Atheists Can Be Gullible Too

Jim Majors is the CEO for the worldwide group Atheist Republic. He has a new book on the way, refuting Christianity and boy does he have a lot of influence! With over 2 million followers on facebook and a chapter in every state of the US I consider it a kindness to my atheist friends to deal with his claims. He's just not your source for truth guys.
Links I mentioned:
The NonSequitir Show video I am responding to • Correcting Christianit...
Dan Wallace's article on the dating of John's gospel bible.org/seri...
BBC article on the life-spans of ancient people www.bbc.com/fut...
Bible Archaeology article on Herod and how murderous he was www.biblearchae...
University of Texas Austin article on Koine Greek lrc.la.utexas....
My three videos on supposed Bible contradictions  • "FULL of Contradiction...
• 13 Bible Contradiction...
• Biggest Bible Contradi...
My videos explaining tough textual issues (like the ending of Mark)
• What you NEED to know ...

[@nparksntx]

I grew up in a Christian home & made a profession of faith when I was 12. I really thought a lot of faith was required. When I was in my 20s I was really challenged by things I heard from skeptics which sent me searching. I was blown away with how much evidence & scholarship was available in favor of biblical Christianity.

[@TheAeoxEternal]

Same. After praying over people and seeing even my wife healed I have no doubts whatsoever.

[@Fanofou82]

It's truly awesome. Yet sad that so much was hidden from us in public education. All for humanism/materialism/atheism.

[@hujintao3027]

Can please tell me where is that literature which I can read?

[@jackfoot1257]

Same here man. My season of doubt was ultimately a gift from God because I walked out with stronger faith than ever before!

[@arunmoses2197]

I love when Christians encourage people to go deeper instead of saying to ignore the world and have blind faith.

[@eversosleight]

This is another attempt of pop atheism to tear at the faith when homework wasn't done. Thanks Mike.

[@gavinhurlimann2910]

Amen!

[@davidmacpherson9295]

Very glad to know there are people out there doing proper fact checking. Very helpful, well done!

[@xxsageonexx8910]

David MacPherson Lets grant as fact that a document was dated as contemporaneous and had signed and dated eyewitness testimonies stating the events such as the crucifixion and resurrection, etc. Would this be evidence of the supernatural? Or could there be other more likely explanations?

[@histguy101]

I generally avoid athiest themed channels, but have watched them in the past. I no longer have the stomach for the arrogance, mocking and so forth. However, after coming across your channel, and seeing this and a few other videos, I'm really _astounded_ at how unsophisticated they are. His attempts at arguments are on the level of KZbin comment trolling. I mean, *_this_* is the head of an athiest movement?! And the author of an athiest book? I guess the general decline in literacy of this "internet age" has effected them too. There can only be one cause for such a display; being ideologically driven and intellectually lazy at the same time.

[@martinecheverria5968]

I am a Christian and most atheist channels are unprepared and unaware of a lot of the information about the things they talk about, however, there are a lot of brilliant atheist in youtube that make really good videos and challemge our faith.

[@DiggitySlice]

@@martinecheverria5968 I'm not aware of any. Please provide an example

[@AR15andGOD]

That's what atheism is, pure arrogance to the point of deserving a painful smiting and trip to hell. God is utterly mercilful; much more than I could be.

[@litigioussociety4249]

A lot of atheists constantly fall back on the same arguments that aren't arguments at all, such as testimony isn't evidence. If testimony isn't evidence, then pretty much all of history is unsubstantiated outside of what can be determined through archaeology. The problem of evilis constantly brought up, and the rebuttal is constantly free will, but the average atheist seems unwilling to take a further position on such things, and will simply demand someone prove to them it's true, but a the same time they almost never have an objective standard for what is proof, and will constantly move the goalposts. I have said it many times to others, I have far more respect for someone who is not a Christian, because they are unwilling to serve God as they know him, then someone who rejects claims of God outright, and is unwilling to get to the point of debating theology.

[@kelleybrooks6281]

That's so true. A quick Google search would help them immensely. They just refuse to put forth any effort and have no idea how ignorant and uneducated they present themselves to be.

[@SheikhMawini]

Has he written "Correcting Islam" yet?

[@ajboggie87]

So, Jim Majors writes a book where he questions a chapter in Mark, but he can't even remember the chapter that he wrote about in his own book. lol

[@mostrecognized4218]

I agree. He totally embarrassed himself. Who ever buys that guy's book obviously doesn't care about the truth. His book and interview may actually lead some atheists to become believers.

[@51elephantchang]

I wonder how many believers have been turned away from the faith by the type of uncharitable comment above

[@mostrecognized4218]

​@@51elephantchang uncharitable? not even close. first of all, i'm agnostic. i'll call b.s. on both sides when tested. if a christian, muslim, or theist had spewed out that type of rhetoric some atheists would have made some of the most appalling and disheartening comments you could imagine. if you don't believe me, just pick any random youtube video on this channel (or any other). i'm sure you'll find plenty of evidence to examine.

[@haileymatthews5170]

@@51elephantchang People do not get turned away from the faith because of a KZbin Message Board social media comment. People get turned away from the truth because they love not God nor obey the gospel. People turn away from the truth because they have other desires in the place of God which is basically a form of covetousness or idolatry. People turn away from God not because of a social media comment but because of the adversary who deceives them and the whole world. And people turn away from God and the truth because it doesn't suit their worldview; they do not want to be held accountable for their wickedness and sinful living so they turn to a world view that suits they're ungodly carnal desires. And people turn away from the truth because they never wete Believers to begin with! They went out from us because they were never of us. People turn away from the truth because they are not God's elect from the foundation of the world. Shalom.

[@JP-je6jg]

@@51elephantchang I'm sure absolutely no believers have been turned by such stupidity. I am an atheist and this guy embarrasses me. Any one capable of critical thought, (which most atheists are) would not be convinced by such a weak argument. There are hundreds of far more compelling reasons to be an atheist.

[@theresheis9338]

LOL, the whole Koine Greek part had me howling with laughter. Good on you Pastor Mike, God bless you 🙏 All great content this month.

[@pauljomento8357]

Thanks Mike for this, I was doubting my faith back in high school because of pop atheism but content like yours and others' (rzim, Chuck missler, etc) got me out. Thank you for your labor in the Lord, you are doing God's work in exposing the lies of the enemy 🙌

[@ginacarr6072]

Hi Mike, me again! If these atheist guys spent as much time and effort into loving Christ as they do in trying to discredit Him they may just see the light and be saved!

[@briancooley8777]

Exactly

[@righteous_lute6194]

While I agree usually only the saved really loved christ for they know what he's done for them. You gotta understand their mindset, also understand it from a better pov. Their not saved they think Christianity is false and foolish why would they try falling in love with Christ. We need to show them the light threw different means not telling them to go love Christ more then they try to discredit him.

[@ptk8451]

How on earth is an atheist to love someone in whose existence they dont believe.They might if God cofronts them if He opens their eyes

[@ptk8451]

Pastor Mike can you make a video on the word Christos and the Jewish roots of the Christian faith

[@twiceborn_by_grace]

I know it’s a little thing, but I love how you say “Lord bless you” instead of “God bless you”.

[@courtney4128]

Another great video Mike! Thank you for your honesty, kindness, and respect you gave this man while reviewing what he had to say. Not enough people do that, and do it so sincerely.

[@albertrauch7159]

Honestly a great objective response from Mike. If you are truly open-minded then you will see the serious errors that some are using to try to make our faith look as it has no credible proof.

[@Hobbit096]

I loved that you included sources in the description! It was massively helpful and I'm sure it was a massive pain but it is so helpful for me so when I reach out to my friends I can go straight to the sources. Love your ministry. It has really helped me to understand and love the Bible and have a confidence in it.

[@lou-annatkinson4211]

Hi Mike and all... I urge every one out there, no matter their field of interest, to check out any author, teacher or so called expert before reading / listening to them. There are so many self assumed experts with no credibility or knowledge out there that it scares me. Be wary, very wary what you are absorbing. Your mind and heart are precious and need protecting. Jims level of education on the subject he's processing to hold knowledge of is humiliatingly lacking. Wow and, he has written a book!! Scary...

[@Johncalvin666]

Answering questions live on the spot really has to be a challenge.Thanks for all you do in defending the faith.

[@christophekeating21]

8:00 When you read footnote 23, it says the following: "See Wallace, “John 5,2 and the Date of the Fourth Gospel,” 177-78, n. 6, for a survey of suggested dates (ranging from the 40s to 170!)." So Jim Majors obviously just picked the latest possible date proposed by scholars and ran with it.

[@Christus.Invictus]

Much appreciated Mike. Great work🙏✝️🙏

[@evanrogers1825]

I think one thing that atheists always seem to forget is what happens in between the events of the gospel and when they were written. Yes, it may have been years or even decades later but it’s not like it happened and they ignored it until decades later and thought “oh, I should write this down!” - They told the gospel every single day for years and years and years. They knew it by heart; the events they experienced and their details because recounted it daily for decades.

[@melaniehughes8909]

Even in our own lives sometimes it's not until we start getting older that we want to document some of our experiences. It doesn't have to ever be published as a book. We realize that if we don't take the time now to write things down, often just something left behind for our loved ones, we may begin to forget details we don't want to forget or our time could just run out without having passed down what we wanted to those we love.

[@TheEnergydrinklover]

I’m honored to have such a legend on my team, preach the truth!

[@northernlight8857]

He seems like a likeable fellow and he defintely wellread. But i take Matt Dillahunty over him every time.

[@TheEnergydrinklover]

Northern Light Why off all people Matt Dillahunty?

[@caroleimani9754]

Who is Matt Dillahunty?

[@martinecheverria5968]

@@caroleimani9754 he is a hyperskeptic atheist that has a show called "The Atheist Experience"

[@karenramnath9993]

During the Q&A, there was a question concerning division and unity within the church. I was bothered by this for a while, and came to this conclusion...Christians are united in their belief about salvation. That’s where the unity is. Salvation kinda trumps everything else, ‘cause the consequences of getting that wrong are eternal. All the other issues, like whether to cover our heads, whether to have wine or grape juice, what day to go to church, we are ok to disagree on these things, because they won’t affect our eternal salvation if we get them wrong.

[@gavinhurlimann2910]

Amen!

[@Apanblod]

Unless you're a works-based denomination, then that may indeed affect your salvation. So I'm not sure Christians agree on that either.

[@coreygossman6243]

@@Apanblod Being part of a works based denomination doesnt affect whether God's grace will save you unless you really on your works to save you, and not your faith. There is no confusion amongst Christians that salvation is by the grace of God. Regardless, Christianity assumes an objective truth to reality. It doesn't matter your denomination, true is true if you are Christian. If you are saved you are saved, denomination doesn't matter.

[@Apanblod]

@@coreygossman6243 But what does it mean that something is "by the grace of God"? I must contest the suggestion that Christians don't disagree on the path to salvation, that seems quite obvious to me. And I don't really understand what the sentence "Christianity asumes an objective truth to reality" alludes to. I would think most people do that, regardless of their religious convictions?

[@coreygossman6243]

@@Apanblod Grace of God means that whether it is by faith alone or works+faith, God chooses who is saved. Christians do disagree on the path to salvation, but it's more nitpick than anything. The Bible itself presents the truth of the subject, and Christians agree on this. Regarding objective vs subjective reality: Many religions agree with this, but not all religions do, and many philosophies do not. Many modern academics take quantum theories and extend them to a general philosophies, interpreting that reality can never be fully known because it doesn't truly exist. One needs only do a quick Google search for subjective reality philosophy.

[@ArgothaWizardWars]

I see no way that this is unintentional. That man is a blatant liar. Also, Mike, I know you want to love others as is commanded, but I don't think you are asked to bend over backwards to find some way that someone is just misunderstood. The man claims, himself, that he researched this! Also, also, i think he says to verify his work because he knows that most people wont, and even if they did, they would have already bought his book.

[@michaeldukes4108]

Right? This Majors guy is a malefactor and bad actor (not in the theatrical sense). At the very best, he’s a shoddy researcher. Pastor Mike, stop giving these guys the benefit of the doubt all the time.

[@self-publishinghelp8596]

No mention of the fact that Dude states “they” (presumably the magi) were shown a vision that Herod was planning to kill the little baby Jesus? So... he obviously has not read or at least is incorrectly remembering the source material. That one was so glaring, I can’t believe you let him slide on it.

[@ajboggie87]

Excellent video Mike! Great job!

[@tex959]

"sometimes skeptics have such a low bar for accepting information against Christianity that they become gullible" "let's be honest, the same thing can happen to Christians" Yes, mike.. this can not be overstated. It is not sometimes, it's almost all times. Confirmation bias is so strong, it affects every thought or action that we have. Take politics, every person on one political boundary can clearly see the cognitive dissonance on the other side of that boundary. Everyone is very short sided with their own bias. I apply this to myself. When people do not apply this to themselves, they are more likely to interpret information with more bias.. We all think that we carefully consider all the evidence. We all think that most people do not.. but that is part of the bias at work. Jim Majors is low hanging fruit.. as with most "popular" atheists or theists.

[@gavinhurlimann2910]

tex959: Mike Winger spoke at some length about how he wasn't attacking "Jim Majors the person", but Jims' ideas & comments, e.g.the "message" not the messenger. Stick with the facts.

[@robbtouchton]

We went through this with Christopher Hitchens. Now he's finding out the truth, and his brother is a Christian! Author of The Chronicles of Assignments: PRINCIPALITIES, a novel and an adventure in Spiritual Warfare by RW Touchton. Available on your favorite book site.

[@DiggitySlice]

His disclaimer that he's not attacking Christians includes an attack on Christians. Come on, we're supposed to be loving, but we're not supposed to let ourselves fall victim to people that hate us.

[@jaydan3034]

i think encouraging people to go "fact check" you is just to make yourself seem even more credible and not to actually get people to "fact check" you. lets be honest, not many people are really "fact checking." seeing someone say "well go ahead and fact check me!" and appear so confident in his rightness just helps you accept what he's saying on authority. i hope im making sense here

[@elaineleonard9526]

Ummmm, that’s why he goes thru the pain of providing links to all of his assertions. If he was saying it just to shine himself on, why bother making sure to provide the info?

[@gunspawn1]

Thank you brother Mike I just started my journey im about 30 can i ask for prayers my name is Santiago

[@gunspawn1]

@DaGingerHeadMan its actually more than that.. i actually have my reasons. I mean you can be saved too. Its amazing how people these days are decieved

[@gunspawn1]

@DaGingerHeadMan i mean i know about mysticism false doctrines & let me tell you brother you probably think your thoughts are your own but in reality youre still unaware of it.. & theres only one salvation the king of kings Jesus son of God. He came to set the captives free

[@northernlight8857]

@@gunspawn1 i am a bit curious. What makes you think that your religious views are based on reality and how do you know that it is this very specific religion?

[@gunspawn1]

@@northernlight8857 well lets just say from some who was meditating parcticing law of attraction went thru the whole kundelini awekaning & was praying to other idols i could say i mean only to come to a false hope...

[@geeelwesley9777]

gunspawn1 I’m praying for you. Stay strong in the faith. There are no real ex Christians (true believers) because a true Christian is one who knows Jesus. If you knew Him how can you now say He doesn’t exist as Christians believe? If you never knew Him you weren’t actually a believer.

[@kadda1212]

Hey Mike! Once the book is out, you should read it and then write a review on Amazon or so. ;) On average life exspectancy in antiquity: it drops down due to the amount of children that died and women giving childbirth. Once you made it past puberty as a boy, you could expect to grow 80 or older if you lived a healthy lifestyle and didn't go to war. Hygiene was not so bad back then, they had baths and aqueducts...I kind of thought that was basic knowledge by now, especially since people learn in math how to calculate the average of anything. However, I recently had a conversation with an American online who claimed that I as a German did not know what hot and cold weather feels like because the highest temperature of Germany is 20 degrees Celsius in summer and the lowest 3 degrees in winter. O.o Average temperature...that does not mean that it does not get immensely hotter and colder. But he also did not understand the meaning of it and he did not strike me as uneducated. But somehow... And on Koine Greek: my Ancient Greek teacher called it the "gutter language/ghetto slang of Ancient Greece". "Spoken only by very presitigious people..." Hahahaha! On Christmas Trees: In the current fashion they are as Christian as can be, especially the decoration. Because decorating your house with evergreens in winter was kind of common in antiquity already. But the decoration were traditionally apples and those later turned into glass balls. It was supposed to be an apple tree, because in iconography the apple was the forbidden fruit (lat. malus, means both apple and evil). The Christmas Tree symbolized the Tree of Knowledge to remind people of the Fall and why Jesus needed to be born. There is also an old song called "Adam lay ybounden" which speaks of the time the apple was eaten as blessed due to the gift of salvation it brought us as consequence.

[@intedominesperavi6036]

Interessant!

[@AzariahWolf]

The point about Herod being old and life expectancy being short couldn't have been less relevant. Seriously. Have you never heard of the history of any monarchy ever? Almost every king ever immediately killed anyone who could possibly have a claim to their throne.

[@prayingpatriot8018]

It would be nice to see the "erroneous" Jim Majors in a debate, so everyone can see how silly he appears relative to his supposed Christian "research".

[@RussellHernandez73]

Wow, that guy was so ignorant, and the podcasters didn't call him out. Incredible.

[@RowanAldridge]

Just a quick question/correction Mike - I don’t think he said there’s only one source on crucifixion, it sounds to me like he says records, not record. It doesn’t make his argument any stronger and isn’t particularly relevant, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

[@slamrn9689]

You are wearing my favorite plaid shirt. ;-)

[@parktol02]

Shalom, Mr. Winger, I think that the amount of followers the atheistrepublic compared to yours surely needs to be swip-swapped. TWO MILLION??? SERIOUSLY? With those misinformed and childish memes? Man, we need more Jesus... Anyways, why do some say that Isaiah 53 is about Israel rather than the suffering servant? I just don't understand how you could draw that from the text. I'm looking forward to your responses to those atheists who have some sort of bounty on your head. I think you should respond to DigitalHammurabi first, as this will be your most formidable challenger, seeing as how he knows more than the typical atheist nowadays. (he has a PhD is Assyriology, I think) Are you considering live-streaming some of the responses? Thanks, and keep fighting the good fight.

[@tex959]

All of the popular speakers are disappointing. It Doesn't matter if they're atheist or Christian. I agree, priority should be put on dr. Josh's arguments, first. That's another channel that will never be popular because few people care about academic level work.

[@duckymomo7935]

Even if Is 53 is about Israel (I agree, I can’t see how to make that connection), Jesus = Israel.

[@parktol02]

@@duckymomo7935 That's a pretty good point ma guy.

[@EB100ify]

Thank you Mike, you are a blessing! Concerning Josephus I have a question: Talking to a sceptic I brought up his writings as I think they give great evidence for the case of the resurrection. But he tried to tell me that these sources are not reliable as the manuscripts seem to have been corrupted. He said that the passages that support the case for Christianity don't seem to fit into his style of writing and might've been added. Have you heard of this accusation? Greetings from Germany

[@samuelscheufler2747]

Theyre actually right about that. Partly. We have other copies of the manuscript (in another language I believe) that doesnt contain that corruption. More than that, even if it was corrupted, it still contains some ammount of truth, namely that Josephus knew about Christ. Honestly the fact that we KNOW that its been corrupted should give us more confidence in our ability to interpret the evidence we have

[@kkdoc7864]

I really do not understand how Majors can call Christianity “harmful.”

[@martinecheverria5968]

I became a Christian last year, but even when I was an atheist I saw Christianity as a beautiful thing that brought hope, peace and joy to so many people. Blessings from Argentina brother!

[@JP-je6jg]

I appreciate that an individual's faith can be so incredibly important to them, but organised religion is about control. At its worst, organised religion shames people and guilts them into conforming to their standard of behaviour, even if they were born different. It has at times actively spread disinformation when the scientific truth is counter to one of its own beliefs. It plays off people's fears and worries. Christianity has helped society in many positive ways but it has also caused great harm to society. Again, Im not trying to attack your personal faith.

[@kkdoc7864]

@@JP-je6jg you are absolutely right about the system of “organized religion”. Christianity should only reflect the true gospel found in scripture, and following all that’s in God’s Word, not just isolated verses, brings hope, peace and love with warnings, too. True Christianity is not harmful. My take on all the”harm” people think it causes is the fact that whenever man gets ahold of anything spiritual, he corrupts it. You cannot trust man, only God.

[@JP-je6jg]

@@kkdoc7864 I am an atheist so I do disagree with you on some points but I do think its incredibly important to distinguish between individual faith and organised religion. I think most religions at the core and at their founding, do preach peace and love and hope but over time, that can be corrupted as people use that religion for their own ends. Which I do think is sad but i suppose also, a very human thing.

[@kkdoc7864]

@@JP-je6jg Yes, I really mean that about human beings who should never be placed on a pedestal, always seems to get it wrong when adding to the gospel Christ gave us. I’m a “scientist” of the human body, and with even what little I know, it is impossible for me to think there is no creator. If we could just step back and let go of our arrogance, put on a lot of humility, and reach out to ask God if He’s real and to show that to you, you have nothing to lose, and IMHO, everything to gain. . Since I believe the Bible is as close as anyone can come to God’s Word, it’s a good place to start. Maybe with the gospel of John. You’re absolutely right that every walk is an individual one, and each is responsible for the choices made. You won’t be with a church of people when you stand before Him, so it’s a good thing to work it out for yourself. I hope I’m not offending you or that you think I’m twisting your arm, but it can’t hurt to just look. (Matthew 7:7). If what Christ says is true, then what I’m sharing with you is the most loving thing I can do, for you or anybody. Take care..

[@martingagnon7631]

When you do your study on when the Rapture happens consider checking out Nelson Walters extensive work which is on KZbin. He lays out what seems to be irrefutable evidence that the Rapture is pre rath which happens about the middle of the second half of the tribulation.

[@philipbuckley759]

sounds good...you make your point...back it up....and give leeway, to the one you are coming up against....very nice....once again....you make an excellent teacher...

[@deborahruthtrotter2154]

re: the Mark thing, what about the transcripts that were found in Alexandria? Don't forget those.

[@cameronc1509]

Pausing at 18:24 to say: Doesn’t koine mean “common”?

[@adamtippett4702]

Yep κοινος is the adjective that means common

[@ea-tr1jh]

Yep lol

[@Shiloh3498]

Well done Mike!

[@TheKoolbraider]

Jewish??? Had to laugh at that one! (And I'm not a Greek scholar but know how to pronounce "coi-nay" for "koine". I just do a lot of reading.)

[@gabeguerrero7865]

My understanding is that the reason Paul's letter to the Romans is in greek, and not latin, is becaue avergae folks in Rome didn't speak Latin at that time. They all spoke Greek. By Paul's time, Latin became an administrative, literary and high-class language (like French among the Russian elites on Tolstoy's time), and greek was spoken by the masses because of how many people passed through and lived in or around Rome that were non-Roman. So the idea that Koine Greek was an elite language is not accurate.

[@writingtruthinwisdom1835]

Thank you so much as I have been in debates but not ready as I would hope to be and want to step up my wittness.

[@Derek_Baumgartner]

Thanks for these!

[@peters6345]

Thanks that's some very interesting info about Herod

[@deonvanwyk7549]

Atheists just don’t know that they don’t know.

[@kaleenscorner9716]

Thank you Mr Winger

[@ThePettiestOfficer_Juan117]

What does the dating say about its truth? Why would the dating have anything to do with the validity of what it says? If the Bible was written yesterday, it could still be true.

[@nathancook7439]

No way this guy could keep a job in the real world, wouldn't pass for an elementary school presentation. Had to make a CEO position for himself. This just shows how little effort needs to be put into refuting something you absolutely refuse to believe.

[@rolandobaysa4295]

Hi Mike is it possible for you to make a commentary on Caesar's Messiah video? Thank you

[@ThePettiestOfficer_Juan117]

Mike, after you debate James White on Soteriology, you should debate Jim on...anything I guess. That'd be cool. ;)

[@bromponie7330]

He sounds like a new over-eager atheist who has just had his first taste of Biblical scholarship, or more accurately, misinformation surrounding Biblical scholarship.

[@yndsu]

His problem looks to be that he only uses hyper critical atheist websites as his sources, and doesn't check anything against the actual scholarship.

[@bassmanjr100]

Poor Jim... Not too bright. Look at how they sit and listen and lap it up. Atheists, come on man!

[@floridaLise]

Now that I've heard Mr. Majors speak ... he is not as hot as I previously thought. He is very vague. Mike Winger totally trumps his knowledge with real truth.

[@villah7]

As a non believer, it’s difficult listening to this misinformed dude. Anyways, here are some of my thoughts. @mike 1. Gospel of John early 90s. A quick question about your reasoning behind dating Mark in the 50s? Modern scholars date Mark the 70s around the destruction of the Temple, cause we have internal evidence in Mark that suggests this dating. 2. Life expectancy was approximately 50 years if you survive childbirth. Herod the great reign ended 4bc and The gospel of Matt infancy narrative contradicts Luke’s gospel because Luke gospel place Jesus under Cyrenius which was 6AD. Any thoughts? 3. The last few verses of our Gospel Mark was redacted by scribes intentionally or unintentionally we can’t tell same as the dating. 4. The historian flavius Josephus mentioned Jews begging for someone to be removed from the cross so it’s plausible that Jesus was removed as well as a Jewish custom. However, the difficulty part was how long did they stay on the cross before getting removed. Is it days, weeks, this is difficult to know. Hope you see this @mike winger. I posted another comment on your previous video about the Mythicist position, hope you check that out too.

[@jacques9515]

Im late but i can possibly answer the first two. Paul quotes Luke in First Timothy, most likely early-mid 60s because it would have to predate Pauls death, and if we agree on the scholarly consensus that Luke is based off of Mark and Matthew, it places both Mark and Matthew at dates that can just possibly be before 60 AD. 2nd question i cannot address fully here, but inspiring philosophy has a video on it just search "census of quirinius"

[@IsmaelLovecraft]

no, Mike, you can have a piece of a text before the whole text was written, and, of course, many longer texts are written in parts. Plato said that book or an essay should be like an animal, with each part serving a purpose that contributes to the purpose of the book, but unlike an animal, the parts of a book can "live" and go out into the world on their own.

[@BackToOrthodoxy]

Good stuff here Mike

[@AbiKeranen]

This is excellent!

[@mikechristian-vn1le]

Mike is wrong. We do indeed have parts of texts before the text was complete. We got both HARRY POTTER and SONG OF ICE AND FIRE one book at a time. HARRY POTTER is complete, while it looks like George RR Martin will never finish SoI&F. And GRRM has been publishing chapters of WINDS OF WINTER, his unfinished 6th book in the series.

[@IsmaelLovecraft]

average life expectancy has absolutely nothing to do with how old people live to, and, maybe, a tiny number of people live to be 100 in all societies. Cicero's (divorced) wife, a contemporary of Jesus, who married Strabo, the Roman geographer and historian, lived to be 101. in many premodern societies, half of all children die before their 5th birthday, half them, a quarter of everyone born, before their first. doing the math in my head, Herod the Great was about 68 when he died, and, being king, and the king of a Roman province, he must've known that he could've lived another thirty years.

[@else1311]

Pre-mid-post is all true. The differences in the gospels are there for a reason, they are speaking to different groups. Luke, pre- the bride of Christ, Mark, mid-sleeping church and Matthew post, Juda. 3 groups. Check out the playlist 30-minutes videos on Ministry Revealed 🙌

[@stevenepperly7874]

Let me see. !?!?!? One book dates 70yrs after, another date 90yrs after, then another 40 yrs, 80 yrs and then even another 95 yrs. Oh man, I get it ! Must have been 350 plus years....... wow !?!?!? Flip a coin and we'll see what the greek says ....heads we say this, tails we'll go with that. Oh jeez say them both and maybe some will think we know what we're talking about. I'm not a big Christmas tree kind of person either but honestly cant recall ever seeing someone fall down on there knees in front of one giving praises to the limbs for being strong enough to hold the lights that were put on it. Whats sad is people are listening and sucking this stuff up.

[@christopherconder79]

Im not sure why people think life expectancy was so low back then. Genesis says humans can live to about 120 years. Which is absolutely true. If people couldn't live that long, how would they have known it was possible? (Revelation from God excluded)

[@fishblob3554]

What verse are you revering to?

[@christopherconder79]

@@fishblob3554 gen 6:3

[@fishblob3554]

@@christopherconder79 thank you

[@christopherconder79]

@@fishblob3554 There is debate on the full context and meaning of this scripture to be fair. The context is technically the time that God would wait before he judged man via the flood, giving time build the ark. I am personally of the opinion that there a reasonable metaphorical interpretation considering it matches what we have seen regarding human lifespan, but that's just me.

[@fishblob3554]

@@christopherconder79 I personally don't believe in the story of Noah because of multiple reasons. I also always thought that this was just a child's story but it turns out that people actually believe this happend.

[@andreuschumacher8403]

Quick commentary on Christmas trees the earliest reference to a Christian Christmas tree comes from a missionary who went to Celtic Norse territories where they worshiped Odin specifically in this case and a giant tree they referred to as the world tree he converted them to christianity then pointed out a new tree an evergreen with a top that grew in a point towards heaven and told them that this will be the new symbol of their face in God need changed their previous practices of blood sacrifices to giant trees and bringing trees typically potted into their home to preserve them for the winter and switched those for our current or something similar to our current Christmas tree traditions with their current symbolic meanings such as cutting down the tree to symbolize Jesus‘s death and propping it back up in your house to symbolize Jesus‘s resurrection. So similarities to a pre-existing pagan tradition and then I believe the video is correct that when it first reached into the United States was during the reformation, however many Scottish immigrants, and peoples from other related countries (Wales, Ireland etc.), where likely doing it before that.

[@briancooley8777]

Of course they are. They are MORE gullible because they believe what authorities tell them. Science is a faith based system whether they realize that or not.

[@philipbuckley759]

I ask about this, to someone and he said...something to the effect of ….Kenny Greek....go figure..

[@christiantaylor9200]

Hello Pastor Mike. I am new to your channel. Is there a link to where I can ask a Scriptural question?

[@Dropaprayer]

Post it here, if it will be helpful he usually answers.

[@CliveChamberlain946]

Would be protagonist Cam appears a young gamer-atheist.. loves to ruffle feathers.

[@NaptownSubaru]

13:40 Weird that life expectancy is an argument. Look at current politicians or dictators doing vile things in their old age.

[@AlphaDogTech]

If I (for whatever reason) did not believe that the postal service existed, I’m pretty certain I would simply go on with my life, and not try to convince anyone else that the Postmaster General was a myth. However, I DO believe in God, and Jesus Christ, while Atheists cannot simply exist in their unbelief and let the world turn… Seems like they’re missing something, otherwise they simply wouldn’t care…

[@IsmaelLovecraft]

if you were an atheist, would you buy this guy's book, or read it if you could just borrow it? he just doesn't sound like he knows what he's talking about, and it's like he's remembering and doing a verbal book report on the highlights of a book that he read, and only partly remembers, when he was in high school.

[@christopher7725]

He was originally talking about the length of time it took to write the New Testament. Comparing the first part of the New Testament (the gospels) to the last one (being Revelation). His dating is incorrect, but I don’t think he was comparing mark to John

[@speedlearner]

Attic Greek was the language of the high ranking Greeks.

[@candeffect]

I'm sure any atheism book will not mention the fact that the people who would harm atheists would actualize atheistic thinking. Certainly not love your neighbor thinking and not saved people who repent.

[@Delgen1951]

Mike in the late nineties to early two thousands a tomb was opened in Jerusalem and in the bone box was found a heel bone of a man who had been crucified and the nail was still embedded in the heel bone it was bent over as if it hit a knot and bent into a "J" shape and could bot have been removed when the body was taken down. so we have the remains of someone who died on a cross and was buried. And you can find photos of the bone on line.

[@Truthster772]

Hey there Mike, slight criticism on your part. Normally it’s not hard to follow you in either your sermons, teachings and argument videos, however, in this particular video, I had a hard time following what you’re saying. Please keep yourself on point with your source, you perhaps stating that first, then offering explanation. So for example, the argument about the language/standard Greek of that time. Here’s the atheists perspective (keeping it brief) and here is where he gets it wrong from source (name source and then what they say) and then add any other thoughts after that. This particular video seems to be all over the place on fairly basic arguments that shouldn’t require too much extra in explanation.

[@feliperodriguez4187]

The blind leading the blind.

[@daltonbrasier5491]

Its crazy to think this guy is the head of community with millions of people and not one has ever fact checked him.

[@rodb66]

Why even debate these rebellious minded people? They're wise in their own mind so they will not take in true knowledge.

[@littleboots9800]

It's debating their assertions, not them. Many young people see their videos and it could sway them from their belief or prevent them from coming to belief in Christ. And it's really fascinating. I learn a lot!

[@rodb66]

@@littleboots9800 Well it does little good with the ones who are so lost in their own delusions that they can't see or understand anything spiritual. They always want fleshly proof of spiritual things.

[@littleboots9800]

@@rodb66 true, the likes of Jim Majors will probably not turn but at least it would give him a new found respect for the hard academic work that is put in by many pastors, biblical scholars etc in ancient languages, history, archaeological finds etc. On the one hand I'm shocked that he thought he could publish a book refuting biblical claims having clearly put in so little work, on the other hand it's indicative of average Christians who know so little of their own faith having been unable to challenge him in the past. When I hear atheists throwing out comments like "well why are you wearing mixed fibres and eating shellfish??" as if it's a 'gotcha,' I'm always stunned that a Christian hasn't been able to articulate a response to them before. We, (myself included!) need to do better, and I learnt a lot from this video. Whether they change their minds or not, at least they will know we are not dumb when they challenge us!

[@rodb66]

@@littleboots9800 There was a point two years ago that I was at a fallen state and entertained some of the humanists videos. I never stopped believing in the Most High but my rebellious liberal mind was looking for something to justify my sins. Thanks to God's mercy, I woke up from that big delusion and came back to the faith with greater understanding about a year ago. I was led to listen to some strong believers who know how to articulate the scriptures and apply to the what's going in the world today. This prompt me to start reading the scriptures myself. The weak argument these atheists make would never stand up to these men of spiritual knowledge.

[@Plexy347]

46:32 ouuuffff.. didn’t know Mike could be such a savage

[@mangiblotarinawabag4964]

LOL

[@lyndatracy6858]

I have not read through all 230 comments so I don't know if someone else may have pointed this out before! However, re: Christmas trees, check out the stories about St. Boniface, an early missionary to Germany believed by Catholics to be the instigator of the custom of Christmas trees, several hundred years before Martin Luther. One site is here, but that is only a start: www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/st-boniface-and-the-christmas-tree

[@mo-215]

This channel is amazing.....and....I still struggle and doubt. Why so many years before any accounts? It seems huge space for imbellishment and legend making and hyperbole. Humans can't get things right a week later much less decades later. I still really am uncomfortable with so many decades gone by for accuracy.

[@OppressedPotato]

It might help to consider the material they're righting about. If someone asked me about what I ate for breakfast five years later, I would have no idea. But if someone asked me about the time I met God and walked with Him for years, I would remember that 😅 Modern example: 9/11. Ask anyone who is alive today, 23 years after it happened, and they can tell you where they were standing when they heard the news

[@littlecatedward7737]

I think what happened with this guy is he didn't respect christianity enough to truly look into it with intent, and due to this, he made himself look like a fool.

[@midimusicforever]

Imagine if atheists would be consistent with their skepticism.

[@lizicadumitru9683]

Are Flavius Josephus writings historically strong or valid even? Not even talking about the interpolated Jesus passage.

[@inukithesavage828]

He thinks they had pine trees in the middle East. Lol And I've been to Italy. Never saw a pine tree there either.

[@Margatatials]

What about Lebanese pines?

[@markowusu6511]

See how cocky and confident he feels; asking people to crosscheck his facts---purporting to provide arguments and evidence that superficially may be construed as absolutely irrefragable --but when really 'put through the fire' don't hold much water.

[@markowusu6511]

@@lepidoptera9337 I wouldn't say that to a researcher with a PhD

[@georgeszweden9497]

My uncle says he can't believe the Bible because he doesn't believe 3 kings would visit baby Jesus. He also says he's read the Bible many many times.

[@DiggitySlice]

He says we should check his info for ourselves, yet he provides no sources. And even if he were sincere, it doesn't excuse the scoffing laced throughout and how casually he dismisses Christian claims with no evidence of his own. Him trying to make people doubt the Bible without doing proper research is irresponsible enough that he needs to repent.

[@BoiBoi-vx7pi]

Can you make a video on parables, or trinity or earth flath earth? Flat earth least important one i just want to see your point of view

[@powerdrunk6818]

this is the usual atheist tactic when "researching" cause my brother does the same thing as an atheist. they only look at sources that agree with them so of course all he sees is what he thinks proves the bible/Christianity wrong. For example my brother watches videos from Richard Carrier but I know he doesn't watch from anybody else so of course he starts to believe things that Richard says because he sees, hears and read from only one side. if he and other atheist actually do honest research and come in being objective, they would see the truth. doesn't mean they will choose God but will get them thinking but most don't want that because then they may have to make the tough choice of believing and that means someone to answer for. i can just imagine that he sees something that contradicts him and he just brushes it away. this is the usual ploy of the enemy, attacking God's Word. Satan did it as his first tactic with Adam and Eve and it was so effected. so why not continue.

[@camspiers]

It's great to hear that you read/listen to scholars argues for different positions in the field. What do you recommend reading from a Christian historian, and what is the best (even if flawed) book you have read from a non-Christian historian?

[@tweekyseagull]

I'm glad you like to view multiple source when getting down to the claims of these people. Can you direct us to a source outside of the Bible that corroborates the supernatural claims the Bible makes? Gotta make sure to research that really good before claiming Jesus is the Son of God and all.

[@powerdrunk6818]

tweekyseagull read Gary habermas on resurrection of Jesus. And j Warner Wallace books.

[@camspiers]

I've read Habermas' work on the resurrection. In particular, I've read his book with Licona. Is there are claim or argument in that book that you found unconvincing?

[@tweekyseagull]

Powerdrunk: I need to have something more contemporary. Gary is

[@misskim2058]

You’d think people would realize that some of the disciples could read and write, so...they’d have taken notes while walking with Jesus, and like any scholar, would condense, as John implied, what they learned into their respective Gospels. They weren’t just going by memory, they’d have notes, too. When Jesus told them not to bring anything along, it wasn’t to teach them to be poor and live like poor people, it’s because he intended to supply everything. Travel light, you’re walking with Jesus. IOW, he has your back and already said he’d meet ALL your needs. He wasn’t poor, nowhere does it say that Mary and Joseph were poor from a poor family, and he was given gold at birth and I’m pretty sure God would not have given him parents that would embezzle his money. And while the nativity is cute, they didn’t see him at the manger, they went to the house where he was living when he was older, from the way Herod killed the babies we’d say when he was two years old or less. And, when you gave gifts to a king, it wouldn’t have just been a little shoebox like we see in the nativity, they would’ve brought a lot of gold, especially since he was the king of kings, not just any king. And it never said they were only three of them, either. That would’ve been a lot and they would’ve come in an entourage. Remember, John said if they wrote down everything Jesus did, the world would not have room enough to hold all the books. So, they carefully chose examples of the broad range of things that we, as disciples, should also learn and do. Jesus told his disciples to do everything he did, and then he said to go make disciples of them all, which means everyone who follows after Jesus is supposed to be doing everything he did, remember, John said if they wrote down everything Jesus did, the world would not have room enough to hold all the books. So, they carefully chose examples of the broad range of things that we, as disciples, should also learn and do. Jesus told his disciples to do everything he did, and then he said to go make disciples of them all, which means everyone who follows after Jesus is supposed to be doing everything he did except for the crucifixion itself. John 14:12. The Gospels are not just some warm and fuzzy stories that are really neat to hear about Jesus and his disciples, they give us the range of what is possible. We know that distance doesn’t matter, how long someone has been dead doesn’t matter, that in an exorcism, some require fasting and prayer to get them out, but Jesus expected all of us to do this, not just sit and warm a bench in church every week and wait for him to return. We are all supposed to be doing everything he taught his disciples to do, which is why they condensed their notes into the 4 Gospels. So, we wouldn’t question a World War II veteran or a Vietnam veteran or any of the Middle East wars veterans and whether or not their notes from the war and their memories were valid. People just want to squirm out of it, their personal responsibility to listen and learn about God.

[@litigioussociety4249]

This guy's analysis of Christianity reminds of the woman who published a book about Kyle Rittenhouse a year later stating he shot two black men. It's one thing to read a bad source, and just blindly believe it, but I find it hard to believe the person is sincere when they publish the information in a book.

[@fukukyun78]

I like how he thought he came up with this great discovery that "The Bible was written in Koine greek, this disproves everything! lol, like Biblical scholars wouldn't have noticed that over hundreds of years and thought huh, why is this written in rich man greek? lol

[@CoolPaDuke]

All those first century Romans celebrating Christmas.

[@CLand-nl9mj]

Why do these guys never go after Islam. Why is only the , Christian faith?

[@IsmaelLovecraft]

John the Apostle, according to tradition, was the youngest Apostle and we don't have account of his death. He lived to be an old man. let's just assume that Jesus was born in 1 AD. John could've been fifteen when he began following Jesus, or twenty, so that he would've been born around 10 or 15 AD. like today, a small number of people lived to be 100 in the ancient world--Cicero's (divorced) wife married Strabo, the Roman geographer and historian. the Athenian tragedian Sophocles lived to be 90. so, chances are, John was probably alive when the Gospel that bears his name was written, and it being written, by him, or under his direction, when he was an old man, might explain what it has Jesus say: “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?" John 21:22. (Mormons believe that John is still alive!)