[lit-ideas] Re: faith
- From: Brian <cabrian@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 17 May 2005 19:17:16 -0500
Here is small sampling, Paul:
Bible: has more manuscript proofs than any other 10 pieces of
classical literature combined. Example: there are over 24,000
manuscript copies of the New Testament in existence today, with the
oldest manuscript dated at 125 years after the original autograph.
That might seem like a long time, but by comparison, Homer's Iliad is
a distant second with a mere 643 manuscript copies, and with the
oldest copy dated at 500 years after the original. The Iliad
contains about 15,600 lines of which 764 lines are in doubt. This
means the Iliad manuscripts contain five percent textual corruption
or uncertainty. By contrast, the New Testament contains 20,000 lines
with only 40 lines, or 400 words in doubt, which figures to 99.5
percent textual certainty, or only one-half of one percent of words
containing variants. [Note: None of the disputed passages in the New
Testament represent a challenge to any Christian doctrine or moral
precept, with most of the variants being attributed to errors in
spelling or slight differences of style.] Also, the fulfilled
prophecy: Some time before 500 B. C. the prophet Daniel proclaimed
that Israel's long-awaited Messiah would begin his public ministry
483 years after the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild
Jerusalem; Some 400 years before crucifixion was invented, both
Israel's King David and the prophet Zechariah described the Messiah's
death in words that perfectly depict that mode of execution. Further,
they said that the body would be pierced and that none of the bones
would be broken, contrary to customary procedure in cases of
crucifixion; The prophet Isaiah foretold that a conqueror named
Cyrus would destroy seemingly impregnable Babylon and subdue Egypt
along with most of the rest of the known world. This same man, said
Isaiah, would decide to let the Jewish exiles in his territory go
free without any payment of ransom. Isaiah made this prophecy l50
years before Cyrus was born, 180 years before Cyrus performed any of
these feats (and he did, eventually, perform them all), and 80 years
before the Jews were taken into exile.
Resurrection, historical facts:
Jesus died by crucifixion
Was buried
His death caused his disciples to despair
The tomb which he was buried was found to be empty
The disciples had experience of the literal risen Jesus
The disciples were transformed from doubters to bold proclaimers to
his Gospel
This message was the center of preaching in the early church
And especially proclaimed in Jerusalem
The church was born and grew from this preaching
Sunday as the primary day of worship
James who was a skeptic was converted to the faith
Paul was converted by an experience with the risen Jesus
For the New Testament, Dr. Gary Habermas points out that within 110
years of Christ's crucifixion, approximately eighteen non-Christian
sources mention more than "one hundred facts, beliefs, and teachings
from the life of Christ and early Christendom. These items, I might
add, mention almost every major detail of Jesus' life, including
miracles, the Resurrection, and His claims to deity." Sir William
Ramsey, one of the greatest archeologists to ever live, demonstrated
that Luke made no mistakes in references to 32 countries, 54 cities,
and 9 islands.
Further Reading:
Biblical Historicity:
From G-d To Us - William Nix, Norm Geisler
The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? - F.F. Bruce
Is The Bible True? - Jeff Sheler
The Historical Reliability of the Gospels - Craig Blomberg
Jesus:
The Historical Jesus - Gary Habermas
Gary Habermas and Antony Flew - Did Jesus Rise From the Dead?
Jesus' Resurrection - William Lane Craig
Jesus According To Scripture ? Darrell Bock
Who Was Jesus? - N.T. Wright
~Brian~
Birmingham
On May 17, 2005, at 5:28 PM, Paul Stone wrote:
>
>
>> I already have, twice. I have faith because I have good reason for
>> it. In other words, take something tangible like the resurrection of
>> the Christ or the historicity of Scripture. I have good reason to
>> believe in Christianity because I have good reasons to believe in
>> those things.
>>
>
> What are the reasons? You're starting to sound like the ice cream
> man now.
>
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