Whether you believe or not, Paul (the former persecutor Saul of Tarsus [1]) wrote an amazing truth, "1 Cor 1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." Now, for the sake of the next few moments, please do not take that statement personally and quit reading. What he states is simple. To those who do not believe - the Bible, belief in the Bible, in the Christ and salvation that is offered is foolishness. This fact has been so for sometime. Even in the first century when Paul presented this to the magistrates of the day, he was told, "Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind (Acts 26:24)." Yet, to those who do believe, the gospel is the power of God to salvation.
This then brings up an interesting and age long question, "Should I believe?" Nothing compels me to believe, I have the right to choose whether I do or I don't. So, why should I believe? Belief is interesting, because if I choose to believe something, then it means that I have accepted it as factual and something to be adhered to. Even the choice NOT to believe, is believing NOT to accept something. All of these are based upon what I consider to be factual, plausible, and genuine to sustain that decision. I can believe the sky is green but that does not make it so. We believe it is blue, gray, black, or whatever color it is because the evidence of what we see tells us what is required to make that determination. When a scientist makes a claim, or a mathematician makes a claim, we ask for something because we don't just take their word for it. We ask for the evidence to sustain their conclusion.
Now, the question arises, why should I believe the story of Jesus, the resurrection and what that means? Good question. Because if this was just some wild hair loonie running around, we would dismiss the claims as the ludicrous ravings of a mad man. The problem though arises, that the events of Jesus are recorded in written form so they can be examined, and they are not things that were done in secret - they were done in the open. If just one or two had accepted, then Christianity would have disappeared like so many of the so called messianic movements of the first century. Yet, the Bible and what it presents to us is different. It has lasted for now over 2000 years. It is one thing, when the events are obscure, but, Jesus was a real person [2].
This now brings up an interesting paradox, where we have a historical person, viewed and reported on by multiple sources as claiming the same thing and verifying things that the Bible itself records. That tells us, that these things were not some "secret that came out," or "hidden revelation making itself known." Archaeology itself verifies the existence of the times and types of events that the Bible records. God Himself through Isaiah the prophet stated, "Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there. And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit. Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go (Isa.48:16,17)." Jesus even said of Himself, to Annas [3] the High Priest, one of the historical figures that history and archaeology records, "I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said (Jn.18:20,21)."
John also writes, "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (Jn.20:30,31)." This is the purpose of the Bible. These things are written so that you can examine it for yourself and determine if you wish to believe what it says and records. Paul, appearing before Herod Agrippa and Porcius Festus (again two historical figures) in Acts 26:26,27 repeats the above stating, "For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe."
These were things done in the open, that even political figures some 15-20 years later knew about and had to weigh the evidence of what was stated, the same as we do. Someone might state, "Yes, and they didn't believe it either did they?" Well..that is correct. Not all of them did. Why? Because they judged the information foolish and brushed it off or dismissed it altogether. They just did not know that they would become part of the history of the story itself, verifying its authenticity.
Now, what about you? You don't have to believe...no one is making you believe. But - have you really considered the evidence, and the consequences of your choice if the things that the Bible says are true? Paul states it well in 1 Cor.15:12-17 "Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins."
So if its not true, you have nothing to lose. But if it IS true, then to not believe, you have everything to lose.
Jim
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[1] Acts 7:58; 8:1; 13:9
[2] The first-century individuals mentioned in the gospel narratives, Pilate, Tiberius, Herod, Agrippa, Felix and others all existed. The Roman Historian Tacitus considered one of the more accurate historians of the ancient world, mentions superstitious “Christians” (from Christus, which is Latin for Christ), who suffered under Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius. Suetonius, chief secretary to Emperor Hadrian, wrote that there was a man named Chrestus (or Christ) who lived during the first century (Annals 15.44).
Flavius Josephus is the most famous Jewish historian, refers to James, “the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ.” In Antiquities 18:3 he states, “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats....He was [the] Christ...he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him.” One version reads, “At this time there was a wise man named Jesus. His conduct was good and [he] was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who became his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive; accordingly he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.”
Julius Africanus quotes the historian Thallus in a discussion of the darkness which followed the crucifixion of Christ (Extant Writings, 18).
Pliny the Younger, in Letters 10:96, recorded early Christian worship practices including the fact that Christians worshiped Jesus as God and were very ethical, and he includes a reference to the love feast and Lord’s Supper.
The Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 43a) confirms Jesus' crucifixion on the eve of Passover and the accusations against Christ of practicing sorcery and encouraging Jewish apostasy.
Lucian of Samosata was a later second-century Greek writer states that Jesus was worshiped by Christians, introduced new teachings, and was crucified for them. He said that Jesus' teachings included the brotherhood of believers, the importance of conversion, and the importance of denying other gods. Christians lived according to Jesus’ laws, believed themselves to be immortal, and were characterized by contempt for death, voluntary self-devotion, and renunciation of material goods.
Mara Bar-Serapion confirms that Jesus was thought to be a wise and virtuous man, was considered by many to be the king of Israel, was put to death by the Jews, and lived on in the teachings of His followers.
Even the Gnostic writings (The Gospel of Truth, The Apocryphon of John, The Gospel of Thomas, The Treatise on Resurrection, etc.) that all mention Jesus, and in fact we can almost reconstruct the gospel just from early non-Christian sources.
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