In 1945, a remarkable discovery was made near the Egyptian village of Nag Hammadi. Hidden in a sealed jar for over a thousand years, a collection of Coptic manuscripts was unearthed, among them a text that came to be known as the Gospel of Thomas. The text is attributed to the apostle Thomas, also called … Continue reading How John Rewrote Thomas to Silence a Rival Gospel
Apostolic Succession Debunked
One of the most distinctive claims of the Catholic Church is the doctrine of apostolic succession. According to this teaching, the authority that Christ gave to his apostles did not die with them but was passed on to their chosen successors. Through the laying on of hands, this authority is believed to have continued in … Continue reading Apostolic Succession Debunked
Hypocrisy of Peter & Paul
One of the sharpest controversies in the early church, according to the Christian canon, revolved around the question of Jewish law: Should Gentile believers be required to follow the Torah, particularly the command of circumcision, in order to be part of God’s covenant people? The apostles in Jerusalem, led by James, Peter, and John, were … Continue reading Hypocrisy of Peter & Paul
Muhammad Mythicism
The notion that Prophet Muhammad never existed — sometimes called Muhammad mythicism — is a fringe idea that has gained attention in certain circles, not because it is supported by credible historians, but because it has been aggressively promoted by Christian polemicists like Jay Smith and Robert Spencer. These are not scholars searching for truth, … Continue reading Muhammad Mythicism
Remembering What We Already Know
Socrates, as recorded by Plato, often began with a simple question that exposed a deeper problem. One of those questions was: What is courage? At first, the answers seem obvious. Courage is standing firm in battle. Courage is refusing to run from danger. These examples sound convincing enough. But Socrates was never satisfied with examples. … Continue reading Remembering What We Already Know
Sunni Punishment for Abandoning Salat (Quran vs. Hadith)
In Sunni Islam, apostasy is punishable by death. This ruling is drawn directly from hadith literature, such as the report in Sunan al-Nasa’i: Ibn 'Abbas said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever changes his religion, kill him.'" أَخْبَرَنَا عِمْرَانُ بْنُ مُوسَى، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَارِثِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَيُّوبُ، عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ … Continue reading Sunni Punishment for Abandoning Salat (Quran vs. Hadith)
A Gettier Problem in Hadith Justification
Some truths in Submission (Islam) are so foundational that they require no debate. Two such truths are the obligation to give Zakat and to perform Salat — both core pillars of faith, emphasized clearly and repeatedly in the Quran. For most believers, these are established facts. Yet a curious shift happens when a Hadith is … Continue reading A Gettier Problem in Hadith Justification
How Did Paul Come to Dominate Christianity?
Few figures in history have shaped Christianity more than Paul. Yet his dominance was not inevitable. In the earliest decades after Jesus, Paul was only one voice among many—sometimes controversial, sometimes ignored, and often overshadowed by the Jerusalem leaders like Peter and James. So how did Paul come to stand at the center of Christianity, … Continue reading How Did Paul Come to Dominate Christianity?
Why the Gnostics & Marcion Rejected Yahweh
For years, I dismissed the Gnostics as eccentric heretics who claimed that the god who created this world was in fact the Demiurge—a false and flawed being. At first glance, the claim seemed so absurd that I never thought it deserved serious contemplation. But a nagging question remained: if their ideas were so obviously wrong, … Continue reading Why the Gnostics & Marcion Rejected Yahweh
Mass Hadith Forgery: The Foundations of Sunni Islam
The foundations of Sunni Islam were built upon a sea of forged traditions. By the mid-9th century CE, the compilers of the Kutub al-Sittah (Six Books) sifted through millions of reports attributed to the Prophet. What they found was damning: nearly ninety-nine percent of these reports were rejected as fabrications, exposing a religious culture flooded … Continue reading Mass Hadith Forgery: The Foundations of Sunni Islam
Quran Talk Blog 