Evidence

Evidence for the gospel of Jesus

I was asked what evidence there is to support the truth of the bible and the Gospel.  This is a very brief summary, and I am adding a little more each day. There is not alot of detail here, but I have included some links that I think are useful. The point of this site is not to prove the existence of God beyond all doubt. The point is to answer the suggestion that no evidence exists and that faith in Christ is blind.  If you are interested enough to read, please let me know and accept my thanks for your time. 

If you have a question, I will start another page to answer it. I really appreciate the fact that anyone is interested in reading what I think. You will find here a variety of things. You will find historical, literary, theological, anecdotal and philosophical evidence (as well as some links to books, videos and webpages). Some of it you will no doubt consider subjective, but this is my own personal opinion so my experience and assessment has to be relevant here.

Please feel free to email me if there is any  mistake or something you would like clarified. Please also feel free to discuss the content of this page in the comments below, but please be kind to each other. Also, don't use sarcasm or irony. It doesn't carry well through text, and people don't understand your meaning sufficiently to interact with what otherwise would have been a helpful insight. 

Ok, now for some evidence. This is ordered for the sake of convenience, but not in any special order of importance since different information resonates with different people. However, I have put evidence for the resurrection first, since all the important claims of Christianity hang on this. If its not true, then the rest doesn't matter. But it does make more sense in the light of the other evidence, since the bible is one big story, and not just a collection of stories.

Also, I have included a section on what particularly has convinced me to give my life to this faith. However, to save you time, I have also put an asterisk against any particular evidence which has been especially significant to me.

But first, one fundamental thing about the bible. The message of the bible is one big story, which is the Gospel. Its about a sovereign, compassionate and merciful God, and his quest to reconcile rebellious humanity to himself. Its not a book of rules, a science book, a book of teachings or a history book and its not about us. I don't understand all of it, but I don't expect to. Smarter people than me spend their lives digging deeper and deeper into it to help the rest of us see just a tiny bit of the glorious infinite God who is there, and who will never be fully understood but nevertheless can be known because he has made himself known. 

• Evidence for the Resurrection- if the resurrection actually happened, then Jesus is actually God and the bible is actually true. The implications of this are infinite. 
• The various writers of the New Testament declare themselves to be eye witnesses of the resurrection and clearly believed what they were writing, going to their deaths for that conviction. Given the chance to recant, they did not.*
• What happened to Jesus's body?
• If it were stolen by the disciples, why would they do that? Why would they later die claiming he had risen? They could have just brought out the body. 
• If it were stolen by the Jews, they would have later brought it out to prove Christianity was false. 
• If it were stolen by the Romans, who also hated the Christians (who they called Atheists for only believing in one God) they could have ended the belief by bringing out the body. 
• Even non-Christian historians find strong evidence that the resurrection happened. 

• Historical Evidence : 
• One aspect of the bible is the historical aspect, particularly the Gospels, Acts, and some parts of the Old Testament. Real, verifiable events and people are referred to, sometimes even incidentally, eg Roman emperors, Babylonian kings, Egyptian Pharaohs, the rise and fall of their various empires. 

• Geographical Evidence: 
• Many of the events of the bible happened in places that you can still go to today. You can walk around, and you can see places where events from the bible are said to have happened. You can see evidence of Christian culture in those places too. For example, my blog shows some such places that we went to this year. Click the blog link, and see the theatre in Ephesus, mentioned in Acts Ch 19. This not only demonstrates the link between faith and real places, but also reveals the pagan nature of the culture in Paul's day, where the artisans rioted because their businesses were threatened by Paul's teaching about a god who did not require their idols.  *
•  The bible refers to geographical and cultural aspects of life that once seemed obscure but have now been clarified by archaelogists. For example, the various references in Revelation Ch 2-3. (eg Pergamum's "white stone" in  2:17,  Laodicea's "luke warm" and "salve" in 3:16-17) .  

• Literary Evidence:  Biblical - New Testament  If the bible, properly understood, (see above in BOLD) is verifiably true, then God is real and we need to get to know him. Its worth noting that professional historians (of varying religious persuasions) take the bible very seriously as a valuable historical text and use it as the principal source for information about Jesus.  Its also important to note that the New Testament is a compilation of sources, chosen because they were written by eyewitnesses or first generation Christian leaders. 
• Many of those documents were written independent of each other. However, there is remarkable consistency. 
• Paul's letters and gospel teaching is verified by the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) even though they had not been written yet. A very early summary of the essential message appears in Paul's letter to the Corinthians 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 written just a few years after Jesus's death revealing that what is later written in the Gospels was being preached by the apostles right from the start. 
• James (the brother of Jesus) alludes to many of his brother's teachings in his own book, (written between AD 50-62). Just one comparison is Matthew 5:34-37 and James 5:12
• Matthew, Mark , Luke and John use some of the same sources and some distinct. Each is written for a specific purpose. However, all present Jesus as the Messiah, promised in the old Testament, fulfilling all that the prophets said about him, and bringing an unexpected kind of salvation, through death on a Roman cross. 
• Christians testify to a sense of credibility found as they read the bible. The writers never seek to make themselves look good, but in fact, often make themselves look like grossly inadequate representatives of the God they serve. 
• Ancient manuscripts of biblical texts exist in museums and Libraries around the world.

• Old Testament Biblical literary evidence
• Prophecies and allusions to the coming messiah exist all through the Old Testament. Some are very clear, others are more veiled. The fulfilment of these promises in Jesus Christ was considered by his early believers to be fundamental to faith. 
• The Old Testament backs up the teaching and life of Jesus by providing a rich background for an accurate understanding of his message, "steeped in Old Testament themes and language" 1 and therefore vital for an understanding of what he was on about. 
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• Literary Evidence: Extra-biblical
• Many ancient writers refer to New Testament events and people. This testifies to the existence of Jesus, his crucifixion at Passover, the existence of followers, their conviction that he was God, and their conviction that he was resurrected from the dead and other details also mentioned in the bible. 
•  Thallos, circa AD55 , not a christian refers to the darkness as an eclipse which Mark 15:33 associates with Jesus crucifixion. Aftricanus, a Christian (AD 160-240) then says Thallos got it wrong in calling it an eclipse. Its interesting that these guys were having this conversation at all. 
• Mara bar Serapion, a pagan, wrote a letter dated not long after 70AD refering incidentally to the Jews "executing their wise king", and then having their kingdom abolished. Only Jesus, and later the destruction of Jerusalem fit this description. 
• Tacitus (AD 56-120) a hugely significant historian, speaks of Jesus's crucifixion, then calls Christianity a "deadly superstition". 
• Pliny the younger, also a non-Christian (AD 61-113) also wrote a letter about the Christians, describing their practices of meeting, singing, believing Christ was God, and living upright lives. 
• Suetonius (circa AD 120) refers to trouble between Roman Jews and Christians over their devotion to Christ, most probably about their claim that Jesus was God. 
• Lucian of Samosata refers to a crucified Palestinan whose followers call each other brothers, and deny the Greek gods to follow and obey the "crucified sophist". 
• Celsus (AD 175) attacks Jesus as illegitimate, a sorcerer and believing himself to be God. 
• Josephus, a Jewish historian, makes a short reference to Jesus (and details many other Old Testament events) including his fame, miracles, speaking the truth, both Jewish and Gentile followers before and after his death, his crucifixion under Pilate and the later stoning of his brother James by the high priest. Mark 6:3 and Galations 1:19 agree that Jesus's brother was James. He was a leader within the Jewish Christian church. 
• The Jewish Talmud also refers to Jesus being crucified at Passover time, as well as his mother's name being Mary. 

• Cultural Evidence 
• There are apparently 2.8 Billion christians in the world. Whatever that number actually means in terms of genuine faith verses nominal, clearly, Christianity has had a big impact. 
• Genuinely embracing the Christian faith results in remarkable impact on a person's life, particularly in the area of loving others, even enemies. I don't want to make too much of this as there are certainly dreadful exceptions, and Christians fall greatly short of what they actually could achieve . However, the impact of believers  in the lives of the needy often reflects the belief that God is compassionate, and cares for the poor, the vulnerable, the outcast, and the oppressed. This can be seen in the work of many aid agencies. 
• I have experienced the transforming power of God in my own life. I could list many examples of this. Ask me if you want to know what they are. 

• Jesus - the descriptions of Jesus life and interaction with people in the Gospels fits well with what historians know about the cultural dynamics of the time. For example, his disputes with the religious leaders and his eventual crucifixion make perfect sense in the light of those leaders positions in society, their relationships with the Roman government, and their various religious beliefs. (I do not have time to elaborate on this, but there is so much more i could say here) 

• Philosophical Evidence  (not finished) - evil in the world requires a solution, because we were not made by an evil God and therefore are supposed to reflect his goodness. If there were no good God, we would not even know or be able to identify right from wrong, justice from injustice. Where else could such concepts come from?

• Anecdotal Evidence
• Lots of really smart scientists believe the Christian message and have reconciled it with their science and their lives, not just superficially, but fundamentally.  Some examples through the ages included Copernicus, Galileo,  Kepler, Descartes, Bacon, Faraday and and Lejeune. Modern day examples include many nobel prize winners  in fields such as physiology, chemistry and physics. 
• Same as above, for philosophers. 
• The regularity in the cosmos that allows for science to be practiced suggests a designer. 
• The earth, the universe, nature and human beings display a remarkable beauty, which lift our minds to enormous joy. To me, this suggests a loving designer. 
• Human beings have an innate desire for justice when wrong is done. To me, this verifies what the bible claims about the need for sin to be punished. 
• Human beings have a neurological basis for religious belief. This agrees with the bibles claim that people have been given the knowledge of God. 
• Apparently very recent research has strongly suggested that the shroud of Turin is genuine, and if so, it verifies the fact of the resurrection. Whatever you may think about this, its interesting, because if its true, it means that God has actually given us hard and fast evidence. Following him would still require a step of faith, and many would still choose not to for their own reasons, but if God has put proof out there, that is pretty stunning. 
• Many Muslims who have come to faith in Christ have done so through dreams and visions, without having any prior knowledge of the Christian faith. This phenomena is widespread. 

• Why I believe : Many reasons. Here are a few. 
• The world is full of sin, people acting against the best interests of others, for selfish gain, for power, for wealth. There is not much justice. It makes sense to me that there will one day be justice and all this will be put right. 
• There is sin in my own life. It makes sense to me that should be consequences, and I am thankful to God for his grace and his power to change me into a more compassionate and unselfish person. 
• I don't make a judgement on non-Christians who act with compassion and unselfishness. That's great. But I have seen a change in me which I cannot put down to my own priorities. I am constantly amazed at the things that God has given me to do, and the strength he has given me to do it. 
• Christianity has been found by me to be intensely satisfying and intellectually stimulating. It has given me a life that is exciting, rewarding and mostly alot of fun. 
• It would take at least as much faith for me to believe that noone made this universe as it does to choose to believe in and follow God. 

• Footnotes: 
• 1 John Dickson The Christ Files  Blue Bottle Books : Sydney South (2006:72)
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• Links  : 
• John Lennox (Oxford Mathematician) various debates and talks 
• "Unbelievable" podcasts
• Centre for Public Christianity
• "Cross Examined" podcast
• Philosophers who believe. (book) 
• Christian Thinkers in Science