The Evidence of the Existence of God (Historical)

There are two things that are vitally important to the faith that Christians have. One is the accuracy of the bible and the other is the truth of this man called Jesus. Since both of these aspects of Christianity are so very important I will look in some depth to the evidence of the historical accuracy of the bible and the historical significance of Jesus throughout history. Oh yeah and my sources will be 100% OUTSIDE of the bible!

The Bible

Many skeptics will say it is hard to support that the bible is accurate because it has contradictions, many different writers over many years, it’s not been properly interpreted, and if it were why would there be so many different translations? Despite what many Christians will say I think it is great to have these objections. Why? Because those questions cause us to seek and I firmly believe that when we deeply investigate the bible we will become confident that it remains completely accurate to this day.

Historical Manuscripts

There are literally THOUSANDS of records of the teachings, the prophecies, the significance of Jesus’ birth, work, and death in historical manuscripts of not only Jesus time but as well as afterwards. Most historians verify the accuracy of ancient manuscripts by how consistent they are to the other works of the time period in terms of writing style and historical events documented. The bible is unique in that the books of the bible are not single manuscripts, archeologists have found hundreds of manuscripts of the SAME writings that we now make up the books of the bible. Of course the bible was written by numerous authors expanding over the course of a couple thousand years however there is still remarkable consistency and unification between the books of the bible. There are many duplications of the same writings all over the middle East stretching into the European countries of each book of the bible.

The bible continues to be historically accurate. For example archeologists believed for some time that Moses could not have written the first 5 books of the bible because there was very little written works in the time of Moses, that was, however until archeologists discovered other writings of the same era such as; The code of Hammurabi, the lipit-Istar code, and the laws of Eshnunna. The bible also has a vast array of historical data that archeologists are still finding and piecing together to this day. The bible talks about ancient cities, kingdoms, the exact locations of these places, exact dimensions and detailed descriptions of major architectural giants (pilate’s court, the jewish temple…) the kings and pharaohs of the time and many major historical events. Sir William Ramsey, an amazing and accomplished archeologist demonstrated that Luke made no mistakes in references to 32 countries, 54 cities, and 9 islands.

Using the bible alone, Jewish archeologists have been able to uncover dozens of ancient cities such as Haran, Hazor, Dan, Megiddo, Shechem, Samaria, Shiloh, Gezer, Gibeah, Beth Shemesh, Beth Shean, Beersheba, and Lachish. By historical standards there is more than enough evidence that proves the validity of the bible.

So what’s with the different translations?

Many translations occur simply because the style in which we write and talk changes as time passes. For example although the King James version of the bible is very accurate and was extremely relevant a few hundred years ago, many people today prefer the New International version of the bible because it is more similar to the way in which we speak today and therefore easier for us to understand.

There is a divide in between translators of the bible because some translations of the bible are based on a word to word translation. However because the Hebrew language is so very different from the English language some translations are based more on the main idea of the passage instead of exact word for word translation in an effort to be more clearly understood. Both are without a doubt accurate but this does create a few more translations.

This man named Jesus

 I think it’s safe to say that Jesus has had the more impact on the world than any other person in existence. Here I would like to explore in some detail some of the historical evidence of the truth of Jesus Christ OUTSIDE of what the bible says. I think you will find, whether you are a Christian or not, that Jesus was unlike any individual and that is why 2000 years later he still has such a significant role in the world today. While it would seem if Jesus was an ordinary man (the bible states Jesus had no political power, religious titles, no property or fortune, and suffered a death that some of the “low class” encountered) would have no place in the historical records of the time, however for some strange reason Jesus is recorded MANY times by various political and religious bigwigs! The evidence for this “common” man is worth taking it seriously.

There are many ancient and completely credible documents that can attest the profound existence of Jesus. 

There are writings from Tacitus one of the most important documentations of Jesus apart from the bible. 

Other notable writings include those written by Pliny the younger, the Babylonian Talmud, Lucian (2^nd century satirist), and Josephus, a 1^st century Jewish historian. For the sake of time and space here is a link to the word for word references of Jesus from these sources;

http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4223639/k.567/Ancient_Evidence_for_Jesus_from_NonChr

istian_Sources.htm

One of the most wonderful things about the bible is as Jewish archeologists and scholars discover even more about their ancient past the bible stands the test of time and history again and again. As Christians we can be encouraged that we have a great tool to stand boldly behind the truth of the bible and the truth of our God. I have no doubt that the more we understand about our history the more we will understand about the God who created us!  

The Evidence of the Existence of God (Scientific)

Does God Exist?

What a question! The best way to ponder this question is to look at it from a couple different angles, meaning, scientifically and historically. I believe God has designed everything and we can certainly see his fingerprints on it. In fact, in Romans 1:19-20 it states, “Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” God’s desire is for us to have a personal relationship with him so he has taken many extreme steps to make himself visible and God has covered all the bases. If you do not believe in God I’ll ask you to please take a moment to think about why you don’t. Is it because science conflicts with the idea of God? Is it because you’ve seen too many bad things happen that you can’t believe there could be a God? Is it because you haven’t seen enough evidence that points to God throughout the world? Is it because there are too many religions? How do you know what the right one is?

I study apologetics so I know that using ONLY the bible as an answer to such a question as this does almost nothing for those who don’t believe in the truth of the bible. Therefore, because this would be a rather LONG post, I have split this question into four posts examining resources OUTSIDE of the bible as well as the bible for evidence of God. These posts have been split up in the following ways – Scientific, historical, psychological, and spiritual. Together, I believe the Case for Christ is very strong and I’m hoping that I can show anyone who is reading this not only that there is a God but also that God wants to know you personally 

as well.

The blast that takes out the big bang

Science has been able to tell us many things - the Earth is in fact NOT flat, the sun does NOT rotate around the Earth, the atom is NOT the smallest particle, we can finally understand what causes floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. and so on and so forth. These were all things within the last few hundred years, science was able to answer. As wonderful and exciting as studying science and the world around us is it cannot answer the question of how the universe came to be – how in the world did we get here? That is a fair question and one that I think most people at some point or another will seek the answer to. My hope is that you do ponder this question.

The scientific community believes wholeheartedly that, although the big bang theory is in fact a theory, they tend to view it as fact. However, on deeper examination of the big bang theory is it easy to point out a lot of gaps, holes, and quite honestly, flaws in that theory, hence the term theory.  The big bang theory in essence boils down to the belief that something could come from nothing which in and of itself defies a fundamental scientific law. We understand this great universe has a set of laws that continuously are proven to be true so the idea that zero plus zero could amount to something above zero seems in many ways nonsensical. Also for that theory to be truth a person would have to believe that for an infinite amount of time there was some inorganic, compressed material that somehow at some random point in time changed. That theory is completely lacking scientific and mathematical intellectual thought process.

Questionable Evolution

Then we have to understand that even if one believed in the truth of the big bang theory one cannot explain how humans have evolved so differently than any other particle and cell. If the big bang theory were truth and out of complete chaos some inexplicable occurrence happened and caused some sort of order in the universe then why is it that of all living creatures we now are the only species with a moral compass or the intellectual design that is unlike any other? Some researchers say this is a pure case of survival of the fittest and natural selection over time, meaning, humans adapted to the environment to survive but if that were the case then why, if we were created from the same blast that created a tree, have we become what the human race is while the tree became what IT is today? That tree has still survived yet it has no morality whatsoever. What a difference, seeing as we came from the same infinitely compressed inorganic matter!

The pattern of a designer

Then we have to consider the order in which the universe operates. There is a fine and perfect pattern to the world around us. We have laws of nature that repeatedly do not fail. This would point to the fingerprints of a designer. Also think about the intricate human body. Each body consists of some 100 TRILLION cells that have been perfectly arranged to carry out the processes of life. The human body is so detailed, balanced, and so unlike any other life form that it’s hard to believe it spawned randomly.

The flaws in Carbon Dating

Carbon Dating to some in the scientific community has been a miracle in and of itself. For those that are unfamiliar with how Carbon dating works here is a quick rundown. Scientists are using the measures of carbon and radioactive carbon in different materials to figure out the date of that materials death thereby getting an idea of how old that material is. Radioactive carbon is absorbed by living organisms throughout their entire life. When the organism dies that absorption stops and the radioactive carbon begins to break down. Because this break down occurs at a known rate it is theoretically possible to compare the amount of regular carbon and the amount of radioactive carbon and estimate just how long an organism has been dead. This sounds like some pretty great science but there are definitely some flaws in this process.

First, we don’t know how much Carbon was in the organism in the first place so we have no idea what the ratio was and therefore our date will not line up. Also if scientists want to date an organism they have to take into consideration that there is a possibility of contamination, meaning, another material has contributed to the amount (or lack thereof) of Carbon in a specific material. The older the object is the greater the possibility of contamination, so we have some serious limits as to how far back we can even accurately date a material assuming the data being used is 100% accurate. There have also been a large number of objects that have been carbon dated resulting in a certain death date that were tested again with a result showing a much different year, some of which were thousands of years off. A recent study even showed a tusk of a walrus that had been known to have died 30 years ago, when dated, came up that tusk having a death date at 12,000 years. So the reliability of carbon dating is very questionable yet this is a method that the scientific community relies on heavily for its historical data.

I believe science not only has the ability to inform us about the world around us but it also has the ability to show us a lot about who God is. This world is a beautiful and intricate place and it takes a strong leap of faith, knowing what we know about science, to believe that there was NOT intelligent design behind it, just as strong if not more so then the belief in an all-powerful and eternal creator. 

Can Good Deeds Get You into Heaven?

The answer to this question has been a long and, at times, heated debate between the protestant and Catholic Church. It also is a question that is not bound to just Christianity. However, as controversial as this question may be, I believe the bible is very clear on this issue. Based on a vast array of scriptures in the bible, it is clear that good deeds can NOT get you into heaven. Now there are many verses that support this claim - some of which I will show you (I could not possibly mention them all in this post) - however there is one issue people focus on that causes many of us to wonder if God requires BOTH the acknowledgement of Jesus Christ as lord and Savior AS WELL AS good works in order to be permitted into Heaven and that is simply the many laws recorded and taught in the bible.

Romans 7:6 states, “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” This means those laws are no longer serving the same purpose because we have been freed through the death of Christ. We can now live in hope and joy because we know that Christ’s sacrifice was enough. So if that is the case then what purpose do the laws have now? In fact the bible covers just that in Gal. 3:24, "Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith." The laws God gave us to live by brings us closer to Christ, creating a better, stronger relationship with our heavenly Father. They are no way able to save us. They are simply a guide to living a purposeful life in Christ.

So, how do we know that God does NOT require  to us have a certain amount or a certain level of good works in order to enter into those pearly gates? Well if you wanted to count the scriptures in the bible that talk about God’s grace it would take you a VERY long time because the theme of the entire bible is how God desires a relationship with us and how that relationship is being played out to this day. Since shortly after the beginning, we (humans) chose sin over God in the Garden of Eden causing complete separation from the goodness of God. The only way for us and God to continue to have a loving relationship was for God to extend grace to us. Of course, Jesus did this by coming to Earth as a man, living a perfect life, and then dying innocent yet carrying the sins of the world, both past, present, and future on himself as his own debt instead of ours. His sacrifice enabled us to once and for all be freed from the debt that our sins created which was complete separation from God.

So let’s jump into some verses! Ephesians 2:8 states, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Clearly this scripture reminds us that God’s grace and our belief in his grace is enough. And then of course there is possibly the most direct scripture that confirms our salvation comes wholly by Jesus’ grace, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. ⁹Not by works, lest any man should boast." 

What happens if I believe in good works as well as grace for salvations? Is there really any harm in that? Aren’t we just doing good AND believing in God to save us? Well in Romans 11:6 it states,” And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” Once we put faith in something or someone OTHER than God we are then doubting his grace to us, his love for us, and his authority that he could conquer sin alone for all of us. Grace IS grace because it is freely given with no strings attached.

One very important point to add is the fact that we are saved by God’s grace alone causes Christianity to be unlike any other religion in the world, in that, we are not required to work toward our eternal reward. Yes, God speaks often about how we should live, what he wishes for us, and how we are called to respond to the world because we are his children, but living this way or choosing not to live in the way God would like for us doesn’t take away our inheritance as children of God. God promises those who simply believe will be saved, period. No strings attached. So in every other belief system it requires some sort or deed whether it be personal sacrifice or working to obtain a certain amount of peace within yourself to be in true heaven or, for some, true peace. You are in some way working toward your reward. However our God is more than willing to give it to us freely.

Christ’s walk on Earth was grace in action. One of my favorite stories in the bible is while Jesus is hanging on the cross, he was crucified with at least 2 thieves. One thief continued to mock Christ while the other thief came to Jesus’ aid clearly stating that Jesus was who he said he was. The thief asks Jesus to remember him in heaven and Jesus response, in my opinion is one of the most wonderful and gracious statements in the entire bible. Jesus replies to thief, I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise. To Jesus it didn’t matter that the man was a criminal, he might have been a criminal all his life but all it took was in the last few hours of that man’s life to the accept the truth of Christ for his destination to change for eternity.

Our God is truly awesome and I am consistently humbled by the length that God continues to go so that I (we) can still be a part of him. Could there possibly be any more perfect a demonstration of His unfailing love? Maybe it seems too easy, believe and be saved. It may seem easy because God intended it to be. We have a God who is so yearning to be a part of our lives that he is willing to make it so unbelievably simple. No matter what we've done, who we've been, what we've said, or even how much we might have hated God in the past - Once you believe and acknowledge your need for God, you're eternal destination has been finalized. God loves you he desires for you to feel that love everyday - this is all it takes.

The Fall (Part 2)

If you haven’t read the part 1 of The Fall on my blog I encourage you to take a look at it before continuing so that you can understand the full story behind how sin entered this world. I also explain the question of what sin actually is - which can often be misinterpreted – and what the consequences of our fallen nature is.

So quickly summarizing the content of Part one of ‘The Fall’ – We started in Genesis 3 reading the story of Adam and Eve. We watch Satan tempt Eve and shortly after, Adam, into disobeying God and desiring something apart from God thus causing the very nature of humankind to change. I also explain how sin affects our ability to continue to mirror the image of God, in that, we no longer have the perfection to love and rule the way God intended for us.  This scheme that Satan uses to lure Adam and Eve away from God is the same scheme he’s working with today. We left off the last post feeling fully defeated by the lies of Satan, who managed to destroy our intended purpose and our very nature. HOWEVER, if you think Satan has some powerful tricks up his sleeve, watch what our almighty God and Creator has up his!

In Genesis 3:15 it states, “he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Meaning Satan will strike the heel of God’s creation, stopping us momentarily from being what God designed us to be but then it states, “he will crush your head” meaning Satan may be able to slightly damage God’s creation now but God will destroy  Satan. I love this small phase because it puts into perspective just how mighty our God is. Satan, in all his power, can only strike God’s heel but God can crush Satan’s head, a fatal blow. They are no comparison.

Because here’s something Satan didn’t anticipate, that although humans are subject to sin and our perceptions can change, God on the other hand does not. So although Satan could ruin our ability to perfectly love God, Satan could NOT ruin God’s ability to perfectly love us. And because Satan could never do this God had in store a plan that would prove himself victorious over Satan once again. That result would also be, to humans, a true testament of just how deeply God loves us. This was God’s fatal blow to Satan - John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not parish but have everlasting life.”

When Satan found a way to ruin this world God had a plan to unite it once again. By sending Jesus, God’s perfect son to live a perfect life and then die with a guilty sentence, holding all the burden of sin on his shoulders so that he could justify us from our debt. He took the sins that Satan introduced us to, that act that caused our fallen nature, and made us blameless so that we could once again have a relationship with our Creator. 

Because Jesus did this for us, God doesn’t see us as merely sinners but rather his very own, his children.  If one simply believes that God did this for them the curse of Satan no longer has any hold on them, not just here on Earth but for all eternity. This is a mighty victory that proves once and for all that we are made with a unique and beautiful purpose - to live in the unfailing love, goodness, and perfection of our heavenly Father.

The Fall (Part 1)

Webster’s defines sin as an act considered to be a transgression against divine law. While this is true, it doesn’t even scratch the surface of just what exactly sin is and what is does to us and our relationship with God. If we are truly going to look at the nature of sin the best place to look is where sin started, in the story of Adam and Eve. In this story while Eve was in the garden, the serpent (Satan), came to her and asked her, “Did God REALLY say, ‘You must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden?’ Eve responds, “We may eat from the trees in the garden but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it or you will surely die.’  Then Satan does something here that would change the course of history forever - Satan tells Eve, “You will certainly not die.  For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Then the bible states when the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.

In this couple sentence conversation the Serpent was able to so manipulate Eve’s perception of God  that she would desire something OUTSIDE of God’s goodness. The tree of life now had an appeal that was never there before because suddenly there seemed to be a choice – obey God or eat from it. As soon as Eve desired the fruit she had fallen victim to the scheme Satan continues to dangle over us today – that somehow something APART from God is better.

At that moment when direct disobedience of God occurred, sin entered into our nature. Satan was true in one way, man would from that point forward be able to know both good and evil. It says in the bible that God created us in his image and that image was perfection. Once sin entered into our existence our very nature changed. Sin was now a destroying force that would stay with humanity, destroying us from maintaining the image of God.

It states in Genesis 3:7 that when they ate from the tree their eyes were opened and they saw that they were naked so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then when they heard God come walking in the garden they hid.  And when God approached he called out to them, asking where they were. Then Adam says something that gives what happened away, he states I heard you coming, I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid. God then asks, ‘Who told you you were naked?’ God knew that if man could feel shame and fear that he’d come upon knowledge that God never wanted for us.

When God finds out what has happened he curses the serpent but he also tells Adam and Eve how the sin that has now entered the world will corrupt it – the ground with wither, growing thorns, there will be pain, war, toil, and death. It is this way because sin has become a cancer of the world. Then God removes Adam and Eve from the perfection of the garden and the knowledge of the tree of life, guarding them against it. What sin did is it separated us from God, it kept us from being in his likeness. That’s what sin is a constant destroyer of our ability to be who God wanted us to be, never allowing us to be the qualified to be in God’s 

perfection.

In this dark hour, creation changed as did our relationship with God and our purpose on this Earth. But God’s righteousness is too big to be defeated, he love for us is too strong, and his plans are too perfect. Even through sin has now entered creation God creates something that will once again unify us with him, something so perfect and so good that nothing will keep him from being victorious. Come back for part 2 to see how God turns our death into an amazing victory!

In the beginning.... was a relationship?

Has anyone ever thought about how humorous it is that the creation of the whole universe is summed up in a couple chapters of Genesis? God sure didn’t waste any time! Many Christians I think miss how impactful the first few chapters of the bible are. There is a multitude of questions that just these few verses can answer such as – Are we alone in the universe? Why did God create us? What is our purpose here on Earth? Is God really eternal? Was the Earth really created in 7 days? Now I’m not going to explain all of the answers to those questions in this post – that would be entirely toooooo long of a post – but I will most definitely answer them all in future posts.

In this post I just want to focus on God’s relationship with us. In the creation story we see a few patterns, one being that after God created anything he states that it is good. However, when he gets to the creation of Adam he states this is VERY good. It’s pretty easy to skip over that statement but I want to draw attention to just how powerful that statement really was! Think about the world around us. Think about everything we know that exists – the whole universe in its infinite beauty and detail. God didn’t spare anything, folks! He made every plant, animal, scientific law, pattern, and process this world has ever known and will ever know. We will never understand everything in this magnificent world yet in all of its awesomeness God still says, “That all is good, but you humans, you are even better!” God created us to be better and more important to him than any other creation and that speaks powerfully on how much he cares for us.

Then God also states in Gen. 1:27,

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” It also states in the bible that the Trinity talked amongst each other and agreed man should be made in His own image.

This is another very powerful statement God makes and it tells us a lot about our purpose here on Earth. So what does this statement mean? Well first we have to understand that this does not mean that God created us to physically look like him. God is spirit and we are flesh, naturally, VERY different lol! But what this does mean is that God created man to have the same attributes as him – the ability to love, to possess freewill, to show compassion, to rule over the Earth, to have joy, every emotion and sensation, the goodness of our souls – all of these were made in us in order to be in the same likeness as God.  

So if we think about that it kind of blows the mind! God loves us so much that from the very beginning he wanted amazing things for us. He built us with those characteristics so that we could build relationships with each other and most importantly with God in a deeper and more intimate way than any other creation God has ever made, period! How much more could God show us how important we are to him?! God created us so that we could ultimately love and be loved for all eternity - the most fulfilling and blissful feeling that ever existed, to be enveloped in the love of God!

What the creation story boils down to is that God is a Father who created his children (man) to share in and enjoy his existence with. What an honor and what a perfect reason for life! In our very first experience with God he is demonstrating his intense and endless love for us and you’d be amazed to know that this is still just the tip of the iceberg!

What's with the gazillion different bible translations?

Why are there so many different translations of the bible? Well this is a question I've definitely asked because  at first glance it seems a little pointless to have so many versions - if they all have the same info, what's the point of so many - and if you are a new Christian or even an older Christian it can seem a little overwhelming. Also for the main reason that if we are going to live by something we want to know it's really the truth! It's good to ask these questions, How do you know which translation to use? Does it matter which one you use? Do they have the same information? 

So after reading what the BibleX study had to say about the different translations and doing a bit of extra research myself, I'm excited to have found the answers! One of the main reasons for so many different translations is that groups of translators struggle with whether to translate the words or the idea from the original manuscripts. 

Word for Word

If you focus on a word for word translation the problem is you have to take into consideration that each specific word might have different meanings in different cultures in different times. For a common example, the Hebrew and Aramaic languages have many versions of the English word love. So the meaning might change a bit because of the limitations of the English language. For another example, in Jesus time the word "Amazed" had a more negative feel. Saying you were amazed was more like saying you were a bit frightened and appalled by something. In America today, most of us think of the word amazing as a good, wonderful, positive thing. So in Mark 1:27 it states, "The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching--and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him." See how the difference of the tone in that one word changes the meaning of the verse. This is something the translators have spent a lot of time considering and perfecting.

However, on the other hand, focusing on ideas can be just as challenging because sometimes specific words are used by the writer of a part of the bible because it has a specific meaning. In deep study of the scripture you can determine why the author chose to use a specific word, maybe to make a stronger impact, maybe there's a deeper meaning?

So just to focus on a few popular translations in order to show you the difference;

- The New American Standard version is a word for word translation of the original language of each book in that exact word for word order

- The Living Bible communicates the ideas of each verse instead of focusing as much on the exact word. The translators subsituted the original word with an English word that best conveys the exact idea that verse was relaying.

- The New International Version tries to convey BOTH the words and the ideas as closely as the English language can get to the original scripts

However, one thing we can be sure of is that each translation has been very carefully studied and the ideas of the original scripts are still the same in the bibles we have today, no matter what translation.We can have confidence that our bible is the true word of God all these hundreds of years later. I'll leave you with what God has to say about the truth of his Word:

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” Isa. 40:8