Why this site exists

I grew up in church. I knew the stories before I could read them, and I took them seriously. At some point I started to read them closely, and a few things stopped adding up, one at a time: two accounts of the same morning that differ in the details, a census I could not find in the history books, a command I could not square with the God I had been taught about.

When I went looking for help, I found two kinds of material. One treated every question as proof that the whole thing was a fraud. The other treated every question as an attack and answered in a tone that made me feel I should not have asked. Neither read like it came from someone who had actually sat with the text. I wanted one organized place that was honest about the problem and fair to the answers.

This is my attempt at it.

What you will find

Each entry is a question. I quote the passages from a public-domain translation, usually the King James Version, with chapter and verse. I state the problem as plainly as I can. Then I set out the common responses from believers and scholars in their strongest form, the way a person who holds them would put them. The last section says where that leaves things, in a sentence or two. It does not hand down a verdict.

Sources are listed at the foot of each entry. They are published books, encyclopedias and excavation reports, and I have tried to cite only what exists and what I can stand behind. If I have got something wrong, please tell me. Entries are revised, and corrections are better than pride.

What this is not

It is not a mockery site. It is not an atheist tract, and it is not an apologetics site in disguise. I have not copied lists from other sites; the entries are written from the passages and the sources. Some of the questions here have good answers. Some have answers that are good for one person and thin for another. A few, I think, remain open. I would rather you could see that for yourself.

You may finish an entry more convinced of your faith, or less, or just better informed. All three are fine with me.

A note on corrections and contact

The quickest way to reach me is the suggestion form. If you leave an address, I may write to you when an entry goes up. If you would rather hear about new entries in one short note, there is a sign-up at the foot of every page.