When discussing the historical reliability of the Bible, a common complaint that comes up on the internet is the idea that Jesus might not even be a historical figure. In this series of the podcast, we've been looking at challenge against the New Testament, and the idea of the Jesus Myth fits nicely into that category. Joining me again is Wes Huff. We take a look at a couple of the most popular Jesus Mythicists; Richard Carrier, and Robert Price. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontoppi...
Nov 09, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 20
A common question people have about the Bible is, why are these the books that made the cut? Who were the people that chose which books made it into the Bible, and what kind of criteria did they use? What about the books that didn't make it? To answer these questions and more, we are once again joined by Wesley Huff, who is an apologist with Power to Change. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. For more from Wesley Huff, check...
Oct 24, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 19
To continue evaluating criticisms against the New Testament, we take a look at Bart Ehrman, who is one of the most prominent New Testament skeptics in the world. Famous for casting doubt on the reliability of Scripture, Ehrman has published many books on New Testament studies, and is definitely someone we should learn more about if we are to adequately respond to challenges against the Christian faith. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and o...
Oct 08, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 18
For our new series, we will be looking at some of the strongest arguments against the New Testament. For this episode, we invite Wesley Huff to join us and discuss the different problems we find in the manuscripts of the New Testament books. Some find it terribly upsetting to learn that there are problems and errors in some of the manuscripts of the New Testament books. Does that defeat the New Testament as being the Word of God? Is the New Testament no longer able to be considered inerrant then...
Sep 25, 2020•43 min•Season 1Ep. 17
For the past few weeks on the podcast we've been learning how to study the Bible for ourselves. I thought I would take a week to go through the steps I've been talking about with a specific passage, so that you can see how the process works. Hopefully you find this a helpful example of how to read the Bible, and get the most out of the process. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is fou...
Sep 14, 2020•18 min•Season 1Ep. 16
This week I had the treat of interviewing Dr. Ben Shin, who was my professor for Hermeneutics while I was in my grad studies. We discuss cultural context, how to step outside of our biases, and techniques for discerning when something is just a cultural difference versus when it's a moral issue. Check out more from Jon Topping at https://www.jontopping.com/
Aug 30, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 15
The major problem people run into when reading the Bible is when they hit the books filled with laws. In this episode, apologist Jon Topping takes a look at how to appreciate the genre of law, and then finishes up by looking at a few extra tools to help appreciate the literary context of the passages we study. Republished with permission. Original found at https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/ultimate-questions/literary-tips-to-the-bible-gRqTN5KH7zy/...
Aug 29, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 14
One of the main sources of people pointing out contradictions in the Bible comes from poetry in the Bible. The person will find some poetic verse that "contradicts" another verse, and say that this means the Bible can't possibly be from God. The problem is, there hasn't been an appreciation for the genre in the literary context of the verse. In this episode, apologist Jon Topping looks at a few of the poetic genres in Scripture, so that we can better understand these sometimes difficult passages...
Aug 29, 2020•23 min•Season 1Ep. 13
A crucial element to understanding any book is to know what the genre is. Imagine trying to read some modern popular book series about wizards, but you believe these are historical books. Or, imagine reading the news, but thinking it's an SNL skit. In this episode, apologist Jon Topping begins a new our look at the genres in the Bible, evaluating both historical narrative and epistle as genres we need to understand to get the most out of Scripture. Republished with permission. Original found at ...
Aug 29, 2020•16 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Ever wonder why Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and not a horse? Or why slavery in the Bible is different than we think of it? A common theme you'll hear from a lot of pastors and theologians is that, in order to understand a piece of Scripture, context is everything. In this episode, apologist Jon Topping looks at historical context, and how it can help us better understand what we read in the Bible. Republished with permission. Original found at https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/ultimat...
Aug 29, 2020•16 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Beginning a new series on how to study Scripture, apologist Jon Topping goes into some helpful tips on how to get started reading the Bible. Republished with permission. Original found at https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/ultimate-questions/how-to-read-your-bible-0KMh-STBYc9/
Aug 29, 2020•17 min•Season 1Ep. 10
What if differences in Gospel accounts actually favoured their reliability? In today’s episode of Ultimate Questions, apologist Jon Topping looks with a detective’s eye at some apparent Gospel contradictions. Republished with permission. Original found at https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/ultimate-questions/the-human-element-of-scripture-JTPCm2rLjA1/
Aug 29, 2020•17 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Names, dates, and places are usually the more boring side of history. However, in this episode, apologist Jon Topping shows us how some of these details found in the New Testament can actually help us evaluate whether the people writing these accounts were actually present for what they're describing. In other words, were they really eyewitnesses? Here, we get to see another example of why we should have confidence in the eyewitness testimonies of the writers of the New Testament. Republished wi...
Aug 29, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Are the Gospels actually written by the people whose names are attached to them? How early are the Gospels? In this episode, apologist Jon Topping begins to look at whether the Gospels are pseudepigraphal, or whether they are written by their namesakes. Republished with permission. Original at https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/ultimate-questions/new-testament-authorship-an-gjGxmP1tcIU/...
Aug 29, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 7
There is debate as to whether the Gospels and other New Testament books were written by eyewitnesses. In this episode apologist Jon Topping looks at some of the reasoning as to why we should consider these books to be eyewitness testimony, and that this gives them added credibility. Republished with permission. Original found at https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/ultimate-questions/eyewitness-testimonies-wicENYG6gAx/...
Aug 29, 2020•14 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Three new methods of historiography to look at. The motivation of the writers is crucial to seeing whether they're trustworthy. Other parts of history don't make much sense, so if we can find reasons for it, that helps us see it as worthy of believing. Lastly, when something doesn't match up to the cultural norm, that gives us a reason to think it's legitimate. Republished with permission. Original found at https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/ultimate-questions/historiography-3-motivation--mDrc...
Aug 29, 2020•22 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Continuing our examination of how to study history, apologist Jon Topping takes a look at three new methods. How the enemies of a view can accidentally support it, how the original languages help, and how multiple sources for a piece of info work for us. Reposted with permission. Original found at https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/ultimate-questions/historiography-2-enemy-215aOXMP4gt/...
Aug 29, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Historiography is the study of how we go about doing history. Timing, coherency, and embarrassment are three historiographical methods used to determine the reliability of a document’s content. In this episode, apologist Jon Topping uses these methods to help us study the historicity of the New Testament. Republished with permission. Original found at https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/ultimate-questions/historiography-1-early-OwyTnH_KJC0/...
Aug 29, 2020•17 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Why bother putting your faith in a 2,000-year-old book written by fishermen? In this episode, apologist Jon Topping looks at some reasons to think the books written in the first century about Jesus are actually reliable. Reposted with permission. Original found at https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/ultimate-questions/the-reliability-of-the-new-0jMHcWrChe2/
Aug 29, 2020•12 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Apologist Jon Topping introduces the topic of the podcast - the believability and basics of the Christian faith. He tells us his personal story about how he started studying the reasonableness of Christianity, and became convinced that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. Republished with permission. Original found at https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/ultimate-questions/why-do-i-believe-RqyhxM52nIX/ ....
Aug 29, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 1
