How can we know if we have a soul? How do we know souls exist? First it takes accepting that logic can be used to deduce truth. If you don’t believe truth exists or don’t believe it is possible to come to know truth; that is for a different argument. This article will present 4 arguments for the existence of a soul that which is separate from the physical body.
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How do we know Jesus died on the cross? We must look at the historical evidences recorded for us in ancient history. What evidence is there? We have the ancient accounts from Jewish historians, Syrian philosopher, ancient Roman historians and writers, and archeological evidence support; all within the 1st and 2nd century. With all this evidences, what can we reliably conclude?
Outside of the Biblical witnesses (the synoptic gospels) we first look to the closest culture associated with Jesus and his death; Judaism.
JEWISH HISTORY
Two researchers, Edwin Yamauchi and John P. Meier, have constructed a copy of the “Testimonium” of Flavius Josephus (37-101AD; wrote ~45 years after Jesus) with the probable later Christian insertions removed. In parentheses are what is found in the Arabic manuscript. The following paragraph is Yamauchi’s:
“About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man (And his conduct was good and he was known to be virtiucous) For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing amongst us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. (They reported that he had appeared to them after his crucifixion and that he was alive). And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.”
Here Josephus the Jewish historian records that Jesus was condemned by crucifixion. Josephus does not have to be believe in Jesus in a religious sense to admit and record a historical event regarding what happened to Jesus. Being a anti-christian source, he records this event as an actual historic occurrence. Given his time of writing and area of association, he would have known witnesses of this event.
Later in Jewish records we see in The Babylonian Talmud, a commentary on Jewish laws composed between A.D. 500-600 (Neusner/Green, 69), contains a text about Jesus’ death. The Tractate Sanhedrin (43a) states:
Jesus was hanged on Passover Eve. Forty days previously the herald had cried, “He is being led out for stoning, because he has practiced sorcery and led Israel astray and enticed them into apostasy. Whosoever has anything to say in his defense, let him come and declare it.” As nothing was brought forward in his defense, he was hanged on Passover Eve.
SYRIAN HISTORY
Secondly we can look at Mara Bar-Serapion who wrote around 70AD (~35 years after Jesus); He was a Syrian philosopher and a non-christian. When giving historical examples of innocent people being killed, he gives this example:
“…Or the Jews by murdering their wise king?…After that their kingdom was abolished. God rightly avenged these men…The wise king…Lived on in the teachings he enacted.”
The Jews never murdered their kings of the past. Jesus however was mockingly called “king of the Jews” on the cross. It was an argument that even Jewish leadership used to get Rome to approve his crucifixion. 35 years after Jesus was murdered, Rome destroyed Jerusalem. But “the wise King lived on in the teachings he enacted”. Thus Serapion was indirectly stating that Jesus was a real person of history that was killed.
ROMAN HISTORY
Third, we see as recorded by Cornelius Tacitus (56-120AD); a very trusted Roman historian, senator, proconsul of Asia, and defiantly a non-christian who wrote around 116AD (~80 years after Jesus) an interesting statement:
“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular.”
Tacitus records that Jesus “suffered THE extreme penalty” by Rome, which was crucifixion.
Then Lucian of Samosata (120-180AD; ~115 years after Jesus) was a satirist and Roman comedian who very negative and sarcastically critical of Christians. He wrote several books and in a negative since, unintentionally affirms Jesus’ death:
“The Christians. . . worship a man to this day – the distinguished personage who introduced this new cult, and was crucified on that account. . . . You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains their contempt for death and self devotion . . . their lawgiver [taught] they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take on faith”
Lucian also affirms the historic event of Jesus’ crucifixion.
The image above is roughly 1st to the late 3rd century dating which depicts a person crucified with a donkey head being worshiped by a person to the left. The words engraved at the bottom translate “Alexamenos worships [his] God,” This was mocking a person named “Alexamenos” for worshiping “[his] God” who was on the cross. Origen reports in his treatise Contra Celsum that the pagan philosopher Celsus made the same claim against Christians and Jews:
“For the sake of such a monstrous delusion, and in support of those wonderful advisers, and those wonderful words which you address to the lion, to the amphibious creature, to the creature in the form of an ass, and to others, for the sake of those divine doorkeepers..”
Tertullian, writing in the late 2nd or early 3rd century, reports that Christians, along with Jews, were accused of worshiping such a deity. He also mentions an apostate Jew who carried around Carthage a caricature of a Christian with ass’s ears and hooves, labeled Deus Christianorum Onocoetes (“the God of the Christians begotten of an ass”).
Thus, through this insulting graffiti in ancient Roman culture, we see that Christians were worshiping someone who was crucified. The donkey head is the derogatory depiction of Jesus, as it was taught that Jesus, the king, entered Jerusalem on a donkey also the donkey itself depicted how Roman society felt about Jesus himself. None the less showed the culture making fun of someone who was crucified.
HISTORY OF ROMAN CRUCIFIXION
What we know about Roman crucifixion is that it was extremely successful. A heal bone found of a young male with a nail hammered through it was discovered in Jerusalem around 1968. The skeletal remains are dated to 1st century AD. This shows that the Romans would use nails on people to hold them to the crucifixion blank. His arm bones revealed scratches where the nails had passed between. Both legs were badly fractured, most likely from a crushing blow meant to end his suffering and bring about a faster death. The young male was a Jew. The bones were found in an ossuary, or bone box, inscribed several times with Yehohanan’s name (“Yehohanan son of Hagakol”). The tombs were part of a large Jewish cemetery of the Second Temple period (second century B.C. to 70 A.D.). Archeologist Vassilios Tzaferis describes:
“During this period, it was customary to collect the bones of the deceased after the body had been buried for almost a year and the flesh had decomposed. The bones were then reinterred in an ossuary. The practice of collecting bones in ossuaries had a religious significance that was probably connected with a belief in the resurrection of the dead. But this custom was also a practical measure; it allowed a tomb to be used for a prolonged period. As new burials became necessary, the bones of earlier burials were removed and placed in an ossuary. Reburial in an ossuary was, however, a privilege for the few; not every Jewish family could afford them. Most families reburied the bones of their dead in pits. The use of stone ossuaries probably began during the Herodian dynasty (which began in 37 B.C.) and ended in the second half of the second century A.D… We also found a considerable quantity of pottery in the tomb. Because all the pottery was easily identifiable, we were able to date the tomb quite accurately… According to Josephus, Alexander Jannaeus crucified 800 Jews on a single day during the revolt against the census of 7 A.D… Accounts of the suppression of the revolt of Spartacus in 71 B.C. tell how the Roman army lined the road from Capua to Rome with 6,000 crucified rebels on 6,000 crosses. After the Romans quelled the relatively minor rebellion in Judea in 7 A.D. triggered by the death of King Herod, Quintilius Varus, the Roman Legate of Syria, crucified 2,000 Jews in Jerusalem. During Titus’s siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., Roman troops crucified as many as 500 Jews a day for several months… In peacetime, crucifixions were carried out according to certain rules, by special persons authorized by the Roman courts. Crucifixions took place at specific locations, for example, in particular fields in Rome and on the Golgotha in Jerusalem. Outside of Italy, the Roman procurators alone possessed authority to impose the death penalty. Thus, when a local provincial court prescribed the death penalty, the consent of the Roman procurator had to be obtained in order to carry out the sentence.” (“Crucifixion—The Archaeological Evidence” by Vassilios Tzaferis originally appeared in Biblical Archaeology Review, Jan/Feb 1985, 44-53.)
Even if Jesus was to had survived after being brought down from the cross, just unconscious, the burial ritual of the Jewish culture would have suffocated him regardless. Given what we know now medically, the wounds he would have suffered, the lack of nutrition, dehydration, wound infection, and burial suffocation; he could still not have survived.
ISLAMIC RECORD
About 630 years after Jesus, Ibn Ishaq (d. 761 CE/130 AH) reports of a brief accounting of events leading up to the crucifixion. But about 200 years after Ibn Ishaq, the idea of Jesus’ crucifixion changed to the idea that he only appeared to be crucified or that he did die for only a few hours before being raised to heaven. Al-Tabari (d. 923 CE/310 AH) records an interpretation attributed to Ibn ‘Abbas, who used the literal “I will cause you to die” (mumayyitu-ka) in place of the metaphorical mutawaffi-ka “Jesus died”, while Wahb ibn Munabbih, an early Jewish convert, is reported to have said “God caused Jesus, son of Mary, to die for three hours during the day, then took him up to himself.” Tabari further transmits from Ibn Ishaq: “God caused Jesus to die for seven hours”, while at another place reported that a person called Sergius was crucified in place of Jesus. Ibn-al-Athir forwarded the report that it was Judas, the betrayer, while also mentioning the possibility it was a man named Natlianus. Al-Masudi (d. 956 CE/343 AH) reported the death of Christ under Tiberius. But then, Ibn Kathir (d. 1373 CE/760 AH) suggested that a crucifixion did occur, but not with Jesus and that ‘The servant and messenger of God, Jesus, remained with us as long as God willed until God raised him to Himself.’ It seems that the Islamic idea of Jesus’ pseudo-death follows the early traditions of Gnostic teachings in that Jesus himself did not die but was replaced at the cross by someone one else who appeared to look like Jesus on the cross. Yet other Islamic teachers such as Ja’far ibn Mansur al-Yaman (d. 347 AH/958 CE), Abu Hatim Ahmad ibn Hamdan al-Razi (d. 322 AH/935 CE), Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani (d. 358 AH/971 CE), Mu’ayyad fi’l-Din al-Shirazi (d. 470 AH/1078 CE ) and the group Ikhwan al-Safa affirm that Jesus did die by Crucifixion, and not substituted by another man. It is important to note two things: (1) The Islamic reports of Jesus not dying by crucifixion are at least 900 years after Jesus! (2) They affirm Gnostic teachings which have been proven to be unreliable historically and philosophically. The inconsistent accounts within Islam make it impossible to validate Islamic sources as historically reliable.
CHRISTIAN RECORD
It is easy to write off The Bible as a bias source of the historical event of Jesus’ crucifixion but the same can be said for all the non-christian sources that deny it. The fact that there exists non-christian sources that affirm Jesus’ crucifixion is compelling in and of itself. But is the biblical record of Jesus’ death unreliable? According to non-christian secular scholars and historians such as E. P. Sanders and Maurice Casey, who are bold enough to admit, that, The Bible is reliable enough to know that he did in fact die. The biblical manuscripts describing the crucifixion of Jesus were not only writing during the time crucifixion was still practiced but other ancient records of crucifixion and archeological finds all affirm what The Bible details.
The Rylands Library Papyrus P52 is a biblical manuscript dated 90AD to 150 AD records a small portion of the story of Jesus’ crucifixion. Which the fragment can be possibly dated to only 60 or so years after Jesus. Clement of Rome who wrote around 90AD and affirms the death of Jesus in Chapter 16 of 1 Clement. Ignatius (born around 35 AD and died around 108AD) affirms Jesus’ crucifixion in his letter to the Smyrnaeans. Polycarp of Smyrna (born around 69AD and died around 155AD) affirms Jesus’ crucifixion in his letter to the church in Phillipi.
THE PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE
Ancient Jewish history records Jesus’ death on the cross. Syrian philosopher affirms his death as an historic event. Ancient Roman historians and writers affirm Jesus’ death as an historic event. Early church teachers affirm Jesus’ death. Later some Islamic writers even affirm Jesus’ death. Currently, well respected secular scholars affirm that the Bible’s record of Jesus’ death is reliable. We can in fact conclude given the preponderance of evidence that Jesus did in fact die by crucifixion.
The simple fact of conceiving this question, using a tool (computer), and searching for an answer to the conceived question is evidence there is something already. But why is there something? Why is there something currently in existence rather than nothing at all? How did the very first iota of ‘something’ come into existence? To lead us to the answer we must ask a series of questions: Is something infinite? Did something come from nothing? Is nothing, something?
Observable Evidences
Throughout history, scientist have observed that something exists and have attempted to explain how it exists. From Copernicus and Galileo, Descartes and Newton, to Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble, Arno Penzias, Robert Wilson, and Alan Guth. These people have proposed and brought forth evidences that show HOW a something came from a starting point. In 1925 Edwin Hubble proved that the universe was expanding and his formula is known as Hubble’s Law. Then the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson in 1965 and the Inflationary Universe articulated in 1980 by Alan Guth all showed something as the starting point for the universe.
Infinite Something?
Because we know something exists (You, your consciousness, your mind, your conceived question, and your tool) we can first ask, is it infinite? You and your tool had a beginning. Your parents. Your parents had a beginning, their parents. Is there an infinite regression of beginnings? To resolve this first issue we look at logic. Can something have an infinite past? For this to be true, the very first something, would never have a present or future because its past would never end. Logic reveals to us that having an infinite past for something in space and time is not possible. As the universe expands (Hubble’s Law) in time, then we can deduce that it expanded from a certain point in the past. Some people call this absolute beginning of the material universe the Big Bang in which all possible matter was contained in a singularity. That leads us to back to our absolute question, where did the singularity come from? Is that singularity infinite? Given the drastic change from an infinite past singularity to a sudden expansion to where we are now, we see that the singular can not be an infinite singularity. Edwin Hubble would agree.
A theory of an ever expanding and contracting universe (Oscillating Universe) attempted to explain the universe but it still never addressed the issue of the initial something before initial expansion into infinite existing universe; and was not supported by the scientific discoveries of a universe that is observably expanding at a faster rate and the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation. This idea is called a Closed Universe where after the big bang, the universe’s expansion would slow and eventually collapse. This theory was at one point popular but until more recent discoveries it has fallen out of favor.
From Nothing?
This leads us to our next question: Did this singularity or the iota of something came from nothing? First, we need to understand what ‘nothing’ is. Simply put, ‘nothing’ is the lack of existence of which has not value, purpose, or being. If there is no space or time then something can not potentially exist. The Inflationary (or Inflating) Universe theory with The Big Bang theory all point to a single point of beginning for the universe but does not attempt to explain something from nothing. If there was nothing prior to the singularity, then the singularity could not potentially exist. Because something is not nothing, logic reveals to us that nothing can not cause something to exist. Thus nothing, can not cause the existence of the singularity.
Self Generated
Given scientific observations of Hubble and others; and what we can come to know through logic, we see that the universe, and the very first something could not have come from infinity or from nothing. This leads us to our next logical question, could something just have created itself? This is partly addressed from the nothingness conclusion. Before the something created itself, that would mean there was initially nothing. That brings us back to the previous answer of can something come from nothing.
A second conclusion has been raised; the infinite possible universes. What if reality is made up of infinite alternate universes. If this is true, than this means that the potentiality of a universe to come from nothing exist infinity in one of the infinite possibilities. This extreme theory fails under the most simplest logic. This theory would require a reality where one of the infinite possibilities is that there are no other universes; and another universe where there is only one infinite universe in all reality. Hundreds of other ‘possible’ universes can be thought up that would contradict and disprove this theory.
Conclusion
Scientist observe the existence of something and have found evidences to support the HOW something came from a starting point. Philosophy leads us to rule out absurd and illogical theories and points us to the reason WHY there is something rather than nothing. If something can not just exist infinitely, or come from nothing, or cause itself to become something from nothing; that means something is caused to exist through an uncaused cause which exists outside of space and time of which would be immaterial and eternal. This uncaused cause would perfectly explain the existence of something rather than nothing and address how that something came into being. Because science only makes observations and predictions of things in space-time; the immaterial eternal uncaused cause is the philosophical proof that complements the known discoveries in science and further explains why there is something rather than nothing.
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This is a hotly debated issue; was there an actual historic Great Flood or is Noah’s story just a myth taken from other cultures? To address this question we will look at the ancient flood stories of different ancient cultures, and discuss evidences in geology and fossil records. This topic requires and open mind but also requires a spiritually open mindedness.
The Great Flood is dated before 3,000BC. Noah is a historical and actual person of history who lived through an actual historical event according to the author of 1 Chronicles 1:4, prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 54:9), prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 14:14, 20), apostle Peter (1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5), the author of Hebrews (Heb 11:7), Luke (Luke 3:36), and Jesus himself (Matt 24:37-38; Luke 17:26-27).
To say that Noah and the Flood is a myth is to call all these people either liars or the authorship of the words a lie. Without using the bible (even though secular scholars agree the historical reliability of the bible) what other evidences can we find that validate the historical person of Noah and the Flood event?
Stories of The Flood
If one family survived the flood, then all other families after them would have been taught about it. If all the different ancient cultures of the world came from the one family that survived the flood, they would have passed down the story (Gen 9:1). Noah lived 350 years after the flood and was the last person of the pre-flood generation to live that long. For the next 350 years Noah was able to teach all his decedents the stories of the Flood. So where did the confusion of the details of the event come from?
Noah in his ignorance discovers that wine can get you drunk. His sons see this and its effects; it causes a whole ordeal, and thus, sin continues in the hearts of humanity after the flood (Gen 9:18-27). From there, the genealogies of Noah’s decedents begin to reveal the diversity in culture as time went on (Gen 10:1-21).
Sumeria was the first most visible centralized culture and people group in history which, according to the bible, come from Noah’s son Shem (Gen 10:21-22). Noah’s son Ham was the father of Cush who was the father of Nimrod (Gen 10:6-11); whom founded Babylon, traveled through Assyria and founded Ninivah. It is clear that the oral story of a world wide flood could have been passed down, but given the continued sin of mankind, the distortion and confusion of the story is clear.
The Sumerian King List is huge. Earliest sources of this list dates to around 1,000BC. There are a couple critical details about the list. (1) It states that the authority of the kingship came from heaven. (2) The life spans of the early kings were very long. (3) A flood wiped out the kingship and it had to be re-established after the flood. (4) after the flood, the kings life spans were greatly reduced. The earliest historically verified king on the list is around 2,600BC and the king after is in the Epic of Gilgamesh. But the list goes even farther back to more than 4,000BC.
It is important to state that this list was meant as a historical list and not a fictional story. It was the Sumerians attempt at recording their history.
Where did Sumerian’s get the flood idea from?
Knowing that the bible is historically reliable, we then see the Sumerian people descending from the sons of Noah. Thus, the flood story would have been passed down from Noah and his sons and their sons. That is how they could have knowledge of people who per-existed before the flood, and after the flood; also have knowledge about the longer life spans prior to the flood just, as the bible describes.
Why couldn’t have the bible got the idea from the Sumerians?
The Bible describes pre-flood and post-flood in ways that only those whom had experienced it could have described or from one whom and received the details first hand. Given the better reliability of The Bible compared to the Epic of Gilgamesh and other more ancient documents, we can see that the bible is a better source. The Bible also helps explain, if there was a flood that took out the world, how future people were even aware of pre-flood and past individuals. If the Sumerian story preceded the bible, how was the bible better, more reliably informed, and able to explain more accurate details?
The Eridu Genesis (Sumerian Creation story) came about later. One single fragment of the story was discovered that dated to about 1,600BC. It describes a distorted and corrupted view of The Great Flood. There are continued key similarities to The Great Flood account of the oral traditional story from Noah. (1) a priest learns of an impending flood sent from heaven (2) and is instructed to build a large boat (3) animals were loaded in the boat (4) and the priest performs scarifies to a deity. (5) they exit the boat and the deity gives the priest eternal life and preserves the animals and mankind.
By the time of this record of the flood, it had been over 2,000 plus years since sons of Noah; allowing for a loss of traditional Noah heritage and a change in details of the oral story.
The Epic of Gilgamesh. The discovery of Table XI of the story was carved around 700BC. On the Tablet it states very similar details about the flood theme. (1) Deity reveals plan to flood mankind, (2) instructed to build a boat in preparation for the flood (3) A great and violent flood (4) After the storm, a sacrifice to a deity was performed (5) eternal life was given.
Until recently, the Epic of Gilgamesh was only seen as a fictional story but discoveries related to mentioned kings in the story has lead to some historical features of the story. Artifacts related to Aga and Enmebaragesi of Kish have shown them to be actual people of history.
In ancient greek history, there are stories of a flood that also contains similarities to The Great Flood. Plato even states that an world wide flood was an actual historical event in Plato’s Critias. The Greek flood stories are however more mythological than the ones that proceeded them.
China
Even in ancient China, we see all the regions ancient dynasties end or change together probably due to reconstruction and recolonization after the flood, around mid 3rd millennia BC. Something forced China’s ancient people groups from Neolithic age and transition into the Xia dynasties. The Yellow Emperor, legend or a true historical person, even includes a story about a massive flood all throughout China. His supposed reign was around the late 2nd millennia BC. Given that these people groups were separate and isolated from other cultures closer to the Noah’s semi continued secularized traditions; their stories would be more different. This is reflected in the Yellow Emperor’s tale of a great flood as it was vastly different.
Other Cultures
In just about every major civilization since the Sumerian story has had some sort later version of the flood story. The African culture of The Maasai have a similar great flood story with the same themes. In India, in the Shatapatha Brahmana which was recorded not too long after the Babylonian story also contains the same key themes of The Great Flood. The people group of Malaysia, known as the Temuan, have a very similar flood story despite their isolation from middle eastern cultures. Even Mesoamerica and Hopi stories of their ancestors maintain a story of a great flood caused due to mankind angering a deity.
Why the different accounts if it was the same event?
After the flood, Noah, his sons, and their families began to spread out around the world. The different family groups moving to different geographical locations over time would develop their own unique traditions and stories; eventually into their own distinct culture group and nation.
How accurate is Google Translate? To some, it is helpful, to others it does not use the correct words and does not get across the most accurate translation of what is being stated. Imagine all people generally speaking the same language, then a few generations later, speaking a completely different language. How easy would it then be to communicate past stories accurately? The story of The Tower of Babel explains just that. The different people groups, descendants from the sons of Noah, were lead to create their own unique languages. This would have also contributed to the confusion and distortion of the account of The Great Flood between the different cultures. As the people groups lost their connection to the traditions of Noah, they continued to pass down their own versions of the event and embellish them to fit their own situations and culture.
Did Moses get the flood story from Sumerian and Babylonian myths?
The answer to this question greatly depends on your faith. Is God able to reveal historic truths to those whom he ordained to record them? Is God then able to influence the writers to accurately record what he reveals to them? If the answer is “no” or “maybe” to those questions, than for you, finding God will be very difficult; and finding the biblical account of The Great Flood just as difficult. More specifically, the question is: Is God able to reveal prehistoric truths to Moses, and influence him to accurately record them? This is a critical and deep spiritual question that everyone will be confronted with when pondering the flood story. If someone is atheist or agnostic, their obvious answer would be “no” because of their anti-spiritual bias. For God to be God, he must be able to this; or he is not really God and the whole bible is irrelevant. This is where it depends on your faith or lack of.
The answer is, God can and did reveal prehistoric truths to Moses; God can and did influence the one who He chose (Moses) to accurately record what He revealed. Because Jesus is God, and Jesus validated Noah and the flood as an actual historic person and event, it must be true- or Jesus is not God. THEREFORE Moses recorded exactly what God revealed to him about the historic event; and all the other stories of the same historic event came from corrupted descriptions stemming from Noah’s son’s families and their generations of decedents. In fact, the correct true explanation of the event may have been already orally passed down within the people group that kept the traditions of Noah and finally recorded by Moses.
To assume and jump to the concision that Moses stole or borrowed from the Sumerian or Babylonian myths, or parts of the Egyptian great flood myths, only reveal anti-spiritual bias in the assumed conclusion without considering the faith aspect. Because IF God IS able, why could he not have?
What Evidence is there for a world wide flood?
Marine fossils found on mountains: How did marine fossils end up in the middle of continents miles above sea level? For example, there are marine fossils found in layers of the Grand Canyon, 1 mile above sea level [5]. Shellfish fossils found in the Himalayan mountains of Napel [6]. How did ancient sea life climb a mountain?
Mass plant and animal death and fossil groupings: Chambered nautiloids’ are found in the Grand Canyon along with millions of other sea creatures burred in the same layer spanning 10,500 square miles. Hundreds of thousands of marine creatures were buried with amphibians, spiders, scorpions, millipedes, insects, and reptiles in a fossil graveyard at Montceau-les-Mines, France [1]. More than 100,000 fossil specimens, representing more than 400 species, have been recovered from a shale layer associated with coal beds in the Mazon Creek area near Chicago [2]. This spectacular fossil graveyard includes ferns, insects, scorpions, and tetrapods buried with jellyfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and fish, often with soft parts exquisitely preserved. There are locations around the world were not only are there mass death and burial of creatures, but these creatures are both land and sea creatures, buried together. Also in Florissant, Colorado [3] and Green River Formation of Wyoming [4].
Sediment layers are spread over vast areas world wide: The famous Cretaceous chalk beds of southern England that form the white straight cliffs is the same Cretaceous chalk with the same fossils and the same distinctive strata above and below them are also found in the Midwest USA, from Nebraska in the north to Texas in the south. They also appear in the Perth Basin of Western Australia. The Cretaceous Chalk sediment layer was spread all over the world at the same time to achieve the same layer and fossils. Wind and gradual erosion could not produce this, in this vastness all around the globe in the same time frame.
Where are Pre-Flood Human fossils?
This takes an unbiased approach to address this question, and is ignorantly used as a ‘gotcha’ question. Do humans commonly get buried with Elephants or Tigers in modern times? No. The percentage of dinosaur fossils found, out of all fossils found, is 0.01%; what are the odds we will find a human fossil when there was a smaller amount around the same time? That would be more exceedingly rare than finding dinosaur fossils, and finding dinosaur fossils is rare already [7]. Also, dinosaurs were more spread out, and according to Gen 4:17 we see people already lived close together instead of spread out.
Secondly, God made it absolutely clear he was going to “blot out” mankind from the face of the earth in Gen 6:7 and Gen 7:23. That is an absolute destruction. Do you think it will be easy or possible to find something that God has “blot out” from the earth? If anything, the fact we have not found a single human fossil from that time period only validates what the Bible said God would do.
The 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia was a known localized event that happened only 12 years ago and still 43,000 victims were never found [8]. Now think of how difficult it would be to find 150,000 to 250,000 prehistoric people who were swept away by a world wide flood covering the face of the earth over 5,000 years ago. Biased people expect to find pre-flood human fossils from over 5,000 years ago searching for unknown locations world wide, to be convinced; yet, in our modern times we can’t find 1/3 amount of people in a known localized event that happened only 12 years ago.
Before dinosaur fossils were discovered, did that mean they did not exist? Has humanity discovered everything there is to discover? Does that mean, what we have not discovered, does not exist? Apply the same logical conclusion to the issue above.
Conclusion
The Great Flood is an actual prehistoric event. From the bible, the event of the Great Flood is supported by its divinely inspired authors and Jesus himself. Outside of the bible, it is a historical event according to The Sumerian Kings List and the recently semi-historical validated Epic of Gilgamesh. Different cultures from around the world, separated and isolated, still have some sort of story that contains similar key elements. The fossil record and sediment layers are also explained by a great world wide flood. Given the evidences, it is true that there was a world wide flood.
Noah was instructed to build a large vessel by God. He did and a world wide flood came. He and his family survived with vegetation seeds and animals. They then repopulated the earth. Their decedents spread throughout the world and their decedents continued the Great Flood story but lost the source (true oral traditions from Noah). They injected their own messages and details to fit their own culture. The oral traditions from Noah was then recorded by Moses, guided by God as it was revealed by God to Moses.
We can be confident today that we have the true recorded oral traditions of the events of creation and the flood in the Bible; and that it was revealed by God, and securely recorded with God through Moses. With the spiritual truth aspect of the flood; Noah’s Flood in the Bible explains what is observed in history, archeology, and geology. Without the truth in the spiritual context of faith in God’s security and divine revelations to Moses; all the stories and fossils are just unexplained, oddly convenient, confused, and oddly consistent myths.
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The Merneptah Stele is the most widely recognized and accepted earliest inscription of “Israel”. The inscription is from the ancient Egyptian king Merneptah who ruled between 1213BC to 1203BC. This stele is estimated to have been carved around 1208BC.
Prior Egyptian Kings enjoyed control over their cities but a Libyan king boldly invaded in 1208BC. The stone describes the Egyptian victory over that invasion but also describes a conquest to the east in an effort to retain control of those rebelling regions. One of the people groups who were “smitten” was a nomadic people called “I.si.ri.ar”, or Israel.
Arguably this is the oldest widely accepted reference to Israel. But there is an earlier fragment on a column in which may also name Israel prior to this one.
The Berlin Column base fragment is dated around 1453BC to 1401BC and to the far right may record when Israel was enslaved in Egypt. The other shields record other nations and people groups who were conquered as well. The half viable characters are very similar to the characters used to name Israel but given the earlier date may explain the variation as Egyptian inscriptions and names evolved.
Due to the character similarities to Israel, the timing of the history in Israel, and no other people group in that region with that similar characters; “Israel” would be the most logical concision given the limited information. But due to the partial fragment and limited information, some scholars are hesitant to assign that name to this fragment.
A fragmented slab of stone found in Israel with Aramaic characters carefully engraved in the stone describe a military victory of the Aramein King over southern nations; one of which is stated as: “The King of the House of David”. The stone is date to the late 9th Century BC. Sadly the undiscovered portion of the stone presumably records the names of the kings but most scholars believe the stela recounts a campaign of Hazael of Damascus, king of Aram, in which he defeated both Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah.
Why is this discovery so important?
This simple inscription proves the historical person of King David out side of the bible while at the same time validating the bible’s historical reliability. It also reveals the influence and respect of King David. Over 100 years later, even his enemies still recognize him as the foundation of that dynasty. The inscription corresponds to 2 Chronicles 22. This discovery is ranked as one of the top 10 most important archeological finds of that year.
The theory that King David was a fictitious Israelite hero or embellished minor person in Israels early history become less creditable and less reliable because of the discovery out side of the Bible’s witness of him.
The Lord has used people from different nations, races, and cultures to proclaim his message to the world. This article will focus on African Christian history, historic African teachers, modern orthodox African American teachers, the need for this ministry focus, the identity of being Christian, discerning racial favoritism, and reacting to racism.
Basic History of Early Christianity in Parts of Africa
(Central) Congo region – Christianity was brought to the Congo in 1483 and was made the state religion in the 16th century. Despite this, the Congo was a key location for the early slave trade and was even practiced within the Congo locally before the arrival of Portuguese missionaries. David Livingstone (1813-1873) continued to pursue the African people and opposed the slave trade.
(Eastern) Ethiopia region – Acts 8:26-38 records the conversion of an Ethiopian court official or even the Queen herself. The Apostle Matthew did mission work in Ethiopia as well. Christianity was declared the state religion in 330AD. Frumentius (4th century-383AD) was directly influenced by Athanasius of Alexandria and lived in Ethiopia for ministry work. By the 5th century, the established Christian church in Ethiopia aligned themselves with The Coptic Orthodox Church over the nature of Christ and harassment from the Roman Catholic Church.
(Western) Nigeria and Benin region – The Portuguese came in contact with these regions as early as the 15th century. Christian influence faded away until the 19th century when Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries returned.
(Southern) South Africa – In 1488 a limestone cross was erected in Cape Town. In 1618 the a Dutch Synod declared that any slave baptized should be freed. In 1685 the Dutch church had established missions in South Africa. Sotho King Moshoeshoe, king of the majority ethnic group of that time, stated that only the Christian teachings are the rules of life in his kingdom. His death in 1870 ushered in British colonialism in that region.
(North Western) Mauritania – These people groups were not evangelized until late in Christian history. In the 8th century Islamic merchants began converting the people in this region. It was part of French Colonization and became independent in 1960. There were a few Roman Catholic settlements but never had great influence.
The majority of early African Christian influence came from North African regions such as Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia but began to fall away after the Council of Chalcedon. Then after the disagreement with the two natures of Jesus Christ (451AD), came the spread of Islam (7th century), the foreign slave trade, and colonialism (18th century). These phases of history stifled the development of sound Christian leaders of African decent. It was not until the Christendom wide abolitionist and equality efforts with focused missionary efforts over the centuries that allowed for those of distinct African decent to be able to develop.
Historic Christianity of African Descent:
1st Century:
Peter Durrett – A freed slave who started the first African American church in Lexington Kentucky during the Great Awakening (1733 – 1823).
George Liele – Emancipated slave, Baptist pastor, missionary to Jamaica (1750-1820)
Phillis Wheatley – Born in West Africa, sold into slavery, brought to America as a slave and later Emancipated. Wast the first published African American poet with sound understanding of true Christianity. (1753-1784)
Lemuel Haynes – He was an indentured servant and was freed in 1777. He was part of the American Revolution, became a sound preacher in Vermont and was a stout Abolitionist (1753 – 1833)
Henry Highland Garnet – Born into slavery and later escaped to New York. He was an abolitionist and was the pastor of the first African American Presbyterian church (though he had extreme political views and advocated for violence) (1815-1882).
Francis Grimke – His ather was a slave owner and mother was a slave. When his father died they moved, and he later became a Presbyterian minister to helped found the NAACP (1852-1937).
Eugene St. Clair Callender – He was the first African American to study at the Westminster Theological Seminary where he later became a Presbyterian pastor and civil rights activist (1926-2013).
Martin Luther King Jr. – He was a Baptist pastor and civil rights activist who taught nonviolent civil disobedience to injustices (1929-1968).
Modern Sound African American Teachers
Eric Mason
Thabiti Anyabwile
Voddie Baucham
Jemar Tisby
Tony Carter
Trillia Newbel
Bryan Loritts
Tony Evans
Jackie Hill Perry
Anthony Carter of East Point Church
Cultural and Race Focused Ministries
Thriving
Reformed African American Network
The Kainos Movement
Kingdom Agenda Pastors
The Urban Alternative
CRU: Impact
Rafiki African Ministry
The Need
Cultural and racial focused ministries are important for a number of reasons: some individuals within their culture and race refuse to seek any thing outside of their heritage. Others are reminded of the past and do to see the love of Christ due to racism. Thus, when God does call someone out of their culture and race, they can be highly effective interments for God in those specific areas.
They are living proof that God does understand their uniqueness and has chosen someone they can relate to; so that they can hear the perfectly unifying eternal message of The Gospel and see the love of God through Jesus Christ in their own culture.
Even though the Gospel Message is colorless, non-cultural specific, and universal for all people, some hearers are not; and the most effective way to reach them is with the Gospel message because the messenger relates specifically to them and understands their culture directly. This is why it is important for Christians that come from African descent and African American culture to be sound in doctrine and be an instrument for God in this specific area.
Also read All Christians Are Missionaries
The Dangers
Because of human nature, this need and the various approaches, can be corrupted. The strategies and messages can become man-centered and divisive. An extreme amount of focus can rest too much on cultural and racial issues that it alienates the rest of the church who are from other cultural and racial backgrounds. The message can morph into such a drastic focus on race that the primary message becomes solely about race instead of The Gospel Message like Black Liberation Theology. From there other teachings develop and generate heresies like the The Hebrew Roots Movement.
Identity
Orthodox Christianity, according to scripture, makes it clear that our identity is in Christ, not our cultural or racial background. That we are to care for all people in the church and not just those of our own background (1 Corinthians 12:25). Christ is the head of whole church body, which unifies us (Ephesians 1:22-23) and Jesus Christ’s message is for all people and not one culture or race (Matthew 28:19-20). God does not show favoritism over one race or another, and neither should we (Deuteronomy 10:17; Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9). Just as Christ loved all people from different backgrounds, he wants us to do the same (John 3:16; 13:34). Even though race has been, and is still, used as a divisive form of humanistic god-like control over others and used to oppress others; we are still commanded to forgive each other (Ephesians 4:32) and be merciful (James 2:13). Understand that we are uniquely made, culturally and racially, and are to be instruments for God and proclaiming his unifying universal message (Romans 6:13).
Discerning Racial Favoritism
Knowing if what is taught, in regards to culture and race specific issues, is of God or of carnal agendas can be determined by asking 3 questions:
With out The Gospel message, unifying peace seeking efforts, and eternal selfless sacrificial love for all people, the message is carnal, vain, spiritually empty, and ultimately divisive. Those who are divisive and perpetuate racial favoritism and racism need to be held accountable.
How are Christians called to react to Racism?
Matthew 5:44 is the fundamental place to start. Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you. Christian love is NOT conditional and based upon the actions of others. Even in the face of injustice we are still called to do good and glorify God through it (1 Peter 2:18-20; Titus 2:9-11).
All kinds of people, from all kinds of religions; all claim some portions, it not all, of the bible are from God, or from a god, or from multiple gods. They all can not be both true, and not true, at the same time; so how do we know? Biblical Hermeneutics is the study and method of how to correctly understand scripture. In this article we will review three key elements of an effective method for correctly interpreting and understanding the Bible the way it was meant to be interpretative and understood.
As Christians, we are expected to correctly interpret and teach The Bible. A text has one true interpretation but many applications; the mission here is to get that one true meaning and correctly interpret it and understand it; so it can be accurately applied in all ways of life. Hermeneutics is the process and method of Textualism; where the readers interpret and understand the text and adhere to the meaning from the text in its conceived essence.
2 Timothy 1:13; 2:15
“Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,3 a worker bwho has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.“
When reading a bible passage, it should always be read in a literal sense unless the context states otherwise or there is obvious symbolism and teachable poetic language like hyperbolas.
In Mark 8:19 we read that Jesus fed 5,000 people. How many were fed? If we think “that number must be symbolic” or “There must be a deeper meaning within that number” we are adding into the text which is not there. Numerology is a form of scriptural interpretation that injects unintended meanings into scripture and then produces heretical unbiblical ideas and assumptions. Clearly Mark 8:19 is a historical story about an actual event. The authors in that culture would only count males or heads of the household. Thus the 5,000 people is literally 5,000 males or heads of the household just as the story describes it.
Numerical symbolisms are only true when God makes it explicitly known (via explicit in scripture). The number of biblical unity = 1 (Deut 6:4; Eph 4:5). The number of biblical division = 2. Examples: The Son who has two natures: human and divine. There are 2 Testaments: the Old and New. Man is Male and Female. Rom. 9 speaks of two vessels: one for honorable use and the other for dishonorable use. Two types of people: Sheep and Goats. There are two ages: this age and the age to come: Matt. 12:32, 13:39, 40, 49, Mark 10:30. The number of perfection = 3. The Trinity consists of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are three qualities of the universe: Time, Space, and Matter (Romans 1:20).
Secret Knowledge is an idea that came about from the Gnostic era (100-400AD) of the early church and still lives in the ideals of countless cults and some religions today. It is true that The Holy Spirit illuminates our hearts and minds and gives us the ability to correctly understand scripture but this is not seeing what is not there to begin with. In regards to Mark 8:19, the Holy Spirit would compel people to BELIEVE the miracle of feeding the literal 5,000 people from just small amount of fish and bread. Belief in what the scripture declares is the illumination of the spirit and not a secret; but it is mysterious and foolish to all those who do not believe.
Element 1 Application:
The context and explicit described occasion of the passage lets us know if the statements should be taken literal or not. It is describing an actual historic event that takes place or will take place in space and time.
The Law of Non-contradiction is very applicable here as well. Since the bible is God’s word, we need to understand that when we run into a perceived contradiction, it is our understanding that is not compatible with the passage; not the passage. Jesus’ genealogy for example. Matthew gives one but it seems that Luke gives a different one. Thus a close minded skeptic will jump to the assumption that they found an error in The Bible and the bible is the one in error. They fail to ask a logical question: How many parents did Jesus have… He had a father (Joseph) and a mother (Mary). Thus we see that Jesus’ blood line is one side of the family in Matthew and is of the other parent in Luke.
Where this applies to the element: The bible explicitly states that God is a spirit (John 4:24). Yet Psalms describes God with having nostrils and mouth with smoke and fire coming out (Ps 18:8). Both can not be true as it would be a contradiction; therefore we need to understand which is literal and which is a figure of speech or metaphoric. The context shows that John is being literal and Ps is being Anthropomorphic (applying human characteristics to something non-human to relay equivalent understanding). This is where a lot of teachers fail; in the application of literal and non literal.
As we look at literal or symbolic portions of scripture, we need to apply the overall context; the historical meaning, undertones, the language style, and grammatical usages. This element takes more dedication and learning to correctly apply.
The context also rightly guides us to understanding what is truly being stated. The most out-of-context verse in our modern culture is Matthew 7. If we just look at Matthew 7:1 we can jump to the ignorant conclusion that we should NEVER judge. But when we look at Matthew 7:1-5 we see that we should never judge Hypocritically. Thus this verse is NOT saying to never ever judge, but to not judge hypocritically.
The historical nature of the text sheds a lot of light on how to better understand scripture as well. The celebration of Passover and Jesus being called the Lamb of God. Understanding where Passover came from and why greatly helps us understand Jesus himself.
The Language usage is very important was well. We need to remind ourselves that they did not speak or think in English, Spanish, or Chinese. They spoke and thought in Ancient Greek, and Ancient Aramaic and Hebrew. Their sentence structures were not exactly like ours today. Metaphors and slang were different with different meanings. When Jesus states “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle” in Matthew 19:24, we think that is an odd thing to say. That was a common cultural metaphor that described the immense difficulty of something. 2,000 years from now, when someone reads “kill two birds with one stone” they are going to think the same about our metaphor. Correctly understanding metaphors are important to correctly understanding the idea presented.
Failed interpretations like these: Luke 22:19, the Roman Catholic Church literally believes that the bread and wine literally becomes Jesus’ flesh when they do communion simply because Jesus says “This is my body”. Jesus also states “I am the door” in John 10:6, so why do they not believe Jesus literally turns into a door either? Pentecostal churches will teach that Tongues of Angels of 1 Corinthians 13 is literally an angelic language that sounds like confused babble. They fail to see that when angels speak, they speak in human languages in all parts of scripture and their justification passage is not correctly understood from a linguistic standpoint. They fail to understand language and hyperbolic figures of speech.
Element 2 Application:
Understand the current setting and occasion of the whole story and not just a snippet of the passage. The desperation and emotion in the Psalms of David are better understood when you know that he is hiding out in cave for years because he is being hunted to be killed.
Similar to Element 1; detecting the use of literal, metaphoric (A comparison of two things that have some quality in common without using like or as. Instead, it states that one thing actually is something else) symbolic (the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities), hyperbole (A figure of speech in which a statement is exaggerated for emphasis or for humorous effect. Writers often use hyperbole to intensify a description or to emphasize the essential nature of something), personifications (A figure of speech in which a nonhuman thing or quality is written about as if it were human. In the phrase the blue stars shiver, human attributes are given to stars), anthropomorphism, simile (A comparison of two things that have some quality in common using like or as. In a simile, the comparison is conveyed by means of the word like or as), and puns ( A PLAY on words that depends on a word having two meanings). All help determine what the true meaning is and thus improving the understanding of scripture.
To understand meanings of passages we can compare one passage with another. We can see why one prophet speaks against something by comparing previous texts with it.
When we read Isaiah 31:1 we would wonder why Israel would be greatly warned not to rely on horses. Seems kinda random. But when we look back at Deut 17:16 we see that God commanded this, and that is why it is such a big warning. Without using Deut 17:16 to shed light on that, we would not fully understand the reasoning for the great warning.
When scripture makes it explicit that God is all knowing, then God knows all things. Thus when we read other passages about God’s knowledge, we an apply the explicit passage to correctly understand the less obvious. When Jesus explicitly states that all those who God The Father gave to Him “will come to me” and he “will never lose them” we can know for a fact those who are saved, will be saved, and will never become unsaved. This understanding can then be applied to other less explicit passages about the longevity of salvation.
Element 3 Application:
When scripture says “you will have eternal life” than that means you will have eternal life. Then we can allow scripture expand on itself and explain its self more. Deut 24:1-4 is straight forward, but we can then ask “why” and “what else”. The topic here is divorce. Jesus then addresses Deut 24 and expands and gets deeper in Matt 5:32; 19:3-12. Thus we learn more about this issue just through allowing scripture to explain the why and how through itself.
EXEGESIS
These elements of biblical hermeneutics form what is known as the Exegesis approach to studying scripture. The word exegesis literally means “to lead out of.” That means that the interpreter is led to his conclusions by following the text. The text teaches what it teaches. Where churches, teachers, and religions fail is when they “lead in to” textual meanings. This is known as Eisegesis and is highly dangerous and produces wrongful assumptions of what the text does not actually mean.
The Simple Process of Exegesis
Eisegesis uses self imagination, invented discovery, the acceptance of a self generated idea through self seeking textual justification for the generated idea. All heresies come from this method.
When Hermeneutics goes bad
When people mishandle the word of God and use Eisegesis drawn meanings from texts it begins in sublet errors like in the Pentecostal teachings, and eventually balloon into whole divisive doctrines like the Roman Catholic Church then into Mormonism and other religions. Poor Hermeneutic practices of Texualism is a cascade effect of greater poor interpretation and misunderstand of God’s Word.
Why Does The Holy Spirit Allow for Misunderstandings?
At the end of it all, it is the human heart that seeks to justify itself. God hands us over to our sin (Romans 1) and we find ways to justify our self-righteousness or god-like desires. Where WE dictate what God says instead of accepting what God actually declares. If you want to be taught by The Holy Spirit and not another spirit or your sinful heart; be ready and willing to accept things that you naturally do not feel like accepting or agree with. Or be willing to accept things that you do not understand yet (because the Holy Spirit may not have revealed it to you yet). At the end of it all, complete trust and dependence in God’s Word is necessary to avoid errors in understanding.
Summery:
The 3 Elements of Correct Interpretation
Applying the Elements for Correct Interpretation
Keep In Mind:
Secular and Non-christian ancient writers were made witnesses without even knowing it. Now it is easy for these and any ancient account to be attacked but think about this: We talk about and teach about Plato as if he was a real person of history who lived and taught around 400-300BC; yet the oldest manuscript we have of ‘his’ is around 800AD. That is roughly a 1,200 year separation. Yet, historians consider mentions about him in other earlier ancient writings as creditable and useful. Below are lists of mentions of Jesus that are within 17-115 years after Jesus. Closer and more reliable than most sources of other ancient persons and are accepted as reliable.
Quick and Simple History Lesson:
Initially Jesus was a no body. Later in his life crowds of Jews followed him (and some Romans). And then he was put to death. So from 3-35AD no one would have really known anything about this guy name Jesus out side of that local region.
Then suddenly, the apostles and others were going around saying he rose from the dead and came to them. The Jews admit there was no body found and Rome could care less. As the news spread (without internet or cell phones) apostles and disciples made it to Rome, Africa, Asia minor, and continue to teach what this unknown guy Jesus taught and did.
Meanwhile the known world is caring more about the Jewish Revolt (its second attempt against Rome). In 70AD Rome got tired of Israel and their riots and destroys their capital Jerusalem.
By this time with that problem gone, Roman citizens were converting to Christianity, and it is becoming more talked about publicly. For a Syrian Philosopher in 70AD to know about Jesus, for Jewish and Roman Historians to recognize Jesus as history, and for a comedian to feel the need to patronize a religion; it was growing.
Its not until after Jesus’ death that he gets talked about and focused on outside of the broad region he and his apostles came out of.
“On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun.” (Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18:1)
Julius Africanus quoted this because the date of this event coincides with the crucifixion of Jesus. The same darkness and earthquake that occurred when Jesus died on the cross as recorded by scripture.
Mara Bar-Serapion wrote around 70AD (~35 years after Jesus); He was a Syrian philosopher who was writing to his son. He used real life examples of the persecution people have faced wrongly for their beliefs. He uses Athenians against Socrates to death, the people of Samos against Pythagoras and then states:
“…Or the Jews by murdering their wise king?…After that their kingdom was abolished. God rightly avenged these men…The wise king…Lived on in the teachings he enacted.”
The Jews never murdered their kings of the past. Jesus however was mockingly called “king of the Jews” on the cross. It was an argument that even Jewish leadership used to get Rome to approve his crucifixion. 35 years after Jesus was murdered, Rome destroyed Jerusalem. But “the wise King lived on in the teachings he enacted”. Thus Serapion was indirectly stating that Jesus was a real person of history, that his death was wrong, and that his teachings that he enacted are still taught and lived out.
Flavius Josephus (37-101AD; wrote ~45 years after Jesus) was a Jewish Historian whom was captured by Romans in Jerusalem, taken to Rome, and was freed. There he wrote his books. In one of his books he talks about Jesus. This is called the Testimonium. Down through history though it is argued that Christians added to his writings and the Testimonium. Two researchers, Edwin Yamauchi and John P. Meier, have constructed a copy of the “Testimonium” with the probable Christian insertions removed. In parentheses are what is found in the Arabic manuscript. The following paragraph is Yamauchi’s:
“About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man (And his conduct was good and he was kown to be virtiucous) For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing amongst us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. (They reported that he had appeared to them after his crucifixion and that he was alive). And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.”
Keeping in mind, Jesus was respected as a person and as a teacher in Jewish history until Christianity grew. It was not until later in history that Jewish Rabbis began slandering him and writing negative things about. Removing all positive statements about Jesus and assuming they were imputations by Christians is anti-christian bias in itself. Jews would have been positive about Jesus in Josephus’ day. They would however disagree on his actual resurrection but would not disagree that his apostles would claim he did. The reconstructed Testimonium above is what a Jewish historian would have said without Christian bias in that day.
In another place we see another mention of Jesus and an important identifier:
“Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the Sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James,”
Jesus was a common name in that culture at that time. To know which person was the subject, the author would attach a family name or in this case a notable related person. Here Josephus attaches ‘of Jesus’ to the subject but because that was still a common name, he includes which Jesus, “who was called Christ”. This is not an affirmation of belief. Josephus did not believe that Jesus was Christ but he records that Jesus “was called” Christ. Thus this is how his readers would know which James he was talking about.
In this record we see that Jesus was an actual person of history and was in fact crucified. That his disciples fell away after he was crucified but then later reported Jesus appearing to them. This account (minus any kind of imputation suspicion) validates the synoptic gospel accounts.
Cornelius Tacitus (56-120AD); a very trusted Roman historian, senator, proconsul of Asia, and defiantly a non-christian who wrote around 116AD (~80 years after Jesus) an interesting statement about Christianity
“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular.”
From this statement alone we can learn a lot about Christianity. There was a class of people called Christians who got their name from someone who was named Christus. He suffered the extreme penalty during a specific and actual time of Pontius Pilatus. Christians also had a very “mischievous superstition” about this Christus guy. And that this class of people first started in Judea and spread to Rome.
Anyone who claims Jesus never existed or was not crucified must then disprove Tacitus. The problem is that Tacitus is proven reliable and is a major source for a majority our knowledge about ancient Rome. To question him is to question most of what we know about Roman history now.
Pliny the Younger (61-113AD; ~65 years after Jesus) a Roman non-christian wrote a letter to emperor Trajan and mentioned some things about Christianity. He states:
“They (the Christians) were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god”
Pliny can tell that these Christians have a ‘fixed day’ of the week in the morning where they meet up and sing “to Christ, as to a god”. Pliny unknowingly records that Christians worship Jesus Christ as God. He also shows that Christians met up on a selected day (Sunday) in the mornings, “before it was light”.
Suetonius (69-140AD) a Roman historian records how Christians were treated in Roman society. He mentioned a disturbance in Rome around 49AD (~14 years after Jesus) and then the fire of Rome in 64AD where Nero blamed the Christians.
“Because the Jews at Rome caused constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus (Christ), he (Claudius) expelled them from the city (Rome).” (Life of Claudius, 25:4)
“Nero inflicted punishment on the Christians, a sect given to a new and mischievous religious belief.” (Lives of the Caesars, 26.2)
Suetonius even states that the Christian religion is “new”. Rome was a mecca of culture of that time. He would be fully aware of Egyptian religions, Babylonian religions, and other eastern religions including Greek and Romes’ own; yet, Christianity was “new”. The disturbance of 49AD was also recorded by Luke in Acts 18:2
Lucian of Samosata (120-180AD; ~115 years after Jesus) was a satirist and Roman comedian who very negative and sarcastically critical of Christians. He wrote several books and in a negative since, affirms Christianity. He states:
“The Christians. . . worship a man to this day – the distinguished personage who introduced this new cult, and was crucified on that account. . . . You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains their contempt for death and self devotion . . . their lawgiver [taught] they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take on faith”
Just from his derogatory account we still see that Christians worshiped Jesus as God. That Jesus was in fact a real person of history and was crucified. He also states that Christianity is “new” and not just a blend of past religions.
The Jewish (Babylonian) Talmud was written around 375 to 427 AD. It records that Jesus was crucified in Sanhedrin 43 and that he had close disciples.
“On the eve of the Passover Yeshu (Jewish for Jesus) was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, ‘He is going forth to be stoned because he has practised sorcery and enticed Israel to apostacy. Any one who can say anything in his favour, let him come forward and plead on his behalf.’ But since nothing was brought forward in his favour he was hanged on the eve of the Passover!35 — Ulla retorted: ‘Do you suppose that he was one for whom a defence”
“Our rabbis taught Jesus the Nazarene had five disciples, and these are they: Matthai, Naqqai, Netzer, Buni, and Todah:
In other places of Jewish texts we see more mentions of Jesus:
Shabboth 14:4/8 – “someone … whispered to him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera”
Abodah Zarah 17a – “One of the disciples of Jesus the Nazarene found me”
Sanhedrin 103a – “that you will not have a son or disciple … like Jesus the Nazarene”
Sanhedrin 107b – “The master said: Jesus the Nazarene practiced magic
We can almost see a negative expression of the gospel. Jesus had disciples and went around doing unexplainable things (which Jews understood them to be sorcery and magic). People were healed in his name and Jesus was later “hanged” on the eve of Passover. This account supports the synoptic gospels accounts.
Why are there no writings of Jesus (out side of the bible) while he was alive?
A valid question. Joseph Caiaphas was the Chief Priest during the time of Jesus. According to the apostles he organized the trial of Jesus. Josephus records that he was the son of Annas who was deposed and Caiaphas was then appointed by Roman authorities. There is no mention of him ever writing anything. Pontius Pilate is mentioned by Roman, Jewish, and Christian historians is who presided over the trial of Jesus. By Jewish accounts he was very insensitive to Jewish culture but tried to maintain order. A document called Acts of Pilate is a later writing has no authentic qualities or support. Besides this later attempt to attach his name to a document, there are no known authentic writings from him. As mentioned in the introduction; during this time, he was a no body. It was not until he did what he did and told his followers to go make it known that things started to be recorded. God made him the only voice during this time. The apostles were his writers during the time he was alive.
The synoptic gospels are supported by the outside biblical sources above and by archeologically findings. Secular modern historians like EP Sanders, Michael Grant, and Maurice Casey, find the synoptic gospels to be historically reliable. Thus, the synoptic gospels are the written account of Jesus while he was alive
Who Jesus is, is fundamental to having eternal life or eternal damnation in the next life. The Holy Spirit reveals this identity of Jesus to those who are called to believe. Not everyone can see him for who he truly is and scripture records that perfectly. Here we list 13 proofs of Jesus’ deity.
The authors could have used different wording to describe their actions but chose that specific word of worship. These actions were rebuked by Peter when people worshiped Peter “As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him. 26 But Peter helped him up. “Stand up, he said, “I am only a man” myself. ” The same word, with the same meaning and purpose is used. Jesus never rebuked anyone who did the same act of worship. Some people will probably argue that yes, he is worshiped as ‘a god’ but not THE God. That idea, again, is foreign in scripture. But Jesus says that only God is to be worshiped (John 4:24) and the same word to describe the action is used.
What Does Holy Scripture tell us about the Identity of Jesus?
Also read The Triune God of Christianity
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