Monicks: Unleashed

Tag: Belief

  • Evolutionists Flock To Darwin-Shaped Wall Stain

    Darwin Stain
    Darwinic pilgrims claim the image fills them with an overwhelming feeling of logic.

    DAYTON, TN—A steady stream of devoted evolutionists continued to gather in this small Tennessee town today to witness what many believe is an image of Charles Darwin—author of The Origin Of Species and founder of the modern evolutionary movement—made manifest on a concrete wall in downtown Dayton.

    "I brought my baby to touch the wall, so that the power of Darwin can purify her genetic makeup of undesirable inherited traits," said Darlene Freiberg, one among a growing crowd assembled here to see the mysterious stain, which appeared last Monday on one side of the Rhea County Courthouse. The building was also the location of the famed "Scopes Monkey Trial" and is widely considered one of Darwinism’s holiest sites. "Forgive me, O Charles, for ever doubting your Divine Evolution. After seeing this miracle of limestone pigmentation with my own eyes, my faith in empirical reasoning will never again be tested."

    Added Freiberg, "Behold the power and glory of the scientific method!"

    Since witnesses first reported the unexplained marking—which appears to resemble a 19th-century male figure with a high forehead and large beard—this normally quiet town has become a hotbed of biological zealotry. Thousands of pilgrims from as far away as Berkeley’s paleoanthropology department have flocked to the site to lay wreaths of flowers, light devotional candles, read aloud from Darwin’s works, and otherwise pay homage to the mysterious blue-green stain.

    Capitalizing on the influx of empirical believers, street vendors have sprung up across Dayton, selling evolutionary relics and artwork to the thousands of pilgrims waiting to catch a glimpse of the image. Available for sale are everything from small wooden shards alleged to be fragments of the "One True Beagle"—the research vessel on which Darwin made his legendary voyage to the Galapagos Islands—to lecture notes purportedly touched by English evolutionist Alfred Russel Wallace.

    "I have never felt closer to Darwin’s ideas," said zoologist Fred Granger, who waited in line for 16 hours to view the stain. "May his name be praised and his theories on natural selection echo in all the halls of naturalistic observation forever."

    Despite the enthusiasm the so-called "Darwin Smudge" has generated among the evolutionary faithful, disagreement remains as to its origin. Some believe the image is actually closer to the visage of Stephen Jay Gould, longtime columnist for Natural History magazine and originator of the theory of punctuated equilibrium, and is therefore proof of rapid cladogenesis. A smaller minority contend it is the face of Carl Sagan, and should be viewed as a warning to those nonbelievers who have not yet seen his hit PBS series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.

    Still others have attempted to discredit the miracle entirely, claiming that there are several alternate explanations for the appearance of the unexplained discoloration.

    "It’s a stain on a wall, and nothing more," said the Rev. Clement McCoy, a professor at Oral Roberts University and prominent opponent of evolutionary theory. "Anything else is the delusional fantasy of a fanatical evolutionist mindset that sees only what it wishes to see in the hopes of validating a baseless, illogical belief system. I only hope these heretics see the error of their ways before our Most Powerful God smites them all in His vengeance."

    But those who have made the long journey to Dayton remain steadfast in their belief that natural selection—a process by which certain genes are favored over others less conducive to survival—is the one and only creator of life as we know it. This stain, they claim, is the proof they have been waiting for.

    "To those who would deny that genetic drift is responsible for a branching evolutionary tree of increasing biodiversity amid changing ecosystems, we say, ‘Look upon the face of Darwin!’" said Jeanette Cosgrove, who, along with members of her microbiology class, has maintained a candlelight vigil at the site for the past 72 hours.

    "Over millions of successive generations, a specific subvariant of one species of slime mold adapted to this particular concrete wall, in order to one day form this stain, and thus make manifest this vision of Darwin’s glorious countenance," Cosgrove said, overcome with emotion.

    "It’s a miracle," she added.

    Source: TheOnion.com

  • The Historicity of Jesus: the Making of a Myth

    So often I see it written on blogs or internet communities where the historicity of Jesus is being discussed where the Christian apologist will respond to those skeptical of a historical Jesus by reminding them that very little evidence exists to support the historicity of figures like Socrates, Alexander the Great, etc. While this may be true for the former, it is a bit less realistic a statement for the former. Nonetheless, the difference lies in the fact that neither of these figures has supernatural claims surrounding him to which millions of people are expected to behave in a certain manner in support of. Nor does my belief about life or the universe depend on either of these two actually existing in history. So the argument amounts to nothing more than a straw man, but it is a straw man that I see many atheists and non-believers get stuck on when they debate the historicity of Jesus with this would-be messiah’s apologists.
    Historians don’t use the “empirical evidences” of chemists and physicists, but they do make predictions based upon the evidence they actually obtain. Evidence for historical figures and events comes in the forms of primary and secondary evidence. The written artifacts of the subject constitute primary evidence: bills of laden, manifests, deeds to property, signed orders, correspondence, etc. Secondary evidence comes in the form of documents written in an era after the subject’s period, usually written about the subject, describing his deeds, actions, or ideas about the world.
    With regard to historical figures like George Washington, there exist many primary documents that conform to the period contemporary to the man. Occasionally, a forged document emerges (documents related to George Washington are valuable, after all) and is detected by some inconsistence when compared with other documents. Or, in the case of a document I recall being discussed once, the forger used the wrong ink, which when empirically analyzed, showed to be of a 20th century variety.
    What exists with the Jesus account amounts to only secondary evidence. The only sources we have to say that Jesus existed in history are the Synaptic Gospels and a few apocrypha. Each of which offer conflicting accounts in some cases or appear to be derived from a single source in others. None of Jesus’ personal correspondences exist; not a single account of his life exists that was written while he was alleged to exist; not a single artifact is produced that can be empirically linked to Jesus; etc.
    Apologists for the Jesus myth will often respond with, “what artifact would be good enough?” A blood-soaked piece of wood that tests to only have 23 chromosomes comes to mind, but, realistically, I’m reminded that many historical figures contemporary to Jesus or before are accompanied by artifacts that are in their name: effigies, murals, tapestries, sculptures, trinkets, jewelry, songs, poems, stories, cities and streets named after them, and so on. Jesus Christ has none of these things that were created during his life or even just after. It isn’t until about 50 – 70 years after he was alleged to have been executed that the newly emergent Christian cult created documents detailing the life of this person.
    If Jesus Christ did not exist, we would expect to see only post-mortem accounts of his life. We would expect to see the creators of this mythical character use existing mythology to flesh out the character they’re creating. We would expect to see a borrowing of text, as was common for the day, from existing religious texts to create the new myth. We would expect to see mistakes in things like geography and contradictions between authors of the new mythical character if they weren’t collaborating close enough –or if they were competing with one another! We would also expect the Jesus myth to conform to the hero archetype as well.
    And you know what, we see all these things.
    Existing Mythology and Borrowing of Text
    In Daniel 7:13, we find, “[a]s I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven.” In Mark 13:26, we see, “[t]hen they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory.”
    This direct word-for-word borrowing of Old Testament text by gospel author is something that was done throughout Near Eastern cultures. Anyone who’s read in Near Eastern texts ranging from Gilgamesh to the Egyptian stories from the earliest writings to well after the alleged time of Jesus will see examples of this literary “borrowing.” One of the only time this literary practice of ancient texts is ignored is with Judeo-Christian and Islamic myths.
    As another example of so many, the crucifixion scene in Mark is clearly based on Psalm 22. The first lines of Psalm 22 read “my god, my god, why have you forsaken me?,” which is a lamentation song supposedly written by David. In Mark, Jesus quotes this as he “dies” on the cross. Those deluded by the spell of Christianity will cite this as “prophecy fulfillment,” even though this isn’t a “prophecy” at all. It’s a song. A song of lament and there is no indication in Psalms that this is any sort of prophecy. We are left to accept that either the alleged “son of God” lacked imagination or originality in this and dozens of other sayings and speeches.
    Indeed, the obvious explanation of so-called “prophecy-fulfillments” is that they are all* written by authors who were writing with these prophecies and sayings in mind.
    Geographical Problems
    In this section, I’m directly quoting the work of a skeptic in an internet community, and I’ve linked the passage at the end of this post. I won’t say that he’s 100% accurate in the information, but I did a quick look at the biblical passages in question as well as a map of the region and it looks like this gentleman is spot on.
    1. The author of Mark states that Jesus cast out demons from a man and into a couple thousand pigs while in Gerasa. The pigs then ran down a steep place and into the Sea of Galilee. Galilee is about 30 miles from Gerasa.
    2. Matthew’s author changed the earlier Mark to Gadara, which is still 5 miles from the shore of Galilee. The earliest manuscripts are Mark, which state Gerasa. But even if it were Gadara and Mark’s author was wrong (leaving one to wonder why we should trust “as gospel” the word of either since they cannot agree -one is obviously deluded), did Mark’s author run to keep up with the pigs for 5 miles just to watch their fate?
    3. The author of Mark also wrote that Jesus traveled from Tyre to the Sea of Galilee, about 30-50 miles (depending on the route) in order to reach Sidon, which was back on the Mediterranean coast, yet another 40-50 miles! The wisest of wise men took a 70 mile journey, on foot, to reach his destination. Talk about taking the scenic route. A more likely explanation is that the gospel was invented by an author that was simply ignorant of Palestinian geography (in other words, had never been there; in other words, wasn’t an ‘apostle’) and thought Sidon was on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. [1]
    Inter-Gospel Contradictions
    The contradictory genealogies of Matthew and Luke are probably the first that come to mind for most. Even the most deeply deluded of Christian apologists seem to have difficulty reconciling this difference. Though I have seen one or two lame attempts, the worst of these being the excuse that one of the genealogies is actually that of Mary. There shouldn’t even be a genealogy of Joseph going back to David since he isn’t Jesus’ father… yet Paul writes in Romans 1:3 that Jesus was born of the seed of David. This is evidence of a bit of editing and footwork done by the early Christians who were reconciling OT prophecy to create their “messiah.” This bit gets written in to the Jesus mythology to help create the character and flesh out his part.
    But, speaking of Jesus’ birth, only Luke and Matthew seem aware of the fact that it is supposed to be a “virgin” birth (complete and utter nonsense to begin with). Luke and Matthew also disagree on the date that he was born. Luke has him born during the first census of Israel during the period in which Quirinius was governor of Syria. Matthew says he was born during the reign of Herod. Herod died in 4 BCE and the census took place between 6 and 7 CE. The authors of Matthew and Luke both agree on the *place* of Jesus’ birth, however, putting it at Bethlehem. Incidently, the author of Matthew seems to be quoting Micah (5:2) when he writes of it, more “borrowing” from the OT. Luke, on the other hand, has Joseph and Mary leave their home in Nazareth to go to Bethlehem for the birth for census purposes (which doesn’t make any logical sense, since Romans were interested in taxing people where they actually lived). The contradiction between Matthew and Luke is regarding their home, apparently Luke’s author thinks they lived in Nazareth before Jesus’ birth, whereas Matthew’s author says it was only after JC’s birth that they moved there because they were afraid to return to Judea.
    There are many, many other contradictions between these alleged “synoptic” gospels (such as who bought the field of blood, how the field got its name, how Judas died, trials of Jesus, his death, the alleged “resurrection,” etc.), enough that it is apparent that “synoptic” is the last adjective that should be applied to these fables.
    The Hero archetype.
    The modern mythical archetype is as follows:

    1. The hero usually suffers a great loss, which makes him set off on a quest.
    2. The hero generally has a mentor or helper who helps him on his quest.
    3. The hero must face a set of trials, which allow him to overcome “evil”.
    4. The hero narrowly escapes death, usually more than once.
    5. The hero escapes the “evil villain’s” stronghold or destroys him.
    6. The hero is then reintegrated into society with a new status, wealth, or marriage to the princess.
    7. There has to be a happy ending.

    Such modern heroes include Luke Skywalker, Superman, Batman, etc. But the hero archetype is nothing new to storytellers. Joseph Campbell outlined the “hero’s journey” in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces [2] and noted that this journey is shared by mythical heroes throughout history:

    1. A call to adventure, which the hero has to accept or decline
    2. A road of trials, regarding which the hero succeeds or fails
      Achieving the goal or “boon,” which often results in important self-knowledge
    3. A return to the ordinary world, again as to which the hero can succeed or fail
    4. Application of the boon, in which what the hero has gained, can be used to improve the world

    To quote Campbell, “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”
    So why “Jesus Christ?”
    The theology the group of believers that became Catholics held that a new covenant could only be made with a blood sacrifice. Therefore, Jesus had to exist and real, actual blood had to be spilled in order to form a new covenant. Catholics, the folks that voted on what texts were going to be “biblical” and which were not, voted in a new covenant along with the New Testament texts added to the earlier Judaic texts like the Torah. A new covenant exists. Therefore, Jesus existed. All very circular.
    But why the name “Jesus” and not “Yeshua: as it is written in Hebrew. And why “Christ?” Yeshua, meaning “god saves” already existed and was very prominent in the newly voted on Bible. He’s better known as Joshua, the mass-murderer who is alleged to have committed genocide on Canaanites and other innocent people of the land he and his band of terrorists wanted to take. Of course, biblical mythology paints his deeds as acts of heroism (one man’s hero is another man’s terrorist), but rest assured, this hero is quoted directly in biblical mythology as having “devoted the city [Jericho] to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys (Joshua 6:21).” That is, every living thing *except* his favorite prostitute.
    So the Catholic editors of their newly voted on biblical texts saw fit to change the name ever so slightly. Jesus, was also among the most common names of the time. And, since “christ” is from the Greek khristós, meaning “anointed one,” the functional equivalent of “messiah,” we are left with an “everyman name.” He might well have been named *Joe Messiah* if the story were to have unfolded in 20th century Ohio instead of the Iron Age.

  • 101 Contradictions in the Bible.

    1. Who incited David to count the fighting men of Israel?
    * God did (2 Samuel 24: 1)
    * Satan did (I Chronicles 2 1:1)

    2. In that count how many fighting men were found in Israel?
    * Eight hundred thousand (2 Samuel 24:9)
    * One million, one hundred thousand (I Chronicles 21:5)

    3. How many fighting men were found in Judah?
    * Five hundred thousand (2 Samuel 24:9)
    * Four hundred and seventy thousand (I Chronicles 21:5)

    4. God sent his prophet to threaten David with how many years of famine?
    * Seven (2 Samuel 24:13)
    * Three (I Chronicles 21:12)

    5. How old was Ahaziah when he began to rule over Jerusalem?
    * Twenty-two (2 Kings 8:26)
    * Forty-two (2 Chronicles 22:2)

    6. How old was Jehoiachin when he became king of Jerusalem?
    * Eighteen (2 Kings 24:8)
    * Eight (2 Chronicles 36:9)

    7. How long did he rule over Jerusalem?
    * Three months (2 Kings 24:8)
    * Three months and ten days (2 Chronicles 36:9)

    8. The chief of the mighty men of David lifted up his spear and killed how many men at one time?
    * Eight hundred (2 Samuel 23:8)
    * Three hundred (I Chronicles 11: 11)

    9. When did David bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem? Before defeating the Philistines or after?
    * After (2 Samuel 5 and 6)
    * Before (I Chronicles 13 and 14)

    10. How many pairs of clean animals did God tell Noah to take into the Ark?
    * Two (Genesis 6:19, 20)
    * Seven (Genesis 7:2). But despite this last instruction only two pairs went into the ark (Genesis 7:8-9)

    11. When David defeated the King of Zobah, how many horsemen did he capture?
    * One thousand and seven hundred (2 Samuel 8:4)
    * Seven thousand (I Chronicles 18:4)

    12. How many stalls for horses did Solomon have?
    * Forty thousand (I Kings 4:26)
    * Four thousand (2 chronicles 9:25)

    13. In what year of King Asa’s reign did Baasha, King of Israel die?
    * Twenty-sixth year (I Kings 15:33 – 16:8)
    * Still alive in the thirty-sixth year (2 Chronicles 16:1)

    14. How many overseers did Solomon appoint for the work of building the temple?
    * Three thousand six hundred (2 Chronicles 2:2)
    * Three thousand three hundred (I Kings 5:16)

    15. Solomon built a facility containing how many baths?
    * Two thousand (1 Kings 7:26)
    * Over three thousand (2 Chronicles 4:5)

    16. Of the Israelites who were freed from the Babylonian captivity, how many were the children of Pahrath-Moab?
    * Two thousand eight hundred and twelve (Ezra 2:6)
    * Two thousand eight hundred and eighteen (Nehemiah 7:11)

    17. How many were the children of Zattu?
    * Nine hundred and forty-five (Ezra 2:8)
    * Eight hundred and forty-five (Nehemiah 7:13)

    18. How many were the children of Azgad?
    * One thousand two hundred and twenty-two (Ezra 2:12)
    * Two thousand three hundred and twenty-two (Nehemiah 7:17)

    19. How many were the children of Adin?
    * Four hundred and fifty-four (Ezra 2:15)
    * Six hundred and fifty-five (Nehemiah 7:20)

    20. How many were the children of Hashum?
    * Two hundred and twenty-three (Ezra 2:19)
    * Three hundred and twenty-eight (Nehemiah 7:22)

    21. How many were the children of Bethel and Ai?
    * Two hundred and twenty-three (Ezra 2:28)
    * One hundred and twenty-three (Nehemiah 7:32)

    22. Ezra 2:64 and Nehemiah 7:66 agree that the total number of the whole assembly was 42,360. Yet the numbers do not add up to anything close. The totals obtained from each book is as follows:
    * 29,818 (Ezra)
    * 31,089 (Nehemiah)

    23. How many singers accompanied the assembly?
    * Two hundred (Ezra 2:65)
    * Two hundred and forty-five (Nehemiah 7:67)

    24. What was the name of King Abijahs mother?
    * Michaiah, daughter of Uriel of Gibeah (2 Chronicles 13:2)
    * Maachah, daughter of Absalom (2 Chronicles 11:20) But Absalom had only one daughter whose name was Tamar (2 Samuel 14:27)

    25. Did Joshua and the Israelites capture Jerusalem?
    * Yes (Joshua 10:23, 40)
    * No (Joshua 15:63)

    26. Who was the father of Joseph, husband of Mary?
    * Jacob (Matthew 1:16)
    * Hell (Luke 3:23)

    27. Jesus descended from which son of David?
    * Solomon (Matthew 1:6)
    * Nathan(Luke3:31)

    28. Who was the father of Shealtiel?
    * Jechoniah (Matthew 1:12)
    * Neri (Luke 3:27)

    29. Which son of Zerubbabel was an ancestor of Jesus Christ?
    * Abiud (Matthew 1: 13)
    * Rhesa (Luke 3:27) But the seven sons of Zerubbabel are as follows: i.Meshullam, ii. Hananiah, iii. Hashubah, iv. Ohel, v.Berechiah, vi. Hasadiah, viii. Jushabhesed (I Chronicles 3:19, 20). The names Abiud and Rhesa do not fit in anyway.

    30. Who was the father of Uzziah?
    * Joram (Matthew 1:8)
    * Amaziah (2 Chronicles 26:1)

    31. Who was the father of Jechoniah?
    * Josiah (Matthew 1:11)
    * Jeholakim (I Chronicles 3:16)

    32. How many generations were there from the Babylonian exile until Christ?
    * Matthew says fourteen (Matthew 1:17)
    * But a careful count of the generations reveals only thirteen (see Matthew 1: 12-16)

    33. Who was the father of Shelah?
    * Cainan (Luke 3:35-36)
    * Arphaxad (Genesis II: 12)

    34. Was John the Baptist Elijah who was to come?
    * Yes (Matthew II: 14, 17:10-13)
    * No (John 1:19-21)

    35. Would Jesus inherit Davids throne?
    * Yes. So said the angel (Luke 1:32)
    * No, since he is a descendant of Jehoiakim (see Matthew 1: I 1, I Chronicles 3:16). And Jehoiakim was cursed by God so that none of his descendants can sit upon Davids throne (Jeremiah 36:30)

    36. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on how many animals?
    * One – a colt (Mark 11:7; cf Luke 19:3 5). And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments on it; and he sat upon it.
    * Two – a colt and an ass (Matthew 21:7). They brought the ass and the colt and put their garments on them and he sat thereon.

    37. How did Simon Peter find out that Jesus was the Christ?
    * By a revelation from heaven (Matthew 16:17)
    * His brother Andrew told him (John 1:41)

    38. Where did Jesus first meet Simon Peter and Andrew?
    * By the sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:18-22)
    * On the banks of river Jordan (John 1:42). After that, Jesus decided to go to Galilee (John 1:43)

    39. When Jesus met Jairus was Jairus daughter already dead?
    * Yes. Matthew 9:18 quotes him as saying, My daughter has just died.
    * No. Mark 5:23 quotes him as saying, My little daughter is at the point of death.

    40. Did Jesus allow his disciples to keep a staff on their journey?
    * Yes (Mark 6:8)
    * No (Matthew 10:9; Luke 9:3)

    41. Did Herod think that Jesus was John the Baptist?
    * Yes (Matthew 14:2; Mark 6:16)
    * No (Luke 9:9)

    42. Did John the Baptist recognize Jesus before his baptism?
    * Yes (Matthew 3:13-14)
    * No (John 1:32,33)

    43. Did John the Baptist recognize Jesus after his baptism?
    * Yes (John 1:32, 33)
    * No (Matthew 11:2)

    44. According to the Gospel of John, what did Jesus say about bearing his own witness?
    * If I bear witness to myself, my testimony is not true (John 5:3 1)
    * Even if I do bear witness to myself, my testimony is true (John 8:14)

    45. When Jesus entered Jerusalem did he cleanse the temple that same day?
    * Yes (Matthew 21:12)
    * No. He went into the temple and looked around, but since it was very late he did nothing. Instead, he went to Bethany to spend the night and returned the next morning to cleanse the temple (Mark I 1:1- 17)

    46. The Gospels say that Jesus cursed a fig tree. Did the tree wither at once?
    * Yes. (Matthew 21:19)
    * No. It withered overnight (Mark II: 20)

    47. Did Judas kiss Jesus?
    * Yes (Matthew 26:48-50)
    * No. Judas could not get close enough to Jesus to kiss him (John 18:3-12)

    48. What did Jesus say about Peters denial?
    * The cock will not crow till you have denied me three times (John 13:38)
    * Before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times (Mark 14:30) . When the cock crowed once, the three denials were not yet complete (see Mark 14:72). Therefore prediction (a) failed.

    49. Did Jesus bear his own cross?
    * Yes (John 19:17)
    * No (Matthew 27:31-32)

    50. Did Jesus die before the curtain of the temple was torn?
    * Yes (Matthew 27:50-51; Mark lS:37-38)
    * No. After the curtain was torn, then Jesus crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit! And having said this he breathed his last (Luke 23:45-46)

    51. Did Jesus say anything secretly?
    * No. I have said nothing secretly (John 18:20)
    * Yes. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything (Mark 4:34). The disciples asked him Why do you speak to them in parables? He said, To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given (Matthew 13: 1 0-11)

    52. Where was Jesus at the sixth hour on the day of the crucifixion?
    * On the cross (Mark 15:23)
    * In Pilates court (John 19:14)

    53. The gospels say that two thieves were crucified along with Jesus. Did both thieves mock Jesus?
    * Yes (Mark 15:32)
    * No. One of them mocked Jesus, the other defended Jesus (Luke 23:43)

    54. Did Jesus ascend to Paradise the same day of the crucifixion?
    * Yes. He said to the thief who defended him, Today you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23:43)
    * No. He said to Mary Magdelene two days later, I have not yet ascended to the Father (John 20:17)

    55. When Paul was on the road to Damascus he saw a light and heard a voice. Did those who were with him hear the voice?
    * Yes (Acts9:7)
    * No (Acts22:9)

    56. When Paul saw the light he fell to the ground. Did his traveling companions also fall to the ground?
    * Yes (Acts 26:14)
    * No (Acts 9:7)

    57. Did the voice spell out on the spot what Pauls duties were to be?
    * Yes (Acts 26:16-18)
    * No. The voice commanded Paul to go into the city of Damascus and there he will be told what he must do. (Acts9:7;22: 10)

    58. When the Israelites dwelt in Shittin they committed adultery with the daughters of Moab. God struck them with a plague. How many people died in that plague?
    * Twenty-four thousand (Numbers 25:1 and 9)
    * Twenty-three thousand (I Corinthians 10:8)

    59. How many members of the house of Jacob came to Egypt?
    * Seventy souls (Genesis 4 & 27)
    * Seventy-five souls (Acts 7:14)

    60. What did Judas do with the blood money he received for betraying Jesus?
    * He bought a field (Acts 1: 18)
    * He threw all of it into the temple and went away. The priests could not put the blood money into the temple treasury, so they used it to buy a field to bury strangers (Matthew 27:5)

    61. How did Judas die?
    * After he threw the money into the temple he went away and hanged himself (Matthew 27:5)
    * After he bought the field with the price of his evil deed he fell headlong and burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out (Acts 1:18)

    62. Why is the field called Field of Blood?
    * Because the priests bought it with the blood money (Matthew 27:8)
    * Because of the bloody death of Judas therein (Acts 1:19)

    63. Who is a ransom for whom?
    * The Son of Man came…to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Christ Jesus who gave himself as a ransom for all… (I Timothy 2:5-6)
    * The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, and the faithless for the upright (Proverbs 21:18)

    64. Is the law of Moses useful?
    * Yes. All scripture is… profitable… (2 Timothy 3:16)
    * No… . A former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness… (Hebrews 7:18)

    65. What was the exact wording on the cross?
    * This is Jesus the King of the Jews (Matthew 27:37)
    * The King of the Jews (Mark 15:26)
    * This is the King of the Jews (Luke 23:38)
    * Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews (John 19:19)

    66. Did Herod want to kill John the Baptist?
    * Yes (Matthew 14:5)
    * No. It was Herodias, the wife of Herod who wanted to kill him. But Herod knew that he was a righteous man and kept him safe (Mark 6:20)

    67. Who was the tenth disciple of Jesus in the list of twelve?
    * Thaddaeus (Matthew 10: 1-4; Mark 3:13 -19)
    * Judas son of James is the corresponding name in Lukes gospel (Luke 6:12-16)

    68. Jesus saw a man sitat the tax collectors office and called him to be his disciple. What was his name?
    * Matthew (Matthew 9:9)
    * Levi (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27)

    69. Was Jesus crucified on the daytime before the Passover meal or the daytime after?
    * After (Mark 14:12-17)
    * Before. Before the feast of the Passover (John 1) Judas went out at night (John 13:30). The other disciples thought he was going out to buy supplies to prepare for the Passover meal (John 13:29). When Jesus was arrested, the Jews did not enter Pilates judgment hail because they wanted to stay clean to eat the Passover (John 18:28). When the judgment was pronounced against Jesus, it was about the sixth hour on the day of Preparation for the Passover (John 19:14)

    70. Did Jesus pray to The Father to prevent the crucifixion?
    * Yes. (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42)
    * No. (John 12:27)

    71. In the gospels which say that Jesus prayed to avoid the cross, how many times did he move away from his disciples to pray?
    * Three (Matthew 26:36-46 and Mark 14:32-42)
    * One. No opening is left for another two times. (Luke 22:39-46)

    72. Matthew and Mark agree that Jesus went away and prayed three times. What were the words of the second prayer?
    * Mark does not give the words but he says that the words were the same as the first prayer (Mark 14:3 9)
    * Matthew gives us the words, and we can see that they are not the same as in the first (Matthew 26:42)

    73. What did the centurion say when Jesus dies?
    * Certainly this man was innocent (Luke 23:47)
    * Truly this man was the Son of God (Mark 15:39)

    74. When Jesus said My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken Me ? in what language did he speak?
    * Hebrew: the words are Eloi, Eloi ..(Matthew 27:46)
    * Aramaic: the words are Eloi, Eloi .. (Mark 15:34)

    75. According to the gospels, what were the last words of Jesus before he died?
    * Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit! (Luke 23:46)
    * “It is finished” (John 19:30)

    76. When Jesus entered Capernaum he healed the slave of a centurion. Did the centurion come personally to request Jesus for this?
    * Yes (Matthew 8:5)
    * No. He sent some elders of the Jews and his friends (Luke 7:3,6)

    77.
    * Adam was told that if and when he eats the forbidden fruit he would die the same day (Genesis 2:17)
    * Adam ate the fruit and went on to live to a ripe old age of 930 years (Genesis 5:5)

    78.
    * God decided that the life-span of humans will be limited to 120 years (Genesis 6:3)
    * Many people born after that lived longer than 120. Arpachshad lived 438 years. His son Shelah lived 433 years. His son Eber lived 464 years, etc. (Genesis 11:12-16)

    79. Apart from Jesus did anyone else ascend to heaven?
    * No (John 3:13)
    * Yes. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven (2 Kings 2:11)

    80. Who was high priest when David went into the house of God and ate the consecrated bread?
    * Abiathar (Mark 2:26)
    * Ahimelech, the father of Abiathar (I Samuel 1:1; 22:20)

    81. Was Jesus body wrapped in spices before burial in accordance with Jewish burial customs?
    * Yes and his female disciples witnessed his burial (John 19:39-40)
    * No. Jesus was simply wrapped in a linen shroud. Then the women bought and prepared spices so that they may go and anoint him [Jesus) (Mark 16: 1)

    82. When did the women buy the spices?
    * After the Sabbath was past (Mark 16:1)
    * Before the Sabbath. The women prepared spices and ointments. Then, on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment (Luke 23:55 to 24:1)

    83. At what time of day did the women visit the tomb?
    * Toward the dawn (Matthew 28: 1)
    * When the sun had risen (Mark 16:2)

    84. What was the purpose for which the women went to the tomb?
    * To anoint Jesus body with spices (Mark 16: 1; Luke 23:55 to 24: 1)
    * To see the tomb. Nothing about spices here (Matthew 28: 1)
    * For no specified reason. In this gospel the wrapping with spices had been done before the Sabbath (John 20: 1)

    85. A large stone was placed at the entrance of the tomb. Where was the stone when the women arrived?
    * They saw that the stone was Rolled back (Mark 16:4) They found the stone rolled away from the tomb (Luke 24:2) They saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb (John 20:1)
    * As the women approached, an angel descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and conversed with the women. Matthew made the women witness the spectacular rolling away of the stone (Matthew 28:1-6)

    86. Did anyone tell the women what happened to Jesus body?
    * Yes. A young man in a white robe (Mark 16:5). Two men … in dazzling apparel later described as angels (Luke 24:4 and 24:23). An angel – the one who rolled back the stone (Matthew 16:2). In each case the women were told that Jesus had risen from the dead (Matthew 28:7; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:5 footnote)
    * No. Mary met no one and returned saying, They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him (John 20:2)

    87. When did Mary Magdelene first meet the resurrected Jesus? And how did she react?
    * Mary and the other women met Jesus on their way back from their first and only visit to the tomb. They took hold of his feet and worshipped him (Matthew 28:9)
    * On her second visit to the tomb Mary met Jesus just outside the tomb. When she saw Jesus she did not recognize him. She mistook him for the gardener. She still thinks that Jesus body is laid to rest somewhere and she demands to know where. But when Jesus said her name she at once recognized him and called him Teacher. Jesus said to her, Do not hold me… (John 20:11 to 17)

    88. What was Jesus instruction for his disciples?
    * Tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me (Matthew 2 8: 10)
    * Go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God (John 20:17)

    89. When did the disciples return to Galilee?
    * Immediately, because when they saw Jesus in Galilee some doubted (Matthew 28:17). This period of uncertainty should not persist
    * After at least 40 days. That evening the disciples were still in Jerusalem (Luke 24:3 3). Jesus appeared to them there and told them, stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49). He was appearing to them during forty days (Acts 1:3), and charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise … (Acts 1:4)

    90. To whom did the Midianites sell Joseph?
    * To the Ishmaelites (Genesis 37:28)
    * To Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh (Genesis 37:36)

    91. Who brought Joseph to Egypt?
    * The Ishmaelites bought Joseph and then took Joseph to Egypt (Genesis 37:28)
    * The Midianites had sold him in Egypt (Genesis 37:36)
    * Joseph said to his brothers I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt (Genesis 45:4)

    92. Does God change his mind?
    * Yes. The word of the Lord came to Samuel: I repent that I have made Saul King… (I Samuel 15:10 to 11)
    * No. God will not lie or repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent (I Samuel 15:29)
    * Yes. And the Lord repented that he had made Saul King over Israel (I Samuel 15:35).

    Notice that the above three quotes are all from the same chapter of the same book! In addition, the Bible shows that God repented on several other occasions:

    i. The Lord was sorry that he made man (Genesis 6:6)
    I am sorry that I have made them (Genesis 6:7)

    ii. And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do to his people (Exodus 32:14).

    iii. (Lots of other such references).

    93. The Bible says that for each miracle Moses and Aaron demonstrated the magicians did the same by their secret arts. Then comes the following feat:
    * Moses and Aaron converted all the available water into blood (Exodus 7:20-21)
    * The magicians did the same (Exodus 7:22). This is impossible, since there would have been no water left to convert into blood.

    94. Who killed Goliath?
    * David (I Samuel 17:23, 50)
    * Elhanan (2 Samuel 21:19)

    95. Who killed Saul?
    * Saul took his own sword and fell upon it…. Thus Saul died… (I Samuel 31:4-6)
    * An Amalekite slew him (2 Samuel 1:1- 16)

    96. Does every man sin?
    * Yes. There is no man who does not sin (I Kings 8:46; see also 2 Chronicles 6:36; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; and I John 1:810)
    * No. True Christians cannot possibly sin, because they are the children of God. Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God.. (I John 5:1). We should be called children of God; and so we are (I John 3: 1). He who loves is born of God (I John 4:7). No one born of God commits sin; for Gods nature abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God (I John 3:9). But, then again, Yes! If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (I John 1:8)

    97. Who will bear whose burden?
    * Bear one anothers burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2)
    * Each man will have to bear his own load (Galatians 6:5)

    98. How many disciples did Jesus appear to after his resurrection?
    * Twelve (I Corinthians 15:5)
    * Eleven (Matthew 27:3-5 and Acts 1:9-26, see also Matthew 28:16; Mark 16:14 footnote; Luke 24:9; Luke 24:3 3)

    99. Where was Jesus three days after his baptism?
    * After his baptism, the spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days … (Mark 1:12-13)
    * Next day after the baptism, Jesus selected two disciples. Second day: Jesus went to Galilee – two more disciples. Third day: Jesus was at a wedding feast in Cana in Galilee (see John 1:35; 1:43; 2:1-11)

    100. Was baby Jesus life threatened in Jerusalem?
    * Yes, so Joseph fled with him to Egypt and stayed there until Herod died (Matthew 2:13 23)
    * No. The family fled nowhere. They calmly presented the child at the Jerusalem temple according to the Jewish customs and returned to Galilee (Luke 2:21-40)

    101. When Jesus walked on water how did the disciples respond?
    * They worshipped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God (Matthew 14:33)
    * They were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened (Mark 6:51-52)

    Source: ThinkAtheist.com