Hey everyone, I pray that all is well for you. I hope that everyone has taken a look at the last few articles about the resurrection because I think that this topic is important for anyone who may be seeking for answers in the Christian faith. I hope that if you are seeking for answers, you are looking else where too because there are many good websites and articles that have been written. I will post a few websites at the end of this article.
The last article was about the “conspiracy theory” of the resurrection of Jesus. We saw that it is a very unlikely possibility and that there just is not very good evidence for that theory. The next one on our list is one that is called the “apparent death theory“, or also known as the “swoon theory“. This theory basically says that Jesus never really died on the cross and when he was put into the tomb that he somehow revived himself in the coolness of the tomb and then escaped making his disciples and followers believe that he was the risen Messiah. Now lets examine the evidence about this specific theory.
The first thing that comes to my mind when considering this theory is that, if this theory is true then that would make Jesus the greatest liar and deceiver in the history of the world. This is a very big negative for the Christian faith, so lets review the evidence in whole. The first piece of evidence that we will look at is the medical evidence that supports that Jesus actually died on the cross when crucified by the Roman authorities.
From scripture we know that Jesus was arrested at night, taken to appear in front of the Jewish San Hedrin (the counsel that accused Jesus of blasphemy). He was probably beaten the whole way there (as shown in the Passion of the Christ film), tried illegally and unfairly by the Jewish leaders, mocked, ridiculed, slapped, and asked multiple times if he was who he said he was. Jesus was silent before the people, which is a prophesy that was fulfilled in Isaiah 53. Then Jesus was taken to Pilate who did not find any guilt in him, but did what the people wanted and whipped him severely. When people were whipped in those days, the whips had glass, bone, and sharp edges that were meant to pull flesh from bones. Jesus was whipped and flesh was pulled from his bones. If bleeding enough he could have went into a shock like state that is called hypovelmic shock, which is a shock resulting from to much lost blood from the body. He was then passed on the Herod who then mocked him some more. Then back to Pilate who gave the people a choice of who they wanted to be set free, Jesus who was innocent or a murderer named Barabas. The crowed chose the murderer and yelled crucify him. Then Jesus was taken and beaten some more and had the crown of thorns placed on his forehead. That would have cause bleeding for sure. Then Jesus was forced to carry his own part of the cross, the very one he would be crucified on. They made Jesus carry that part of the cross all the way to where it would happen. At this point he was no doubt exhausted and had a very large amount of blood lost. He then got to the hill and they laid him down and drove spikes through both of his wrists and feet. This would have pierced many arteries and blood vessels. This would have also pierced many nerves. Then once he was placed on the cross and the cross was raised up, it would have made him fall into an exhaled position on the cross. This would have made him push off his feet in order to inhale. His torn apart back would have rubbed up against the splinter rich cross causing even more pain. He would have eventually died of suffocation. Before he died of that, one of the gospels say that when Jesus was pierced with the spear that there was a flow of blood and water from the wound. Medically speaking, this suggests that the spear pierced the fluid like sac surrounding the heart. This means that the spear probably pierced his heart with-out-a-doubt causing death. This was extreme. I am sure that it was painful.
Next we have the accounts of the guard at the cross. Note that the Roman guards of the time were trained to kill and knew when their victim was dead. He even says in the gospels that there was no chance that Jesus could possible be alive. If the person on the cross came down alive, the guard at the cross would have been killed for letting that happen.
Then Jesus was wrapped in cloths that were tightly bound with spices and fluids. Then his body was put into a dark and damp tomb with a huge stone rolled in front of it. If Jesus had revived himself he would have to unwrap himself, find his way to the stone, roll that away, beat the guards, and then seek extreme medical attention. If you review these facts, you can clearly see that there is no way that this could be possible. Its crazy to think that.
Now for the part about the appearances of Jesus. If he would have appeared to his followers like this, there is no way that they would have believed that he beat death. He would have looked horrible. But the truth is that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead.
As you can see, the evidence for this theory does not add up. People sometimes do not want to admit that Jesus died for them and that we owe him our lives because Jesus did what we deserve and what we can not do. He lived a perfect life, he died for OUR sins, he rose again on the third day, and then ascended into heaven. What an awesome God we serve!!! Think about that.
Thanks again all of you who are reading. Please keep reading and if you are seeking for answers, please keep doing so. I will be in prayer for all of you, and may the Lord’s grace and peace be with you all always and until the end. Thanks!!!
In Christ our Lord,
Dylan
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
The Resurrection Part 2
Hey everyone, I hope all is well for everyone this week. I haven’t had the chance to write a blog in a little while due to school and just other things that has occupied my time. When I last wrote an article, I had started writing articles on the resurrection of Jesus and the historical evidence behind it. Note that the resurrection of Jesus is what the Christian faith stands upon when talking about the truth behind the faith. Well, I plan on continuing my articles on the resurrection for the next few days.
I also mentioned the documentary that claimed that archeologists have indeed found the remains of Jesus and his family in a tomb. It was broadcasted on live television on march 9th and really challenged the truth of Christianity. I ended up watching it, and although it seemed that they provided a great deal of evidence for the actual tomb being found, in all reality it was not at all factually sound as they had portrayed. I will be writing on the problems with their theory on the so-called “lost tomb” towards the end of my articles on the resurrection.
In my last article, I had mentioned five theories against the resurrection, and gave a brief explanation for each. The first that I mentioned was one called the “conspiracy theory”, so I intend on clearing this misconception and providing a way for truth to come in.
The conspiracy theory is an idea that the disciples of Jesus actually stole the body after Jesus had died on the cross. By the disciples stealing the body of Jesus, it would make it seem that Jesus himself had risen just has he said he would. Although right away this seems plausible, it does not stand up to cross examination of the evidence. Just to give a little history on this theory, we know that this is the main theory that was used during the time of Jesus. No one could explain why the body of Jesus was not there, so in order for the Jewish authorities to give an acceptable reason for the body missing, they said that the disciples stole the body.
If you look into the gospel of Matthew, you see that even the Bible states that the Jewish authorities gave this excuse in order to account for the missing body.
The Holy Bible, New International Version.
Mt 28:11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards b went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.
Mt 28:12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,
Mt 28:13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away c while we were asleep.’
Mt 28:14 If this report gets to the governor, d we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
Mt 28:15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day
So as you can see, Matthew, a disciple of Jesus even states this in the scriptures. If you notice, and you can look for yourself, he doesn’t even give a response to this. I would believe that his thinking was that this statement was so untrue, that he did not need to defend against it. This is the first key point in understanding this argument.
Next, lets take a look at the whole picture itself, and see if we can’t put two and two together. Well, we know that from scripture Jesus called himself God and God’s chosen one (messiah). We also know that the disciples trusted him and that they understood if Jesus was the messiah, that he has come to free them of their sins and bring the gift of salvation with him, just as God had promised. Every disciple was a good man, with the exception of Judas, all were very religious, and from what we know, they were not crazy or psychotic. So this begs to ask the question, if the disciples were the reason the body is missing, what would be there motive?
The answer is simple, they had no motive. Lets examine the evidence. We know that Jesus was arrested in front of them, taken to court that night, tried unfairly, beaten, crucified, and died a criminals death, buried in a tomb, and mocked horribly. After Jesus died, the disciples scattered and feared for their lives. Peter, a very close friend to Jesus denied Jesus three time the night of Jesus’ arrest. After Jesus was put in the tomb, there were guards positioned at the tomb.
The Holy Bible, New International Version.
Mt 27:62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.
Mt 27:63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ k
Mt 27:64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body l and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
Mt 27:65 “Take a guard,” m Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.”
Mt 27:66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal n on the stone o and posting the guard. p
as you can see from Matthew again, the Jewish authorities went to Pilate, the governing body for the Romans, and asked for a Roman guard. In that time, a Roman guard would consist of anywhere form 4 to 16 individuals in one group. I would wager that since the story of Jesus was such a big issue, I would think that their would be more guards present at the site of the tomb. Note, if any of the Roman guard would have let the body get stolen, then that would mean death for the guards. Not to mention that these were the military warriors of that time period.
In the passage from above, you will also notice that there is a seal that is place around the tomb itself. In those days, if the seal was broken, it would mean death for whoever broke it.
Now, lets review the evidence. If their were guards and a seal placed at the tomb, the disciples would first have to get past the guards, break the seal, roll the stone away from the tomb, unwrap Jesus’ body, then take him somewhere for safe keeping. It would be an extremely hard task to accomplish. If they in fact did this, then each and everyone would face death at the hands of the Roman government.
One more piece of evidence must be considered. If the disciples and apostles were all good men, then why would every single one of them go to their deaths defending what they believed as truth. You see, after the death of Christ on the cross, there was no motivation, I mean what good is a dead messiah? Obviously not any good. The fact that you have every single one doing a 180 and dying for their faith is astounding. Then you have the question of Paul’s conversion to Christianity. He was a guy who hated Christianity right from the get go. He to was converted after witnessing the resurrected Christ. What can account for this kind of behavior form these people? Only the fact that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead. I don’t know about you, but I would say that the conspiracy theory does not hold a lot of credibility when the evidence is reviewed. What do you think?
Thank you all so much for reading, as always keep those questions coming, and keep on studying. I think that if you look at the evidence for the resurrection, you will find it most satisfying. Thanks again, and God bless.
In Christ our Lord,
Dylan
I also mentioned the documentary that claimed that archeologists have indeed found the remains of Jesus and his family in a tomb. It was broadcasted on live television on march 9th and really challenged the truth of Christianity. I ended up watching it, and although it seemed that they provided a great deal of evidence for the actual tomb being found, in all reality it was not at all factually sound as they had portrayed. I will be writing on the problems with their theory on the so-called “lost tomb” towards the end of my articles on the resurrection.
In my last article, I had mentioned five theories against the resurrection, and gave a brief explanation for each. The first that I mentioned was one called the “conspiracy theory”, so I intend on clearing this misconception and providing a way for truth to come in.
The conspiracy theory is an idea that the disciples of Jesus actually stole the body after Jesus had died on the cross. By the disciples stealing the body of Jesus, it would make it seem that Jesus himself had risen just has he said he would. Although right away this seems plausible, it does not stand up to cross examination of the evidence. Just to give a little history on this theory, we know that this is the main theory that was used during the time of Jesus. No one could explain why the body of Jesus was not there, so in order for the Jewish authorities to give an acceptable reason for the body missing, they said that the disciples stole the body.
If you look into the gospel of Matthew, you see that even the Bible states that the Jewish authorities gave this excuse in order to account for the missing body.
The Holy Bible, New International Version.
Mt 28:11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards b went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.
Mt 28:12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,
Mt 28:13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away c while we were asleep.’
Mt 28:14 If this report gets to the governor, d we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
Mt 28:15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day
So as you can see, Matthew, a disciple of Jesus even states this in the scriptures. If you notice, and you can look for yourself, he doesn’t even give a response to this. I would believe that his thinking was that this statement was so untrue, that he did not need to defend against it. This is the first key point in understanding this argument.
Next, lets take a look at the whole picture itself, and see if we can’t put two and two together. Well, we know that from scripture Jesus called himself God and God’s chosen one (messiah). We also know that the disciples trusted him and that they understood if Jesus was the messiah, that he has come to free them of their sins and bring the gift of salvation with him, just as God had promised. Every disciple was a good man, with the exception of Judas, all were very religious, and from what we know, they were not crazy or psychotic. So this begs to ask the question, if the disciples were the reason the body is missing, what would be there motive?
The answer is simple, they had no motive. Lets examine the evidence. We know that Jesus was arrested in front of them, taken to court that night, tried unfairly, beaten, crucified, and died a criminals death, buried in a tomb, and mocked horribly. After Jesus died, the disciples scattered and feared for their lives. Peter, a very close friend to Jesus denied Jesus three time the night of Jesus’ arrest. After Jesus was put in the tomb, there were guards positioned at the tomb.
The Holy Bible, New International Version.
Mt 27:62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.
Mt 27:63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ k
Mt 27:64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body l and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
Mt 27:65 “Take a guard,” m Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.”
Mt 27:66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal n on the stone o and posting the guard. p
as you can see from Matthew again, the Jewish authorities went to Pilate, the governing body for the Romans, and asked for a Roman guard. In that time, a Roman guard would consist of anywhere form 4 to 16 individuals in one group. I would wager that since the story of Jesus was such a big issue, I would think that their would be more guards present at the site of the tomb. Note, if any of the Roman guard would have let the body get stolen, then that would mean death for the guards. Not to mention that these were the military warriors of that time period.
In the passage from above, you will also notice that there is a seal that is place around the tomb itself. In those days, if the seal was broken, it would mean death for whoever broke it.
Now, lets review the evidence. If their were guards and a seal placed at the tomb, the disciples would first have to get past the guards, break the seal, roll the stone away from the tomb, unwrap Jesus’ body, then take him somewhere for safe keeping. It would be an extremely hard task to accomplish. If they in fact did this, then each and everyone would face death at the hands of the Roman government.
One more piece of evidence must be considered. If the disciples and apostles were all good men, then why would every single one of them go to their deaths defending what they believed as truth. You see, after the death of Christ on the cross, there was no motivation, I mean what good is a dead messiah? Obviously not any good. The fact that you have every single one doing a 180 and dying for their faith is astounding. Then you have the question of Paul’s conversion to Christianity. He was a guy who hated Christianity right from the get go. He to was converted after witnessing the resurrected Christ. What can account for this kind of behavior form these people? Only the fact that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead. I don’t know about you, but I would say that the conspiracy theory does not hold a lot of credibility when the evidence is reviewed. What do you think?
Thank you all so much for reading, as always keep those questions coming, and keep on studying. I think that if you look at the evidence for the resurrection, you will find it most satisfying. Thanks again, and God bless.
In Christ our Lord,
Dylan
The Resurrection Part 1
Hey everyone, as you know I wrote a bulletin earlier and spoke briefly about the resurrection of Jesus and how important it is to the Christian faith. As I also said, I will be writing a series of articles on the resurrection, so it would only be wise to consider this the first real article about this certain subject. In this article I would like to present to everyone the case for the resurrection, and discuss the arguments against it and for it. I will be doing this over a period of 4 to 5 articles, so please keep reading; this is a lot of information that can be beneficial to someone who is seeking answers about the Christian faith.
I would like to start off by saying the most important fact about the resurrection itself. No matter what religion, what belief system you are from, or how much history you know, the fact that the body of Christ after the crucifixion was never found after three days of being in the tomb says that Christianity can and has and always will stand firm on its own. From this comes over 2000 years of debate on this topic. The fact remains that if Christ did rise from the dead, then he is Lord, but if he did not, then Christianity is not true, as stated before in my last article.
Over the many years, there have been very many reasons for the “disappearance” of the body of Christ. They are as follows:
1. The conspiracy theory- this argument says that the disciples of Jesus stole the body in order to make it look like Christ had risen from the dead.
2. The apparent death theory- this argument states that Christ never really died on the cross, and when he was in the tomb, he somehow regained himself and revived himself in some way. Therefore, he never really died and walked out of the tomb alive.
3. The wrong tomb theory- this states that after the body of Christ was put in the tomb, the people and followers of Jesus forgot where they had laid the body. Therefore, the body was lost forever. (This seems to be the argument that the document of the “lost tomb of Jesus” might by chance take.)
4. The Hallucination theory- this argument speaks for itself. People who use this argument say that the appearances of Jesus after his death were only mere hallucinations and not actual reality.
5. The Legend theory- people who use this argument say that resurrection story is only a legend and not actual history. This is a good shot at disproving Christianity, but I do not believe that it stands up to questioning when looking at the evidence.
So as you can see, there are five theories that we will take a look at here, but unfortunately we do not have enough time to look at every single one of them. These are five of the main arguments against Christianity, but I will give what I believe is sufficient evidence to disprove these arguments against Christianity.
Everyone, be sure to stay in touch and keep reading. The next few articles will be very important to understand. Thank you all so much, and please again, if you have any questions about any of these topics, just email me, or let me know somehow, and I will do my best to answer them. Thank you all so much, and I will put out the next article soon. Thanks!
In Christ our Lord,
Dylan
I would like to start off by saying the most important fact about the resurrection itself. No matter what religion, what belief system you are from, or how much history you know, the fact that the body of Christ after the crucifixion was never found after three days of being in the tomb says that Christianity can and has and always will stand firm on its own. From this comes over 2000 years of debate on this topic. The fact remains that if Christ did rise from the dead, then he is Lord, but if he did not, then Christianity is not true, as stated before in my last article.
Over the many years, there have been very many reasons for the “disappearance” of the body of Christ. They are as follows:
1. The conspiracy theory- this argument says that the disciples of Jesus stole the body in order to make it look like Christ had risen from the dead.
2. The apparent death theory- this argument states that Christ never really died on the cross, and when he was in the tomb, he somehow regained himself and revived himself in some way. Therefore, he never really died and walked out of the tomb alive.
3. The wrong tomb theory- this states that after the body of Christ was put in the tomb, the people and followers of Jesus forgot where they had laid the body. Therefore, the body was lost forever. (This seems to be the argument that the document of the “lost tomb of Jesus” might by chance take.)
4. The Hallucination theory- this argument speaks for itself. People who use this argument say that the appearances of Jesus after his death were only mere hallucinations and not actual reality.
5. The Legend theory- people who use this argument say that resurrection story is only a legend and not actual history. This is a good shot at disproving Christianity, but I do not believe that it stands up to questioning when looking at the evidence.
So as you can see, there are five theories that we will take a look at here, but unfortunately we do not have enough time to look at every single one of them. These are five of the main arguments against Christianity, but I will give what I believe is sufficient evidence to disprove these arguments against Christianity.
Everyone, be sure to stay in touch and keep reading. The next few articles will be very important to understand. Thank you all so much, and please again, if you have any questions about any of these topics, just email me, or let me know somehow, and I will do my best to answer them. Thank you all so much, and I will put out the next article soon. Thanks!
In Christ our Lord,
Dylan
The Resurrection
Hey everyone, I pray that all is well for everyone today. I am back and continuing my articles on Christianity and how it can be backed by historical, scientific, and philosophical evidence if we are willing to look for it. I know that over the last couple of weeks, I have been writing on a more scientific and philosophical argument for God in general, and we have not got much into scripture in the Bible and what the Bible says about how we achieve salvation. Well it seems that over the last week and a half or so, there has been tremendous debate sparked over an issue that tugs at the heart of Christianity itself. The subject I am talking about is the controversy over this so called “lost tomb of Jesus”. This issue is such a big deal because it challenges the core belief of Christianity that has been the bases for which all Christians believe. And that is the resurrection of Jesus.
The resurrection of Jesus is such a big deal because the whole idea of if Christianity is true lies solely on if Jesus was resurrected or not. Clearly if Jesus did not rise from the dead, Christians who believe in the deity of Jesus would be completely wrong, and that would leave ALL Christians hanging with no hope for eternal life what-so-ever. This is such a true statement, that the Bible itself even says this. In 1 Corinthians Paul says this:
The Holy Bible, New International Version.
“But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.” (1 Corinthians 15: 12-18)
The resurrection of Jesus is such a big deal because the whole idea of if Christianity is true lies solely on if Jesus was resurrected or not. Clearly if Jesus did not rise from the dead, Christians who believe in the deity of Jesus would be completely wrong, and that would leave ALL Christians hanging with no hope for eternal life what-so-ever. This is such a true statement, that the Bible itself even says this. In 1 Corinthians Paul says this:
The Holy Bible, New International Version.
“But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.” (1 Corinthians 15: 12-18)
As you can see, even the Bible and the apostle Paul know that if Christ did not rise from the dead, then there is no hope for any Christian. This is why this topic of the “lost tomb” is so important. So with that said, I am going to be sending out articles that have to do with defending the resurrection of Christ, and if it is God’s will, be convincing people that this resurrection of Christ can be historically defended with believable evidence. So please, I would encourage you to read the articles that I am putting our about this because it is such an important issue. I would also encourage everyone to check into this topic on their own and see where the truth leads you. It is a very fulfilling topic, and the truth can set you free. Thank you all so much for the time that you give to read my articles and I give all the glory of the resurrection to the one who did it. Thank you so much Christ Jesus for all you have done, and thank you so much for the salvation that has been given to us. I thank you so much Lord Jesus for the hope that we have in you. I hope to hear from all you soon.
In Christ our Lord,
Dylan
\
Cosmological evidence for God Part 2
Hey everyone, I hope that all of you received my last message on the Kalam argument of cosmology. I am continuing this discussion with part two of the articles. In this article we will be discussing another argument that has to do with what is known as the Red Shift Theory. I will get right into this article and I would think that this will be a shorter one.
In the 1920's Edwin Hubble was looking at the stars and the universe through his telescope. As he was watching the universe and the cosmos in general, he noticed something that had not been expected to see. He noticed that when you look at the light that stars give off and put them onto a spectrum of red and blue, he noticed that the light appeared to be more red. This was huge when trying to understand the cosmos. The original idea was that the universe has always been the same size and has always been infinitely big. As Hubble was noticing that the star light was shifted to the red side of spectrum, he came upon something that could be crucial in understanding the science of the universe.
Basically what Edwin Hubble had found is what is known as the Red Shift Theory. The idea is obviously used based on a red and blue light scale. It uses the same principle method as what the Doppler affect of sound does. For example, if you were to go outside and stand on the side of the road and watch an ambulance approach you, you would notice that the sound of the siren would be continuously becoming louder until the ambulance was right next to you, and then and only then would you hear it's true pitch. As it moves away, the siren becomes lower pitch until it moves out of range to hear. This is the exact same when talking about the Red Shift Theory. The closer light is to the viewer (Edwin Hubble) the more blue it would appear on the scale. The farther the light was away from the viewer, the more red it would look.
This is important for many reasons, but the biggest one is that the light is appearing more red than it ever has before. What this means is that the galaxy is "growing", expanding, and becoming larger. If one were to think about how this relates to their being a creator God they would find that if you could take this expanding universe and put it into rewind, it would all have to come back to a finite point of origin. It would not make sense that the universe could expand and be infinite. This all ties in with the first part of the article that I wrote yesterday. Again the conclusion would be the same. If this universe is expanding, and ultimately had a starting point, then someone had to start it. And that someone is God. From the words of the great apologists (defender of the faith) Dr. J.P. Moreland, "Bangs have bangers". Here he is talking about the "big bang". So as you can see, just this theory alone has the evidence to support a God that created the universe. It is very interesting to take a look into his creation and see where truth can lead us.
Here is a quote from a natural scientist that I think is a very awesome thing to consider.
" There are no facts yet wrested from the intriguing mysteries of this strange, onrushing cosmos which can in any degree disprove the existence and intelligent activities of an unconditioned, personal God. On the contrary, when as careful scientists we analyze and synthesize the data of the natural world, even by analogical inference, we are observing only the phenomena of the operations of that unseen Being who cannot be found by mere scientific seeking, but who can and did manifest Himself in human form. For science is indeed "watching God work".
Again I want to thank everyone who looks and reads these small articles. I want to thank my Lord Jesus who is in heaven and praying for his creations to come to Him. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to just ask. Thank you all so much. May God guide your path.
If anyone would like some websites to check out, I will put a list up shortly, but here are a couple of very good websites that I usually use to study from.
www.carm.org
www.answersingenesis.org
www.leestrobel.com
www.williamlanecraig.com
Thank you all so much!!!
In the 1920's Edwin Hubble was looking at the stars and the universe through his telescope. As he was watching the universe and the cosmos in general, he noticed something that had not been expected to see. He noticed that when you look at the light that stars give off and put them onto a spectrum of red and blue, he noticed that the light appeared to be more red. This was huge when trying to understand the cosmos. The original idea was that the universe has always been the same size and has always been infinitely big. As Hubble was noticing that the star light was shifted to the red side of spectrum, he came upon something that could be crucial in understanding the science of the universe.
Basically what Edwin Hubble had found is what is known as the Red Shift Theory. The idea is obviously used based on a red and blue light scale. It uses the same principle method as what the Doppler affect of sound does. For example, if you were to go outside and stand on the side of the road and watch an ambulance approach you, you would notice that the sound of the siren would be continuously becoming louder until the ambulance was right next to you, and then and only then would you hear it's true pitch. As it moves away, the siren becomes lower pitch until it moves out of range to hear. This is the exact same when talking about the Red Shift Theory. The closer light is to the viewer (Edwin Hubble) the more blue it would appear on the scale. The farther the light was away from the viewer, the more red it would look.
This is important for many reasons, but the biggest one is that the light is appearing more red than it ever has before. What this means is that the galaxy is "growing", expanding, and becoming larger. If one were to think about how this relates to their being a creator God they would find that if you could take this expanding universe and put it into rewind, it would all have to come back to a finite point of origin. It would not make sense that the universe could expand and be infinite. This all ties in with the first part of the article that I wrote yesterday. Again the conclusion would be the same. If this universe is expanding, and ultimately had a starting point, then someone had to start it. And that someone is God. From the words of the great apologists (defender of the faith) Dr. J.P. Moreland, "Bangs have bangers". Here he is talking about the "big bang". So as you can see, just this theory alone has the evidence to support a God that created the universe. It is very interesting to take a look into his creation and see where truth can lead us.
Here is a quote from a natural scientist that I think is a very awesome thing to consider.
" There are no facts yet wrested from the intriguing mysteries of this strange, onrushing cosmos which can in any degree disprove the existence and intelligent activities of an unconditioned, personal God. On the contrary, when as careful scientists we analyze and synthesize the data of the natural world, even by analogical inference, we are observing only the phenomena of the operations of that unseen Being who cannot be found by mere scientific seeking, but who can and did manifest Himself in human form. For science is indeed "watching God work".
Again I want to thank everyone who looks and reads these small articles. I want to thank my Lord Jesus who is in heaven and praying for his creations to come to Him. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to just ask. Thank you all so much. May God guide your path.
If anyone would like some websites to check out, I will put a list up shortly, but here are a couple of very good websites that I usually use to study from.
www.carm.org
www.answersingenesis.org
www.leestrobel.com
www.williamlanecraig.com
Thank you all so much!!!
In Christ our Lord,
Dylan
Dylan
Cosmological evidence for God Part 1
Hey everyone, I am going to be writing a few articles on the cosmological evidence for God, but be doing it in a few parts. This article will be written on the limitations of science, the necessity of philosophy, what kind of God is God, and the Kalam cosmological argument. I think that this series of letters will be very helpful in deciding if there is a God or not. The idea of this article and future ones to come are to try and share the hope that I have in everyone's Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So I sincerely that everyone enjoys and again if there are any questions, please write me.When viewing the universe as being created by an all powerful being, we must first understand that there are limits to science. The biggest limit to science when it comes to understanding this creator is that science can simply NOT know the supernatural. In the case of God, God would be considered supernatural. Since it would be logical that you can not have God in a test tube, or their is no mathematical equation to get God. God is simply above that.
Now that we understand the limitations of science, we must then understand that their is a need for philosophy where science can not fill in the blanks with God. In philosophy there is a term that is very important to know. This term is called the Prime Reality. The Prime Reality of philosophy simply means this: The origin of cause from which everything comes that needs no cause or beginning. This is important for one big reason. God is the source and needs no cause because he is the Prime Reality.
Now that we know a few terms to get this discussion going, there is one big important feature of God that needs to be addressed. Is God and external or internal creator? This is a very big question when trying to find the character of God. I would say that God could be considered an external God instead of an internal God. For most eastern religions, God is seen through a pantheistic view which means that God is in everything, and that everything came from a part or within God himself. This can not be correct if we are talking about creating something. In this case God would be an internal God. As for God being an external God, this means that very much like a potter to his clay, God formed the universe. He is not in everything, but made everything. This kind of creation is evident in everything that is created in the world today, so it would be nonsensical to say that God is any different in creating his work.
Now we can move on to the argument itself. We will be discussing what is called the Kalam Cosmological argument. Kalam is an Arabic word meaning "talk" or "speech". So this is to say talk about the cosmos. Cosmos is Greek for everything that exists, the universe and all it contains. This idea was first thought of by Christians philosophers, and it wasn’t until medieval Islamic thinkers completed the idea. This argument for God deals with answering the question of weather or not the universe is infinite or not. It does this by talking about two types of infinities: Actual and Potential Infinites. Potential infinities are numbers that can be started and then added on by increments of one. For example: if you started a stop watch, it would have the potential of going forever, but since it was started it would never actually be infinite. Therefore they are potential. These are what kind of infinities the world consists of. The other type is Actual infinities. When dealing with these, no time can be added on since by nature they are infinite. If we were to see these types of infinites in the world, there would be disaster. Let me give a few examples. The first one we will look at is this: suppose you have an infinite number of cds in a cd collection. Each cd has an infinite number of songs on them. If you listen to just one cd in the collection, you would have listened to as many songs on one cd as you would have the whole collection. You can not have this, they are two different sizes of infinites. Therefore it a nonsensical notion. Another example would be this: suppose a son and a father are both doing laps, the son on his tri-cycle in the in-field of a baseball field, and his father in a car on a track. If the son does three laps to his father's one and they have been going an infinite number of times, then they would have completed the same amount of laps even though the son did three to his father's one. Again we see a nonsensical notion. Not only the problem of two sizes of infinites occur, you also find that in infinity there is no scale of time. In infinity you can not have a past, present, or future since time has never began. This is a nonsensical notion as well. So you can see where the problems lie with actual infinites.
What does this all mean? Well, the fact that you can not have actual infinites means that the universe and time are not infinite. Just as the argument suggests, two sizes of infinites are a nonsensical notion to have in the world we live in, it would be disaster. But to prevent the disaster, we see that their are only potential infinities. This means that the universe and time were created. If they were created this means that a force no other than God could be the cause. This is my conclusion. My personal belief is that God is the creator and sustainer of life. He is fully present in our time and space.
Just to give a little side note, remember I am writing these articles in behalf of the Savior I live to serve. He is the way the truth and the life, and no one goes to the father except through him, and that person is Jesus Christ. I long to live in the light that he has promised each and everyone of us. So if there are any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I thank you all so much and you all are in my prayers. Please do not be afraid of where the truth can lead you. I know that God is all knowing and all powerful.
Now that we understand the limitations of science, we must then understand that their is a need for philosophy where science can not fill in the blanks with God. In philosophy there is a term that is very important to know. This term is called the Prime Reality. The Prime Reality of philosophy simply means this: The origin of cause from which everything comes that needs no cause or beginning. This is important for one big reason. God is the source and needs no cause because he is the Prime Reality.
Now that we know a few terms to get this discussion going, there is one big important feature of God that needs to be addressed. Is God and external or internal creator? This is a very big question when trying to find the character of God. I would say that God could be considered an external God instead of an internal God. For most eastern religions, God is seen through a pantheistic view which means that God is in everything, and that everything came from a part or within God himself. This can not be correct if we are talking about creating something. In this case God would be an internal God. As for God being an external God, this means that very much like a potter to his clay, God formed the universe. He is not in everything, but made everything. This kind of creation is evident in everything that is created in the world today, so it would be nonsensical to say that God is any different in creating his work.
Now we can move on to the argument itself. We will be discussing what is called the Kalam Cosmological argument. Kalam is an Arabic word meaning "talk" or "speech". So this is to say talk about the cosmos. Cosmos is Greek for everything that exists, the universe and all it contains. This idea was first thought of by Christians philosophers, and it wasn’t until medieval Islamic thinkers completed the idea. This argument for God deals with answering the question of weather or not the universe is infinite or not. It does this by talking about two types of infinities: Actual and Potential Infinites. Potential infinities are numbers that can be started and then added on by increments of one. For example: if you started a stop watch, it would have the potential of going forever, but since it was started it would never actually be infinite. Therefore they are potential. These are what kind of infinities the world consists of. The other type is Actual infinities. When dealing with these, no time can be added on since by nature they are infinite. If we were to see these types of infinites in the world, there would be disaster. Let me give a few examples. The first one we will look at is this: suppose you have an infinite number of cds in a cd collection. Each cd has an infinite number of songs on them. If you listen to just one cd in the collection, you would have listened to as many songs on one cd as you would have the whole collection. You can not have this, they are two different sizes of infinites. Therefore it a nonsensical notion. Another example would be this: suppose a son and a father are both doing laps, the son on his tri-cycle in the in-field of a baseball field, and his father in a car on a track. If the son does three laps to his father's one and they have been going an infinite number of times, then they would have completed the same amount of laps even though the son did three to his father's one. Again we see a nonsensical notion. Not only the problem of two sizes of infinites occur, you also find that in infinity there is no scale of time. In infinity you can not have a past, present, or future since time has never began. This is a nonsensical notion as well. So you can see where the problems lie with actual infinites.
What does this all mean? Well, the fact that you can not have actual infinites means that the universe and time are not infinite. Just as the argument suggests, two sizes of infinites are a nonsensical notion to have in the world we live in, it would be disaster. But to prevent the disaster, we see that their are only potential infinities. This means that the universe and time were created. If they were created this means that a force no other than God could be the cause. This is my conclusion. My personal belief is that God is the creator and sustainer of life. He is fully present in our time and space.
Just to give a little side note, remember I am writing these articles in behalf of the Savior I live to serve. He is the way the truth and the life, and no one goes to the father except through him, and that person is Jesus Christ. I long to live in the light that he has promised each and everyone of us. So if there are any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I thank you all so much and you all are in my prayers. Please do not be afraid of where the truth can lead you. I know that God is all knowing and all powerful.
In Christ our Lord,
Dylan
Defending Christianity with Gentleness and Respect!!!
Everyone,
I would like to inform everyone that I will be sending out a series of posts on the bulletin about defending the Christian faith and why I believe that it is rational, and I will be posting them on my blog as well. If anyone who wanted to, could subscribe to my blog so that when I write a new article that they can receive it easier with out having to watch the bulletin. what I am going to be doing is sending out small articles of information that give a rational defense for the Christian faith as a whole. the point of these are to promote the kingdom of God, but do so in a respectful fashion. I am not out to judge anyone nor am I out to down grade any other belief system. I am purely doing this for the sake of those who maybe seeking answers, looking to strengthen their faith, just have questions in general, or want to have a good discussion in a respectful type of way.
1 Peter 3:15 says, "Remember to set apart in your heart Christ as Lord and be ready to give a defense to anyone for the hope that you have, but do it with gentleness and respect".
As a Christian who firmly believes in Jesus, the Bible, the Trinity, and that God is the creator of all, I would like to share with everyone that Christianity does not simply have to be relied on by a blind faith. Though I know that God of heaven exists, there is still the over whelming evidence of his creation in our world today. this is what I am wanting to share with all of you. feel free to reply to any one of these articles on the bulletin, please feel free to read my blogs, and please, if anyone has any questions that they would like to talk to me about, just write me and I would be glad to discuss the matter at hand. Thank you so much for those of you who will read this and future articles that I will be writing. I will be looking forward to hearing from some of you and your responses to these articles. Thank you all so much!!!
In Christ our Lord,Dylan
I would like to inform everyone that I will be sending out a series of posts on the bulletin about defending the Christian faith and why I believe that it is rational, and I will be posting them on my blog as well. If anyone who wanted to, could subscribe to my blog so that when I write a new article that they can receive it easier with out having to watch the bulletin. what I am going to be doing is sending out small articles of information that give a rational defense for the Christian faith as a whole. the point of these are to promote the kingdom of God, but do so in a respectful fashion. I am not out to judge anyone nor am I out to down grade any other belief system. I am purely doing this for the sake of those who maybe seeking answers, looking to strengthen their faith, just have questions in general, or want to have a good discussion in a respectful type of way.
1 Peter 3:15 says, "Remember to set apart in your heart Christ as Lord and be ready to give a defense to anyone for the hope that you have, but do it with gentleness and respect".
As a Christian who firmly believes in Jesus, the Bible, the Trinity, and that God is the creator of all, I would like to share with everyone that Christianity does not simply have to be relied on by a blind faith. Though I know that God of heaven exists, there is still the over whelming evidence of his creation in our world today. this is what I am wanting to share with all of you. feel free to reply to any one of these articles on the bulletin, please feel free to read my blogs, and please, if anyone has any questions that they would like to talk to me about, just write me and I would be glad to discuss the matter at hand. Thank you so much for those of you who will read this and future articles that I will be writing. I will be looking forward to hearing from some of you and your responses to these articles. Thank you all so much!!!
In Christ our Lord,Dylan
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