Questions tagged [extra-biblical]
For questions asking for evidence from secular historical records or archaeology which corroborate the Bible
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What extrabiblical arguments do Christians employ (i.e., utilize in apologetics) to defend the existence of spirits or souls?
According to the 2020 PhilPapers Survey results, when asked about their stance on Consciousness: identity theory, eliminativism, functionalism, dualism, or panpsychism?, only 20.98% leaned towards or ...
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How did literature contemporaneous to the New Testament understand the "Second Death"?
The term "second death" appears four times in Scripture, all in Revelation (all NKJV, emphasis added):
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes ...
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Forgiveness and its first references [closed]
Forgiveness is a great 'action' concept that God came up with. For a stable society as mentioned in the comments. The idea is very interesting & useful. However, that does predate the Bible. ...
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Extra-biblical evidence of "Joshua's long day" and "Hezekiah’s sign"?
Joshua 10:12–14 describes that
the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down the space of one day.
Victor Warkulwiz, Universe without Space and Time, ch. 2 claims
Joshua’s ...
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Arguments Supporting the Beatitude of Jonah?
The prophet Jonah is a recognized saint in the Catholic Church and venerated as a saint among other denominations, too. In scripture, when Old Testament figures sin mortally and then repent and are ...
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Has any reputable Christian claimed to have been physically visited by Jesus Christ Himself after Paul's conversion?
According to Acts chapter 9, Paul was visited by the risen Christ -- the well-known "Road to Damascus" encounter. Has any other Christian, of good repute, claimed to have experienced a ...
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Do Cessationists reject Lee Strobel and Craig S. Keener's books collating modern-day miracle reports?
By books collating modern-day miracle reports I concretely mean Lee Strobel's book The Case for Miracles: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for the Supernatural (amazon link) and Craig S. Keener's ...
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Are there any sources other than Acts 2 reporting Xenoglossy during the first centuries of Christianity?
Xenoglossy, the ability to suddenly speak a language one has never learned or studied, is reported to have taken place at Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. Are there any other independent sources that ...
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Are there any extra-biblical documented instances of the gift of interpretation of tongues in the history of the Church?
The gift of interpretation of tongues is mentioned in chapters 12 and 14 of the apostle Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians:
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another ...
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When was it claimed for the first time that Christians could "pray in tongues" in private for self-edification?
Very simple question: in the history of Christianity, when was it claimed for the first time (outside of the Bible, to avoid exegetical controversies, please) that the gift of tongues could be used in ...
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Is there any historical evidence that the supernatural gifts of the Spirit were still in operation after the apostolic age?
Once the apostolic age finished with the death of the apostles, is there any evidence that the supernatural gifts of the Spirit (e.g., tongues, prophecy, words of knowledge, healing, miracles, etc.) ...
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Are there published testimonies from people who had experiences with the Christian God of which they had no prior knowledge?
More restrictive version of the question:
Has the Christian God ever revealed Himself to someone who had never heard of Him before? By this I mean someone who never heard about the Bible, who never ...
user50422
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What was the early Church's understanding of the practice of "praying in the Spirit" during the ante-Nicene period?
The Apostle Paul alludes to the practice of "praying in the Spirit" in at least two of his epistles, namely:
Ephesians 6:18 (ESV):
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and ...
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What was the early Church Fathers' understanding of the "baptism with Holy Spirit and fire"?
The concept of "baptism with Holy Spirit and fire" is introduced for the first time by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11, referencing Jesus as the baptizer. Jesus confirms this in Acts 1:4,8, ...
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Are there any denominations that defend their doctrines by appealing to extra-biblical evidence from the 1st/2nd century of the early Church?
When it comes to controversial doctrines, I have a tendency to pay attention to what the early Church had to say on the subject. Of course, the most important early Church writings are compiled in the ...
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Are there any extra-biblical writings that document what the early Christians believed about the second coming of Christ?
Are there any extra-biblical writings that document what the early Christians believed about the second coming of Christ? For example, any preserved documents that explain what the early Christians ...
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Who was who at the Crucifixion of Jesus on the Cross?
Who was who during the Crucifixion of Jesus, who is called the Christ?
Just recently I came across this question: Who witnessed the crucifixion?
I desire to expand this question to extra biblical ...
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Are there published testimonies from individuals who had a Christophany in which Jesus explicitly affirmed or denied his deity?
Christophanies (a.k.a. encounters with Jesus) are supernatural experiences which are entirely within the realm of possibility according to Scripture. Three clear examples are Paul's (Acts 9:3-6), ...
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How do believers in Jesus' deity explain that Jesus is never claimed to be God/divine in the Old Roman Creed and the Didache?
In an answer to a previous question of mine, a user argued against the historicity of the belief in the divinity of Jesus in the early stages of Christianity, by pointing out the fact that Jesus is ...
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Are there any documented cases of Xenoglossy (i.e. "Acts 2:1-13 type" tongues, understood by a foreigner) in recent history (19th century on)?
I'm aware of the existence of many Pentecostal and Charistmatic groups that believe in the gift of tongues and claim to be able to exercise it. In fact, one can very easily find lots of videos of ...
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Is there any extra-biblical evidence that the Ark of the Covenant was at Shiloh?
Is there any extra-Biblical evidence that the Ark of the Covenant resided at Shiloh during the time of 1 Samuel 4?
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Is there extra-biblical evidence for the Exodus?
I've heard from multiple sources that there isn't even the slightest of (extra-biblical) evidence of the Exodus story or even evidence for the presence of Israelites in Egypt.
If this is true, why is ...
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Historical evidence of Slaughter of the Innocents besides St. Matthew's Gospel?
Besides Matthew 2:16,
Herod perceiving that he was deluded by the wise men, was exceeding angry: and sending killed all the menchildren that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from ...
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Do the church fathers ever include quotes of Jesus that aren't from the Bible?
Jesus Seminar believes that Parable of the Empty Jar in Gospel of Thomas is authentic saying of Jesus:
The kingdom of the father is like a certain woman who was carrying a jar full of meal. While ...
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How tall was Jesus? [closed]
We read at Luke 19:2-4 (NRSVCE):
" A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because ...
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Is there any evidence to support Matthew's gospel account of the curtain in the Jerusalem Temple being torn in two?
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land... And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was ...
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How many wives did Adam have?
Genesis 1:26 says:
26 Then God said, “And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild, ...
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According to Catholics when were names added to The Book of Life?
According to Catholics, are names added to the Book of Life anywhere in the Bible (after Creation)? Including apocryphal writings or extrabiblical sources from within the Catholic spectrum.
I see ...
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What prophets came from Galilee?
This question talks about how in John 7:52, the Pharisees claimed that "no prophet comes out of Galilee." The accepted answer discusses how commentators often point out the Pharisees' mistake, and N.T....
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How to find out more about the the 12 disciples?
How can I find out more about the 12 disciples and their lives and families than is mentioned in the Scriptures?
What did they give up and who they left behind, in order to follow Christ.
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What's the first ancient document composed by a non-Christian denying the resurrection?
What is the first ancient document composed by a non-Christian denying the resurrection of Jesus that we have access to?
I am specifically looking for a document actually penned by a non-Christian, ...
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Are there eyewitness accounts of Jesus Christ written during (or closely after) his lifetime?
In recent times, it has come to my understanding, that the New Testament was written in its entirety only after Jesus Christ has died.
I ask for in the search of documents which date to Jesus' ...
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What is the earliest explicit mention of infant baptism?
The Bible describes several adults being baptized (notably Jesus and the Ethiopian eunuch that Phillip baptized). And while it mentions many others being baptized, it doesn't explicitly mention ...
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Is there extrabiblical first-century documentation of sadducee theology?
The Bible mentions a few things about the sadducees' beliefs, such as in Acts 23:8, but doesn't reveal much detail. Are there any documents aside from the Bible from the first century AD (or first few ...
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Was the First Apocalypse of James written after the Second Apocalypse of James?
The current version of the Wikipedia article for the First Apocalypse of James has the following sentence at the end of the article:
One of the most curious features of the First Apocalypse of ...
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Do we have or know of additional writings from the four Gospel Evangelists? [duplicate]
The New Testament of the Christian Bible is commenced with four Gospels: Matthew's, Mark's, Luke's, and John's. Early church tradition has taught us that Matthew and John's Gospels were written by two ...
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Are there any universally accepted or non-Abrahamic based records in history that have mentions of longevity of prophets?
Reading from here and Genesis 5 we see that there are mentions of longevity among prophets:
Adam – 930
Seth – 912
Enosh – 905
Jared – 962
Methuselah – 969
Noah – 950
Shem – 600
Eber – 464
Abraham – ...
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Mark and Romans: are these the same Rufus?
In Mark 15:21 (KJV), the account reads:
And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.
In Romans 16:13 (KJV), ...
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Authenticity of the Pontius Pilate's letter to Tiberius Caesar?
Just looking to find out if this alleged Letter of Pontius Pilate to Tiberius Caesar is authentic or a later forgery? I don't care how it physically describes Jesus, just want to know how it was found ...
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Any research done on the Narrative of Zosimus & Lehi's "Tree of Life" Dream in 1 Nephi (LDS scripture)? Similarities? More info on N. of Zosimus?
The other day I overheard a professor briefly mention an ancient Hebraic document known as the "Narrative of Zosimus" that wasn't known to Western scholars until the late 1870's.
As his reference ...
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How is the ‘Resurrection of the Holy Ones’ in Mt.27:51-53 understood by those who consider it a literal, historical event?
This question is very similar to a question I just asked, but it's not a duplicate (just hear me out). Since there are many ways to read the Bible, I wanted to understand multiple points of view, that ...
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How is the ‘Resurrection of the Holy Ones’ in Mt.27:51-53 understood by those who do NOT consider it a literal, historical event?
Since there are many ways to read the Bible, I wanted to understand multiple points of view, that being: 1) those who understand this as a non-literal, non-historical event (modern, liberal scholars, ...
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What are the main similarities and differences between the Genesis and other major ancient flood accounts? [closed]
Have any of you read the Atrahasis Epic? It's the Babylonian/Akkadian version of the Great Flood. I found it had striking similarities with the Flood Account in Genesis!! (Read it if you have not ...
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Did any of the Apostolic Fathers know Paul?
Is there any extra-biblical written evidence that any of the Apostolic Fathers (i.e., the early Christian theologians of the 1st and 2nd centuries) knew the Apostle Paul? If so, what is the written ...
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Is there any extra-Biblical 'evidence' of Herod's murder of babies?
When Herod heard of the news from the kings form east that there was a new king (Jesus) born, he ordered the killing of all boys younger than the age of two. So that would have been a great slaughter. ...
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Are there any surviving Acta Diurna copies mentioning Jesus' trial or other aspects of his life?
I recently learned about Acta Diurna, which are official notices created by Roman authorities describing legal proceedings and the outcome of trials. It occurred to me that the trial of Jesus before ...
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Are there any accounts of the wise men story outside of scripture?
The wise men were educated and would have documented their experience in detail. Also, they would have shared the Christmas story with everyone they came in contact with on their trip home. Once they ...
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The book of Jasher [duplicate]
Have any transcripts been discovered? Who wrote this book? The book is mentioned in Joshua and was apparently an important book during their days. What happened to the book?
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Is there is any external source about Demas, Paul's fellow worker?
Demas appears at Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 24 as a fellow worker of Paul's ministry, and maybe as Luke's partner like Mark was Aristharcus partner.
But in 2 Timothy 4:10 he appears having ...
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What is the earliest non-Judeo-Christian reference to Jesus? [duplicate]
I am looking for the earliest references to Jesus that are not Biblical. I am looking to identify historical documents unrelated to the Christian church (at the time of the writing). On the Jewish ...
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