Evidence for the God of the Bible

The Complexity of Life

Charles Darwin and His Origin of Species

1.    In a nutshell, Origin of Species proposes “Natural Selection” as the mechanism by which an original simple celled organism could have evolved gradually into all species observed today, both plants and animals.

2.    Generally, Darwin presents a theory of evolution, which he defines as “descent with modification”.

3.    Darwinian (and Neo-Darwinian) evolution only focuses on the mechanism for modification over time between kinds of organisms.

4.    Evolutionary theory still doesn’t deal with the first organism that arose by chance on our primitive planet this is called spontaneous generation.

5.    Scientists from various disciplines generally set their “impossibility standard” at one chance in 10 to the power of 50 (1 in 100, 000 billion (x5), the notion that life somehow rose from non-life has clearly met the scientific standard for statistical impossibility.

6.    DNA & the Impossibility of Information:

a.    35, 000 genes in each human DNA molecule, comprised of chemical bases arranged in approximately 3 billion precise sequences.

b.    DNA for the single celled bacterium, E. coli contains enough information to fill an entire set of encyclopedia Britannica.

c.    Although the tiniest bacterium cells are incredibly small, weighing less than 10 to the power -12 grams, each is in effect a veritable micro-miniaturized factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery, made up altogether of one hundred thousand million atoms, far more complicated than any machinery built by man and absolutely without parallel in the non-living world.

7.    Darwin, “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.”

8.    Transitional Forms and the Fossil Record

a.    Darwin, “Firstly, why if species have descended from other species by insensibly fine graduations, do we not everywhere see innumerable transitional forms? Why is not all nature in confusion instead of the species being, as we see them, well defined.”

b.    But, as by this theory, innumerable transitional forms must have existed, why do we not find them embedded in countless numbers in the crust of the earth.

c.    Lastly, looking not at any one time, but to all time, if my theory be true, numberless intermediate varieties, linking closely together all the species of the same group, must assuredly have existed.

d.    Why then is not every geological formation and every stratum full of such intermediate links? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graduated organic chain and this perhaps is the most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my theory.

9.    I. L. Cohen, “….. every single concept advanced by the theory of evolution (and amended thereafter) is imaginary and it is not supported by scientifically established facts of microbiology, fossils, and mathematical probability concepts. Darwin was wrong.

10.                  The theory of evolution may be the worst mistake made in science.

11.                  Three major points of Darwin:

a.    Common Ancestry - The theory of common descent states that all living organisms are descendants of a single ancestor.

b.    Natural Selection - process that results in the adaptation of an organism to its environment by means of selectively reproducing changes in its genotype, or genetic constitution.

c.    Mutation - A mutation is a change in a DNA sequence. Mutations can result from DNA copying mistakes made during cell division, exposure to ionizing radiation, exposure to chemicals called mutagens, or infection by viruses. Germ line mutations occur in the eggs and sperm and can be passed on to offspring, while somatic mutations occur in body cells and are not passed on.

12.                  Difference between Micro-evolution and Macro-evolution.

a.    Micro-evolution refers to the alteration in a gene pool of the population over time, resulting in small changes of an organism in the same species.

b.    On the other hand, Macro-evolution refers to the alteration in organisms, and these changes gradually give rise to completely new species, which is different from their ancestors.

 

The Integrity of the Bible

1.    66 separate books written over 1,600 years by 40 distinct writers.

2.    Old Testament contains 39 books (1500BC to 400BC) and New Testament contains 27 books (40AD to 90AD).

3.    Jewish Bible (Tanakh) is the same as the Christian Old Testament.

4.    Jewish scriptures were copied by hand. They were extremely accurate copy to copy.

5.    A single copy error would require the immediate destruction of the entire scroll.

6.    The recent discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has confirmed the remarkable reliability of the scribal system over thousands of years.

7.    40AD to 90AD, the eye-witnesses to the life of Jesus, including Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter and Jude wrote the Gospels, Letters and Books that became the Bible’s New Testament.

8.    These writers quote from 31 books of the Old Testament.

9.    In 397AD, in an effort to protect the scriptures from various heresies and offshoot religious movements, the current 27 Books of the New Testament were formally and finally confirmed and canonized in the Synod of Carthage.

10.                  There are over 25,000 ancient manuscripts of the New Testament.

11.                  Homer’s Iliad, the most renowned book of ancient Greece has 643 copies of manuscripts. In those copies, there are 764 disputed lines of texts, as compared to 40 lines in. all the New Testament manuscripts.

12.                  There is nothing in ancient manuscript evidence to match such textual availability and reliability.

13.                  These 40 lines represent one quarter of 1% of the entire text and do not in any way effect the teaching and doctrine of the New Testament.

14.                  Of the approximately 15,600 lines that make up Homer’s classic, 764 lines are in question, which is 5% of the entire text, compared to 40 lines of the 20,000 lines of the New Testament.

15.                  In 1993, archaeologists discovered a stone at the ancient city of Dan which refers to the “House of David”.

16.                  No archaeological discovery has ever controverted a single Biblical reference.

17.                  A. N. Sherwin-White declares, “In all, Luke names 32 countries, 44 cities and 9 islands without error”.

18.                  In 1897, archaeologists discovered the Pool of Siloam which John describes in his Gospel. Recently, archaeologists discovered the Pool of Bethesda, 40 feet underground which the Gospel of John describes having 5 porticoes.

19.                  In 1961, archaeologists discovered a plaque fragment in Caesarea, a Roman city along the Mediterranean coast of Israel. The inscription includes the following: “Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea has dedicated to the people of Caesarea a temple in honor of Tiberius.

20.                  There are over 1,000 prophecies in the Bible. 668 of them have been fulfilled and none have ever proven false.

 

The Reality of Jesus

1.    Messianic prophecy is the collection of over 300 predictions in the Jewish Scriptures about the future Messiah (Savior) of the Jewish people and the world.

2.    These predictions were written by multiple writers, in numerous books, over approximately 1,000 years.

3.    For prophecies fulfilled by Jesus, refer to Bible Charts section on our Team’s channel. Some of the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus:

a.    He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14, Matt 1:21-23, Luke 1:26-35).

b.    He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2, Matt 2:1, Luke 2:4-7).

c.    He would be heralded by a messenger of the Lord (John the Baptist), (Isaiah 40:3-5, Malachi 3:1, Matt 3:1-3, 11-10, Mark 1:2-3, Luke 7:27).

d.    He would perform miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6, Matt 9:35, and throughout the gospels).

e.    He would preach the good news (Isaiah 61:1-2, Luke 4:14-21).

f.      He would first present Himself as King 173, 880 days from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25/ Matt 21:4-9, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:29-38).

g.    He would enter Jerusalem as King riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9/ Matt 21:4-9, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:29-38).

h.    He would a humiliating and painful death (Psalm 22, Isaiah 53/ Matt 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19)

i.      His executioners would cast lots for his clothing (Psalm 22:18, John 19:23-24).

j.      None of His bones would be broken in His execution (Psalm 34:20, John 19:32-36).

k.    His side would be pierced (Zechariah 12:10, John 19:34-37).

l.      He would die with the wicked and be buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9, Matt 27:57-60).

4.    Professor Peter Stone (1888-1980) chairman of the Department of Mathematics & Astronomy at Pasadena City College until 1953, and chairman of the Science Division of Westmont College from 1953-1957, in 1944 published his research results in Science Speaks:

a.    Scientific Proof of the Accuracy of Prophecy and the Bible

b.    Stoner calculated the probability of one man fulfilling only a handful of over 300 Messianic Prophecies:

c.    8 of 300 Prophecies – 10 to the power of 17.

d.    48 of 300 Prophecies – 10 to the power of 157.

e.    Way beyond Statistical Impossibility.

5.    Book of Daniel was written 500 years before the birth of Jesus. Daniel Chapter 9 predicts the exact day the Messiah would enter Jerusalem and present Himself as King for the first time. The prophecy states 69 weeks of years (69X7=483 years) would pass from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah. Since Daniel was written in Babylon during the Jewish captivity after the fall of Jerusalem, this prophecy was based on the Babylonian 360-day calendar. Thus, 483 years X 360 = 173, 880 days.

6.    According to records found in the Shushan (Susa) Palace, and confirmed in Nehemiah 2:1, the decree to rebuild Jerusalem was issued by the Persian King Artaxerxes Longimanhus, on March 30th, 33AD, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9). 5 days later, Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross just outside of Jerusalem. (Actually, the form of this execution and even His last words were foretold hundreds of years earlier in Psalm 22). 3 days later, the New Testament accounts declare that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday fulfilling numerous other prophecies of the long awaited Messiah.

7.    The Dead Sea Scrolls (Greatest manuscript discovery of modern times) were discovered between 1947-1956 in eleven caves along the northwest share of the Dead Sea. This is an arid region 13 miles east of Jerusalem and 1,300 feet below sea level.

8.    The Dead Sea Scrolls comprised of the remains of approximately 825-870 separate scrolls, represented by tens of thousands of fragments.

9.    Fragments of every book of the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) have been discovered, except for the Book of Esther.

10.                  19 fragments of Isaiah, 25 fragments of Deuteronomy and 30 fragments of the Psalms.

11.                  The Isaiah manuscript found is 1,000 years older than any previously known manuscript of Isaiah.

12.                  The Biblical texts of Qumran are in substantial agreement with the Masoretic text, Septuagint and variant translations of the Old Testament we use today.

 

Corroborating Sources Outside of the Bible

1.    Cornelius Tacitus (55-120AD) – great historian of ancient Rome. Wrote Annals, 32 surviving manuscripts.

2.    Flavius Josephus (37-100AD), a Jewish General and member of the aristocracy of the Jews. He was an advisor and historian to three emperors, Vespasian, Titus and Domitian (in or around Rome).

3.    Pling the Younge (62-113AD) was a Roman Governor of Bithynia (Turkey). He wrote a letter to the Emperor Trajan of Rome asking for advice on how to deal with Christians.

4.    Suetonius was historian to Hadrian, Emperor of Rome from 117-138AD.

5.    Mara Bar-Serapion, a stoic philosopher from Syria, wrote a letter to his son from the prison sometime after 70AD mentioning Jesus as being the “wise king”.

6.    Lucian of Samosata was a 2nd century Greek Philosopher.

7.    Ancient Rabbinical references to Y’shua Jesus – In the Babylonian Talmud, the formal commentary on the Jewish laws compiled between 200-500AD, there is a powerful reference to Jesus.

8.    Sir William Ramsey, one of the greatest archaeologists of modern times agrees, “Luke is a historian of the first rank”.

 

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

1.     The New Testament is founded on Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “1 Corinthians 15:14 If Christ has not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yes, and we would then be found false witnesses of God, because we have testified that God raised up Christ …”

2.     Multiple eyewitness testimonies regarding the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: how Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 was buried, rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and was seen by Cephas, and then by the twelve. 6 Then He was seen by over five hundred brothers at once, of whom the greater part remain to this present time, though some have passed away. 7 Then He was seen by James and then by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, He was seen by me also, as by one born at the wrong time.”

3.     In the above text, Paul was inviting people to check out the facts.

4.     The resurrection of Jesus was also declared in numerous other accounts, including the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene, to other women, to Cleopas and her companion, to even disciples and other ten Apostles (excluding Thomas), to the Apostles including Thomas, to seven Apostles, to the disciples, and to the Apostles on the Mount of Olives.

5.     A large number of scholars agree that Christ’s tomb was found empty. Consider:

a.    The Jerusalem Factor: Since Jesus was publicly executed and buried in Jerusalem, it would have been impossible for Christianity to begin in Jerusalem while the body was still in the tomb. Christ’s enemies in the Jewish leadership and Roman government would only have to exhume the corpse and publicly display it for the hoax to be shattered.

b.    The Jewish Response: Rather than point to an occupied tomb, the Jewish leadership accused Christ’s disciples of stealing his body. Wouldn’t this strategy seem to establish that there was in fact a missing body.

c.    The Women’s Testimony: In all four Gospels accounts of the empty tomb, women are listed as the primary witnesses. This would be an odd invention, since in both Jewish and Roman cultures women were not esteemed and their testimonies were not admissible.

6.     Simon Greenleaf (1783-1853) was one of the founders of Harvard Law School. He wrote the rules of the evidence of the US legal system. He was an atheist until he accepted a challenge by his students to investigate the case for Christ’s resurrection. After personally collecting and examining the evidence that he helped establish, he became a Christian and the wrote the classic, “Testimony of the Evangelist”.

7.     Sir Lionel Lukhoo (1914-1997) is considered the greatest lawyers in British History. He is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the “World’s Most Successful Advocate”. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II twice. He said, “… the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt”.

8.     Lee Strobel was a Yale educated award winning journalist at the Chicago Tribune. He wrote, “The Case for Christ” which won the Gold Medallion Award for Excellence.

9.     The Dramatic Testimony of Persecution and Death: All Apostles except John were persecuted and killed because of their testimony about Jesus Christ.

a.    Around 34AD, 1 year after Jesus’ crucifixion, Stephen was thrown outside of Jerusalem and stoned to death.

b.    About 2,000 Christians suffered martyrdom during this period.

c.    About 10 years later, James, son of Zebedee and elder brother of John, was killed when Herod Agribba arrived as governor of Judea.

d.    Agribba detested the Christian sect of Jews, and many early disciples were martyred under his rule, including Timon and Parmenas.

e.    Around 54AD, Phillip, a disciple from Bethsaida, in Galilee, suffered martyrdom at Heliopolis, in Phrygia. He was scourged, thrown into Prison, and afterwards crucified.

f.      After 6 years, Matthew, the tax collector from Nazareth who wrote one of the Gospels, was preaching in Ethiopia when he suffered martyrdom by the sword.

g.    James, the brother of Jesus, administered the early church in Jerusalem and was the author of a Biblical text by his name. At age 94, he was beaten and stoned, and finally has his brains bashed out with a fuller’s club.

h.    Matthias was the Apostle who filled the vacant place of Judas. He was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded.

i.      Andrew was the brother of Peter who preached throughout Asia. On his arrival at Edessa, he was arrested and crucified on a cross, the two ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground (St. Andrew’s Cross).

j.      Mark was converted to Christianity by Peter, and then transcribed Peter’s account of Jesus in his Gospel. Mark was dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria in front of Serapis, their pagan idol.

k.    Peter was condemned to death and crucified at Rome. Jerome holds that Peter was crucified upside-down at his request because he said he was unworthy to be crucified in the manner as his Lord.

l.      Paul suffered in the 1st persecution under Nero. Paul’s faith was so dramatic in the face of martyrdom, that the authorities removed him to a private place for execution by the sword.

m.  Jude, the brother of James (Thaddeus) was crucified at Edessa in a about 72AD.

n.    Bartholomew preached in several countries and translated the Gospel of Matthew into the language of India. He was cruelly beaten and then crucified by idolaters there.

o.    Thomas (Didymus), preached in Parthia, and India, where he was thrust through with a spear by a group of pagan priests.

p.    Luke was the author of the Gospel under his name. He travelled with Paul through various countries and is supposed to have been hanged on an olive tree by idolatrous priests in Greece.

q.    Barnabas, of Cyprus, was killed without many known facts in about 73AD.

r.     Simon (Zelotes), preached in Mauritania, Africa, and even in Britain, where he was crucified in about 74AD.

s.    John, the beloved disciple, was the brother of James. From Ephesus he was ordered to Rome, where he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. He escaped by miracle, without injury. Domitian afterwards banished him to the Isle of Patmos, where John wrote the last book of the Bible, Revelation. He was the only Apostle who escaped a violent death.

10. Christian Scholar, Josh McDowell declares in his foundational book, More Than a Carpenter, raises a compelling trilemma: Once you examine the actual claims of Jesus and his eyewitness followers, there are only 3 alternatives for who he really is – Jesus Christ was either a liar, a lunatic, or our Lord.

11. Popular British Theologian, C. S. Lewis makes a similar statement as above in his book, Mere Christianity.

12. What is Christianity? It isn’t a religion at all – it’s discovering and establishing a relationship with God. It’s trusting in Jesus and what He did on the cross for you and me, not on what we can do for ourselves.

13. Three Basic Questions of Life:

a.    Does God Exist? If so, what am I going to do about it?

b.    Is the Bible True? If so, what does that mean for me?

c.    Who is Jesus? If He is who He claims to be, how will this reality change my life?

 

The Discovery of Noah’s Ark

1.    In 1959, Turkish army captain Llhan Durupiner discovered an unusual shape while examining aerial photographs of his country. The smooth shape, larger than a football field, stood out from the rough and rocky terrain at an altitude of 6,300 feet near the Turkish border with Iran.

2.    In 1977, Ron Wyatt visited the site to examine the object and take it’s measurements. The evidence was undeniable. This was the Ark of Noah.

 

The Discovery of Jesus’s Blood

1.    Discovered by Ron Wyatt.

2.    When the blood was analyzed, it showed 23 X-chromosomes from the mother and 1 Y-chromosome from God making the baby a male.

3.    Jesus Christ had only 24 chromosomes.

 

The Discovery of Giants in Sodom and Gomorrah – Dead Sea

1.    Discovered by Ron Wyatt.

2.    Found a finger bone which was burnt.

3.    It was 4 inches in size.

4.    According to experts, the person who it belonged to had to be 12 to 14 feet in height.

5.    Ron also discovered the broken pieces of the Egyptian chariots under the red sea.

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