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(This may look familiar. To return here, just click on the ST logo)
So is there a God? How can we know that there is? The very fact that we or
anything around us is here should be more than enough evidence that there
is in fact a God. If I am alone on a beach and find a volleyball, I wouldn't
be wondering if it just magically appeared there. I may wonder whose it was
or what brand it was, but I know somebody made it. Many people don't
believe in God because they can't see Him or because God doesn't do what
they want him to do when they want him to do it. Both are pretty preposterous
ideas when we think about it. First of all, no unrighteous person would
want to see God right now if God truly hates
sin.1 That would bring immediate
death.2 Secondly, I have yet to find
anyone who has seen the wind, but we know it's there. How do we know
the wind exists? Only because of the effects we see when it blows. But you
may argue that this is the very reason you were trying to get God to do
something for you in the first place. What would you and I do if an
ant thought he could make us swerve around him on the road? We'd probably
squash him, and we should be glad that God doesn't do the same to us
when we expect him to do things for us on our time. God has given us plenty
of evidence of His existence with the planets and stars, the plants and animals,
movement, intelligent design, and the abilities we have to think, to function,
to love, and to hate. All of these are much more complex than a volleyball
dreamed of being.
So why Christianity? Why not some other religion? First of all, Christianity
is unique from all other world religions. Instead of asking what he can do
in order to get to heaven, a Christian wants to know what he can do
because he is going to heaven.3
The love is much more pure in Christianity than you will find in any other
religion. Instead of doing good for our own benefit, we do good out of love
for God. A person striving to receive a reward is doing good for selfish
motives.
God took the first step by sending His Son to die on the cross as the unblemished
lamb. In the Old Testament, sacrifices had to be made to clear the sins of
the people.4 The lambs had to be without
blemish.5 These sacrifices served as a
representation of Jesus, who the New Testament writers refered to as the
Unblemished Lamb.6 In other words, he had
to be sinless for it to mean anything when he died for our sins. The
Bible tells us that nobody is righteous - not even
one.7 So, this poses a definite problem
if Jesus is nothing more than a man. According to the Bible, only God
is sinless. Therefore, if Christianity is true, Jesus must be God. Unlike
any leader in any other major world religion, Jesus Claimed to be
God.8
We all know that claims are nothing unless you can back them up, and this
is when the real evidence for Christianity comes into play. Christians have
the evidence of the Bible - the way it has remained throughout history, it's
central theme of Christ and the redemption of
man,9 and the visible preservation
of the written words as seen when the Dead Sea Scrolls were
unearthed.10 Christianity is historical.
The scriptures were written in times and places that can be checked by
archeological digging11 as well as historical
documents outside of the Bible.12 It also
contains many prophecies that had been fulfilled; many concerning the life
of Jesus Himself, giving us a blueprint of who the Old Testament claimed
the redeemer would be.13 Also recorded
in the Bible are numerous miracles performed by Jesus, including walking
on water, healings, calming storms, and the raising of the
dead.14 Almost all of his miracles were
performed in groups of people, disintegrating the idea that these were merely
hallucinations.15 Most were also done
in the presence of hostile witnesses, like the Pharisees and Sadducees, who
were looking for any opportunity to shut down the ministry of this man who
told people the hard truth about these "blind
guides".16 |
| Perhaps the most convincing of all the arguments for Christianity are
the changed lives. Throughout history, many people have been told what I
have written here and made dramatic changes in their lives, placing their
faith in the work on the cross alone for their eternal salvation. Many
Jews, people from a nation that holds firmly to its national identity, just
stopped taking part in the numerous customs and even started worshiping on
the first day of the week instead of the last in honor of the
resurrection.17 Early Christians were
hung on crosses, burned alive, stoned to death, and fed to animals when all
they had to do was deny the resurrection of Christ. These were people who
claimed to see Jesus alive after the
dead.18 I'll tell you something, if I
claim to see something and I didn't see it, I'm sure not going to
die for it. Would you? |
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| Did Jesus really die, or was the death faked? Stories
of swoon theories and replacement hoaxes run rampant in this information
age we live in.19 So where does the
real evidence lead? Both types of theories suggest that the people of
that day were stupid. But with the evidence we do have, it's much easier
to believe that Jesus physically died. First, based on the fact that people
were able to die cruel deaths, we can assume that they weren't making stories
up for their own benefit. Secondly, the Romans were professional killers
and knew that their own life was at stake if they didn't get their
man.20 Third, there are very early records,
written within ten years of the crucifiction of Jesus, claiming his
death and resurrection in early church
creeds.21 So, we can rightly assume that
these people were telling the truth based on their actions after what
they claimed to see.
Now, we turn our focus toward the cross to see if it was possible for him
to escape death. Crucifiction on the cross is one of the most cruel forms
of punishment ever performed in known history. A new word, "excruciating,"
was even coined because of the pain endured on the cross. However, the pain
of the cross actually begins much earlier than the spikes. The prisoners
were usually beaten severely, sometimes whipped until their innards and veins
showed. Then in a state of hypovolemic shock they were forced to carry a
beam up to the place they were to be crucified. After they got there, nails
were run into their hands (wrists) and feet, lascerating the nerves as they
went in. When the cross was lifted, the lungs were held in the inhale position
until the victim pushed up for his next breath, scraping his bloody
back against the rough wood. These are the types of things that swoon
theorists leave out of their books. I could go on, but my point is made.
There is no way for him to have lived through this, but even if he had,
Christians would not have dreamed of following this example unless he truly
rose from the dead in a renewed
body.22
All of this information is just that - information. Information does nothing
unless it is understood, accepted, and acted on. If you feel convicted to
act on this information, there is no better time than the present. It costs
you absolutely nothing to ask God to be your Lord and Savior. It costs
you nothing to grasp onto eternal life and know you will be with God in heaven.
Because He truly loves you, He humbled himself even to the point of that
horrible death on the cross. When you ask, if you haven't already, you
have this information to hold on to and comfort you as it has comforted me.
Bibliography
| -Craig, William Lane, and Dr. John Dominic Crossan. "Will
the Real Jesus Please Stand Up! A Debate between William Lane Craig and John
Dominic Crossan" Chicago, IL: Pearl Publishing, 1998. (Debate on Audio Tape) |
| -Funk and Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary (New
York: Funk and Wagnalls Publishing Company).1976. |
| -Geisler, Norman L. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian
Apologetics. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999. |
| -Halverson, Dean C. The Compact Guide to World Religions.
Mineapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1996. |
| -Hanegraaff, Hank. "MAPS to Guide You Through Biblical
Reliability." Christian Research Institute: Statement DB011. From
the CRI Web Site at http://www.equip.org/free/DB011.htm |
| -Hanegraaff, Hank. Resurrection. Nashville, TN: Word
Publishing, 2000. |
| -Kohlenberger, John R. III. The NIV Compact Nave's Topical
Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervan Corperation, 1993. |
| -Richards, Lawrence O. Expository Dictionary of Bible
Words. Grand Rapids, MI: The Zonderban Corperation, 1993. |
| -Stedman, Ray C. Adventuring Through the Bible. Grand
Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers, 1997. |
| -Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ. Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 1998. |
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy
Bible, New International Version (North American Edition), copyright ©
1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of
Zondervan Publishing House. |
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