SUhrig Jesus and The Bible

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Jesus and The Bible Samantha Uhrig Phil 240 Christian Evidences April 17 th , 2023

1 Prompt One “Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth, I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalms 61:1-2, this is my life verse. I try to share it and its story with anyone who will listen. I haven’t had the opportunity to discuss my faith with a nonbeliever. However, I can think of a few ways to approach the discussion. I would first share my life verse and its story, followed by the criteria of embarrassment, and end with non-biblical accounts that support Jesus’s existence. A life verse is a scripture that you feel represents your life, a verse that gives you encouragement and hope for the future. Most life verses are often found in the mists of chaos. When I found Psalms 61, I struggle with major anxiety disorder and depression. I was at a women's retreat with my church. Women surrounded me I didn't know. I left so alone. The speaker encouraged us to find our life verse after sharing hers and the story behind it. I went down but the lake nearby and sat quietly reading. I flipped to a random psalm and started there. When I read the words "when my heart is overwhelmed," I felt seen. But the verse doesn't end there. It continues, "lead me to the rock that is higher than I ." I started crying, and I knew I had found it. That verse gives me hope and reminds me to look to God in the mists of the chaos. There have been many moments since I needed the reminder to look to God. Think of your most embarrassing moment. Would you want the whole world to know about it? This is the principle behind the criteria of embarrassment, which are stories within the gospels that could be seen as embarrassing to early churches. There are many times throughout

2 the scriptures that Jesus embarrasses himself. The first one that comes to mind is Mark 13:32 “Now concerning that day or hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven nor the Son — but only the Father.” Jesus is seen as a deity and all-knowing. Why would the writer of Mark include a quote when Jesus denies knowing something and refers to himself as the “son”? Another example of an embarrassing moment is found during the resurrection. Women in those days were not as less than, and therefore not, believable witnesses. However, it is told in all four gospels that Jesus appeared to the women first. The apostle is even noted as disbelieving when the woman says this. “The only reason to put such embarrassing sayings in the Gospels is that they were really uttered. It is hard to imagine the early Christians inventing embarrassments for themselves when they already had enough problems from persecution!” (Komoszewski, Sawyer, Wallace 2006, 46) There are many non-biblical accounts of Jesus. The most notable is Tacitus. Tacitus was a Roman historian. He is considered to be one of the greatest historians of all time. He wrote “Annals” around 109 AD, referencing many biblical points. “Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea” This backs up three biblical accounts of Jesus. Christians got their name from following Christ. Jesus was killed under Pontius Pilatus, and Jesus resided in Judea.

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3 Believing in something unseen is hard, but there are many facts to support the existence of Christ. Sharing my story, and life verse, help on an emotional level. Sometimes just knowing you are seen and heard can be comforting. Presenting hard truths and facts helps the logical side. I don’t know if I will ever have to opportunity to share my faith and story with someone. However, when I do, I am prepared.

4 Prompt Two "But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John 20:31 The historicity of Jesus is crucial because it solidifies the truth of the Bible. Without it, Christianity would be built upon legends and fables. The historicity of Jesus not only confirms the teaching, life, death, and resurrection of Christ but also shows God's relationship with his creation. The Bible is the handbook of Christianity. Jesus Christ being an actual, living, breathing human, confirms that everything in the Bible is true. "The Gospels are historically credible witnesses to the person, words, and deeds of Jesus Christ. What the evangelists wrote was based on a strong oral tradition that had continuity with the earliest eyewitness testimony. In essence, the gospel did not change from its first oral proclamation to its last written production." (Komoszewski, Sawyer, Wallace 2006, 258). Many deny the Bible because of the time between Christ rising and when the gospels were written. However, oral traditions were prevalent in those times. Stories were passed from town to town and then from generation to generation. If the Bible is false, so is Christianity. The New Testament has many beautiful lessons and stories of Jesus's miracles. The belief that Jesus existed shows the truth of those lessons and miracles. Jesus was a great teacher and taught many. If the gospels were lies, we wouldn't have a place to go for hope and redemption. We are redeemed through Christ. We would live and die without meaning if Jesus Christ never existed and never rose again. Jesus Christ was a living man who gives us purpose in life.

5 "For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16. God wants a relationship with his children. He sent his son so we can attain it. The historicity of Jesus confirms God's plan to save us. "My claim is that if there is no God, then meaning, value, and purpose are ultimately human illusions. They're just in our heads. If atheism is true, then life is really objectively meaningless, valueless, and purposeless, despite our subjective beliefs to the contrary." (Craig 2010, 30) To summarize the importance of Jesus's historicity, if Jesus never existed, the Bible is all lies. Life is meaningless. And God doesn't desire a relationship with humanity. However, as the song says, "I believe in God our Father, I believe in Christ the Son, I believe in the Holy Spirit, Our God is three in one, I believe in the resurrection, That we will rise again, For I believe in the name of Jesus" (Hillsong Unites, This is I Believe) Knowing Jesus Christ was the son of God, born of a virgin to save us, sets Christianity apart from other religions and is the backbone of the Christian beliefs.

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6 Bibliography Psalm 61:1-2 (New King James Version) Mark 13:32 (Christian Standard) Komoszewski, J. ED, M. James Swayer, Daniel B. Wallace. Reinventing Jesus: How Contemporary Skeptics Miss The Real Jesus and Miss Lead Popular Culture. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications. 2006. 46 Wallace, J. Warner. Is There Any Evidence For Jesus Outside the Bible? . Cold Case Christianity. October 30 th 2017, https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/is-there-any-evidence-for- jesus-outside-the-bible/ John 20:31 Komoszewski, J. ED, M. James Swayer, Daniel B. Wallace. Reinventing Jesus: How Contemporary Skeptics Miss The Real Jesus and Miss Lead Popular Culture. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications. 2006. 258 John 3:16 Craig, William Lane. On Guard: Defending Our Faith the Reason and Percussion. Colorado Spring: David C. Cook. 2010. 30 Hillsond United. “This is I Believe.” Recorded Live at Hillsong Conference in Sydney 2014. Music Video. 6:44. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtUNQpu2b7Q

7 "But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that. by believing you may have life in his name." John 20:31 The historicity of Jesus is crucial because it solidifies the truth of the Bible. Without it, Christianity would be built upon legends and fables. The historicity of Jesus not only confirms the teaching, life, death, and resurrection of Christ but also shows God's relationship with his creation. The Bible is the handbook of Christianity. Jesus Christ being an actual, living, breathing human, confirms that everything in the Bible is true. "The Gospels are historically credible witnesses to the person, words, and deeds of Jesus Christ. What the evangelists wrote was based on a strong oral tradition that had continuity with the earliest eyewitness testimony. In essence, the gospel did not change from its first oral proclamation to its last written production." (Komoszewski, Sawyer, Wallace 2006, 258) Many deny the Bible because of the time between Christ rising and when the gospels were written. However, oral traditions were prevalent in those times. Stories were passed from town to town and then from generation to generation. If the Bible is false, so is Christianity.

8 The New Testament has many beautiful lessons and stories of Jesus's miracles. The belief that Jesus existed shows the truth of those lessons and miracles. Jesus was a great teacher and taught many. If the gospels were lies, we wouldn't have a place to go for hope and redemption. We are redeemed through Christ. We would live and die without meaning if Jesus Christ never existed and never rose again. Jesus Christ was a living man who gives us purpose in life. "For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16. God wants a relationship with his children. He sent his son so we can attain it. The historicity of Jesus confirms God's plan to save us. "My claim is that if there is no God, then meaning, value, and purpose are ultimately human illusions. They're just in our heads. If atheism is true, then life is really objectively meaningless, valueless, and purposeless, despite our subjective beliefs to the contrary." (Craig 2010, 30) To summarize the importance of Jesus's historicity, if Jesus never existed, the Bible is all lies. Life is meaningless. And God doesn't desire a relationship with humanity. However, as the song says, "I believe in God our Father, I believe in Christ the Son, I believe in the Holy Spirit, Our God is three in one, I believe in the resurrection, That we will rise again, For I believe in the name of Jesus" (Hillsong United, This is I Believe) Knowing Jesus

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9 Christ was the son of God, born of a virgin to save us, sets Christianity apart from other religions and is the backbone of the Christian beliefs.

SUhrig Jesus and The Bible

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