Q. The Bible claims that man was made from the dirt, which leaves no room for evolution from apes. But what about the rest of the species? Is it possible that Noah had every kind of animal, meaning every kind of animal from which today’s species evolved?
Apologetically, most evangelicals believe in micro evolution (as opposed to macro evolution)…minor variations that have and are happening as the years go by.  The bible probably doesn’t speak to this issue, but does reference the migration of mankind (the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth…who their descendants were…and where they geographically gravitated to, and how they developed ethnically, Genesis 10).

As people transitioned ethnically, animals went through micro transitions as well.  But the basic types of animal life that were created by God from the beginning of human history, was established and recorded in Genesis Chapter 2.

Q. Why were the dinosaurs not in the bible?
Although the bible does not use the specific word “dinosaur”, scripture does reference two unusually huge creatures that fit the description:
Behomoth
Job 40:15-19 “behemoth” (Hebrew: בַּהֲמוֹת bĕhemowth): large, land quadrupeds.

Notice the discription…
Verse 16 “his strength is in his hips”
Verse 17 “He moves his tail like a cedar” (elephant, hippos, etc. have little tails)
Verse 18 “His bones are like beams of bronze”
Verse 19 “He is the first of the ways of God” (Core creation of God, not a mutation?)
Leviathan
Job 41:1, 2 “leviathan” (Hebrew: לִוְיָתָן, livyathan) slithering animal, serpent , dragon, any very large aquatic creature

Notice the description…
Verse 1 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, or snare his tongue with a line which you lower”
Verse 2 “Can you put a reed through his nose, or pierce his jaw with a hook?” (Would the answer be “no” because leviathan is too large?)
Psalm 104:26 “There the ships sail about, that leviathan, which you have made to play there” (Large bodies of water where ships sail…that is where leviathan habitation is)
Isaiah 27:1 “Leviathan that twisted serpent, and he will slaythe reptile that is in the sea”
God’s Greatness On Display
Remember, the bible is not simply an encyclopedia meant to document every detail of every creature and event in history. It is more importantly an historical account of God’s creation, human history, our fall into sin, and God’s rescue mission for his creation through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. And with everything God created, there is a purpose. Regarding these large creatures mentioned above, the contexts seem to operate around the premise of these creatures reflecting the greatness and competency of God.

Q. There are many inconsistencies between the different gospels.  How do you account for them?  Doesn’t that prove that they are inherently wrong?
Clarifying Terms
First, we have to clarify what is meant by the word “inconsistencies.”  If by this we mean that one Gospel might include details which another omits, then really this question is a non-issue.  Whenever you have multiple reports of a single event, there will always be variances in details, yet the essential facts of the matter (if the witnesses are authentic) remain the same.

In fact, the subtle distinctions within the Gospels amount to simply more evidence for their factuality.  If the Gospels were exactly the same, the claim would be leveled that the writers conspired to produce four uniform books, without independently checking their facts.  Any historian is immediately skeptical when reviewing separate accounts of an event which are exactly the same.

Realistically, all of us understand this.  If two students submit book reviews which address exactly the same sections and passages within the same book (with no variances in perspective or content) the professor will immediately be suspicious that they did not research the material themselves, but instead collaborated.

Consider the conclusion of Harvard Law professor Simon Greenleaf on the variances within the Gospels: “There is enough of a discrepancy to show that there could have been no previous concert among them; and at the same time such substantial agreement as to show that they were all independent narrators of the same great transaction.”*
Contradictions?
The real intent of this question is most likely to bring up alleged “contradictions” within the Gospels.  While the answer to that allegation would be better found in the scores of books and online resources written to address it, it should be noted that supposed “contradictions” in the Gospels (or the entire Bible for that matter) have been raised and refuted for about the last 1,500 years.  By this point, there are no new objections left to raise.  The moderators of this forum invite further questions pertaining to specific passages which might be considered contradictions.

_______________________
*Greenleaf, Simon. The Testimony of the Evangelists. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984).

Q. The Bible is just a collection of letters and documents written by men.  How do we know that what they are writing is true? Does any scientific evidence exist to prove their validity?

Even if the Bible was just a collection of letters and documents that were written by men, it would be one of the most cohesive, unified, and historically accurate literary works ever compiled. The concept of 40 authors compiling information over the course of 1600 years to produce a literary work that is so consistent with itself is a literary wonder. No other book ever written can boast such consistency, comprehensiveness, and accuracy.

The Internal Test

The first step to take is to look at the Bible internally. What does it say about itself? Well, it says that “scripture” is literally God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). It also says that its words never came by the will of man, but by holy men of God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). It also claims to be perfect (the Law of the Lord is perfect – Psalm 19:7), pure (Your Word is very pure – 119:140), eternal (the Word of the Lord endures forever – Isaiah 40:8), and that God is preserving it (till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled – Matt. 5:18). Through the use of oral tradition (an ancient way of meticulously and carefully passing information along verbally) and manuscripts (written methods), God used holy men to be his stenographers.

Prophecy is also something that is evident in Scripture as well. Many things were written about in the Old Testament that wouldn’t happen for hundreds and sometimes over a thousand years. Some examples to note are: Isaiah 7:14 tells us that “Immanuel” will be born of a virgin. 700 years later, Matthew 3;14 records that event transpiring; Micah 5:2 tells us that Jesus will be born (out of the all the cities in the world) in Bethlehem some 700 years later. Matthew 2:1 once again confirms this fact that Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem.
The External Test
Next, one should look at external evidence of the Bible. Many people, even though they are presented with sound argumentation regarding the Bible’s internal proof, need more than that.

Historians who lived in Jesus’ day wrote about the events that centered around Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. For example, there are some that dispute the Jewish historian Josephus’ claims regarding Jesus but it is documented that he said in his work The Antiquities of the Jews…
“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.”
Josephus was born in 37 AD which makes him a contemporary of the early church Apostles. Seeing as though Josephus writes about the events that the entire Bible center around, and that he was an outsider (meaning he did not believe that Jesus was God, the Messiah, or the Son of God) leads one to deduce further that the Biblical authors were on to something and in fact inspired by God to write down what they did.

More external evidence lies in the historical names, dates, and locations of the Biblical stories. For example, Cyrus, the king Persia in the 6th century BC, is a historical figure who is mentioned more than 20 times in Scripture. Isn’t it also an interesting fact that the Bible was written in languages that are still spoken today? Many of the ancient languages are not spoken today but Hebrew and Greek are two that stood the test of time. Probably not a coincidence.
The Bibliographical Test
Finally, one should look at the Bible from a bibliographical stand point.
There are over 20,000 ancient Biblical manuscripts that exist today. No other ancient book can make that claim. In fact, the closest that a book comes to the number of manuscripts is Homer’s Illiad, in which there are 643 copies.

With the Dead Sea Scroll findings in the Qumran caves in the winter of 1946-47, there is more bibliographical evidence than ever before. Manuscripts were found that were dated before the time of Christ…these same manuscripts, such as an entire copy of Isaiah, foretell the coming of Jesus, which validates the prophetic nature of the Great Scroll (as it is called), which (as was alluded to) was written over a hundred years before Jesus even walked the earth.

There is so much more proof that can validate the validity of the Bible but in the end, it is a matter of doing the research ourselves in order to come up with further answers. This answer is not the comprehensive end-all, be-all to why the Bible is true in every way. We encourage you, our readers to do your own research and come to your own conclusions, because we believe in truth. We believe that it has been revealed to mankind. And we believe that it is possible to find clear answers.

Q. Why do people say God is “loving” when he actually commanded Abraham to kill his own son as a sacrifice to him? How is that loving?
Viewed holistically, the story of Abraham’s life is one of the Old Testament’s greatest examples of God’s undeserved lovingkindness toward humanity. God chose this obscure man from a region of nature worshippers, and called him to become the patriarch of the Israelite nation. To understand the (near) sacrifice of his son Isaac, it must be looked at in the context of Abraham’s life from start to finish.
Before He Was Abraham
Abraham (then “Abram”, meaning “exalted father”) was born in a Babylonian city called Ur, in what is today southern Iraq. His inglorious ancestry and obscure history make him a very unlikely candidate to be the father of the Israelite nation. Yet, in Genesis 12:1 God initiates the relationship which would lead to Abram’s honored place in Biblical history.

“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
The Unlikely Birth of Isaac
Isaac himself was the product of God’s loving, miraculous intervention in the life of Abraham and his wife Sarah. In Gen 17:15, he tells Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her.” Abraham laughed at God’s words (an understandable reaction, as he was nearly one hundred years old, and Sarah was ninety). But sure enough, Sarah conceived shortly after, and Isaac (whose name means “he laughs”) was born.
The (Near) Sacrifice
Genesis 22 is the account of God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. “Take your son,” he says, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Abraham rises early in the morning, and on the third day of travel, they reach the mountain. Abraham lays the wood for the offering on Isaac’s shoulders, and asks his servants to remain behind. When Isaac asks where the lamb to be sacrificed is, Abraham simply responds, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” After Abraham binds Isaac, and is about to “slaughter him,” God stays his hand: “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me” (Gen 22:12).

Several objections may now be raised. First, did God not know Abraham feared Him before the near sacrifice of Isaac? The simple answer is that He of course knew Abraham’s fear (or holy reverence) of Him. God did not learn anything, as if it were new information to Him. The real beneficiary of the incident was Abraham himself, who gained a new understanding of God’s providence, to the point that He named that very spot “The Lord will provide” (22:14).

Second, any objection that God was simply toying with Abraham in some cruel, sadistic way should be thwarted by examining the previous points, but also by remembering a much more familiar incident in the pages of the New Testament. There, God placed on Himself the same requirement He asked of Abraham. Laying the wood for the sacrifice on the shoulders of His only Son, He led Jesus to the hill where He would be sacrificed (it is possibly the same hill where Abraham led Isaac). The difference is that God did not stay His own hand, but again provided the sacrificial lamb “who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

Q. Should hell as described in the Bible be taken literally? How about children and hell?

Hell as described in the Bible should definitely be taken literally. Why? Because of the literal, and not symbolic nature of the terms that are used in the Bible.
Jesus Took It Literally
When Jesus talked about “hell” he used the expression translated in Greek as geenna (or gehenna).  It is a contraction of “ge” valley and “Hinnom” (which means sorrow in Hebrew).

The Old Testament refers to this same place that Jesus mentions as Tophet (Heb. the place of burning bodies, the place of fire) in Is 30:33 and Jer 7:31.  It was a literal place where people burned their children as sacrifices to Molech, the hideous god of the Ammonites. (2 Chron 28:3).

This was all done in the Valley of Hinnom, out side of the dung gate of Jerusalem.  So Jesus would look at this place on the southeast end of the city of Jerusalem as he would talk about future judgment, where the smoke continually rose from burning trash and dead animals full of maggots…and he would say: “cast into geenna fire that never shall be quenched, where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched” Mark 9:43, 44, 46, and 48 (he just kept repeating this for emphasis).

Matt 10:28 “destroy both soul and body in geenna” – Jesus speaks to His disciples about the extent of the punishment (soul and body). Rev 19:20 tells us that the beast and false prophet “both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone (flashing sulfur).” Rev 20:10 tells us that “tormented day and night for ever and ever” is the descriptive result.
Q. How about children and hell?
If one understands the Bible, then regarding this issue, one must think that there is some sort of theology of accountability. Romans 10:9 says that in order to be saved, one must “confess with (their) mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in (their) heart that God has raised Him from the dead.”

As we know, this is not possible for children under a certain age as well as those who suffer from certain mental disabilities. We see evidence of this in 2 Samuel 12:23 where David says after losing his infant son whom Bathsheba birthed: “I shall go to him.”

Q. Does being a devoted Christian guarantee you will go to heaven?
To answer this question we have to define what you mean when you say “being a devoted Christian.” Do you mean someone who is devoted to going to church and claiming to be a Christian to others? Or do you man someone who reads his or her bible constantly? What does a devoted Christian look like to you?

If by devoted Christian, you mean the biblical definition of a Christian, then the short answer to your question is, “Yes, you will go to heaven.” But let’s look at how the bible, God’s word, defines being a Christian.
Repentance and Faith
In the book of Mark, Jesus tells the public to “repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15). The word to repent in the Greek means to literally “change your mind”. It simply implies that all of us, no matter who we are or where we come from, have done things wrong in our lives. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

(Romans 3:23). None of us are perfect. But God actually IS perfect. So we have fallen short of his standard. To repent means to feel truly sorry for the things we’ve done wrong and that we want to change our lives and our way of thinking.

To believe in the Gospel means to believe in the “good news” literally. What is the “good news”? According to 1 Corinthians 15 it is that God himself came into human history (that’s Jesus) lived a perfect life that we couldn’t live, died the death we should have died, was buried in a tomb, and three days later raised himself from the dead. Jesus wants you and I to believe that actually did that as recorded in history and that he actually is God.
Jesus as Lord
Acts 20:21 tells us to have “repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” So we must not only repent and believe that Jesus is God (like he said he was), but we must now make him the “Lord” of our lives, the manager if you will. We do what HE says and live for HIM, not ourselves. The bible reminds us that even the demons believe that Jesus is God (Luke 4:34) but that doesn’t get them to heaven.
We Can’t Earn Our Way
This is what the bible teaches about becoming a Christian. Repent and have faith in Jesus. Then and only then can you be assured a spot in heaven. We can never “work” to get to heaven, or be “good enough”. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that “by grace you have been saved, through faith. And this is not of your own doing. It is a gift of God, not a result of works. So that no one may boast.”

Basically you and I can’t be “devoted” enough to get to heaven. Just going to church or believing that God exists isn’t how we are saved. God freely gives that gift to those who repent and believe. We can however, spend the rest of our lives in devotion and pursuit of the things of God and what he calls us to.