Historicity

Question #1

You are speaking with a new friend in the neighborhood. The conversation takes a turn towards religion, and you begin to share your faith and your background with your friend. This friend smirks, then states that he doubts of Jesus ever lived. How would you respond to him?

The most important thing to remember when speaking of our faith to others who may not believe in Christianity is to gently persuade through kindness, and relatability. This person's response may be that he has never found any reason to believe in Jesus, and that experience has led him to believe that Christians really do not offer a good defense for their belief. I did not attend church or start reading the Bible until a little over three years ago. I was not certain that God was even real, even though I hoped that he was. My testimony is an important part of sharing what I believe about believing in Jesus and becoming a Christian. Paul was a prosecutor of Christians until he saw, without sight, the risen Jesus on his way to Damascus to prosecute in persecute Christians there. He received a supernatural experience that changed his life, and his testimony lent such credibility because of his conversion from persecutor to fervent Christian and it was a change in him that people could see.

I would start with showing that I can identify with his unbelief and share my own testimony of not really believing myself in God's existence. "Instead of saying sheepishly, 'this is how I feel about it- it's just my opinion, that's all,' you'll be able to say, 'this is what I think about it, and here are my reasons..."(Craig, 2010, p.22) I believe that the case for God's existence points to the existence of Jesus, and that the case for God is made even by philosophers. "Third, our objective moral values are evidence that there is a God, since only He could establish a universal standard of right and wrong. Even the historical evidence for the resurrection -including the empty tomb, eyewitness accounts, and the origin of the Christian faith-established the divinity of Jesus. And fifth, God can be immediately known and experienced by those who seek him" (Lee, 2010,p.10). I believe that when we frame out the existence of God, the existence of Jesus becomes fleshed out by the historicity of His life, by ancient historians, whose work is regarded as accurate, but had no knowledge of the Gospels when they wrote of Jesus. I would recommend the "Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel, an investigative journalist and former atheist, as compelling forensic evidence of not only the existence of Jesus, but also His crucifixion. It is my belief that non-Christian or former atheist sources for the evidence of Jesus may be more compelling to providing credibility for the life and story of Jesus because it is an objective look at an historical figure. I would offer to be available for any questions or thoughts he may have about our conversation, with the same kindness and humility. Our demeanor can make a big how someone perceives our credibility when describing our faith.

Question #2

Why is it important for The Christian to believe in the historicity of Jesus?

This question seems perhaps odd at first glance, but it emphasizes the idea that there are those who have never contemplated the historicity of Jesus outside of the Bible. Christians without solid apologetics learnings may think of the Bible as the only source of the historicity of Jesus, and I have met Christians who are not aware of mentions of Jesus in the writings of non-Christian historians. These several historians were made aware of His existence without them being in Jerusalem or that part of the world at that time. But they would have mentioned Jesus in passing and given their opinions on the matter, affirming His existence in the process. "Still, to answer the critics, the remaining references will all be from non-Christian writers, who had no motivation to promote Jesus or Christianity and as we shall see, they write of same details these Christian writers recorded"(Windle, 2022). Tacitus, Thallus, Pliny the Younger and Josephus represent only a handful of the historians who speak of this man Jesus that they heard of. This is fairly substantial evidence that the person of Jesus existed, and these historians also mention the people considering Him a deity. It is important to be able to defend the existence of Jesus through non-Christian sources as well, to eliminate any bias that may be claimed by the non-Christian. "70 to 75% of Christian youth leave the church after high school.( see research from the Pew Research Center)… Christian youth in America are not being taught to cross examine the skeptical and atheists they encounter when they leave home " ( Turkey,2011). I think that Christian teenagers should be given a solid education in apologetics as early as possible so that they have the confidence to defend their faith as a "muscle memory". The Bible gives us apologetics to defend the truth within its own pages, and it is not enough for a Christian to say that they believe in Jesus without being able to explain to a non-Christian why they believe in Jesus. In a country were one poll says religion is declining, and another poll says religion is increasing, I believe that the Christian's confidence in defending the faith as more than just a story in a book, is the difference between declining Christianity and a revival in America.

"But sanctify the Lord God in your heart, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear."(1 Peter 3:15,NKJV)

References

William Lane Craig, On Guard: Defending Your Faith With Reason and Precision, ( Colorado Springs , CO: David C , Cook,2010) 22

Strobel, Lee, "Foreward" in On Guard: Defending Your Faith With Reason and Precision(Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2010) 22

Turek, Frank, Youth Exodus Problem, 2011, https://crossexamined.org/youth-exodus-problem

Windle, Bryan, Top Ten Historical References to Jesus Outside of the Bible, Bible Archeology Report, Sept. 18, 2022, https://biblearchaeologyreport.com

Holy Bible, Nelson's Complete Study System, NKJV, 1997