Q/A: A friend of mind who has studied Jewish history told me that the history books he studied said that Jesus’ disciples were born after Jesus died.  Do you know of any historical books or published accounts that disprove this and list their birth dates as being at the time of Jesus’ birth date?  Also, he states the last verse of the Old Testament states that the Old Testament is the word of God and should not be changed or added to.  This seems to disqualify the entire New Testament.  How do I refute this? - Cindy

Q/A: I was wondering why the Roman Catholic Bible has more books in it than the Protestant Bible?  Are these extra books important enough that they should be read too? - Lisa

Q/A: When Jerome did his Vulgate translation of the Bible it included the apocryphal books.  Was this version considered inspired? - Dave

Q/A: Do you ascribe to the traditionalist view of the Pentateuch or the Documentary Hypothesis?  Though there are minor problems with the Traditionalist View, the Documentary Hypothesis would seem to indicate less reliance on God-inspired authorship in favor of re-writes by numerous people.  I would be very interested in your opinion.   Thanks, and may God continue to bless Plain Truth Ministries. - Alex

Q/A: In the gospels, it speaks of Jesus’ temptation by Satan.  It is recorded what Satan said to Jesus and what Jesus said to Satan.  How do we know what Jesus and Satan said when only two of them were present?  I personally believe it took place like it said in the Bible, but I do wonder how the writers got that specific information as it is recorded? - Bill

Q/A: What is your opinion on The Message Bible translation? - Nita

Q/A: Some dogmatically teach that all of the modern versions of the Bible are based upon an inferior Greek text and that the King James Version is the only Bible we should read.  Can you comment on this? - Jack

Q/A: I started using the New Living Translation Study Bible.  I am currently in a small group (4 people) Bible study.  One of the members of our study group is a minister from our church.  He uses the NIV study Bible and has told me that the NLT is not a good Bible to be using.  What do you think? - Brad

Q/A: Do you have the first Bible ever written?  If not, then how can you prove/claim that the current Bible has never changed and remained the same throughout the ages? - Korim

Q/A: Who wrote the Bible and how authentic is it?  Is it completely accurate?  What sort of writing style is it in? - Tam

Q/A: I wrote you earlier in regards to the omissions of some verses in the NIV translations and others. In Luke 9:56, the words "For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them", (KJV), is missing in most of the other translations, (I have 10 of them), and my questions are: Was the translation of this verse from the original manuscripts wrong? What manuscripts do these other translations compare with? Also, can you recommend a book or source that would explain how the Bible was translated from the original Greek and Hebrew? - Tom

Q/A: First let me say that I appreciate the manner in which you answer questions.  My problem is this – over the years I, along with my Christian brothers and sisters, have been hit over the head many times with Thessalonians 5:22, “Abstain from all appearance of evil”.  It usually came in the form of correction after a minister or a self-appointed judge of scripture observed what they determined to be the appearance of evil, either in myself or in others.  My question -- is the translation from the old King James valid or has there been an added word put in it along the way specifically to make it easier to point fingers and judge people.... -  Leith

Q/A: I am doing a paper on religion in Appalachia .  One of the characteristics of churches in this area is a literal interpretation of the Bible.  Was it Calvin who started that?  Do you know of any resources that might help (church history, religious rituals, etc.)? - Sue

Q/A: Are Playboy and Zondervan Bible Publishing Company really owned by the same people?  If so, does this explain why the NIV should be avoided?  I’ve heard some disturbing things about this and I don’t know what to think. - Ben

Q/A: I have four questions: 1.   I am interested in doing some research on the Bible by myself and not through any denomination or church.  I want to read a Bible that is non-denominational and not swayed by any certain philosophy, so I’m thinking the King James Version would be the best to get.  What do you think?  I’m not sure. 2    I have been recently reading my daughter’s Children’s Bible.  It is pretty interesting.  Informative but not judgmental, etc.  Anyway, it said that Jesus had brothers and sisters.  I had never heard this before, but this only makes sense to me.  Mary and Joseph--man and wife.  Could you direct me to a passage in the Bible that proves this? 3.   This Children’s Bible also mentioned that the book of James was written by one of Jesus’ relatives (a half brother or cousin, I forget).  Anyway, that this “James” was related to Jesus somehow.  Again, something I never heard. 4.   I was just told that some now think that Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute.  Anywhere I can find where it says that she was? Thanks a lot! - Kelly

Q/A: Why do some Bibles have other additional books that are not contained in other versions?  Someone told me these additional books are only included in the Catholic Bible.  I know they are called the Apocrypha.  My questions are:   1.   Why are they called the Apocrypha? 2.   Why do some Bibles have them and some do not?  Some say it is because the Apocrypha are not considered revelatory writings from God, unlike the existing books we now have in the Bible.  Is this true? 3.   What criteria did the people who completed our existing Bible use to determine which books should be included in the present Bible and which should not? Thanks very much once more! - Marciel

Q/A: I like reading from different translations of the Bible. What do you consider good and accurate translations? And what are some that I should avoid? And why? - Jimmy

Q/A: What do you think about the "Sacred Names" issue? Should Christians use names such as Yahweh instead of LORD, Hayshua instead of Jesus, Messiah instead of Christ? Have the translators of the Bible made a huge error in substituting the word LORD for the tetragramaton YHWH or Yahweh? - Andrew