The more you examine the Bible, the more amazing evidence that you find. The truth is that there is so much evidence for Christianity that it is literally impossible to document it all. In recent years, Bible scholars have been discovering some amazing things about "paleo-Hebrew" - the ancient Hebrew language that was used prior to the Babylonian captivity. In "paleo-Hebrew", each letter was represented by an ideogram. In other words, each letter was also a picture which represented an idea. So in ancient Hebrew when you examine the meaning behind each letter of a particular word it can reveal some very enlightening things.
For example, the name of God in ancient Hebrew actually foreshadows the sacrifice that Yeshua (Jesus) would one day make on the cross. Just check out the following amazing video....
But not only does the name of God in ancient Hebrew contain an amazing prophecy, but the name of Yeshua (Jesus) also contains some truly amazing details....
Isn't all of this amazing?
The truth is that God has revealed the truth about Himself in dozens and dozens of different ways. If people do not want to acknowledge the truth about God it is not because there is not enough evidence, it is because they simply do not want to believe.
For much more on the evidence for Christianity and on why you should believe in the God of the Bible, please check out some of our other websites....
Would a 4 year old boy lie about seeing God and meeting Jesus Christ? That is the question that you are going to have to ask yourself if you want to dismiss this next story. When Colton Burpo was 4 years old, he briefly died during emergency surgery. What he experienced next is shaking the beliefs of people around the globe.
Colton says that after he died he left his body. He was able to go into other areas of the hospital and see what his parents were doing. His parents confirmed that after Colton came back he was able to accurately described what they were doing at the time.
After that, Colton was taken to heaven. He met his great-grandfather, who had died long before Colton was ever born. After Colton returned he was able to recognize youthful pictures of his great-grandfather from a photo album.
In addition, Colton says that he met the little girl that his mother had once miscarried. His mother had never told Colton about that, so that they were absolutely amazed that he knew about her. Colton describes this conversation with this little girl in heaven in the video below.
But Colton did not just meet family members during his trip to heaven.
Colton claims that he actually saw God the Father.
Colton claims that he actually met Jesus.
Colton claims that he actually met John the Baptist.
So is all of this true?
Watch the video and decide for yourself. The video posted below is a Fox News interview with Colton and his father. It is absolutely amazing....
The following is the description of this book from Amazon.com....
Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.
Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us.
Told by the father, but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.
But it is not just Colton that has had these kinds of experiences.
Many, many children who have had near-death experiences say that they have been to heaven and that they have met Jesus.
So are they all lying?
Are they all hallucinating?
Or is something else going on here? Do these experiences represent strong evidence for Christianity?
For much more on this topic, we encourage you to check out our sister website: Life After Death.
Also, we wanted to ask you one more question today.
If you died tonight, do you know for sure that you would go to heaven?
Heaven is a very real place, and those who are in a right relationship with God will go there someday.
But none of us is perfect, right?
Exactly.
We have all sinned greatly.
There is only one way to get into a right relationship with God and that is through His Son.
The truth is that Jesus Christ (Yeshua in Hebrew) died on the cross to pay the penalty for all of our sins so that we could be brought into a right relationship with God.
If you will repent from your sins and confess Jesus as Lord, you will be saved and you will go to heaven when you die too. For much, much more about this, please see the following article that we posted on another one of our websites: What Does The Bible Say About Salvation?
Did you know that the gospel message is contained in the genealogy from Adam to Noah that we find in Genesis chapter 5? When we learned what you are about to read it blew our minds.
If you have a Bible, turn to Genesis chapter 5. That chapter contains a genealogical list that goes from Adam all the way to Noah. When you take the meanings of all of those names and put them together something amazing happens.
To learn more about where the meanings of the names come from, check out this excellent article by Chuck Missler. The Hebrew and the English for each of the names is reproduced below....
HebrewEnglish
Adam Man
Seth Appointed
Enosh Mortal
Kenan Sorrow
Mahalalel The Blessed God
Jared Shall come down
Enoch Teaching
Methuselah His death shall bring
Lamech The despairing
Noah Rest, or comfort
So when you put it all together into one sentence, it says this:
"Man is appointed mortal sorrow, but the Blessed God shall come down teaching, and His death shall bring the despairing comfort."
That is the message of the gospel right there!
The following is a video clip of Chuck Missler explaining this amazing phenomenon....
Isn't that amazing?
But the truth is that there is stuff like that all throughout the Bible.
What other book in the world can you say that about?
Perhaps it is time to learn more.
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and we will get back to you.
Lastly, we want to ask you a question.
If you died tonight, would you go to heaven?
If you are not 100 percent certain of the answer to that question, then we very much urge you to read the following article: What Does The Bible Say About Salvation?
In the videos posted below, Professor Walter Veith discusses the foolishness of many of the dating methods used by evolutionary scientists and takes a look at some of the controversies surrounding the fossil record. These videos contain some pretty heavy science, but these are the types of issues that we need to tackle in order to expose the utter foolishness of those who continue to push Darwinian evolution. The truth is that the more you examine Darwinism the more it falls apart. For much more on this topic, we encourage you to read the following article that we put together: The Creation/Evolution Debate. The reality is that the science always ends up favoring the view that God created the earth. But the scientific establishment today refuses to acknowledge that there is even the remotest possibility that God created the earth. Fortunately, there are scientists like Professor Walter Veith that are exposing the fallacies of evolutionary theory....
When discussions turn to God and religion, one of the topics that most commonly comes up is evolution/creation. Most people have been taught in school for so many years that mankind evolved from apes and that the world around us is one big accident that they never even consider if there might be evidence for the other side of the argument.
The reality is that there is evidence. Huge, massive quantities of evidence that God created this world and that He exists.
But the reality is that most Christians do not know about the evidence that God created the earth, and those who do are not usually able to communicate it in an eloquent or logical way.
That is where scholars like Lee Strobel come in. Lee Strobel is an ex-lawyer and an-atheist who has produced some of the very best materials for defending the Christian faith. In particular, his video entitled "The Case For A Creator" does an outstanding job of laying out some of the key evidence that shows that God created the universe, this world and mankind.
If you find yourself at a loss when you get into a debate with an evolutionist, then you NEED to watch this video. It will load you up with enough ammunition to crush the feeble arguments of the typical evolutionist.
A video preview of the DVD is posted at the end of this article. You can also find the DVD on Amazon.com by following the link below.....
The vast majority of Christians have absolutely no idea that the Biblical festivals in the Old Testament are actually extraordinary prophecies that contain amazing evidence for Christianity.
On our new site, Why God, we have posted an article that goes into great detail about the prophetic details of these holidays. This is material that you will NOT find in any Christian book store, so we encourage all of you to go on over and check it out.
But even though God had His people celebrate holidays of such prophetic importance for centuries and centuries before the coming of Christ, the reality is that very few people ever got it.
The Jews still celebrate the festivals but they never realized that the Biblical festivals were all about Yahshua (Jesus). The Christians tossed the festivals aside and started celebrating pagan holidays such as Easter and Christmas instead.
Oh, you didn't know that Christmas and Easter were pagan?
A spring festival for the fertility goddess involving Easter eggs and bunny rabbits was celebrated all over the world for centuries before Jesus was born.
And December 25th was the birthday of many pagan "gods" long before Jesus came to earth. Almost all of the current Christmas traditions can be directly traced back to pagan practices. In fact, there is nothing about December 25th in the Bible. For those not aware of the pagan origins of Christmas, we would encourage them you to watch this short YouTube video.....
A science professor down in New Orleans says that he can prove that God exists by using science. I wish this short news report had gone into much more detail about his theories.....
What sets Christianity apart from other religions? Why do Christians claim that Christianity is true and other religions aren't? How can we know who God really is?
Well, the God of the Bible has told us exactly how we can know that He is the one true God. One of the primary ways that God authenticates Himself is through predictive prophecy. In other words, only the one true God can tell us the end of the story from the beginning. In Isaiah 46:9-10, God says this:
Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.
So is there evidence in the Scriptures that God has told us the end from the beginning?
There sure is!
When you are talking with a non-believer, have them read Isaiah chapter 53.
Then ask them who it is talking about. Most of the time they will say something like: "Of course it is talking about Jesus - but should we be surprised that the Bible talks about Jesus?"
Then tell them that Isaiah 53 was written about 700 years BEFORE Jesus came to earth.
That will get their attention.
The truth is that Isaiah 53 is a stunning prophecy of the suffering, death and resurrection of the future Messiah.
7 different times in that chapter Isaiah prophecies that the future Messiah will suffer for OUR sins.....
Isaiah 53:4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows
Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:6 ...the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:8 ...for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering
Isaiah 53:11 ...he will bear their iniquities
Isaiah 53:12 For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 53 also tells us that the Messiah will die and that He would be assigned a grave with the wicked (Jesus was crucified with thieves) and with the rich (He was buried in a rich man's tomb).....
Isaiah 53:12 ...he poured out his life unto death
Isaiah 53:9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death
In verse 11, Isaiah also tells us that after His suffering, the Messiah would be resurrected.....
Isaiah 53:11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied
Isn't all of this amazing?
If you have never read Isaiah 53, I would encourage you to read the entire chapter:
But Isaiah 53 is not alone. The Bible is literally packed with prophecies that have been fulfilled.
But getting back to Isaiah 53, the Bible Code researchers have found something truly extraordinary in that chapter.
They have found the name of Jesus (Yeshua), Mary, the names of the 12 disciples, Messiah, Galilee, Herod, His Cross, Let Him Be Crucified and many other terms related to Jesus all in this short passage.
What will the skeptics have to say now? It is all a "coincidence"? If that is what you believe, then you have a whole lot of blind faith.
Anyway, here are some of the terms that the Bible Code researchers have discovered in Isaiah 53 and the verses where the terms were found:
Yeshua (Jesus) 53:10 Nazarene 53:6 Messiah 53:11 Shiloh 53:12 Passover 53:10 Galilee 53:7 Herod 53:6 Caiaphas, High Priest 52:15 Annas, High Priest 53:3 Mary 53:11 Mary 53:10 Mary 53:9 The Disciples 53:12 Peter 53:10 Matthew 53:8 John 53:10 Andrew 53:4 Philip 53:5 Thomas 53:2 James 52:2 James 52:2 Simon 52:14 Thaddaeus 53:12 Matthias 53:5 Let Him be crucified 53:8 His Cross 53:6 Lamp of the Lord 53:5 His signature 52:7 Bread 53:12 Wine 53:5 From Zion 52:14 Moriah 52:7 Obed (servant) 53:7 Jesse 52:9 Seed 52:5 Water 52:7 Levites 54:3 From the Atonement Lamb 52:12 Joseph 53:2
Now that you are faced with the evidence, what will you do?
Will you turn to God or will you continue to ignore Him?
Did you know that there is an ancient document that describes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ about 1000 years before it happened?
It's remarkable, but it is true!
This prophecy was written by King David, and most Christians don't even know about it.
David was the king of Israel about 1000 years before Jesus came to earth, and he was also the author of many of the Psalms.
Psalm 22 is one of David's finest Psalms, and in it we find a stunning prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus.
Psalm 22 starts out with the following words.....
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Does that sound familiar to you?
It should.
They are words that Jesus cried out on the cross in Matthew 27:46.....
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
So why did Jesus say these words while he was being crucified?
Well, it was an accurate description of what was taking place at that moment as Christ was hanging on the cross paying for the sins of the world.
But there is another reason.
As he was dying on the cross, Jesus cried out those words to point everyone to Psalm 22. He was in essence saying: "Look! Bible prophecy is being fulfilled right in front of you!"
And indeed Bible prophecy was being fulfilled right at that moment.
Just look at what Psalm 22:16-18 has to say.....
Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
What an amazing description of the scene of Christ's crucifixion!
Just consider some of the details.....
1) Hands and feet pierced. 2) Surrounded by evil men. 3) People are staring and gloating. 4) He can count his bones which implies that He has been stripped down. 5) They divided His garments and cast lots for His clothing which is exactly what happened.
This is all the more amazing when you consider that crucifixion had not even been invented when this was written. Crucifixion was invented by the Persians between 300 and 400 B.C., which is about 600 to 700 years after this Psalm was written.
This is one of the things that truly sets Christianity apart from other religions - the element of predictive prophecy.
No other religion has incredibly specific prophecies given hundreds or thousands of years in advance that come to pass.
In fact, God says that this is how you can know that He really is God. In Isaiah 46:9-10 it says this.....
Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.
The one true God is the only one who tells us the end from the beginning. The prophecy of Psalm 22 is just one of dozens of specific prophecies about Jesus that came to pass.
If you have a chance tonight read Isaiah 53.
It is another amazing prophecy about the Messiah who would come.
It was written approximately 700 years before Christ lived.
You won't find this kind of thing in any other religion.
Why?
Because Christianity is true.
There really is a God, there really is a heaven, there really is a hell, there really is right and wrong and each one of us really does have an eternal destiny.
And if Christianity is true, and eternal life is real, then it is the most important issue for every single man, woman and child on the planet.
God is not hard to find. There is literally a mountain of evidence for Christianity, and it is right in front of your face if you are willing to see it.
Much was made of Charles Darwin's birthday last week. One secularist group even celebrated the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin by putting ads on billboards that encourage people to "Evolve Beyond Belief".
But that is what we have come to expect from atheists and secularists. On "Darwin Day", myths were paraded about as facts, and everyone in the secular world pretended that Charles Darwin was a great man of science.
We were stunned when we learned the extent to which the Roman Catholics have absolutely shunned the idea of Intelligent Design.
What in the world is happening?
I suppose this is all part of the apostasy of the last days.
Churches all over the world are turning away from sound doctrine, and those of us who still embrace it will need to speak more loudly than ever in support of the truth.
There is extraordinary evidence in the Jewish Talmud that something incredibly miraculous happened approximately 40 years before the Jewish Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.
The Jewish Talmud actually records four amazing miracles that all began about 40 years before the Temple was finally destroyed.
What these miracles may represent is an extraordinary message from God that something earth shatteringly significant did indeed occur around the time of 30 A.D.
In the centuries that followed the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., Jewish rabbis worked to compile two records of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history.
The first was compiled in the land of Palestine and became known as the Jerusalem Talmud.
The second was compiled in the land of Babylon and was known as the Babylonian Talmud.
Both the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud contain a description of these four extraordinary miracles.
First, here is the description of these miracles that we find in the Jerusalem Talmud:
"Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, and the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand. They would close the gates of the Temple by night and get up in the morning and find them wide open" (Jacob Neusner, The Yerushalmi, p.156-157).
Secondly, here is the description of these miracles that we find in the Babylonian Talmud:
"Our rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot ['For the Lord'] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-colored strap become white; nor did the western most light shine; and the doors of the Hekel [Temple] would open by themselves" (Soncino version, Yoma 39b).
So what do these things mean?
The following descriptions of what these amazing miracles mean comes from the Solomon's Temple website:
The first of these miracles concerns a random choosing of the "lot" which was cast on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The lot chosen determined which of two goats would be "for the Lord" and which goat would be the "Azazel" or "scapegoat." During the two hundred years before 30 CE, when the High Priest picked one of two stones, again this selection was governed by chance, and each year the priest would select a black stone as often as a white stone. But for forty years in a row, beginning in 30 CE, the High Priest always picked the black stone! The odds against this happening are astronomical (2 to the 40th power). In other words, the chances of this occurring are 1 in approximately 5,479,548,800 or about 5.5 billion to one! By comparison, your chances of winning your local state or municipal-run cash Lottery would be much more favorable!
The lot for Azazel, the black stone, contrary to all the laws of chance, came up 40 times in a row from 30 to 70 AD! This was considered a dire event and signified something had fundamentally changed in this Yom Kippur ritual. This casting of lots is also accompanied by yet another miracle which is described next.
The Miracle of the Red Strip
The second miracle concerns the crimson strip or cloth tied to the Azazel goat. A portion of this red cloth was also removed from the goat and tied to the Temple door. Each year the red cloth on the Temple door turned white as if to signify the atonement of another Yom Kippur was acceptable to the Lord. This annual event happened until 30 CE when the cloth then remained crimson each year to the time of the Temple's destruction. This undoubtedly caused much stir and consternation among the Jews. This traditional practice is linked to Israel confessing its sins and ceremonially placing this nation's sin upon the Azazel goat. The sin was then removed by this goat's death. Sin was represented by the red color of the cloth (the color of blood). But the cloth remained crimson that is, Israel's sins were not being pardoned and "made white."
As God told Israel through Isaiah the prophet:
"Come, let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet [crimson], they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as [white] wool" (Isaiah 1:18).
The clear indication is that the whole community had lost the Lord's attention in relation to something that occurred in 30 CE. The yearly atonement achieved through the typical Yom Kippur observance was not being realized as expected. Atonement apparently was to be gained in some other way. Who or what would provide the atonement for another year?
Concerning the crimson strip though not mentioned in the Scriptures and long before 30 C.E. during the 40 years Simon the Righteous was High Priest, a crimson thread which was associated with his person always turned white when he entered the Temple's innermost Holy of Holies. The people noticed this. Also, they noted that "the lot of the LORD" (the white lot) came up for 40 straight years during Simon's priesthood. They noticed that the "lot" picked by the priests after Simon would sometimes be black, and sometimes white, and that the crimson thread would sometimes turn white, and sometimes not. The Jews came to believe that if the crimson thread turned white, that God approved of the Day of Atonement rituals and that Israel could be assured that God forgave their sins. But after 30 CE, the crimson thread never turned white again for 40 years, till the destruction of the Temple and the cessation of all Temple rituals!
What did the Jewish nation do in 30 CE to merit such a change at Yom Kippur? By some accounts, on April 5, 30 CE (i.e., on the 14th of Nisan, the day of the Passover sacrifice) the Messiah, Yeshua, was cut off from Israel, himself put to death as a sacrifice for sin. To this event there is a transference of the atonement now no longer achieved through the two goats as offered at Yom Kippur. Like an innocent Passover lamb, the Messiah was put to death though no fault was found in Him! But unlike Temple sacrifices or the Yom Kippur events (as detailed above) where sin is only covered over for a time, the Messianic sacrifice comes with the promise of forgiveness of sins through grace given by God to those who accept a personal relationship with Messiah. This is essentially a one time event for each person's lifetime and not a continual series of annual observances and animal sacrifices. The mechanism providing forgiveness of sin changed in 30 CE.
The Miracle of the Temple Doors
The next miracle, which the Jewish authorities acknowledged, was that the Temple doors swung open every night of their own accord. This too occurred for forty years, beginning in 30 CE The leading Jewish authority of that time, Yohanan ben Zakkai, declared that this was a sign of impending doom, that the Temple itself would be destroyed.
The Jerusalem Talmud states:
"Said Rabban Yohanan Ben Zakkai to the Temple, 'O Temple, why do you frighten us? We know that you will end up destroyed. For it has been said, 'Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars' " (Zechariah 11:1)' (Sota 6:3).
Yohanan Ben Zakkai was the leader of the Jewish community during the time following the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, when the Jewish government was transferred to Jamnia, some thirty miles west of Jerusalem.
Might the doors have opened to also signify that all may now enter the Temple, even to its innermost holy sections. The evidence supported by the miracles described above suggests the Lord's presence had departed from the Temple. This was no longer just a place for High Priests alone, but the doors swung open for all to enter the Lord's house of worship.
The Miracle of the Temple Menorah
The fourth miracle was that the most important lamp of the seven candle-stick Menorah in the Temple went out, and would not shine. Every night for 40 years (over 12,500 nights in a row) the main lamp of the Temple lampstand (menorah) went out of its own accord no matter what attempts and precautions the priests took to safeguard against this event!
Earnest Martin states:
"In fact, we are told in the Talmud that at dusk the lamps that were unlit in the daytime (the middle four lamps remained unlit, while the two eastern lamps normally stayed lit during the day) were to be re-lit from the flames of the western lamp (which was a lamp that was supposed to stay lit all the time it was like the 'eternal' flame that we see today in some national monuments)...
"This 'western lamp' was to be kept lit at all times. For that reason, the priests kept extra reservoirs of olive oil and other implements in ready supply to make sure that the 'western lamp' (under all circumstances) would stay lit. But what happened in the forty years from the very year Messiah said the physical Temple would be destroyed? Every night for forty years the western lamp went out, and this in spite of the priests each evening preparing in a special way the western lamp so that it would remain constantly burning all night!" (The Significance of the Year CE 30, Ernest Martin, Research Update, April 1994, p.4).
Again, the odds against the lamp continually going out are astronomical. Something out of the ordinary was going on. The "light" of the Menorah representing contact with God, His Spirit, and His Presence was now removed. This special demonstration occurred starting with the crucifixion of the Messiah!
It should be clear to any reasonable mind that there is no natural way to explain all these four signs connected with the year 30 CE. The only possible explanation has to be supernatural.
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Now it must be noted that the Jewish Talmud is most definitely NOT scripture, but what these documents do show is that it was the belief of the Jewish rabbis that these four mind blowing miracles DID happen.
If only these Jewish rabbis had realized what these miracles were trying to tell them - that Yahshua (Jesus) is the Messiah and that His death and resurrection had changed things forever.
In a world of logic, reason and science, why do millions of people still follow a religion that is nearly 2000 years old? How can any faith compete with the collective knowledge and wisdom of modern society? Isn't it time to start demanding that religions either stand up to the rigors of intellectual investigation or be discarded in the name of progress?
Mankind has had greater advances in education and science over the past 100 years than ever before. Once upon a time the horse and buggy were cutting edge technology, but now we fly around in jet aircraft. Our knowledge of physics, astronomy and other sciences has absolutely exploded. So why does anyone still listen to an ancient religion that is thousands of years old?
Everywhere you go on the internet today, and I mean EVERYWHERE, there are debates going on about Christianity, and these debates can get incredibly heated. Some of the best minds and some of the best educated people in the world claim to have the answers. Atheists, skeptics, philosophers, preachers, bloggers and other self-appointed religious experts are constantly battling for the intellectual high ground.
So who is right?
Do logic, reason and modern science have anything to say about religion?
Can religion survive in an era when most of the people are educated and when many people look at religious claims with skepticism?
When skeptics attack most religions, they DO indeed have the intellectual high ground. For when one closely examines such "faiths" as Islam or Hinduism one does find that logic, reason and real, hard evidence are directly contradictory to these religious systems.
However, Christianity is the one faith that is different in this regard. It is our assertion that there is absolutely no conflict between Christianity and the truth.
If you make the decision to actually investigate these matters objectively, you will find that Christianity has a MOUNTAIN of evidence to support it. Those who have actually studied these things with an open mind know the truth.
Dr. Simon Greenleaf (Harvard University - one of the greatest professors of Law in U.S. history) once said: "According to the laws of legal evidence used in courts of law, there is more evidence for the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ than for just about any other event in history."
Have you ever spent much time wondering if Christianity is true or not?
Perhaps you should.
We have studied these matters for over 20 years, and we have come to the conclusion that after you have asked all the questions, and after you have done all the research, the evidence does lead to an overwhelming conclusion:
Christianity is true.
But the sad reality is that the vast majority of Christians do not know how to defend the Christian faith. Why? Because the church has done an absolutely MISERABLE job of teaching people about the evidence for Christianity. So when Christians come up against atheists, skeptics and self-appointed, know-it-all "experts" they don't know how to respond to their questions.
We would encourage all of you to investigate these matters for yourself.
The following are 8 really good reasons why Christianity is true.....
#1) The world around us reveals that God DOES exist. The following short videos were produced by an ex-atheist and ex-evolutionist who is a graduate of Yale Law School. These videos drive atheists and skeptics crazy, but for a more complete treatment of this topic, please read Strobel's excellent book entitled "The Case For A Creator":
Do you know the story of how the author of the gospel of Mark died?
It is really an amazing story.
It is a story of incredible courage.
The following description of the end of John Mark's life is originally from a book entitled "Extreme Devotion"....
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After writing the gospel of Mark, John Mark traveled, sowing the seeds of the faith throughout Northern Africa and Egypt, and finally settled in Alexandria and established a church there.
On April 21, A.D. 64, Mark preached a sermon remembering the suffering and death of Christ as part of Passover. He had been at odds with the local heathen priests, and they took this day to incite the general population to rise up against him.
The rebels stormed the church and seized John Mark. Using hooks and ropes, they dragged him out through the congregation, into the streets, and out of the city. He left a trail of blood and flesh that stained the rocks over which they dragged him. Blood flowed from virtually every spot on his body as the mob jeered and mocked him. With his last words, he commended his spirit into the hands of his Savior and died.
Even with Mark's death, the crowd's thirst for violence was not satisfied, and the priests called for his body to be burned instead of buried. Suddenly, a storm erupted, scattering the mob in every direction, and Mark's body was left where he had died. A group of Christians then came and took the body and gave Mark a proper burial.
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The truth is that all of the apostles and early leaders of the church faced the constant threat of torture and death.
But none of them ever turned away.
None of them ever denied Christ.
Why?
Because they knew it was true.
They had seen the risen Christ.
If Christ had not risen, they would have known that to be a rock solid fact, and so it would have been insanity to continue to insist that Christ was risen from the dead in the face of torture and death.
But Christ did rise from the dead and the apostles had firsthand knowledge of this fact.
That is why they held on to their faith - even unto the death.
One of the things that sets Christianity apart from all other religions is the love and forgiveness that Christians are capable of.
The following amazing story is originally from a book called "Extreme Devotion" which you can find in the Amazon.com widget in the sidebar of this blog.
This is a story of love, forgiveness and of a faith that will not yield to anything - even bitterness.....
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Demeter suffered for many years in Communist prisons. He had remained strong in spirit during his confinement, but his body was beginning to wear down. There was a certain prison warden who amused himself by beating on Demeter's spine with a hammer, which permanently paralyzed him. But Demeter's Christlike attitude never wavered, and he was eventually released from prison.
Twenty years later he heard a knock at the front door of his home. He was shocked to see the same prison warden who had so cruelly beat on his spine and paralyzed him years before standing before him. Still, Demeter did not waver in his expression of faith.
Even before Demeter could offer a greeting, the former warden said, "I realize I can never be forgiven for what I have done to you. It was too heinous. But please just listen to my words of apology and then I will leave."
Demeter paused only for a moment as he gazed with compassion and wonder at the man. He replied softly, "For twenty years I have prayed for you daily. I have waited for you. Twenty years ago, I forgave you already." If we are willing to show love and forgiveness to everyone - even those who have hurt us - then the love of Christ can conquer all.
The incredible story of courage posted below is originally from a devotional called "Extreme Devotion" which you can find in the Amazon carousel in the sidebar of this blog.
We have been reading many stories of Christian martyrs lately, and it strikes us that the courage of modern Christian martyrs is another form of evidence for the Christian faith.
When you have truly met the living God, you know that you have something worth dying for. All throughout history Christians have been tortured and killed, and it is still going on today.
In what other religion will you find beautiful stories such as the one posted below?:
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The young brown-eyed girl looked up at her mother. What would she decide?
Earlier that morning, the young girl's mother, their pastor, and twenty-six others in her North Korean village of GokSan were bound and taken before a screaming crowd of Communists.
One of the guards ordered Pastor Kim and the other Christians, "Deny Christ, or you will die." The words chilled her. How could they ask her to deny Jesus? She knew in her heart he was real. They all quietly refused.
Then the Communist guard shouted directly at the adult Christians, "Deny Christ, or we will hang your children." The young girl looked up at her mother. She gripped her and knowing how much her mom loved her. her mother then leaned down. With confidence and peace she whispered, "Today, my love, I will see you in heaven."
All of the children were hanged.
The remaining believers were then brought out onto the pavement and forced to lie down in front of a huge steamroller. The Communists gave them one last chance. "Deny this Jesus or you will be crushed." The Christians had already given up their children; there was no turning back.
As the driver started the heavy piece of equipment, the singing from the villagers started softly. "More love, O Christ, to thee, more love to thee."
We are really excited to announce the release of our brand new YouTube video entitled: "Proof That Jesus Christ Was NOT Born On December 25th". The video is embedded at the end of this post, and we hope that you will watch it and let us know what you think about it.
This new YouTube video explores the following questions among others:
-Would it have been way too cold for the shepherds to be out with their flocks at night in late December?
-Can we prove from the Scriptures that Jesus was not born in the winter?
-Do the Scriptures give us information about when Jesus was actually born?
-Was there a real, historical reason why the inns were full when Mary and Joseph were looking for a place to stay?
-Is there a holiday that was instituted by God over a thousand years before Jesus was born that prophetically foreshadowed the circumstances of His birth?
-Does God cause His most important events to fall during the holidays that He instituted in the Scriptures?
What you have never been taught about the birth of Jesus may shock you.
Watch the video below with an open mind - perhaps it is time for all of us to learn the truth about these things.
So, you may ask, why do Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25th?
The truth is that there was a late December pagan holiday that was celebrated for centuries before Jesus was ever born.
The Roman Catholics decided to "christianize" that pagan holiday starting in 336 A.D. and turn it into a celebration of the birth of Christ.
Mankind has had greater advances in education and science over the past 100 years than ever before. Once upon a time the horse and buggy were cutting edge technology, but now we fly around in jet aircraft. Our knowledge of physics, astronomy and other sciences has absolutely exploded. So why does anyone still listen to an ancient religion that is thousands of years old?
Everywhere you go on the internet today, and I mean EVERYWHERE, there are debates going on about Christianity, and these debates can get incredibly heated. Some of the best minds and some of the best educated people in the world claim to have the answers. Atheists, skeptics, philosophers, preachers, bloggers and other self-appointed religious experts are constantly battling for the intellectual high ground.
So who is right?
Do logic, reason and modern science have anything to say about religion?
Can religion survive in an era when most of the people are educated and when many people look at religious claims with skepticism?
When skeptics attack most religions, they DO indeed have the intellectual high ground. For when one closely examines such "faiths" as Islam or Hinduism one does find that logic, reason and real, hard evidence are directly contradictory to these religious systems.
However, Christianity is the one faith that is different in this regard. It is our assertion that there is absolutely no conflict between Christianity and the truth.
If you make the decision to actually investigate these matters objectively, you will find that Christianity has a MOUNTAIN of evidence to support it. Those who have actually studied these things with an open mind know the truth.
Dr. Simon Greenleaf (Harvard University - one of the greatest professors of Law in U.S. history) once said: "According to the laws of legal evidence used in courts of law, there is more evidence for the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ than for just about any other event in history."
Have you ever spent much time wondering if Christianity is true or not?
Perhaps you should.
We have studied these matters for over 20 years, and we have come to the conclusion that after you have asked all the questions, and after you have done all the research, the evidence does lead to an overwhelming conclusion:
Christianity is true.
But the sad reality is that the vast majority of Christians do not know how to defend the Christian faith. Why? Because the church has done an absolutely MISERABLE job of teaching people about the evidence for Christianity. So when Christians come up against atheists, skeptics and self-appointed, know-it-all "experts" they don't know how to respond to their questions.
We would encourage all of you to investigate these matters for yourself. Here are some great places to get started:
-God DOES exist. The following short videos were produced by an ex-atheist and ex-evolutionist who is a graduate of Yale Law School. These videos drive atheists and skeptics crazy, but for a more complete treatment of this topic, please read Strobel's excellent book entitled "The Case For A Creator":
Did you realize that there are dozens of prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament that Jesus personally fulfilled?
Most people simply do not understand that Jesus fulfilled some incredibly amazing prophecies when He came to this earth. Even most Christians do not understand that these fulfilled prophecies are incredibly powerful evidence for the Christian faith, and that they should regularly be used in evangelism and for destroying the arguments of skeptics.
Why don't even most people in the Church know about these things?
Because the dead churches have never taught them.
In any event, the truth is getting out around the world, and it is time for all of us to learn about these amazing prophecies.
Jesus even used these prophecies to tell other people the truth:
Luke 24:27-
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Luke 24:44-
He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
John 5:46-
"If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me."
In the same way, the early disciples of Christ also used these prophecies to persuade people that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
Acts 3:18-
But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer.
Acts 17:2-3-
As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ" he said.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4-
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures
If you do not know about these amazing Messianic prophecies, I would encourage you to learn.
Check out this great site that lists 45 of these prophecies:
This is a little known fact that most skeptics are not even aware of.
A PAGAN historian documented the darkness that covered the earth during the time of Passover in 32 A.D.
In approximately 52 A.D., a pagan Roman historian named Thallus, who lived during the time after the resurrection of Christ, wrote about a mysterious darkness that covered the earth during the time of Passover in 32 A.D.
Thallus weakly attempted to explain it away as an eclipse of the sun.
However, Julius Africanus, a Christian teacher in North Africa in 215 A.D. wrote the following concerning the assertions that an eclipse had actually occurred:
"Thallus, in the third book of his histories, explains away this darkness as an eclipse of the sun - unreasonably as it seems to me."
Julius Africanus had good reason to write that an eclipse was an unreasonable explanation. Modern astronomers have confirmed that the full moon during which the Passover occurred (the Passover when Christ was crucified) could not possibly have been eclipsed.
Therefore, there is no known natural explanation that can explain away the darkness referred to in the Bible that occurred during the crucifixion of Jesus.
Thank you, Thallus, for recording this bit of history for us.
Did you knwo that there have been some dramatic new findings regarding Yahshua in the Bible Codes?
These new extended Bible Codes regarding Yahshua, featured over at Bible Code Digest, give some amazing clues as to who the true Messiah of Israel is.
The article linked to below examines 19 startling extended Bible Codes that seem to point to Yahshua as being the true Messiah, and the ease with which it is possible to find New Testament scriptures with content similar to each of the extended King Yahshua Bible Codes is some of the most incredible evidence presented to date for the reality of the Bible codes.
Today atheists, skeptics and opponents of Christianity believe that they have the intellectual high ground when it comes to matters of logic, reason, science and faith. The reality is that the exact opposite is true, but our churches are doing a miserable job of equipping us to defend the faith. Hopefully blogs such as this will change all that. If you like what you see here, then please help spread the word about this site.
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