More Historical Data About Jesus than for Several other historical figures

[DanielGarneau]

More information survived about Jesus than most other ancient figures. Yet few had their existence as questioned! http://www.provethebible.net/T2-Divin/D-0201.htm. How would you respond to this?

 

[OzSpen]

More information survived about Jesus than most other ancient figures. Yet few had their existence as questioned! http://www.provethebible.net/T2-Divin/D-0201.htm. How would you respond to this?

Daniel,

Here we are 28 days after you made this post and and not one person has responded to you and the link you provided. Could this demonstrate that people are not interested in historical information that affirms the historicity of Jesus Christ?

However, the issue is broader than demonstrating Jesus was an historical person who once lived. I suggest that people learn this broader framework of how to defend the faith. Norman Geisler has done the hard yards to show how this can be done. I wrote to his organisation this week regarding another matter and was provided with a link to his 12-point apologetic that has been posted on Wikipedia: 'Norman Geisler'.

This is his 12-point schema for defending the faith. As of 1999 it could be summarized as follows:

1. Truth about reality is knowable.
2. Opposites cannot both be true.
3. The theistic God exists.
4. Miracles are possible.
5. Miracles performed in connection with a truth claim are acts of God to confirm the truth of God through a messenger of God.
6. The New Testament documents are reliable.
7. As witnessed in the New Testament, Jesus claimed to be God.
8. Jesus’ claim to divinity was proven by a unique convergence of miracles.
9. Therefore, Jesus was God in human flesh.
10. Whatever Jesus affirmed as true, is true.
11. Jesus affirmed that the Bible is the Word of God.
12. Therefore, it is true that the Bible is the Word of God and whatever is opposed to any biblical truth is false.

These same twelve steps served as the framework for the chapters of the highly popular book I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist in 2004 and for Geisler's 2012 e-book Twelve Points that Show Christianity is True. In I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, he and Frank Turek flesh out the content of this 12-point defence of the faith. I find it very helpful, but probably it zooms past many of the laity. It needs to be simplified for many people.

As this Wikipedia article demonstrates, there was a 14-point overview that preceded the 12-point schema.

As for the historical veracity of Jesus, this has been exposed for years by writers such as F F Bruce, Paul W Barnett, John W Montgomery, Josh McDowell and others.

I find it sad that in an age when the defence of the faith through apologetics is needed more than ever, too many Christians are prepared to let the world go by without bothering to interact at this kind of level with unbelievers.

Do you know who will suffer the most for this disinterest? Our children, who won't get the answers they need for secondary school and university.

Oz

 

[DanielGarneau]

Oz,

Thank you for providing a broader context to the question I raised in my opening post.