Some try to argue for abortion by saying the unborn, especially in early stages, is not human.  Josh Brahm is offering to shut down his pro-life YouTube channel if someone can successfully make an argument from science proving that the unborn is not a human being. Check out Josh at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4MnelFIJr8 to view his pro-life challenge.  Can anyone prove the unborn is not human?

AA: Steve, Apologetics, Ethics No Comments February 6th, 2010

Fact #2: Jesus’ disciples believed that he rose and appeared to them

To establish this fact I will use 3 lines of evidence; 1) Paul’s testimony about the disciples, 2) oral traditions passed through the early church, and 3) written works of the early church.

I will begin with looking at the writings of the Apostle Paul.  Writing around 55 AD Paul says Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and then rose again on the 3^rd day.  He also gives an accounting of many witnesses (over 500) of the resurrection, including the disciples. He writes in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 (NASB) “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He appeared to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve. ⁶ After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; ⁷ then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”

Paul was teaching the Corinthian Church what had been passed onto him years earlier.  Some scholars believe he received this information from Peter and James while visiting with them after his conversion.  This would place these verses within five years of the crucifixion.  Not only is this incredibly close to the actual event, it was probably given to Paul by eyewitnesses or others he deemed responsible.  This adds to the credibility of the account[1].  Even if it was a few years more than five, we still have an early testimony to the resurrection.  In verses 8-12 we see Paul stating that he and the other disciples preached the resurrection of Jesus and this was the message the individuals in the church believed.

Secondly, we have additional oral traditions that attest to the resurrection.  These oral traditions were later recorded by various authors.  One of these authors was Luke.  As a doctor, he thoroughly investigated the evidence prior to writing (Luke 1:1-4 & Acts 1:1 & 2).  From the pen of Luke we read in the book of Acts a sermon preached by Peter about David, one time King of Israel, and Jesus. Acts 2:29-33 (NASB) “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ “And so, because he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne, ³¹ he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. ³² “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.”  What an incredible statement!  Author Luke records a sermon by Peter where he stated David died, was buried and we know where he is today.  However, he says Jesus died but his body never saw decay; that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead.  Noted historian William Ramsay, in his book St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen, supported the accuracy of Luke and gave reasons “for placing the author of Acts among the historians of the first rank.”  Not only do we get the testimony of Peter, an eyewitness of the resurrection, but he points to members of the listening audience, stating some of them were eyewitnesses.  These traditions were orally passed down throughout the early church years before being recorded in written form.

In addition we have the testimonies of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John concerning the resurrection of Jesus.  All scholars date the Gospels within the 1^st century.  Based on the case I made earlier, we have good reasons to believe they were written before AD 70.  When we compare these documents to other ancient literature, even dating the accounts after AD 70, these accounts are far closer than the vast majority of ancient historical manuscripts.

Third we have the apostolic fathers, some of which knew the disciples or were close to others who did.  There is a strong probability their writings reflected what the disciples taught.  One example was Clement.  Early church father Irenaeus reports that Clement had conversed with the apostles.  Tertullian, another early church father, said Clement was ordained by Peter himself.  Clement in his letter to the Corinthian church, written in the first century, writes this about the disciples: “Having therefore received their orders, and being fully assured by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and established in the word of God, with full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they went forth proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand[2].”

Early church father Polycarp was instructed by the apostles and had conversations with the apostle John.  He writes to the Philippian Church in 110 AD and mentions the resurrection at least 5 times.  He referred to the apostles when he wrote this: “For they loved not this present world, but Him who died for us, and for our sakes was raised again by God from the dead[3].”

These accounts all confirm the fact the disciples had seen the risen Christ; they were eyewitnesses.  If you read through the book of Acts you can see how the disciples were willing to sacrifice their lives spreading the message that Jesus had risen from the dead.  All this is confirmed by the writings of the early church fathers. 

Based on the extremely early writings of Paul, the testimony of Acts, the individual Gospels, and the writings of the early church fathers, we can have no doubt the disciples believed Jesus rose from the dead and that he appeared to them.  It was this truth they were willing to die for. Some today are willing to sacrifice their lives for what they believe is the truth.  The disciples would have known for certain their stories were fictional because they said they were eyewitnesses of the events.   It is said, “Liars make poor martyrs.”  No one dies for a lie, they know for a fact is a lie.  The disciples died for the truth.

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[1] Strobel, Lee, “The Case for the Real Jesus,” Zondervan, 2007 p. 115

[2] 1Corinthians 42:3 Christian Classics Ethereal Library http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ii.ii.xlii.html 

[3] Philippians 9:2 Christian Classics Ethereal Library http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.iv.ii.ix.html

AA: Steve, Apologetics 1 Comment February 4th, 2010

Fact #1: Jesus was killed by crucifixion

Skeptic James Tabor says, “I think we need have no doubt that given Jesus’ execution by Roman crucifixion he was truly dead.” Both atheistic New Testament critic Gerd Ludemann and agnotic Bart Ehrman, calls the crucifixion an indisputable fact.  Why? First all four Gospels report it. They are either independent eyewitness accounts or the writers received their information from eyewitnesses.  All four Gospels say the crucified Jesus was dead and buried.

Additional support comes from ancient historians writing during the 1st century AD. Jewish historian Josephus said this about Jesus, “And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him.” Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus writes, “Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius.” Others who reported the death of Jesus were Lucian Samosata, a Greek satirist, Mara Bar-Serapion, a pagan, and the Jewish Talmud who report “Yeshu was hanged” another term for death on a cross .

Could Jesus have somehow survived the ordeal of crucifixion? In Matthew 27 we read that Jesus appeared before Governor Pontius Pilate and was questioned. Pilate found no reason to crucify Jesus but to appease the Jewish religious leaders he made a deal; he would release either Barabbas or Jesus. The people asked for the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus. We read in Matthew 27:26 (NIV) “Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.” Jesus was then whipped by Roman guards. A flogging or whipping consisted of 39 lashes with a leather whip with metal balls woven into it to cause deep bruises. The whips also had bone fragments attached to cut the flesh. Many people died from this form of punishment. The movie “The Passion” depicts the horror of this torture extremely well. An almost dead Jesus was then forced to walk the streets carrying his cross. Upon reaching the location, spikes were driven into his wrists and feet. The cross was then set upright, with Jesus hanging by the nails. The Romans were experts in torture.

Once the cross was upright Jesus would have had to push up, using his feet, in order to exhale. If the crucified victim didn’t push up, he would have suffocated. This would have been an extremely painful causing him to slump down once again. Yet, to breathe he would have had to push upwards again and again. Once exhaustion set in, Jesus would no longer be able to push upward and therefore would not be able to breathe. The Romans knew anyone in a slumped position on the cross couldn’t breathe. It would be similar to having your head held under water. After a few minutes, say 10 minutes or more, the person would be dead. The guards easily could tell Jesus was dead.

This is why, when the Romans wanted speed things up and to make sure the criminals and Jesus were dead, it was their custom to break the legs of victims. We read in John 19:31-34“… Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.” 

With broken legs the person can no longer push upward which means they will quickly suffocate and die. And why didn’t the guards break the legs of Jesus? For the simple reason it was obvious he was dead. You have to understand Roman guards were execution experts. If anyone was taken off the cross alive and escaped, the custom was for the Roman guards to be put to death. In addition to confirm he was dead, one of the guards for good measure drove a spear through his heart and lungs.

History records Jesus died on the cross. This is fact #1 and is strongly accepted by the overwhelming majority of scholars. 

AA: Steve, Apologetics Comments Off February 1st, 2010

In constructing a case for Jesus’ resurrection, it’s important to distinguish between the evidence and the best explanation of that evidence. This distinction is crucial because in this case the evidence is relatively uncontroversial; it’s agreed to by most scholars. On the other hand, the explanation of that evidence is controversial. My conclusion, that the resurrection is the best explanation, certainly is at the heart of the controversy.

However, first I would like to make my case by stating 5 historical facts accepted by the majority of scholars; both liberal and conservative scholars. To establish the facts I will use as many relevant resources as I can.  I will use the Bible, the writings of Roman historians, and some of the writings of the early church fathers.  I will give the greatest historical weight to reports that are early, eyewitnesses, enemy, embarrassing, and corroborated by others. 

When I say embarrassing I mean if the account was fictional, the writers would have never included such an event.  An example of embarrassment is to make a fool out of Peter, the brave leader of the disciples.  In the Gospels we read that under pressure and fearing for his life, during the trial of Jesus just before he was crucified, Peter denied knowing who Jesus was; in fact he did it 3 times.  Peter, the powerful disciple of Jesus, is shown to be a coward at the time of Jesus’ arrest and greatest need.  Peter later redeems himself, lives a courageous life, and eventually is crucified upside down for his belief in Jesus.  However, the Bible doesn’t pull any punches in showing at the trial of Jesus, Peter was a coward!  There are many embarrassing moments in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts so many so, that historians say this is evidence for the historical accuracy of the Bible or at least these books.

Some have accused the Biblical writers of being biased in their reporting.  The truth is all writers have some sort of bias when they write.  What skeptics are really saying, when them make this accusation, is anyone who is biased cannot write an accurate historical account.  Does that mean a holocaust survivor cannot write an accurate account of the mistreatment of the Jews?  The answer of course is NO!  What has to happen is the writer has to minimize their bias because he or she cannot eliminate them.  To guard against biased accounts, two things need to happen; first, the facts must have strong historical evidence to support them and second, the vast majority of today’s scholars on the subject, including skeptical ones, need to accept them as historical facts.

A Dr. Gary Habermas compiled a list of more than 2,200 sources in French, German, and English in which experts have written on the resurrection from 1975 to now.  He has identified minimal facts that are strongly evidenced and which are regarded as historical by the large majority of scholars, including skeptics[1].

Here are the 5 minimal facts from the writings of Dr. Gary Habermas:

• Fact #1: Jesus was killed by crucifixion
• Fact #2: Jesus’ disciples believed that he rose and appeared to them
• Fact #3: The conversion of the church persecutor Paul
• Fact #4: The conversion of the skeptic James, Jesus’ half-brother
• Fact # 5: Jesus’ tomb was empty

We will look at each fact and examine why the majority of scholars accept them.  Remember, first we need to look at the evidence.  Given most scholars accept these facts there won’t be much controversy here.  Then secondly, we will examine the explanations for the evidence and try to see which is the best.  Here is where we will have some major disagreements.

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[1] Strobel, Lee, “The Case for the Real Jesus,” Zondervan, 2007 p. 112

AA: Steve, Apologetics 3 Comments January 25th, 2010

Last week, while teaching a class, I was talking about how we are saved by grace through faith and not by works.  I mentioned we have this sense that when we wrong someone we need to do something good.  An individual in the class asked where these feelings of doing good, whenever we do bad, come from.   As I thought about it this week I sensed I needed to elaborate on my answer for those in the class and others.

I believe these feelings come from God; part of how He designed us and therefore is a good thing.  It seems natural for us to want to do good for any person we have wronged.  My desire to please my wife after I have offended her is how I should feel. 

However, I think we take a good thing and make it problematic when we apply this principle to salvation.  It is one thing to offend another person and try to make it up by doing good; it is another to offend a holy God and think we can make it up by doing good deeds.  The major difference is God is our judge and when we sin we break His laws.  In our human justice system no matter how good you are, if you break the law and are caught, you pay a penalty and doing good works won’t help you.  For example if you stopped at 2,000 stop signs in a row and then ran through just one, the police officer who saw you needs to write you a ticket.  Would you try to tell him about the 2,000 consecutive stop signs you stopped at?  No because obedience to the law is expected and doesn’t pay the penalty.  The same goes for God.  If you break His laws you need to be judged by Him and pay a penalty.  Obedience to the law and good works are expected and breaking any of God’s laws comes with a penalty.  That penalty is separation from God for all eternity. 

Many people think doing good can earn heaven; as long as your good works outweigh the bad.  This is what Islam teaches.  As I said previously, in our justice system being a good person doesn’t pay the penalty for breaking the law.  This same principle goes for God’s system.  In God’s system you have to be perfect.  James writes James 2:10 “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.”  We are held accountable and have to pay a penalty even for breaking only one of God’s laws.  The problem is we don’t just break one but many each and every day.   Only Jesus Christ, God’s perfect Son, can pay the penalty you and I deserve.  It is only through trusting Christ can we enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Where do the feelings of doing good, whenever we do bad, come from?  God created them in us but doesn’t want us to think our good deeds can pay the penalty we deserve.  Paul writes, Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  God’s grace cannot be acquired by good works; God gives us grace only by faith.

AA: Steve, Theology No Comments January 21st, 2010