How Can We Trust the Bible? How Do We Know that Jesus was Not Just a Kook?
The Following Commentary Originally Appeared In The ChristianMoneyPlus Members Only Newsletter For December 2014
I had a disturbing conversation with a young person this week. As is often the case at social gatherings, the issue of religion came up in conversation. This young person (who I believed to profess a faith in Christ) shared some rather disturbing comments. First, they said that the Bible cannot really be trusted as accurate. “After all, it was written by men and those that decided what books were to be included in the Bible likely had their own agenda as well. How can we really know anyway what Jesus said or if he really lived as the Bible claims? People that say they are Christians act like they are better than everyone else and most of them are hypocrites. I don’t agree that people who don’t accept the existence of God can’t have a good life without a faith.”
Wow, this was both an opportunity, and a challenge (and an unexpected one at that). These are the kinds of things that people have been saying for generations, but I am finding such sentiments more and more prevalent among Millennials. The indoctrination in our schools about ‘not judging’ and accepting everyone and all life choices as equal…is starting to come out of the pipeline. The notion that all religions are the same, and the idea that even atheism is now considered a religion, as well, raises some very interesting questions. It also brings to our doorsteps an intellectual challenge for us to be able to defend our faith in a logical way that cannot be dismissed by such shallow criticism.
The Historical Jesus
The question about whether or not Jesus lived should not be left on the table as an open matter. We know that Jesus of Nazareth did live and walked this earth. Some question the claim that he rose from the dead after his crucifixion by Pilate, but the existence of Jesus is nearly unanimously accepted by scholars. Perhaps the most authoritative reference to the historical Jesus of Nazareth was by the Jewish historian Josephus. Of course, debates will rage about whether He really performed miracles, what His religious philosophies were, and whether He came back from the dead. Nevertheless, we know Jesus lived, and that is a good starting point for any conversation like the one I had.
How Can We Trust the Bible?
Many will be surprised that in such an argument I choose to not make the debate about the inerrancy of Scripture, but, rather, focus on the core message of the Bible. As I said to this young person, even if you have doubts about the Bible and whether each and every word is accurate, what about the core message – the multiple Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and promise of salvation to those that accept him as Savior?
“But what if the Gospels are not true? What if we simply can’t rely on the account provided by the four writers?” Again, probably not an argument that will yield a lot of fruit (especially if you have limited time).
Evidence That Is Simply Too Big To Ignore
Whether you throw the Bible out as inaccurate or can’t believe that Christ rose from the dead, you still have to reasonably have questions about what happened 2,000 years ago. Something so significant took place that millions converted to the Christian faith; most notable were the conversions of those living at the time of Jesus. If He never existed, or was just a ‘Tony Robbins’ type motivational guru that was put to death for stirring up trouble, how does that mushroom into the worldwide movement of Christianity? Furthermore, why would people living at the time of Jesus believe any of this? After the crucifixion of Jesus, it was over… the man of miracles was gone and His followers denied they knew him and went back to life as usual. The disciples returned back to their old jobs, the story of Jesus and the claims he made turned out to all be lies. No group could have been happier than the religious leaders of the day. This blasphemous ‘messiah,’ his fake miracles, and claims of being the Son of God, all died with him. IT WAS OVER… Jesus was just another false messiah as the Pharisees had insisted.
But then something happened. I can only imagine the buzz and the word on the street about the notion that Jesus was alive. If Twitter existed at the time, it would have no doubt been the top trending topic – #jesusalive. Of course he could not be alive, they had seen him crucified and his dead body carried away to a tomb. This was all nonsense, and likely more hype by Jesus’ fanatical followers, right? But then Jesus starting making public appearances – and it was the headline of all headlines – HE IS ALIVE AND HIS TOMB IS EMPTY!The example that often comes to mind when placing this in a modern context is the JFK assassination. What if three days after President Kennedy was killed in Dallas he started making public appearances? Can you imagine the public reaction?
Appearances of Jesus after the Resurrection
(Source of Compilation: Christian Answers.com)
1. To Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre alone. This is recorded at length only by John (20:11-18), and alluded to by Mark (16:9-11).
2. To certain women, “the other Mary,” Salome, Joanna, and others, as they returned from the sepulchre. Matthew (28:1-10) alone gives an account of this. (Compare Mark 16:1-8, and Luke 24:1-11.)
3. To Simon Peter alone on the day of the resurrection. (See Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5.)
4. To the two disciples on the way to Emmaus on the day of the resurrection, recorded fully only by Luke (24:13-35. Compare Mark 16:12,13).
5. To the ten disciples (Thomas being absent) and others “with them,” at Jerusalem on the evening of the resurrection day. One of the evangelists gives an account of this appearance,John (20:19-24).
6. To the disciples again (Thomas being present) at Jerusalem (Mark 16:14-18; Luke 24:33-40;John 20:26-28. See also 1 Cor. 15:5).
7. To the disciples when fishing at the Sea of Galilee. Of this appearance also John (21:1-23) alone gives an account.
8. To the eleven, and above 500 brethren at once, at an appointed place in Galilee (1 Cor. 15:6; compare Matt. 28:16-20).
9. To James, but under what circumstances we are not informed (1 Cor. 15:7).
10. To the apostles immediately before the ascension. They accompanied him from Jerusalem to Mount Olivet, and there they saw him ascend “till a cloud received him out of their sight” (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50-52; Acts 1:4-10). It is worthy of note that it is distinctly related that on most of these occasions our Lord afforded his disciples the amplest opportunity of testing the fact of his resurrection. He conversed with them face to face. They touched him (Matt. 28:9; Luke 24:39; John 20:27), and he ate bread with them (Luke 24:42,43; John 21:12,13).
11. In addition to the above, mention might be made of Christ’s manifestation of himself to Paul at Damascus, who speaks of it as an appearance of the risen Savior (Acts 9:3-9, 17; 1 Cor. 15:8; 9:1).
12. It is implied in the words of Luke (Acts 1:3) that there may have been other appearances of which we have no record.
How Can We Trust Any of This? Isn’t It Possible that These Accounts Were AllSimplyMade Up?
If you don’t consider the Bible to be accurate or an authoritative source, I won’t have much success using a series of scriptural references to persuade you, will I? But there is still one big problem trying to dispose of the story of Jesus – Why did the movement continue after his death? Some might argue that other religious movements have taken a foothold even after the death of their founders, so the longevity of Christianity proves nothing. Jesus, however, was the only such leader of any of these movements that claimed he would rise from the dead (and then did so). If Jesus did not rise from the dead and make numerous public appearances, Christianity would have fizzled out in a matter of just days.
Would They Die for a Lie?
We know that not only did the movement continue, we know that the followers of Christ were threatened and killed for their faith. This includes not just the disciples (all but one), but countless individuals that were martyred for their faith in Christ. There is such a weight of evidence here of ‘something’ so significant that it changed the course of history, that we simply can’t allow the story of Jesus to be dismissed without requiring that some tough questions be addressed. Where we end up here is one of two possibilities – Jesus pulled off the biggest con in history, or He was who He said He was.
I challenge you this holiday season to dig deep and develop an intellectual foundation for your faith!
