07Apr 2026 by Post

The Argument from Martyrdom: A Response to Rabbi Tovia Singer

4. Is the NT True?, and paul, Apologetics, Argument from Martyrdom, Book of Acts, Christianity, Gospel, JonathanMclatchie.com, Peter, Tovia Singer
Rabbi Tovia Singer is an orthodox Jewish rabbi and the founder and director of Outreach Judaism. He is widely known for his counter-missionary polemics and his criticism of the New Testament presentation of Jesus as the Hebrew Messiah (see his two volume set, Let’s Get Biblical: Why doesn’t Judaism accept the Christian Messiah?.[1] In a video published this week, provocatively titled “Why Would Paul Willingly Die for His Belief? Another Church Lie!”, Rabbi Singer makes a number of bizarre claims. One such statement is that “the notion that Paul was beheaded by Rome is complete nonsense. It’s an invention of the church, and it’s mentioned nowhere in the Christian Bible.” Singer notes further that “the book of Acts — which is devoted to Paul — ends with Paul being freed from prison.” Singer gives…
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10Dec 2025 by Post

The Book of Acts is High-Resolution Reportage, Part 2

1st Century, 4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Apostle Paul, Book of Acts, Christianity, Gospel, historical apologetics, Jonathan McLatchie.com, reliability of the Bible
[Editor’s note: in Part 1 of this two-part series, Jonathan explained this method of historical argument known as “Undesigned Coincidences.” These are lines of evidence that emerge when one part of Scripture explains, resolves, or entails, unplanned detail from elsewhere in Scripture and the the wider historical record. Jonathan focuses on the evidence from four books of Paul – Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, and Galatians – comparing them with narrative details in the book of Acts.]        Paul in Macedonia Paul indicates that he is writing 2 Corinthians from Macedonia while on route to Corinth (2 Cor 9:1-5). This would place it very shortly following the riot in Ephesus, hence at approximately Acts 20:1. This appears to have been on Paul’s mind in 2 Corinthians 1:8-10: “For we do not want…
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08Dec 2025 by Post

The Book of Acts is High-Resolution Reportage Part 1

1st Century, Apologetics, Apostle Paul, Book of Acts, Christianity, CrossExamined, Gospel, historical apologetics, Jonathan McLatchie.com, reliability of the Bible
The book of Acts is one of the most fascinating books of the Bible. No other book matches its level of historical corroboration from both internal and external sources. The abundant evidence, that we shall sample in this essay, of Luke’s credibility and meticulousness as a historian, indirectly supports the credibility of Luke’s gospel (which is widely acknowledged to be written by the same author). Luke claims to have been a travelling companion of Paul for much of his travels (Acts 16-10-17 and later again from Acts 20:5, travelling with Paul as far as Rome). This places Luke in Jerusalem in Acts 21 when Paul visited the Jerusalem leaders. Luke tells us that “all the elders [including James] were present” (Acts 21:18). Luke also implies that he remained in proximity…
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18Jun 2025 by Post

The Miracles in Acts, and Their Evidential Value

3. Are Miracles Possible?, 4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Book of Acts, Christianity, Early Church, Evidence for God, Gospel, historical apologetics, Jonathan McLatchie, JonathanMclatchie.com, miracles, natural, supernatural
The book of Acts recounts various miracles performed by Paul and the other apostles, as well as the deacons Stephen and Philip. If it can be shown that these miracle reports substantially represent the testimony of these individuals, then this is an important aspect of the testimony that must be accounted for. For reasons I have discussed at length previously, there is strong reason to believe that the apostles sincerely believed what they claimed. As William Paley puts it, “there is satisfactory evidence that many professing to be original witnesses of the Christian miracles, passed their lives in labours, dangers, and sufferings, voluntarily undergone in attestation of the accounts which they delivered, and solely in consequence of their belief of those accounts; and that they also submitted, from the same motives,…
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17Mar 2025 by Post

The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and its Evidential Value, Part 2

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Apostle Paul, Book of Acts, Christianity, Early Church, Galatians, Gospel, historical apologetics, https://jonathanmclatchie.com/, Jonathan McLatchie, Sir George Lyttelton
[Editor’s Note: In part 1 of this series on the evidential value of Paul’s conversion, Dr. Jonathan McLatchie established that (Proposition 1) The accounts in Acts substantially represent Paul’s own conversion testimony, and (Proposition 2) Paul was not plausibly sincerely mistaken. In this second installment, McLatchie tackles the remaining two propositions, showing that Saul’s conversion to Apostle Paul is a remarkably value line of evidence for historic Christianity] Proposition 3: Paul was not plausibly intentionally deceptive. Sufferings, Toils, and Hardships: There exists an abundance of evidence that Paul voluntarily endured significant hardships, dangers, persecutions, toils, labors, imprisonments and ultimately execution for the sake of the gospel. This goes a long way towards establishing his sincerity. For example, Clement of Rome, in his sole surviving letter, addressed to the Corinthian church, writes (1…
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12Mar 2025 by Post

The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and its Evidential Value, Part 1

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Apostle Paul, Book of Acts, Christianity, Early Church, Galatians, Gospel, historical apologetics, https://jonathanmclatchie.com/, Jonathan McLatchie, Sir George Lyttelton
An argument for Christianity that seldom receives adequate attention is the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (also known as Paul) on the road to Damascus. There exist three accounts of Paul’s conversion in the book of Acts — in chapters 9, 22, and 26. The argument from Paul’s conversion has been laid out in most detail by Sir George Lyttelton (1709-1773), in his book Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul. The book is now in the public domain, and a free PDF copy can be obtained at this link. So strong and convincing is the argument from Paul’s conversion that Lyttelton wrote at the beginning of his book, addressing his friend Gilbert West [1], In a late conversation we had together upon the subject of the Christian religion, I…
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