Paul the Greek god? Why Acts is History!
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- čas přidán 14. 08. 2024
- I'm continuing my series on how the Bible is backed up by history outside of the Bible. Here I look at Paul's trip to Lystra and Thessalonica.
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Book of Acts underrated fr.
This.
fr fr on god no cap, the book of rizz
Absolutely.
It’s one of those things where most people brushed off the sequel preferring the first one (Luke’s Gospel), but when you really appreciate Acts, it actually makes Luke’s Gospel stand out.
It's my favorite book personally, I love it ♥️
Skeptics literally expect the NT to be recorded by an iphone 15 and even then, they would be skeptical. The accuracy and detail that the NT gets right is really mind blowing to be honest. We take details like thos for granted since we have google. But to get details like this 2000 years ago??
The super vast majority of people don't have any intellectual concerns with Christianity. From my experience in apologetics, 90% of people are only skeptical because of a heart issue, like from a past hurt and so on.
they got a reprobate mind bro we just gotta pray we stay enlightened like king david said
@@emanrn says who that they have a reprobate mind?
Yeah its almost like if someone claims they're a god it requires extraordinary evidence to believe that, I have no problem believing Jesus and his apostles existed that should be obvious, its the whole him being a literal God thing that's a bit tough to swallow
The Bible could be written about events that happened yesterday and I would be skeptical.
Why?
Because somebody writing down that someone rose from the dead, is _not_ sufficient evidence to support the claim.
The extraordinary claims in the Bible are numerous, and that's all they are, _claims._
As a _rational_ skeptic, all I need to do is point out the flaws in what you present.
So, bring me whatever you want, I'll point out why it isn't sufficient to reach the conclusion it's true.
But promise me this, when I do, admit to it, don't just ignore it.
This is a God sent channel. Keep up with the ministry brother
Where is your evidence that this channel was sent by a god?
@@WhoThisMonkey I'm sure you know why FreddyNjuakom said such.
@@WhoThisMonkey it's in books found near the cities Ligma and Deez.
Paul and Luke were a lethal duo. I hope to have the honor of meeting them someday. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
im pretty sure you will in heaven
I am loving this new series.
God bless you, Erik. Keep up the work for the glory of God.
The glory of which god?
How do you know any god exists, let alone a specific one?
@@WhoThisMonkey I know for a fact that it's Jesus Christ. The Tested and proven biblical scripture demonstrates that Jesus Christ is God.
@@sabhishek9289
'Tested and proven biblical scripture.'
How was it tested?
You didn't answer the initial question, how do you know any god exists?
@@WhoThisMonkey We know that God exists when we see his fingerprints all over the universe.
If there was no God, there would be no design in nature. And no design means that whole scientific fields like biomimicry, biomechanics, biometrics, bioinformatics etc would be completely useless. Also the golden ratio that is seen everywhere throughout the universe won't exist.
We see design: engineering and architecture everywhere across the entire universe.
@@WhoThisMonkey "How was it tested?"
There are numerous cumulative scientific criteria for testing the gospels that are proven to be true:
1) Detailed information
2) Unexplained allusions
3) Unnecessary details
4) Undesigned coincidences
5) Local geographical places
6) Local geographical person names
7) Criteria of embarrassment
8) The case of forced fulfilled prophecy
9) Early dating
10) Authorship
11) Archaeology
12) Failed Messiah movement
Etc.
Not a christian nor theist, but this is some quality stuff my friend, subscribed and looking forward to more
This is going to be a good series.
Another faaaaat W from the Paleyan approach to apologetics.
I can also see the massive influence Tim McGrew has had on you. He's my favorite modern apologist, and his library of old books is excellent.
I dress up as Tim McGrew for Halloween he's my hero
When I was a child, my Christian mother forbade me from celebrating Halloween, she said it was 'devil worshipping.'
No sweets for me.
I am sorry to hear that ...@@WhoThisMonkey
@@justadude189
It's okay, I made up for it.
I eat too many sweets
@@WhoThisMonkey just be careful not to get diabetes.
I want to say, I'm liking this presentation style. I think there's a tendency to over long, under produced work. It's valuable to go through long livestreams, but small, punchy videos like this make a much stronger point that accumulates with increasing force each time a new video is released.
Barnabas must have been an imposing looking guy to be mistaken for Zeus.
Don’t know how you put these together, but this is just incredible. Thank you
So glad I stumbled onto your channel, this stuff is gold, thank you and keep doing what you are doing!
thanks for this video, excited for this topic here :)
You deserve millions of subscribers, I'm telling all my friends about you haha. Keep up the amazing work, God bless.
Thank you. I’ve learned so much from you. It would be great if you write a book or organize your videos in such a way that a skeptic can be taken through your arguments one video after the other that builds off each other.
check out Testimonies to the Truth by Lydia McGrew for something like this. Also for Acts, Jefferson White has a good book called Evidence and Paul's Journeys. Both of these are good intros.
Dwayne, some/all of his videos are organized in play lists.
When you say a skeptic, do you mean a rational skeptic, or just some easily led person?
@@WhoThisMonkey It sounds Dwayne is looking for some help. It sounds like you are being negative.
@@eugenetswong
Negative, no, not me.
I just understand people use the word skeptic without understanding what it means, and I was looking for clarification.
I’m learning about the book of Acts right now in Bible class
Just subscribed! Thank you for your videos, my dear brother in Christ Jesus ❤✝ May the Lord bless you and strengthen you!
Paul (or saul) was one of the best, he was high in Jewish hierarchy but left it all for jesus
So many valuable insights are presented here that we'd otherwise never know about - great stuff!
Beautiful exegetical work.
Agreed
@@matthew_scarbrough Thank you for the incorrection. Lol.
Historical criticism is one of the methods of performing exegesis. EISEGESIS however is reading *one's own opinions* into the text. The video is clearly not inserting opinions, but coming to understand what the text was about.
So, no. I stand by what I said.
This new series is great. Would love to see more.
Heard the intro automaticly subscribed to you. God be praised
I find extra-biblical accounts of the Bible’s authenticity to be super fascinating. I tried asking my atheist friend who studied history if there were any historical accounts relating to the Bible and he just said that the recordings of the monks were the places to look because apparently Jesus spent time with them before His ministry.
Your atheist friend could mean anything, Bhuddists are atheists.
Atheism just means a lack of belief in a god. 🤷🏼♂️
"If God real, why climate change ;("
Hahaha!
We are living in a fallen world/creation bro, ever since the first sin everything is getting worst and worst until everything is on fire and we ourselves will drive the rest of this world to its complete destruction...so hold on to something{or should i say Someone:AKA Jesus The messiah} cuz its gona get even worst than what you see now happening. Matthew 24...
he's kidding guys
@@TestifyApologetics Thought this was obvious, but they'll learn 🙂.
You got me so good, Testify had to show up to tell me I got got. Well played.
Great stuff brother! Thanks!
This is also strong evidence that the apostles did not write the New Testament for wealth, power or sex. From the sounds of it, in this scenario at least, they could've easily convinced the locals that they were indeed gods and lived the rest of their lives as such. Instead they deny the claims and set the crowd straight.
atheists look at the Churches now and think it has always been like that, when in reality those Churches are the fruits of thousands of years of labor from the faithful
I see testify video. I click. I like. THEN I watch. Great stuff
Intellectually founded ministry is my favorite kind. There's value in the emotion and the trust in God in the faith, but that stops a lot of people from taking the big leap into LEARNING as much as they can and it's why my favorite way to hear the gospel preached is the way in which I learn about the culture, region, and history that exists and takes place around the Bible because it brings the little details and the cultural disconnects together.
If you are interested in *_LEARNING_* have you considered studying the following subjects, logical fallacies, rational skepticism, epistemology, and standards of evidence?
These are required subjects to be able to reliably determine what is objectively true.
@@WhoThisMonkey Why no, my good sire, I never considered smart things. Why of course - I had only considered DUMB things. You have shown me the error of my ways and I am indebted to you for all eternity - oops I mean Darwinity. My mistake. Eternity is for those silly geese who don't believe in being smart, or verifying if things are true. I swear to Ape I will do better.
@@christcarscountry6870
If you believe a god exists, then you haven't studied any of those. 🤷🏼♂️
@@WhoThisMonkey Well you certainly have a well rounded argument lmao. "If you don't agree with me, then you don't know anything about anything!" very convincing am atheist now. happy?
@@christcarscountry6870
That isn't what's occuring here.
It's not about agreeing with me.
It's about having knowledge of critical subjects.
There is insufficient evidence for any god, and if you have learned about the aforementioned subjects, then you'll understand that evidence is required for belief to be rational and justified.
Amazing work man, keep it up ! I really hope that your videos will get more and more reach with time :)
Blessed and subscribed.
i just found your channel and i love this series!
fire yet again friend
Funny that i found this today. Around this week we study these verses in our worldwide stusy groups. The book we're using for study was originally published 2009, "Bearing Thorough Witness".
Thank you
Keep up the good work thanks
Testify, hey. Video was good and informative. However, could you put out a reference to the specific title of the city officials of Thessalonia that Acts mentions? Thanks. It would helpful.
@InHocSignoVinces40 Thanks. I appreciate it very much.
@InHocSignoVinces40Nice source!
Amen, that's AWESOME!
this channel is a treasure trove!!! so glad my youtube recommendations is finally figuring out my taste
Ephasians 6 5:9 to your liking?
Exodus 21?
@@WhoThisMonkey do you have a video on those passages?
@@elbiJewcanoe
I don't need one.
Do you agree with these passages?
Do they align with your own morality?
@@WhoThisMonkey I loathe slavery and bondage. I agree with those passages in the context of a less civilized time where slavery was commonplace. If people were gonna choose to have slaves/servants regardless I think regulation is the bare minimum. Righteous figures in the Bible had multiple wives, that doesn't make it moral but at least they were still getting married. Thoughts?
@@elbiJewcanoe
There's absolutely no excuse for owning humans as property, and you are attempting to excuse the Bible that actively promotes it.
You agree with 'slaves obey your earthly masters, even the cruel ones?'
What about the verses saying you can beat your slaves?
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you don't think these are acceptable or moral. It is irrelevant of the times they were written.
The Jesus character wasn't afraid to challenge the status quo of the time, yet he didn't once speak out against slavery, and even promoted it.
It is immoral to own a human as property, it does not matter what time period, it is and always will be.
I could be alive in that time and not have a problem with slavery, that doesn't make it moral.
It is immoral regardless, and those supporting it immoral alongside it. The Jesus character included.
If you personally see owning as humans as immoral, then your morality and the Bible's morality don't align, why is this?
'Righteous figures had multiple wives' if those wives were under a forced marriage, then these _characters_ were not righteous, they were immoral r*p**ts.
Other than that, there is nothing immoral about open relationships or poly relationships, as long as all parties involved are willing and not coerced.
Forced marriage is slavery, and it is still very popular in the middle east.
St Luke was there for much of it. That's why he says "we" did this or that.
Lots of information packed into less than 5 minutes of video, very impressive apologetics. That anecdotal story from Lysta that the gods came down to them in human form, looks like it backs up the gospels. Did not know that little tidbit even existed, but that's a real powerful testimony to the accuracy of scripture. You can be sure that the events of the bible were real, and very literal most of the time. People who always defer to biblical stories as "stories of stories" or as metaphors irritate me. It's very clear this all happened organically, and at this point any "skeptic" can be written off as ignorant of the facts.
Channel is pure gold, great stuff.
Amazing
Nailed it with this one
Love what you are doing. I am sorry to say that I would like you to do more. Can you please put any sources in the description so I can see any of the non-secular proof and cross reference your videos? Everything you make is some of the most intriguing stuff. Please keep up the good work.
Jefferson White Evidence and Paul’s Journeys
Colin Hemer The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History
@@TestifyApologetics thank you much!
if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
This is awesome
This is beautiful wauw! Brother any books that goes in depth in topics like this? And How do you understand the New Testament so beautiful i want to learn this
Thanks. See:
Jefferson White Evidence and Paul’s Journeys
Colin Hemer The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History
Thankyou so much🙏🏾
St. Luke is the GOAT historian no cap
Love your channel! Undesigned coincidence videos are cool! And I like your style. I am curious. Which video editing tool do you use?
I just use Canva nothing special
banger of a video brother wow
Yeah this shows that the books of the NT were written early, isn't just that Luke was knowing his stuff(even tho he did), but rather that is just historically acurate.
For me, i really like the way the gospel of Jhon is different from the other 3, this one being written 40 years after Jesus , being after the death of Peter and after the 2nd temple. In the gospel of Matthew and Mark, when Peter cuts of the ear of an roman solider, the gospels don't mention the name Peter, it was just one of the guys there, we don't know who. This was to protect Peter's identity to not be killed by romans or at the order of the jewish priests. But like i said, in jhon, we can see that he mentions his name, not being necesary to hide him anymore, bcs 2nd temple judaism falls and also like i said Peter died.
It's not at all established fact when John's gospel was written (apart from the usual debunked argument of "vaticinia ex eventu"). In fact most of the gospel has probably been written in the 40's of the first century and before the destruction of the temple. It's not quite obvious when the finished gospel was published though. But it's not that "late gospel with Greek influences and without historical value" like some of German scholars thought a long time ago. There were in fact two rather well written attempts to argue for John's gospel being earlier than the synoptic gospels. One by John A. T. Robinson and the other by German scholar Klaus Berger.
@@MrSeedi76Do you really think John was written before Mark & Matt?
Pretend like you're on a polygraph, or that your life depended on it, and answer honestly. :]
A pre-Mark dating of John just seems to me like one of those curious contrarian positions that, at the end of the day, is just plain unsupportable. I don't assert this as a skeptic, not at all. I'm someone who loves Jesus my Saviour. But after spending many years studying the canonical gospel books and the linguistic development surrounding them, I really don't know how anyone could reasonably come to this conclusion. (With all due respect)
Why do you believe this? And why is this idea important to you?
~
On a related subject: what is your favorite of the four gospel books? And why?
@@AnHebrewChild No, i said that John was written after them
@@worldexposed7 right! And happy to hear it. My question was to the commenter tho ("MrSeed76") :]
This is awesome! As someone who's new to studying the historical background of the Bible, was the writer of Acts not in the area that was written? (Because one could argue that he got the facts accurate simply because he is familiar with the area)
It's possible but not plausible given the wide range of his travels and the shipwreck I discuss in another video. And his familiarity with Paul's travels we see in Paul's letters, without dependence on Paul's letters. I discuss this in my undesigned coincidences playlist. It's a cumulative case.
Does story of undertake backs bible?
Hey brother in Christ, which software do you use to create this kind of animation? Davinci resolve? AE?
It's like thinking that The Flash is the best superhero. Has to be some weird regional thing
I think you should change the title, it reads as if its saying there’s isn’t much evidence. Great video just confusing title.
Thanks I think you're probably correct
Glory to God
So.... the Christianity is true? Always has been.
Gold.
Muslims in Indonesia, especiallya in the name of Dondy Tan said smth like this "of course Christians deify Jesus, because in Paul's story he himself being called Zeus & Hermes. So Christians is adopting pagan beliefs in many gods". How to respond?
Tell them that the logic is dumb. The pagans assumed they were their gods, but the Apostles corrected them.
To those who actively oppose the scriptures, they don't know what they're missing!
Are you a fan of Erasmus?
The Narrow Gate
13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[f] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.
The Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
True Disciples
21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
W
You act like he had to research he didn't the accounts of our peoples that were there is what they wrote off. For the ones that weren't there. See our peoples don't document anything or call it a fact unless 2 or 3 people have witnessed it. So sayeth our Father. Its people today that have to research because they know not what they see. Ayo Hawwah Great Spirit Bless.
Did paul ever ASK to be worshipped, he said not to worship him
Acts is legit!
Revelation 12:17
New International Version
17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring-those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus
During the commotion, didn't the Lycaonians call Luke Spiderman also?
@@TestifyApologeticsI thought my comment was humorous, but after reading it with your reply, I discovered I sounded like Paulogia! But truth be told I am in awe and is blessed by the work you are putting forth. Thank you Sir Manning.
Unfortunately many Christian’s still worship Paul
At least we don't worship a "god" who plagiarizes Paul. 😂😂😂
1 Corinthians 2:9
But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
Hadith Qudsi 37
Allah said: I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen and no ear has heard, not has it occurred to human heart. Thus recite if you wish (1): And no soul knows what joy for them (the inhabitants of Paradise) has been kept hidden (Quran Chapter 32 Verse 17).
Sahih Bukhari 3244
Allah's Messenger said, "Allah said, "I have prepared for My Pious slaves things which have never been seen by an eye, or heard by an ear, or imagined by a human being." If you wish, you can recite this Verse from the Holy Qur'an:--"No soul knows what is kept hidden for them, of joy as a reward for what they used to do." (32.17)
😂 😂 😂
Nope
❤
Knowing regional facts and details does not equal = miracles happened, these reports are accurate.
It just shows the author was informed about things. And he doesn't even need to have been there, he could have heard it from other people.
The quran mentions real places, did everything there happened?
Have you read the Quran?
@@TestifyApologeticsHe evidently hasn't. Otherwise he wouldn't have made such a blunder. 😂😂😂
Hi, can you mention some reputable scholars which agree on the reliability of the bible? People are telling that “All reputable scholars agree that the bible is corrupted.”
That's Muslim copium
all reputable scholars agree that it's not tho
@@TestifyApologeticshi there! Love your videos. Can you explain with agree? Many scholars are atheists still, so would they agree only with historical in this case? Isn’t Bart Erhman a critic in both cases?
@@joemiller5922I think you may be thinking they're all atheists because you're only looking on CZcams. Those scholars are here because what else would an atheist biblical scholar do. When I was in grad school I'd see phd's working at Starbucks because they couldnt get teaching positions. Now they have CZcams to profess their disdain. Now I'm not sure what could be less productive in life than getting a phd in the Bible as an atheist. Most of the ones I've seen were atheists before grad school. They'd be better served getting a degree in something they believe in. But hey. Do you.
@@TestifyApologetics I am sorry if I am wasting your time but can you name some of them?
These are interesting details. They definitely show that the author of Luke knew accurate facts about various places he mentioned in Paul’s itinerary. But by themselves, they don’t make the other material any more or less likely to be accurate. Such details are a necessary but not sufficient criterion for the truth of Acts as a narrative.
It’s definitely possible that the author of Acts was a traveling companion of Paul on his journeys or asked Paul for details. But it’s also possible that he used his own experience in the region, or information - written or verbal - from some third party source to give illustrative detail to his narrative. The existence of these details alone doesn’t give us grounds to say what’s true here.
stay tuned sir, I have a video addressing this in the very near future.
Christians today still worship Paul. Puting his words above the rest of the Bible and taking his words out of context or lacking it entirely.
If you reject Paul, you’ll also have to reject Peter’s epistles which called it scripture. Oh and Luke’s gospel too cos he wrote acts and mentions Paul. The students of the 12 apostles, St Clement of Rome wrote Paul was an example of endurance. St Polycarp who studied under John the apostle called Paul’s letter to the Ephesians scripture. So long as it’s read in context it’s scripture. But if you’re one of those people who says we are still under the law, read the end of Luke’s gospel, where Jesus says He fulfilled everything.
@@agape832 you you worshiped Paul you'll never make it to heaven.
The Paul hate on the internet is seriously getting old. The dude met with the apostles, who fully endorsed his Gospel and trusted him to gather the offering for the Jerusalem saints. They believed Jesus personally called him. No one out there is worshiping Paul. We value his letters because they're the words of an apostle sent by Jesus Christ, and they offer insight and guidance for the churches and are part of God's holy word.
@@TestifyApologetics people are out there worshipping Paul like there are people out there worshipping Mary.
Most Christians take Paul's word without context to justify their falling away from actual biblical law's. I'm not hating on Paul I just don't take his words out of context nor worship him like most other do
@@TestifyApologetics also his letter where translated and cherry picked by the church when deciding on what to add to the Bible. So understanding what Paul's messages mean takes a firm foundation in the old testament. Because nothing Paul says is actually contradictory to the rest of the book when in context, including the Law (Torah).
How can anyone prove that the world was really created in 6 days as it is written in the Bible?
sorry, but this is off topic. My channel just isn't dedicated to the age of the earth or the universe. If Jesus rose from the dead and the earth is old, Christianity is true. If the earth is 6000 years old, and Jesus is dead, Christianity is false. This isn't an issue I really have much energy for.
The first three "days" of creation have no sun or moon. So how are they "days"?
I don't think the text was intended to be read literally from a human understanding. A day to God is likely completely different than a day to man. But also, even if it were a literal seven days, we're talking about God here. He could make the whole world in one day if he wanted.
@@TestifyApologetics ok no problem
@@ryanpowell9003 you're probably right
@@ejajafrozarb Genesis 1 shouldn't be taken literally. Even the first Saints didn't interpret it that way.
The Bible supports owning humans as property.
Ephasians 6 5:9.
Why promote such a book?
whataboutism
@@TestifyApologetics
That's an evasion.
Is owning humans as property immoral, yes or no?
@@WhoThisMonkeyAccording to the book of the law, it is immoral to buy or sell stolen slaves. You are punished if you beat them to death. If you damage their eye or knock out their tooth, they go free. We must be careful not to conflate it with the brutality of the slavery in the Americas.
Is it moral to make a man work 10+ years to pay off their student loan? Is it moral to make a man pay the government a percentage of all his income under the threat of arrest? Do you support your government despite them owning humans as property each with their own identification number? Our freedom is an illusion. The borrower will always be a slave to the lender. We have just grown out of hard physical labor being the main source of income but the same laws of bond servitude still apply to people to this day. Only difference is we don’t get freed from out debts every seven years like we should per the Bible.
@@danz4z1011
Heard it all before.
You don't need paragraphs of text, to get to the crux of the issue.
Is owning humans immoral, yes or no?
@@WhoThisMonkey It's not moral. And hey...Slave system isn't created by God. You may say 'He encouraged it' this and that but if you really look the whole bible instead of taking out a single line of word out of context, Slave system is a thing that was already existed because of the fall of man from his sins. but there are two kind of 'slaves' someone who is forced to do something like the Americans did in the old days...The second one is as a 'worker' or 'Servant' who will serve the master without a force(like we have it still in the present day). Then if we call them slaves...we will call normal "Office workers" slaves or house security a slave for there bosses. The translation missed some point right there. In my local language, that verse's more like a "servant" rather that the modern translation of "slave" if you understand what I mean. If we really bout to translate that verse into the modern world translation then we could have get something like "Workers please obey and respect your bosses not because they will give you and arrange your salary but because you respect and serve God too." and here the bible is in-between these two subjects(Servants and the Bosses) to erase any hate between them but encouraging honesty and loyality between the two.
Very very good video. Im amazed!