Counter-Evangelism: Home > Arguments > Bible & ancient history

Arguments against hardcore Christian beliefs:
The Bible and ancient history
(including the alleged historicity of the Resurrection)

In a counter-evangelism attempt, historical issues are best dealt with primarily in terms of Biblical contradictions, if possible. It is NOT recommended that you focus on extra-Biblical historical arguments, especially if you yourself are not a student of ancient history and thus are not in a position to evaluate historical claims. Even if you do know a lot about ancient history, extra-Biblical arguments are best used sparingly, as secondary arguments only, when you are talking to people who trust the Bible more than they trust historians.

On the other hand, newly deconverted ex-fundies -- or people who are strongly questioning their fundy faith -- should be encouraged to read extra-biblical historical arguments, to gain perspective.

Note:  I myself am not a historian and cannot vouch for the accuracy of the extra-Biblical historical references in the articles below. Many of the following articles also contain arguments that can safely be used by non-historians, e.g. Biblical contradictions and commonsense arguments, as distinct from arguments requiring knowledge of extra-Biblical ancient sources.

• Lists of pages on the Secular Web (Internet Infidels) site -- highly recommended.
• List of pages on the Biblical Errancy site -- emphasizes Biblical contradictions.
• Are the Gospel Accounts Historical? on Questioning: An Examination of Christian Belief by Merle Hertzler
• Jesus: the cruciFICTION and Resurrect THIS on Biblical Truths
• On The Rejection of Pascal's Wager: A Skeptic's Guide to Christianity:
  • The Bible
  • Jesus
  • The Non-Existent Tomb
  • The Virgin Birth
• Ed Babinski - Jordan exchange (Part 2) on resurrection of Jesus
• The Jesus Puzzle: Was there no historical Jesus? by Earl Doherty  (another copy here)
• The Origins of Christianity and the Quest for the Historical Jesus Christ by Acharya S on Truth Be Known
• List of articles on Jesus and Horus
• The Skeptic's Annotated Bible page on Science and History
• Did Jesus rise from the dead? on Outreach Judaism
• How Firm A Foundation… of Forgeries? and The Sign On The Cross on Set Free!
• The Tomb of Jesus Christ
• The Embarrassment of Biblical Chronology by James B. Jordan, on Biblical Horizons
• Daniel in the Debunker's Den on American Atheists
• Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth (and another copy here), including scholarship
• Christ a myth? by Gary Courtney
• Christian Deities (i.e. pre-Christian myths that may have influenced Christianity), including Mithra, on Innvista
• Did Jesus Exist? -- scholarly articles both pro and con
• Early Christian Writings

Back to:

• Arguments against hardcore Christian beliefs
• Counter-Evangelism Resource Page