Over the next few months I will be comparing biblical Christianity and various world religions. Some of the world religions will consist of:
-Jehovah's Witnesses
-Islam
-Roman Catholicism
-LDS (Mormonism)
-Buddhism
-Hinduism
- any other I can think of, time permitting.
We will find who the founders were and what they teach (heaven, hell, salvation, who God is,etc). My intentions are not to offend anyone who are associated with any of these religions, and if there are any objections or misrepresentations (I will try and make sure research and sources are thorough and valid) then I will be glad to have a chit-chat!
-Zach
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
The Bible Part 3- Secular Sources Confirm Christ
In a few debates I've been in, (online of course because I don't necessarily have the skills or the wit to respond very quickly in a face to face debate, also because I like to have time and look at multiple sources to give well thought out answers), many athiests or skeptics have denied that Jesus Christ ever existed. Of course when a Christian uses the bible to make an arguement for His existence, it isn't convincing to the skeptic because they reject the bible as a source of truth anyways.
In this post, I will (thanks to those who have published books on this i.e. Josh Mcdowell) give you some secular and non secular sources that confirm Christ's existence. There are quite a few, so I will highlight some of the ones I think make a strong case.
- Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian wrote in "Antiquities" book 18, this about Jesus:
"Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as recieve the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ. 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; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct to this day."
-Tacitus, a Roman historian, in "Annals 15.44", mentions "Christus" who is Jesus:
"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, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all the things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular."
-Lucian mentions Jesus. Greek writer and rhetorician:
"The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account. You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take quite on faith, with the result that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property." (Lucian was opposed to Christianity, yet confirms the existence of Christ whom Christians follow.)
-Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor, mentioned Christ in one of his books:
"They (the Christians) were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food but food of an ordinary and innocent kind."
It is no doubt that Christ existed. These sources describe and explain the way of Christian life, the wonderful works and person Jesus was (is), and contribute to the fact that Christ affected many lives. You will be hard pressed to find any credible scholar or historian that thinks Christ never existed. If you would like, here is a good article that's a little more in depth. Think of the claims of Christ, if He is who He says He is and proved it with miracles and rising from the dead, then He is God.
http://www.provethebible.net/T2-Divin/D-0201.htm
In this post, I will (thanks to those who have published books on this i.e. Josh Mcdowell) give you some secular and non secular sources that confirm Christ's existence. There are quite a few, so I will highlight some of the ones I think make a strong case.
- Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian wrote in "Antiquities" book 18, this about Jesus:
"Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as recieve the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ. 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; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct to this day."
-Tacitus, a Roman historian, in "Annals 15.44", mentions "Christus" who is Jesus:
"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, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all the things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular."
-Lucian mentions Jesus. Greek writer and rhetorician:
"The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account. You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take quite on faith, with the result that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property." (Lucian was opposed to Christianity, yet confirms the existence of Christ whom Christians follow.)
-Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor, mentioned Christ in one of his books:
"They (the Christians) were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food but food of an ordinary and innocent kind."
It is no doubt that Christ existed. These sources describe and explain the way of Christian life, the wonderful works and person Jesus was (is), and contribute to the fact that Christ affected many lives. You will be hard pressed to find any credible scholar or historian that thinks Christ never existed. If you would like, here is a good article that's a little more in depth. Think of the claims of Christ, if He is who He says He is and proved it with miracles and rising from the dead, then He is God.
http://www.provethebible.net/T2-Divin/D-0201.htm
Monday, September 19, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The Unsaved Sinner's Poem
Here is a poem I wrote...the fate of an unsaved soul is a terrible one...please repent and trust in Christ.
Through fading shadows, we live out our lives, this fleeting world and it's pleasures, flashes before our own eyes. In one split moment, the bell could ring, your times up, this is not a dream.
Now here you stand, before the Lord's throne, there is nothing to hide behind, not even a stone. All of His glory, shine's with brilliant light, you cannot comprehend it, it's blinding your sight.
You look down and away, trembling with fear and disbelief...you say,"The stories are true! Oh how my heart is filled with grief!"
"I require an account of all your life's days, your thoughts, your actions, your wicked and destructive ways." The Lord patiently waits for you to speak, there is nothing you could say, not even a squeek. You know you're condemned, your heart tells you so, where there is one witness, there is another who knows.
All ten commandments, you find that you've broken, because God is Just, He must pay you sins token. For that token is death and eternal fire...because you loved sin, it was your souls desire.
Wishing you had a second chance, you kneel and you cry, it was already given to you, before you had died. Not one chance, or two, or three or four, He showed you the truth, many times before. The Gospel was spoken to you, the story of God's love, but you rejected His Son, who paid sins penalty with His blood.
The Lord looks down from His throne, grievingly so, "Take him away, off to hell he must go." You look up at God, for one final plea, "Lord please send my loved ones a Saint, so they don't end up like me."
Through fading shadows, we live out our lives, this fleeting world and it's pleasures, flashes before our own eyes. In one split moment, the bell could ring, your times up, this is not a dream.
Now here you stand, before the Lord's throne, there is nothing to hide behind, not even a stone. All of His glory, shine's with brilliant light, you cannot comprehend it, it's blinding your sight.
You look down and away, trembling with fear and disbelief...you say,"The stories are true! Oh how my heart is filled with grief!"
"I require an account of all your life's days, your thoughts, your actions, your wicked and destructive ways." The Lord patiently waits for you to speak, there is nothing you could say, not even a squeek. You know you're condemned, your heart tells you so, where there is one witness, there is another who knows.
All ten commandments, you find that you've broken, because God is Just, He must pay you sins token. For that token is death and eternal fire...because you loved sin, it was your souls desire.
Wishing you had a second chance, you kneel and you cry, it was already given to you, before you had died. Not one chance, or two, or three or four, He showed you the truth, many times before. The Gospel was spoken to you, the story of God's love, but you rejected His Son, who paid sins penalty with His blood.
The Lord looks down from His throne, grievingly so, "Take him away, off to hell he must go." You look up at God, for one final plea, "Lord please send my loved ones a Saint, so they don't end up like me."
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The Heavens Declare
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." - Psalm 19:1
Perhaps you live in a city, surrounded by lights that pollute the night sky. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get away once in a while, to a nice dark, kind of secluded place and just stare up at the night sky and just look up. The new moon phase is the best time to do so, and usually begins at the end of the month/beginning of the next. The glory of God is displayed in His beautiful creation, the heavens declare His majesty, the stars are inumerable and attest to the greatness of the Lord!
This is the second night in a row the Aurora Borealis aka, The Northern Lights, have been out. I may have been the only person in grand forks to have noticed that the slight haze in the sky was actually something amazing, and being able to capture that moment in time...was a blessing. As I get ready to leave North Dakota, one thing I will miss, is being able to see the sights of the night sky, that many, MANY people miss out on. I just think they have forgotten.
Perhaps you live in a city, surrounded by lights that pollute the night sky. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get away once in a while, to a nice dark, kind of secluded place and just stare up at the night sky and just look up. The new moon phase is the best time to do so, and usually begins at the end of the month/beginning of the next. The glory of God is displayed in His beautiful creation, the heavens declare His majesty, the stars are inumerable and attest to the greatness of the Lord!
This is the second night in a row the Aurora Borealis aka, The Northern Lights, have been out. I may have been the only person in grand forks to have noticed that the slight haze in the sky was actually something amazing, and being able to capture that moment in time...was a blessing. As I get ready to leave North Dakota, one thing I will miss, is being able to see the sights of the night sky, that many, MANY people miss out on. I just think they have forgotten.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Been A While
It's been a few weeks since I've posted. I have taken alot of pictures since then and also have been hitting a few bumps in the road. Thought this sermon titled, "Offer Your Bodies a Living Sacrifice" by Paul Washer (one of my favorite preachers) might be of interest for you to listen to. I haven't watched/listened to it yet, but by the title and the preacher, it is probably really good.
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Thursday, August 4, 2011
Archaeology and the Bible
http://bibleandarchaeology.blogspot.com/
Check out this guy's blog! Amazing stuff let me tell you. Alot of people are doubtful that people, names, and places in the Bible are real. We'll take a look at some secular sources and artifacts that provide more grounding truth to the Bible, starting off with the link posted. God is awesome, let me tell ya...
Check out this guy's blog! Amazing stuff let me tell you. Alot of people are doubtful that people, names, and places in the Bible are real. We'll take a look at some secular sources and artifacts that provide more grounding truth to the Bible, starting off with the link posted. God is awesome, let me tell ya...
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