As 2024 dawns and the rising generation leaves the influence of their homes and churches, we can expect their exposure to the Internet and pluralistic culture to cause them to question the reliability of Scripture, hearing “it is socially regressive in its views of women, homosexuality, and slavery because the writings originated from sexist, bigoted, men—NOT from a loving God.” They will likely be told to act like adults and stop viewing the Bible’s fairy tales as anything more than morally uplifting stories like The Little Mermaid, The Lord of the Rings, or Santa Claus. After all, according to this worldview, a story doesn’t have to be true to be legitimate. Besides, insisting that Bible stories are true is divisive and intolerant of those who don’t. Against this backdrop, we must help our children and grandchildren, before leaving home, realize that believing in Jesus is far different than believing in Santa Clause. This episode seeks to make clear this vital difference.
PHILOSOPHICAL OBJECTIONS TO BIBLICAL FAITH BEING ROOTED IN TRUTH
A. Belief doesn’t have to be based upon truth. At one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the world, Harvard University, students are taught that if they believe they are males in a biologically female body, they ARE males; and their choice must be respected or it is hate speech. This is a shocking leap into the abyss of irrationality. Transgenderism, like anorexia, is a delusion. Such a disconnect between an imposed worldview and reality is academia at its worst, since no one, including Claudia Gay, Harvard’s president, actually lives her life believing that the truth of her beliefs doesn’t matter. Everyone knows that when you drive through an intersection, your belief that the cars on the left and right will stop at their red-light MATTERS. If your belief is wrong, you will end up dead. It matters whether my belief that the pilot has been trained to fly my plane is true or not; my life depends upon it. The faith of all rational people is based upon evidence that their beliefs are true. That is why faith and trust are used as synonyms. We need to teach our loved ones that anyone who tries to get them to believe something that is disconnected from truth is deluded and perhaps trying to manipulate them.
B. The presupposition that there can’t be just one true religion. How do we respond to this often-heard objection to Christ’s exclusivity claim, “No one comes to the Father but by me.” We need to point out its cultural bias. Most people in the world, including many who are just as educated and intelligent as intellectuals in the West, do NOT hold the view that all religions are equally valid. As Tim Keller observes, “Most non-Western cultures have no problem saying that their culture and religion is best. The idea that it is wrong to do so is deeply rooted in Western traditions of self-criticism and individualism. (Reason for God). Sceptics reflect the subjective values of their own culture when they assume that any exclusive claims to a superior knowledge of spiritual reality cannot be true. This objection, itself, reflects Western culture’s bias; it is an unproved, arrogant presupposition.
THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS BASED ON EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT
A. Eyewitness Testimony Evidence. A world that is so focused on science sometimes mistakenly forgets that science, historically, is not the only arbiter of truth. Since the beginning of legal systems, eye-witness testimony has been admitted as proof, sufficiently valid to cause one convicted by it to lose his life. The cornerstone of the Christian faith is this kind of proof—the eyewitness testimony of those who saw the risen Jesus, proving his resurrection. In the classic arrogance that accompanies many academic elites today, it has been argued that the Jesus story is a legend—mythology perpetuated by dishonest, power-hungry ecclesiastical leaders. This thesis lies behind books and movies like The Da Vinci Code. “The real, ‘historical Jesus,’” it is argued, “was a charismatic teacher of justice and wisdom who provoked opposition leading to his execution. After his death, different parties and viewpoints emerged among his followers about who he was. Some claimed he was divine and risen from the dead, others that he was just a human teacher who lived on spiritually in the hearts of his disciples. After a power struggle, the ‘divine Jesus’ party won and created texts that promoted its views. They allegedly destroyed all the alternative texts showing us a different sort of Jesus. Recently, some of these suppressed, alternative views of Jesus have come to light,” they point out—"like the ‘Gnostic’ gospels of Thomas and Judas.” But there are numerous reasons for rejecting such faulty reasoning. The strongest is that the timing of NT documents is way too early for the gospels to be legends.
- Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written 40-60 years after Jesus’ death.
- We know that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians in the spring of AD 53, 54, or 55. In 15:3ff Paul gave the tenets of Christian belief, which had already been circulating for years: For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. This is historical proof that the biblical accounts of Jesus’ life were circulating within the lifetimes of hundreds who had been present at the events of his ministry. You can’t write that in a document designed for public reading unless there really are witnesses whose testimony agreed, who would confirm what the author said.
- Luke states that he got his account of Jesus’ life from eyewitnesses who were still alive (Lk 1:1-4). Mark says that the man who helped Jesus carry his cross was “the father of Alexander and Rufus” (Mk 15:21). There is no reason to include the names unless the readers know or have access to them.
- It was not only Christ’s supporters who were still alive when the NT books were written. Also, still alive would be many bystanders, officials, and enemies of Christ who witnessed these events. They would have been ready to challenge any legendary fictions perpetrated on the masses.
- As Tim Keller observes, logic tells us: For a highly altered, fictionalized account of an event to take hold in the public imagination, it is necessary that the eyewitnesses (and their children and grandchildren) all be long dead. They must be off the scene so they cannot contradict or debunk the embellishments or falsehoods of the story. The gospels were written far too soon for this to occur (Ibid).
B. Historic Accuracy of Documents Evidence. Let’s consider 4 ways to test the accuracy of any document, including today’s Bible. This test examines the transmission of the original writings to the present day by evaluating the quantity and quality of manuscripts, time span between events and manuscripts, dating of the manuscript, and archeological evidence to support its historical accuracy. Consider the:
- Quantity of Manuscripts. In the case of the OT, there is a small number of Hebrew manuscripts because the Jewish scribes ceremonially buried imperfect and worn manuscripts. The number of NT manuscripts, however, is unparalleled in ancient literature. In museums around the world, there are 24,000 ancient manuscripts of portions of the NT. By comparison, the number of manuscripts of the writings of Plato is 7, the writings of Aristotle is 49. The second highest number of manuscripts behind the NT 24,000 is 643 copies of Homer’s Iliad. With so many copies of the NT manuscript in hand, we have a very good idea of what the original said.
- Quality of Manuscripts. Boa & Moody in their book, I’m Glad You Asked say, The entire scribal process was specified in meticulous detail to minimize the possibility of even the slightest error. The number of letters, words, and lines were counted, and the middle letters of the Pentateuch and the Old Testament were determined. As a result of this extreme care the quality of the manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible surpasses all other ancient manuscripts (I’m Glad You Asked, Boa and Moody). The 1947 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in caves near the Qumran community excavation revealed an intact copy of the book of Isaiah, scientifically dated to about 100 BC. These scrolls contain fragments of 38 out of the 39 OT books. Regarding the NT, the sheer quantity of manuscripts do display various copying errors; but they enable scholars to have tremendous certainty about 99.5 percent of the original texts and no variant readings are significant enough to call into question any of the doctrines of the NT.
- Time Span of Manuscripts. Apart from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the earliest text of the Old Testament is 895 AD due to the systematic destruction of prior texts by the Masoretic scribes. We now have some NT manuscripts dated from the first century and most of the NT from the second century. So, the time span between the actual writing of the gospels or Paul’s letters and our oldest manuscripts is less than 75 years in many cases. The contrast to the other best-known ancient writings is enormous. For example, the span between Homer’s writing of the Iliad and the oldest manuscript copy we have is 500 years, between Plato’s writing and our oldest manuscript 1200 years, between Aristotle’s life and our oldest manuscript 1400 years. The historic evidence that our current Bible is what was originally written is unsurpassed by any other historical or religious book in the world.
- Archeological Evidence: Because the historical narratives of the Bible are so specific, its details are open to archeological investigation. And today, archeology is the Bible’s best friend, having proven the accuracy of the biblical writers, time and time again. It was not always this way. Consider:
- Nazareth. For years, sceptics asserted that the village from which Luke tells us Mary and Joseph came, never existed. But archeologists then found a list in Aramaic of 24 families of priests dispersed after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD and one of the families was listed as having dispersed to Nazareth. We now know where Nazareth’s synagogue was located. I, myself stood at the cliffs over which the synagogue elders wanted to throw Jesus.
- Herod’s Slaughter of Bethlehem’s Children. Sceptics argue that this slaughter couldn’t have happened since the Roman historian Josephus never mentioned it. However, such reasoning reveals its bias. What history does prove is that Herod was so insecure about threats to his throne that he murdered his own wife, two of his sons, and many others. In other words, Herod’s ruthless treatment of any threats to his throne is well documented, which is exactly what the story in Matthew recounts. In fact, Herod’s ruthlessness insecurity was so well known that Caesar Augustus said, “it is safer to be Herod’s pig than his wife” (because Herod tried to please the Jews by keeping their dietary laws.) Josephus’ failure to mention the slaughter of the children in an obscure village was very likely because Herod’s elimination of threats was so common.
- Luke’s description of the Census. Luke’s narrative claims that Mary and Joseph were required to go to Bethlehem for the census conducted while Quirinius was the governor and during the reign of Herod the Great. But we know that Herod died eight years before Quirinius began to rule Syria. So, skeptics claimed Luke was wrong. But archeologists discovered a coin with the name of Quirinius on it revealing that Quirinius was proconsul of Syrian during part of the time that Herod the Great ruled. There were two proconsuls of Syria named Quirinius. Dr. Luke got it right.
- Luke 3:1. In a similar incident Luke was scoffed at because he mentioned a man named Lysanias, the tetrarch of Abilene. But historians knew that Lysanias wasn’t a tetrarch, and he didn’t rule over Abilene but over Chalcis, fifty years earlier. Then archaeology stepped in. An inscription was found from the time of Tiberius, (AD 14-37), which names Lysanias as tetrarch in Abilene near Damascus. Luke’s accuracy was confirmed again.
- Luke’s geography. One prominent archaeologist carefully examined Luke’s references in his gospel and the book of Acts to 32 countries, 54 cities, and 9 islands, finding not a single mistake. (Norman Geisler & Thomas Howe, When Critics Ask).
C. Profile Evidence. Both prosecution and defense attorneys seek to create a profile in the mind of the judge or jury that corresponds or does not correspond to the suspect’s behavior. How does Jesus’ life give evidence that he was Immanuel, God himself, in the flesh? One could point to his miracles, or his resurrection, which had never happened before. But here are some, perhaps more striking ways that Jesus fits the profile of God.
- He forgives sins. A human can forgive sins committed against him. But only God can forgive sins in general, which are committed against God. In Luke 5:17 ff, Jesus saw a paralyzed man being lowered through the ceiling he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” The next verse says, And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
- Claiming to be sinless. It is true that some people’s character is such that they are called righteous, in Scripture. This list includes Job, Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, and Joseph of Nazareth. But we have no record of them saying, as Jesus did, with a straight face, “Which of you can convict me of sin?” If I said that, all the hands of my family members would instantly shoot right up! Holiness is an attribute of God alone.
- Claiming to be the Son of Man. Jesus’ favorite term for himself was taken from an obscure text in Daniel. Yet, it was loaded with significance: With the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man and he came to the Ancient of Days (God) and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him (Dan 7:13-14). This portrait of the coming messianic king reveals that the Son of Man is FROM HEAVEN.
- Jesus claimed to be God (and his enemies put him to death for it).
- He said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
- He said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
- He said, “Before Abraham was, I AM”—a claim to be Yahweh (John 8:58)
- He claimed authority over the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-28).
Neither Moses, Muhammad, Gautama Buddha, nor Joseph Smith, claimed to be God. But Jesus of Nazareth did. That fact makes a watershed difference between Christianity and other religions. Furthermore, Jesus can’t be a great moral teacher if he was mistaken or lied about the chief topic of his teaching—his own identity. As C.S. Lewis pointed out. You can 1) shut Jesus up for a fool, or 2) you can spit at him as a demon, or 3) you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord. But let us not come up with any nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
D. Fingerprint evidence. Jesus and Jesus alone matched over twenty very specific prophecies about the coming of the Messiah. The mathematical probability of any one person meeting all these criteria is infinitesimal.
- Born of a virgin—Isaiah 7:14, Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
- The Son of God—Psalm 2:7, Hebrews 1:5, For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?
- The seed of Abraham—Genesis 22:18, In your seed all the nations of the world shall be blessed.
- From the tribe of Judah—Micah 5:2, But you, among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel.
- From the line of Jesse—Isaiah 11:1, There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
- From the house of David—Jeremiah 23:5, Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
- Born in Bethlehem—Micah 5:2, But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old.
- His birth would cause weeping in Ramah—Jer 31:15, A voice was heard in Ramah weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.
- Preceded by a messenger—Isaiah 4:3, A voice cries in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
- The child of Elizabeth and Zechariah would prepare his way—Luke 1:68-79, And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.
- Will be called a Nazarene—Matt 2:23, And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.
- His ministry will be in Galilee—Isaiah 9:1, In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
The truth is that unlike the beliefs of many around us, the Christian’s faith is not a leap into irrationality, into a fantasy world contradicted by evidence. The evidence for the truth of the Bible and Christianity is staggering. Only something as powerful as sin could cause anyone to deny it--which explains why the lost refuse to believe. But so did WE. Apart from God’s grace to us, the sin that darkens human understanding would still be blinding US. So, out of gratitude, may we enter 2024 determined to live a life worthy of our calling out of darkness into light!
For Further Prayerful Thought:
- How would you answer the objection, “I can’t believe in Christianity because I can’t believe God would be so narrow minded that only one religion could be right?
- How would you answer Da Vinci Code fans who insist that the idea that the baby in Bethlehem’s manger was made up by a faction of Jesus’ followers?
- Which examples of archaeology’s validation of biblical accuracy do you most want to remember?
- How might Jesus’ fulfillment of so many specific prophecies be a tool to help you ask those who don’t know him to consider his claims?
