics with me at Moody!

"Be willing to be wrong", and why not, because you certainly are.

"Niceness and morality don't get you into heaven". That is an interesting claim. But apparently dishonesty will.

"a gun battle" ??? WOW, talk about exaggerating for the murderous mob of about 200 armed men, versus 4 men who had a small pepperbox pistol between them.

"Jesus isn't the center piece", WOW!!! What a crock this guy is peddling. So, hey, be sure and buy his book. CHA GHING $$$$$

"Jesus has a resurrected body of flesh and bones". "Jesus is God", "God doesn't have a body of flesh and bones" Help me understand the logic there.

"I love Latter-Day Saints", sure you do, that is why you misrepresent our beliefs.

Most are deconstructing from the church, not Jesus, and its the church's fault. It will be good for the church, to force us back to who we were in the beginning.

Jesus Christ is the one who Declare's and Decree's..

What do you think abou new atheism?

Hiarious... I'm an atheist and i knew which was which.

What's the difference? All made up stories

You’re not accurate and how your answer is on AI is creepy.

To expect 3 or 4 people who talk about the most important set of events in history, to tell simple actual facts - the truth in fact - is not snobbery at all. It is not forcing 21st century methods on a 1st century culture. Utter nonsense.

Criminal trial standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt by unanimous vote of the jury. When you start your argument here getting that wrong, it’s hard to take you seriously. I would think one’s belief in god etc ought to be based on standard stronger than more likely than not. Closer to beyond a reasonable doubt would make more rational sense-

People born from god is all over the middle east in that time. Maybe not a virgin but being Inpregnated by a god.

I had a " dream " ( premonition ) that I was flying in my body over some apartment building complex some city where I had never ever had been ( Binghamton, New York ) back in the early 1990s. I felt dismay that someone in my family was about to pass over to the other side. Then news that my cousin Paul, Jr. came that he had transitioned from life on Earth to Life Time. I then realized that my soul felt what someone close to me felt as he was about to experience death. This would go for someone with a near death experience as well. Bless be the tie that binds...Our hearts in Christian..We share each other's cares. We share each other's word. And often for each other goes... the sympathizing tears. Oh yeah.

Hearing and learning about the variants in the Bible has been very interesting for me. It is incredible how scribes copied the Bible by hand, but through the copying there are, in fact, variations. Knowing that the variations don't affect any core doctrine is extremely comforting.

I found it very interesting when you discussed the earliest lists of the authoritative books. Learning that the first list we have that was written in 250AD is just crazy to me that the list of canonical gospels date back that far. I liked how Peter Gurry discussed the essential core canon and the consistency of it.

I found the conversation about David and Goliath very intriguing. I never thought about how the height of Goliath could actually change some interpretation of the text. It is also interesting how there isn't a clear reasoning for the height of Goliath to be an accidental change, therefore it must have been some sort of authorial intent to the text when writing it. This really shows the value of textual criticism.

I found the discussion about David and Goliath very intriguing. I never thought about Goliath being shorter and that diminishing the bravery of King Saul because Goliath is just a really amazing fighter. The fact that this change can't be explained as an accident, shows that there must have been some form of literary intention that the author had for this particular event. This really is an example of how important textual criticism is.

*The Virgin birth of Jesus* The virgin birth of Jesus is a foundational dogma of Christianity. It has to be, should it not be so proclaimed, the entire foundation of the religion would crumble. Since all humans were born with original sin (as the religion claims), it became necessary to make an exception and to get a newborn without the original sin. Thus, the Jesus story was pressed into service and the virgin birth was invented. If Mary became pregnant by the normal process of sex, then Jesus would have to be born with the original sin. If Jesus was born with the original sin, then he could not sacrifice himself to himself to “save all those who were born with the sin. The church leaders realized the pot hole they stepped in, so they quickly invented the “virgin birth”. This idea first appeared around 177-180 CE. Around this time, Celsus wrote that Jesus himself had made up the story about being born to a virgin. In fact, Celsus wrote, Jesus' mother was a poor country woman who earned her money by spinning (making thread).

understanding that less than 1% of variants are meaningful/viable will be super useful in talking with people who question the reliability of the New Testament based on the existence of variants!

The history of Mark's gospel actually being the writings of Peter's words and the integrity of the Church to be honest about who wrote that book and the Apostolic authority behind it. This will be useful in conversing with those who question the integrity and reliability of the Gospels.

I love the book of Esther and it is interesting to learn that Esther was one of the books that was in discussion of whether it should be apart of the canon or not. it is useful to know the debate of this book throughout Christian history for when I am discussing this book with skeptics.

I have learnt that it all comes down to what they mean by 'changed', otherwise we are assured that the Word of God is inerrant, the scribes are not. Something else I got from this is to be willing to be wrong and to correct oneself, it is how we learn and get better. Lastly, if I get my theology from a comedian, I shouldn't be surprised that my theology is a joke 😂. I loved this, teaches me to be super careful.

I am so grateful to learn that the early translators knew that readers needed help because not everyone had read entire books in the Bible, hence including maps, notes, pictures etc.What touches me is the passion that the translators had in trying to make people understand the Bible. It was also helpful to learn two of the reasons why KJV is no longer the go-to Bible today, Lastly, Mr Gurry added more questions that one should ask him/herself before deciding on which translation to go for, this was very helpful.

I think if everyone got to know how we got the Bible, it would help answer very many questions. Through this podcast I have learnt a lot. To name but a few, knowing the origin of the Bible is a great opportunity to strengthen my faith, we can appreciate its authority and help us study it more and it also helps us and those in doubt. I also found the elaboration of Goliath's height very fascinating and capturing and it is something that I can use even when starting a conversation with a fellow Christian or even a non Christian to capture his/her attention. Generally, these 41 minutes have been an eye opener and they inspire me to dig deeper and get to know more about the history of the Bible and also the Apocrypha.

Hi Dr. Mikel, Thanks for sharing this interview. I was just wondering when your book on the Historical Jesus would be published. Looking forward to ordering and reading it when it is. God bless.

I hear that a lot from atheists about contradictions.I tell them there is a wide variety of evidence to confirm the Bible if you apply yourself.They give a bogus answer about reading the Bible but I know they haven't done their due diligence.This interview with Mike helps a lot.

That you so much for this video and how it just helps me understand how good God is and how the Translation should i choose especially with all the different translation. It helps so much now if people will ask me which one to use.

🤔Question of the day: When Mike explained compositional devices in the Gospels, which one did you find most helpful? Why? Let me know in the comments. ⬇ ⬇ ⬇

This is so insightful and helps me understand that the Bible that i have is what they read back in the day. I love how you talk about TC and describe it in an understanding way.

This is so helpful and just helps me understand how the Bible is true and has not been changed.

"God's word doesn’t make errors, Scribes do". Understanding more about the process of textual criticism helps prove that that the Bible truly is inerrant, rather than revealing flaw in the doctrine. As the video says, it certainly does prove an aspect of Christianity! Literature often comes up in conversation with college age kids. In the future, knowing this about TC will be a useful evangelism tool

This was the first time in this class and video that I heard someone focus on the emphasis of what the disciples “believed.” They believed they had experienced the risen Jesus and as a result, they were transformed and were “willing” to die for what they believed. Focusing on what they believed and what they were willing to do for it is a brilliant way to open the door to the discussion! Absolutely brilliant! When making a bold claim, that can put people on the defense, and they are no longer willing to listen but not many have a problem discussing what someone believed and the actions they would take from that. Awesome!

I really liked her emphasis on the lost the art of how to dialogue well. At a family member’s house, a mother and her son were communicate through text message instead of asking her son to come upstairs. That BLEW ME AWAY! Later, I learned that he and his girlfriend spoke only by text and went out on their first date but couldn’t figure out how to have a conversation. Many take for granted how to have a conversation but it is skill that needs to be developed as anything other skill in ministry, business or sports. Lincoln and Bill Graham were often referred to as some of the best conversationalist because they hardly spoke. They mastered the art of questioning which was another key that Lindsey touched on. I love sitting down and talking with people but I too have been influenced by today’s culture and it takes patience to set aside my agenda, listen and ask questions not just to continue the conversation but to continue my own understanding to progress the dialogue. That information will open the door on how to share my faith especially those from other worldviews. She was also very good at not assuming someone’s beliefs based on her own knowledge. I liked that.

Hey, I enjoyed seeing you in sermon mode! You mentioned people who get really turned off when we open the Bible to show them what it says. I agree…today, I spend a lot of time on memory verses applicable to these situations and I will first listen to the Spirit and ask the person I am speaking to if they would be interested in seeing for themselves what the Bible says. I don’t push. Quoting can be as effective as physically opening it up. I also really like the issue of multiple independent sources attesting to a story even if their stories aren’t told exactly the same. It provides greater reliability having multiple attestations.

Great reminder for the need of expositional preaching! I came to faith at 23 at a seeker church here in Chicago. There was much that I loved but after a couple of years, I didn’t feel I had any understanding of how the Bible fits together. All the teachings were topical and then a friend introduced me to a “cassette” from Piper. I was blown away and I found working through Scripture verse by verse fed my soul in a way I longed for but didn’t know it.

As someone who deeply values the tradition of the church, it's comforting to hear that the contents of the protestant Bible are accepted because they were first accepted by the early church. As the holidays are coming up, I expect to engage with some of my Catholic family members. It's helpful to know why I don't read the Apocrypha as Scripture.

I have always been told that oral tradition was the only recordation of the Old Testament's history . I find it interesting that it was more simultaneous. I recently had a conversation with a believer who was actively questioning the authenticity of the Bible because of this. I can't wait to revisit the conversation with this new information!

I’ve read multiple books Gary has wrote describing historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. The outlines he puts has not just strengthened my faith as my journey has gone on. It has also allowed me to understand these facts so that throughout conversation with people about the resurrection i am equipped for the conversation. The amount of detail Gary goes into each fact is incredible, and to roughly quote Gary the evidence is slagging to say the least. Gary leaves no part or area of conversation about the resurrection unturned. Christians should have more confidence in that reliability of the gospels!

It’s genuinely encouraging to the faith to see what Susanna has done. Her work has really shown how important women truly are to the body of Christ and made me reflect on how in some ministries how neglected women really can be. Her powerful story coupled with the stories of women 300 years ago fighting for apologetics show how this, now and throughout history, has been extremely important. Her story will encourage more women to get into deep apologetics and their voice is needed!

We must take into account the resurrection was not believed by Jesus' own brothers. And his own disciples. And Jesus entrusted the truth of his resurrection to women, who were not believed as much. Fascinating stuff!

I think one of the hardest things to do when focusing on conversation and not making it a debate is to A) not take anything personal (critiques, etc) and B) doing your best to understand the other persons perspective. It’s incredibly easy to focus on your opinion, how right your side is, and not truly listen and care to whoever is across form you. This concept of truth and tone with love and compassion is critical. The characteristics of God are shown through how. We have these conversations, and whether or not we talk down to someone in a judgmental way or talk to them like a loving brother/sister

Very interesting that even before she became a Christian, there was an awareness of the transcendence through beauty, and her profound sense of justice and rationality. We as Christians ought to play into this more.

Cotto does a fantastic job at highlighting how the Bible is for everyone, including the skeptics. Listening to this video i often thought back to Paul and James especislly. Skeptical people who really came into a historical conversion. Thinking about skeptics today how wondrous the plans are that God has for them once they surrender to Jesus. God has a heart for the people who are are in the “nones”

This whole acronym is helpful....but where I see it shine the most for me is Honors. When engaging skeptics, and even Muslims, they will often ask for a scriptural reference where Jesus directly speaks of his divinity(i.e. "I am GodJesus receives prayer, and never refuses worship in the NT.