Some today strongly believe that Jews are still God’s favored people. But, can anyone today prove they are a Jew?
In a sense, we can say that some of us Christians today are Americans, some are British, some are Hispanic, some are African, some are Chinese, etc. We can also say that some are male and some are female. We can also say that many are Gentiles, and a few are Jews.
In another sense, we can accurately say, that, for Christians, according to the scriptures, “Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all” (Colossians 3:11 NIV).read more
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”—Genesis 1:1
In our article about the expansion of the universe, we showed how some basic scientific facts about the universe point to the existence of God. This article examines even more scientific concepts about the universe and we will see how they relate to the Creator.
Existence of Elements Essential for Life
When two helium nuclei collide, they fuse together and produce the fleeting, unstable beryllium. An additional collision with a single helium nucleus, and carbon is created. Without these very unlikely “lucky accidents” constantly occurring carbon would not exist, and neither would we.
“For the Lord is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. ‘I am the LORD,’ he says, ‘and there is no other.'” (Isaiah 45:18 NLT)
The Fine-tuned Universe
A proton is 1,836 times heavier than an electron. If this difference was any greater or lesser, it would not be possible for life to exist in the universe.
“The laws of science, as we know them at present, contain many fundamental numbers, like the size of the electric charge of the electron and the ratio of the masses of the proton and the electron. … The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers seem to have been very finely adjusted to make possible the development of life.” – Stephen Hawking
In 1961, physicist Robert H. Dicke said that certain forces in physics, such as gravity and electromagnetism, must be perfectly fine-tuned for life to exist anywhere in the Universe. Fred Hoyle also argued for a fine-tuned Universe in his 1984 book “Intelligent Universe.” He compares “the chance of obtaining even a single functioning protein by chance combination of amino acids to a star system full of blind men solving Rubik’s Cube simultaneously.”
“In you is the source of life, by your light we see the light.” (Psalm 36:9 NJB) The Bible refers to Almighty God as “the source of life.”
Fine-tuning of the Force Strengths to Permit Life
The constants governing the four fundamental forces of physics are finely-tuned to support life.
Strong nuclear force is important for the existence of stable atoms beyond hydrogen. If the strong force were 50% weaker, no elements used by life would exist because protons couldn’t be held together in the nucleus.
Electromagnetic force is responsible for chemistry and plays a critical role in stellar fusion which powers life. The electromagnetic force needs to be much weaker than the strong nuclear force for atoms to be stable – so that the radius of the electron orbit is much larger than the radius of the nucleus.
Weak nuclear force controls proton-proton fusion, a reaction 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 times slower than the nuclear reaction based on the strong nuclear force. Without this, essentially all the matter in the universe would have been burned to helium before the first galaxies were formed. Because the weak nuclear force is so much weaker than the strong nuclear force, a star can burn its hydrogen gently for billions of years instead of blowing up like a bomb.
Gravitational force: the strength of gravity is about 40 orders of magnitude weaker than the strong nuclear force. Based on this expectation that gravity can vary up to strong nuclear force strength, the level of fine-tuning required for life is pretty remarkable:
If gravity is weaker by 1 in 10 raised to the 36th power, stars are unstable to degeneracy pressure (for small stars) or unstable to radiative pressure just expelling huge chunks of the star (for larger stars).
If gravity is stronger by 1 in 10 raised to the 40th power, the universe is dominated by black holes not stars.
If gravity is weaker by 1 in 10 raised to the 30th power, the largest planet that would avoid crushing effects of gravity on any large-brained creatures would have a radius of about 50 meters – which is not a good candidate for an ecosystem and the development/sustenance of intelligent life.
It is an extraordinary claim that Jesus rose from the dead
“He is not here, but He has been resurrected”—Luke 24:6 HCSB
The claim that Jesus rose from the dead is extraordinary. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. What is the strongest proof that Jesus was resurrected? Let’s start at the point of beginning, and work, or build from there.
This beginning point is that the universe, the earth, etc. very strongly witness to God’s existence as Creator. Psalm 19:1 says: “the heavens declare the glory of God.” (NIV)
Building on this is the text of the New Testament. It has been subjected to the most extreme scrutiny imaginable. This has resulted in the number one “Extraordinary Proof” of all time. This is the fact that the text of the New Testament in Koine Greek that we have today is verified as being 99.5% pure. That is 99.5% of the words are the same as originally written by writers Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul etc. What about the other 0.5% in which there is some doubt? These somewhat doubtful words do not affect any of the principles, truths or doctrines in the Bible. They are of inconsequential interest to some scholars, technicians, those who love trivia, etc., but that’s it. No other work from ancient times comes anywhere close to the New Testament textual integrity.
To review so far, creation tells us there must be a Creator, just as a house tells us that somebody built it. (Hebrews 3:4) Second, the Biblical New Testament text has been verified as pure – that is, today it is virtually identical to the original writings done from circa 40 to 98 CE. (Romans 1:19-22; 1 Peter 1:24-25)
Third, the Old Testament text has been verified as being unchanged as to essentials after many hundreds of years of copying, by the Dead Sea Scrolls. (Isaiah 40:8) The Old Testament text was fixed, and the Canon closed before 400 BCE. Jesus quoted from and confirmed the entire Old Testament as God’s infallible word. (Luke 24:44)
Fourth, just as extraordinary point #2 above builds on point #1, so it is with this one. Old Testament prophecy not only predicted accurately Jesus conception, birth, life and death – it gave predictions of his resurrection. (Isaiah 52:13-15; Isaiah 53:1-12; Psalm 16:10) Critics may try to claim these prophecies were written after the fact. However, the clear evidence proves them flatly wrong. How? The Dead Sea Scrolls prove these prophecies were written hundreds of years prior to Jesus’ human existence.
Reviewing now, we have added the accurately preserved Old Testament text, and the uniquely accurate Old Testament prophecies about Jesus’ death and resurrection to the list of extraordinary proofs.
Jesus’ resurrection is presented as factual and true throughout the New Testament, as these few selected scripture show.
Fifth, Jesus’ existence including his death and claims the resurrection are well documented by secular sources, even some non-Christian.
Sixth, archaeological discoveries and history have confirmed the existence of places and practices and customs in connection with Jesus’ death.
Seventh, people in connection with Jesus’ death have been confirmed by historical and archaeological sources. Examples are Annas, Caiphus and Pontius Pilate.
Eighth, Jesus went to extraordinary lengths to confirm his resurrection to doubting Thomas. (John 20:24-29) Thomas puts his hand into the hole in Jesus side, and observed the holes in Jesus’ hands in Jesus’ materialized, resurrected body.
All of this, taken together, provides extraordinary evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. Like some in the first century, some today “demand signs,” whereas Bible-believing Christians “preach Christ crucified”, which is nothing more than “foolishness” to unbelievers. (1 Corinthians 1:22-23 NIV) However, since “all Scripture is God-breathed,” it is very “useful for teaching” true facts, and “training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work,” including providing extraordinary proof of Jesus’ resurrection. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV) There is nothing more that we need.
“Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm.” (2 Timothy 2:19 CSB; NIV) It doesn’t matter who believes, or doesn’t believe, in Jesus’ resurrection – truth doesn’t change. Belief is optional. Everyone has a choice!
“Let anyone who wishes drink freely from the water of life” (Revelation 22:17 NLT).
Different Resurrection Appearances – ‘Proofs,’ or Contradictions?
Some have claimed the different accounts of resurrection appearances are “proof” of contradictions
Some have claimed the different accounts of Jesus’ resurrection appearances in the four Gospels and 1 Corinthians are “proofs” these Bible books are riddled with errors and contradictions. If true, these would, in turn,” prove” the Bible not to be inspired of God, or infallible, as many Christians believe that it is.
The Bible itself says that these different resurrection appearances confirm the Bible’s inspiration by God.
“To whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3 NKJV, emphasis added)
When people point out the differences in the reporting in the Gospels and 1 Corinthians of which individuals saw the resurrected Jesus and claim these are contradictions, they actually point out something that defeats their own argument. Rather than contradicting one another, the differences in the reporting actually show that these five different accounts are independent of one another. They were written, not in collusion with each other to fabricate a myth or legend, but by five different men who had different perspectives. Each of the writers accurately recorded the events they wrote about from their differing perspectives.
Two of these writers were “apostles whom He had chosen” during His earthly ministry, “to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:2-3 NKJV), namely Matthew and John. “Mark, my son in Christ,” as Peter called him, was his recorder of his eyewitness account, so Mark’s gospel is essentially the apostle Peter’s eyewitness account. (1 Peter 5:13 NCV) Luke, who was not an eyewitness himself, notes that others had “set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They used eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples.” (Luke 1:1-2 NLT) These writings were not legends, or rumors, they were accurate historical accounts based on eyewitness statements. Luke says that he, “having carefully investigated everything from the beginning … decided to write a careful account” (Luke 1:3 NLT), using accurate, truthful, factual material. Luke traveled extensively with the Apostle Paul, who had encountered the resurrected Jesus a couple of years after Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus personally selected Paul to be his “chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as the people of Israel.” (Acts 9:15 NLT) Paul and Luke, during their extensive travels, spent time with many of the original early Christians over a period of a number of years. Furthermore, the fact is that the “Spirit of the truth” would “guide [them] into all truth” (John 16:13 NLT), as Jesus promised. So it proved to be, the New Testament writings were guided by the holy Spirit.
Another point worth noting is that each writer had to be highly selective in choosing which material to record. Why? John, using hyperbole, explains in his endnote: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:25 NIV, emphasis added) John also made a similar admission when he stated the purpose of his writing: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.” (John 20:30 NIV, emphasis added) So John plainly states there are multitudes of Jesus’ activities that he did not record. Although the synoptics do not explicitly state it, it is obvious also that they had to be highly selective about which of numerous events in Jesus’ life to record.
If each Gospel account was identical, then why would the New Testament not have but one Gospel book? In that case, there would be no need to waste all the time writing materials and make four copies of the same identical account. The reason the New Testament includes these four Gospels is because there are four independent, accurate accounts of Jesus’ life, with major emphasis on the events of the week leading up to his execution, and the events that follow.
If the differences in the four Gospels and 1 Corinthians concerned the main points, there may be some cause for concern. Let’s take an example of this. Mark’s Gospel in its original form ended at 16:8, and included no resurrection appearances of Jesus. The other three Gospels and 1 Corinthians do record resurrection appearances of Jesus, with variations. Is Mark’s omission here a contradiction? No, omission is not tantamount to contradiction, in, and of, itself. Notice two key points:
None of the four Gospels, or 1 Corinthians, individually, give all the details regarding Jesus’ resurrection appearances. These accounts supplement each other. No group of four or five witnesses, news reporters, or news outlets will give identical reports when reporting a series of major events. They will agree on the main points, but the details will differ.
Yes, the four Gospels and 1 Corinthians differ in their reporting of who saw the resurrected Jesus. Critics claim these differences amount to contradictions. However, this is actually not the case. Why not? For one thing, most of the reporting done in the five accounts lacks specific time references, which pulls the rug out from under the so-called “chronological contradictions.”
While carefully examining the five accounts of the witnesses of the resurrected Jesus, we can come up with who saw Jesus first, etc. (John 20:1-18) But the exact chronological order of these witnesses is not the major event. The event of gigantic proportions is the resurrection of Jesus.
One alleged contradiction is Paul’s list of witnesses in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. He lists Cephas (Peter) first, so critics claim this contradicts John’s account in which Mary Magdalene first meets the resurrected Jesus. However, looking carefully at Paul’s account, we notice that he does not say that Cephas (Peter) saw the risen Jesus first. Paul states “that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas.” (1 Corinthians 15:4-5 NIV) Paul writes factually, without giving every detail, including an exhaustive list of different witnesses.
As to the critics’ assertion that none of the writers of the four Gospels met with the risen Jesus, again, a careful examination of the evidence proves this to be an invalid objection, as follows:
“The apostles he had chosen” were given “many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days.” “The apostles he had chosen” included Gospel writers Matthew and John. Peter was also an apostle, and we know Mark was his writer for the second Gospel. (Acts 1:1-3 NIV)
Risen Jesus commanded them: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift…. Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem…. Those present were Peter, John… and Matthew.” (Acts 1:4, 12-13 NIV) They decided to select a replacement for Judas, “appointed to serve with us as a witness to his resurrection.” (Acts 1:22 NJB) The new apostle had to be one who had witnessed the risen Jesus, so he could “serve with us as a witness to his resurrection.” “Us” here included witnesses Matthew, Peter and John.
Is there any evidence for the death and resurrection of Jesus?
What scriptural evidence do we have about the resurrection of Jesus? What did people living in the first century think about reports of Jesus’ death and resurrection? Are there clues in the Bible as to whether the story is true or not? Let’s examine some Bible verses to find out.
Matthew 27:57-60; Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:54-60;John 19:38-42– Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, prominent members of the Jewish ruling council, would have been well known in Jerusalem, as well as to Pilate. This could not be fiction, since this could easily be refuted, if false.
John 19:39,40 – Spices – 75 lbs – a very large amount, such as used in royal burials.
Matthew 27:57-60 – Buried just before the Sabbath, or evening. Big stone in front of the tomb. Jews rested on the Sabbath.
“The chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate . . . ‘Take a guard,’ Pilate answered, ‘Go, make the tombs as secure as you know how.’ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard” (NIV). read more
