Bible Authenticity

Why Jesus – Not God – Died For Our Sins

December 13, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 25 comments

The Bible says God cannot die. Yet Trinitarians assert that Jesus must be God himself in order to die for the sins of mankind stands in stark contradiction to all scriptural evidence. It was Jesus, not God, that died.

Jesus, not God — It was Jesus – not God – who died for the sins of mankind

“LORD [Yahweh], are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die” (Habakkuk 1:12 NIV)

From this scripture, we can see that it is impossible that Jesus could be the God who would die for the sins of mankind, since the prophecy of Habakkuk was written over 600 years prior to Jesus and clearly states that God will never die. read more

Are the Doctrines of Purgatory and Hellfire in the Bible?

December 6, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

The doctrines of Purgatory and Hellfire are taught and believed by many. But are they in the Bible?

“The dead no longer know anything”—Ecclesiastes 9:5 NAB

“Those who contend with you shall be as nothing and will perish . . . Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent”—Isaiah 41:11,12 NASB

The Bible teaches that death is non-existence. Purgatory is a Catholic doctrine which teaches there is an intermediate state after physical death in which some of those ultimately destined for heaven must first undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven, holding that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come. But what does the Bible teach? Let’s compare some Catholic claims about the doctrine of Purgatory to the Scriptures. read more

How to Reason with Jehovah’s Witnesses

November 16, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Revised October 12, 2022

Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW’s) have historically been best known for their public and door-to-door witnessing, distributing literature such as The Watchtower and Awake! magazines. But how could Jehovah’s Witnesses be reasoned with about Biblical beliefs?

First, you will not be able to prove JW’s wrong on such things as:

Trinity
Hell
Immortal Soul
Birthdays
Christmas
Political Involvement
War/Fighting for Country

JW’s are taught that these are some primary reasons they’re the only true Christians. JW’s are very well trained on these subjects and armed with scriptures. The scriptures actually do support their positions on the above issues, except for birthdays. read more

Must Christians Completely Obey? What Does the Bible Say?

November 3, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

The Old Testament was full of commandments to which the Israelites were obligated to be obedient. But what about the New Testament? Must Christians completely obey? Let’s find out what the Scriptures have to say.

“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” (Jn 14:23)

“Give yourselves completely to God… use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.” (Romans 6:13 NLT)

“We will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.” (2 Corinthians 10:6 NIV)
“After you have become fully obedient.” (NLT) read more

Idolatry – Christians Warned in the Bible

October 25, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

The huge ancient city of Corinth was full of idols and idol temples. There was much readily available there to entice and tempt people into various forms of idolatry. The apostle Paul warned Christians: “Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.” (1 Corinthians 10:14 NIV) He didn’t just say to “avoid” idolatry – he said to run from it!

ancient and modern idolatry — The Bible warns Christians to flee from idolatry

In most places in the western world today, idolatry does not seem so apparent or visible. Nevertheless, the warning is just as important. In the Old Testament (OT) Israel was warned to keep the laws of the Old Covenant, or they would lose God’s favor. The first two of the ten commandments involve having no other gods but Yahweh alone, and not honoring any idol or image. (Exodus 20:2-5) Israel broke this covenant because “they worshipped other gods” and “they worshipped idols.” (2 Kings 17:7, 12 NIV) This idolatry led to numerous other gross sins against Yahweh. The result was that the covenant was finally terminated by God. read more

Apocrypha – Inspired by God or Invented by Humans?

October 13, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

What is the source of the Apocrypha?

“I shall bring my work to an end here too. If it is well composed and to the point, that is just what I wanted. If it is worthless and mediocre, that is all I could manage”—2 Maccabees 15:37,38 NJB

The writer of the Apocryphal book 2 Maccabees, in effect, seems to admit that he is not inspired by God.

The Apocrypha is accepted as being genuine by some people and some large religious organizations, such as the Roman Catholic Church, today, but rejected by many others. Some of it is included in various versions of the Bible, but is absent in most. The Apocryphal books accepted as canonical by the Roman Catholic Church are: Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus (or Sirach, or Ben Sira), Baruch, and several additions to Esther and Daniel. read more

Does the Bible Reference the Book of Mormon?

October 11, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 8 comments

The official title: The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, speaks volumes. Does the Bible reference The Book of Mormon? Mormons, or Latter Day Saints (LDS), as they prefer to be called), proudly proclaim that it does. The main scripture they use to support this claim is Ezekiel 37:15-19, which reads:

“The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘Judah and those Israelites loyal to him.’ Take another stick and write on it, ‘Joseph (Ephraim’s wood) and all the House of Israel loyal to him.’ ‘Join one to the other to make a single piece of wood, a single stick in your hand. And when the members of your nation say, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean?’ say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says this: I am taking the stick of Joseph (now in Ephraim’s hand) and those tribes of Israel loyal to him and shall join them to the stick of Judah. I shall make one stick out of the two, a single stick in my hand'” (NJB). read more

Should Christians Honor Nationalistic Music and Anthems?

October 9, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Much is made in the United States about the Second Amendment to the Constitution. Many Christians know this is about firearms or guns. But how many Christians know what the first and second of the Ten Commandments are about? Further, how many Christians know how the principles embodied in the first and second commandments are applied in the New Testament for Christians in daily matters, such as whether or not nationalistic music is something that should be honored by Christians? Let’s consider these important Bible principles now. read more

Are God, Jesus and the holy Spirit a Trinity? – Titus

September 29, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Are God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit part of a Trinity? Is Jesus God? Let’s take a look at the Bible book of Titus to find some clues to answer these questions.

“Paul , a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.” (Titus 1:1 NIV) If Jesus is God, why are God and Jesus are referred to separately? It’s because they are separate and distinct individuals, and not merged into a mysterious Trinity! Why does Paul not say that he is a servant of the Trinity? Because that idea is not found in the Bible. Why is Paul not a servant of the holy Spirit? Because the holy Spirit is not a person. read more

Ultimate Authority – Is it the Father, Jesus, holy Spirit, or Trinity?

September 29, 2017 BibleAuthenticity Comments 0 Comment

Who is the ultimate authority? Most Churches believe, preach and teach the following:

“In this Trinity . . . None is greater, or less, than another. But the whole three Persons are . . . coequal”—Athanasian Creed

The Trinity is implied to be the ultimate authority in the famous creed quoted above. Not all Christians are in agreement about the roles of God the Father, Jesus, the holy Spirit and the Trinity. Some say God is the ultimate authority, some say Jesus is the ultimate authority, and some say the Trinity is the ultimate authority, and a few even say the holy Spirit is the ultimate authority . Some say they are equal. And some say Jesus is Almighty God. Red-letter Bibles put words the editors think were spoken by Jesus in red, which implies that Jesus’ words are more important than God’s words. But what does the Bible say? Let’s examine some scriptures to find the answer. read more