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From left: The Pullens and Debra Anderson will be joining the Smellies (far right) to plant the Washington DC International Christian Church

The Holy Bible: Examine the Evidence – Outline

Questions to Cover
- What is the Bible?
- How did it come together? The Canon
- Evidence for why the Bible is reliable
- How do we need to live as a result?

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statues of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”
Psalm 19:7-8

The Holy Bible
- The Bible has great diversity.
- Yet the Bible has amazing unity.
- This is best accounted for by Deity (one Mind behind it all).

Amazing Unity
- Written over a 1500 year span (from 1400 B.C to 100 A.D. ), I.e. Over 40 generations
- Over 40 authors from many walks of life (i.e. – kings, shepherds, a doctor, fishermen, statesmen, scholars)
- In different places (e.g. – wilderness, dungeon, palaces)
- At different times (e.g. – war, peace)
- On three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe)
- In three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek)
- The Kingdom of God (Isaiah 2:1-5; Daniel 2; Luke 24:44-49; Acts 2:1-41)
- Messianic Prophecies (Isa 7:14/Matt 1:22-23 (a virgin birth); Psalm 22:16-18 / Matthew 27:35 (Casting lots at crucifixion); Isaiah 53:7-9 / Matthew 27:57-60 (Burial in a rich man’s tomb)
- Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2; Matthew 27:46; Galatians 5:19-21)
- One theme – Salvation (2 Timothy 3:15)
- One person – Christ (Luke 24:27)
- With one goal – to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Facts about the Bible
- The OT was originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic.
- The NT was originally written in Greek
- The first translation of the Bible to English was in 1382 A.D., led by John Wycliffe, and was first printed in 1454 A.D. by Johannes Gutenberg who invented the “type mold” for the printing press. It was the first book ever printed.

The Canon of the Bible
- The term “canon” is derived from the Hebrew word “qaneh” and the Greek word “kanon” which means a reed used as a measuring stick. A canon refers to the body of writings which have been officially “measured” according to a special standard, and recognized as authoritative, i.e. divinely inspired, by a church or a religious community.

The OT Canon
- Protestant translations of the Bible contain 39 books in the OT
- Five books of the Law (also called the Pentateuch): Genesis to Deuteronomy
- Twelve books of History: Joshua – Esther
- Five books of Poetry: Job – Song of Songs
- Five Major Prophets: Isaiah – Daniel
- Twelve Minor prophets: Hosea – Malachi
- Our OT comes from the canon of the Hebrew Bible.
- The Hebrews divided the OT into just three parts: the Law, Prophets, and the Writings.
- They divided the Scriptures up into 24 books.
- Their order and numbering is different from our OT, which explains their 24 books vs. our 39. (Ex: Ezra-Nehemiah, The Book of the Twelve)
- The Law is exactly like our section: Genesis – Deuteronomy
- The Prophets contained Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah and the Book of the Twelve Prophets
- Eight books in all.
- We divide Samuel and Kings into two parts.
- In addition we divide the Book of Twelve Prophets into 12 separate parts.
- The Writings included Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and the Chronicles
- This canon had been formed by the time of Christ
- Jewish scholars (Josephus and others) confirm this was done around 300 BC.
- Jesus alludes to (approves) it in Luke 24:44, Matthew 5:17

Jesus’ Own Words
“This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” (Luke 24:44)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17)

NT Canon
- Origen of Alexandria (early Christian scholar, c. 185-254) listed 27 canonical books of the NT, showing that as early as the mid-third century that there was an accepted list of inspired NT books.
- Athanasius (theologian & leader of church in Egypt, c. 296-373) confirmed the 27 books of the canon in 367 AD and said, “These are the fountains of salvation, that they who thirst may be satisfied…In these alone is proclaimed the doctrine of godliness. Let no man add to these, neither let him take from these.”
- The NT contains 27 books that are divided into 5 subcategories.
- Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
- History: Acts
- Doctrine: Hebrews – Jude
- Prophecy: Revelation
- We can look to some of the earliest translators for evidence of an accepted NT canon.
- Example: The Coptic (Egyptian) version of the NT (existing in two dialects for Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt) included all 27 books of the NT.
- Other early version (Old Syriac and Old Latin) mostly agreed.
- Councils of the Catholic Church which (unfortunately) added the Apocrypha into the OT canon, nevertheless listed only 27 books in the NT canon. As a result we can trace the canon’s acceptance.
- Council of Hippo (AD. 393)
- Third Council of Carthage (AD. 397)
- Sixth Council of Carthage (AD 419)
- However, though these early scholars and councils attest to the acceptance of the NT canon, they did not establish the canon! This was done by NT writers who were inspired by God. (2 Peter 1:20-21) – internal canonization!
- The majority of NT books were canonized internally.
- 2 Peter 3:15-16 – Peter authenticates Paul
- Ephesians 2:19-20 – Paul authenticates the writings of Matthew, John, Peter.
- 1 Timothy 5:18 – Paul quotes Luke 10:7 and Deuteronomy 25:4, citing both as Scripture
- You might ask, “How did they determine these books were inspired and belonged in the canon?”
Answer: They asked critical questions!
- Did the apostles consider it to be inspired?
- Did the early church accept it as inspired? (I.e. was it passed from church to church, copied, translated? Colossians 4:16)
- Are there internal claims of inspiration? (1 Corinthians 2:4,10)
- Does it match the style of the writer’s other works?
- Based upon this, certain books were accepted and others were rejected. By AD 180, 20 of the 27 were clearly accepted. By the mid-third century, the canon was complete.
- If you have questions about why the Apocrypha was excluded, check out some of its historical errors! (Judith 1 – Nebuchadnezzar being king of the Assyrians instead of the Babylonians)

Church Father Quotes
- Ignatius d. AD 115 Quotes from Matthew, John and Luke.
- Polycarp, writing to the Philippians in AD 120 quotes from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, 1,2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1,2 Thessalonians, 1,2 Timothy, Hebrews, 1 Peter, and 1,3 John
- Clement of Rome AD 95 or 96 quotes from ten of the twenty-seven New Testament books.
- Nearly the entire New Testament can be reconstructed from quotes of the church fathers in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
- None of these ever quoted from a Gnostic gospel, ever!

Summary
- The New Testament canon was selected by consensus of the church in the second century as those books with apostolic authority.
- The evidence is conclusive that the Greek New Testament we have is virtually identical to the original writings of the inspired writers.

The Bible Is RELIABLE
- Medical Evidence
- Scientific Evidence
- Archeological Evidence
- Prophetic Evidence
- Manuscript Evidence

Proves that ancient Israel was “ahead” of its time because of God’s Law
Proves that God’s knowledge of science was ahead of Man’s
Proves that the Bible is superbly documented
Proves the historical truth of the Bible

Egyptian Medical “Experts”

The most advances culture of Moses’ time!

Papyrus Ebers – 1552 BC
- Egyptian Prescriptions from The Ebers Papyrus:
- “To cure pinkeye apply the urine of a faithful wife.”
- To embedded splinters they applied worms’ blood and donkey’s dung.
- To prevent hair from turning gray, anoint it with the blood of a black calf which has been boiled in oil, or with the fat of a rattlesnake.”

Drugs of Choice included (Check this out…):
- Lizards blood
- Swine’s teeth
- Putrid meat
- Moisture from Pigs’ ears
- Excreta from animals including: human beings, donkeys, antelope, dogs, cats and flies

Medical Evidence: The First Antiseptic!

“Whoever touches the dead body of anyone will be unclean for seven days. He must purify himself with the water on the third and seventh day…take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and furnishings and the people who were there.”
Numbers 19:11-12,18

Hyssop has been shown to contain 50% antibacterial and anti-fungal agents!

Thymol (Oil of Hyssop)
- Thymol is a disinfectant!

Ignaz Semelweiss: Hungarian physician
“Savior of mothers”

Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (July 1, 1818 – August 13, 1865), was a Hungarian physician called the “savior of mothers” [3] [4] who discovered, by 1847,[3] that the incidence of puerperal fever could be drastically cut by use of hand washing standards in obstetrical clinics.[3] Puerperal fever (or childbed fever) was common in mid-19th-century hospitals and often fatal, with mortality at 10%-35%. [5]

Vienna, 1847: In maternity wards one out of every six women dies.
Obstetricians ascribe deaths to constipation, fear and poisonous air.

While working at the Vienna General Hospital in Austria, Semmelweis discovered in 1847 that hand washing with chlorinated lime solutions reduced the incidence of fatal puerperal fever from about 10 percent (range 5-30 percent) to about 1-2 percent. At the time, diseases were attributed to many different and unrelated causes. Each case was considered unique, just like a human person is unique. Semmelweis’ hypothesis, that there was only one cause, that all that mattered was cleanliness, was extreme at the time, and was largely ignored, rejected or ridiculed. He was dismissed from his hospital and had difficulty finding employment as a medical doctor.
Semmelweis was outraged by the indifference of the medical profession and began writing open and increasingly angry letters to prominent European obstetricians, at times denouncing them as irresponsible murderers. His contemporaries, including his wife, believed he was losing his mind and he was in 1865 committed to an asylum (mental institution). Semmelweis died there only 14 days later, possibly after being severely beaten by guards.
Semmelweis’ practice only earned widespread acceptance years after his death, when Louis Pasteur developed the germ theory of disease which offered a theoretical explanation for Semmelweis’ findings. Semmelweis is considered the father of antiseptic procedures.
- Death Rate falls from 18% to 1%

Medical Evidence: Circumcision and Blood Clotting!

“For the generations to come, every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised…” – Genesis 17:12

Medical researchers recently discovered that Vitamin K & Prothrombrin (a clotting protein), reach their highest level in life, about 110% of normal on the 8th day after birth! These blood clotting agents facilitate rapid healing and greatly reduce the chance of infection!

For centuries scholars must have been perplexed by God’s law of circumcision which required the procedure to be performed on the 8th day after birth (Gen 17:12, Gen 21:14, Lev 12:3, Luke 2:21). Medical researchers recently discovered that the two main blood clotting factors, Vitamin K and Prothrombim, reach their highest level in life, about 110% of normal, on the 8th day after birth. These blood clotting agents facilitate rapid healing and greatly reduce the chance of infection. You can verify with any Obstetrician that the 8th day of life is the ideal time for a circumcision, and that any circumcision done earlier requires an injection of Vitamin K supplement.

Clotting Protein Peaks on Day Eight

The Medical Evidence Abounds
- Sanitary practices: burying waste outside the camp (Leviticus 11, 15; Deuteronomy 23:12)
- Dealing with Bacteria (Leviticus 13:52)
- Laws of Quarantine (Leviticus 13, 14, 22)
- Dietary Guidelines

Scientific Evidence: Astronomy
- Universe had a beginning (Genesis 1:1)
- Universe has expanded (Isaiah 42:5)
- Universe was pre-adapted for human life (Psalm 8:3-4)
- Earth is a sphere (Isaiah 40:22) – thought as “flat” in the 1400s!
- Earth is hung in space (Job. 26:7)
- “…countless as the stars of the sky” (Jeremiah 33:22)

Scientific Evidence: Physics and Chemistry
- Universe is running down (Psalms 102:26)
- Human body is composed of earth’s elements (Gen. 2:7)
- Water returns to its source (Ecclesiastes 1:7)
- Water cycle of evaporation and condensation (Job 36:27-28 (1500BC), Isaiah 55:10 (750 BC) – Not scientifically determined until the 1800’s!

The Scientific Evidence Abounds
- The precise dimensions for Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6:15) are the exact dimensions of any major sea going vessel today!
- Ocean currents (Job 38:16) – scientists have only recently discovered springs of water in the depths of the oceans!

Archeological Evidence
- Ruins of Hattusha, capital of the Hittites
- In the 19th century, the Bible was accused off being fictitious because no non-Biblical texts have been written about
the Hittites. The Bible stated that it was a major power in Palestine about 1800 BC with many cities. Mentioned 47 Times
In 1906, Hugo Winkler digs at Hattusha proved that it was the capital city of the Hittites, silencing the
skeptical scholars and archaeologists.

The Lion Gate in Hattusha was found.

Papyrus Ipuwer
- About 1500 BC mentions many details which parallel the biblical plagues
2:2 The river is blood = The river was turned to blood —Exodus 7:20
2:6 Blood is everywhere = Blood is throughout all the land of Egypt — Exodus 7:21
4:14 Trees are destroyed = And the hail… broke every tree in the field — Exodus 9:25
9:11 The land is not light = And Moses stretched forth his hand… and there was a thick darkness — Exodus 10:22
2:13 He who places his brother in the ground is everywhere = For there was not a house where there was not someone dead — Exodus 12:30

Archeological Evidence
The Moabite Stone or Mesha Stele 870 BC (the Louvre)
1 Kings 16:28
- The Moabite Stone. 870 BC Mentions Ahab “Of the house of Omri.” 1 Kings 16:28

Black Obelisk of Shalmanezer III 840 BC
- In the British Museum from 2 Kings 17:3-6
- First known carving of an individual Israelite.

The Five City League, including Sodom and Gomorrah
- What about Sodom and Gomorrah? Bible: fairly well-watered, large cities
League of 5 cities: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, Zoar (Genesis 14:2)
Today: SE corner of Dead Sea. Total wasteland.
Archaeologists discovered about 2000 BC Dead Sea twice as large, much wetter.
Guess how many wadis contain ruins of cities? Five!! All destroyed about 2000 BC by fire
Largest city (presumably Sodom) as thick as 7 ft. ashes.
The graveyard considerable distance from the city: Burned from the top down!
- FIVE CITIES LOCATED AT THE SOUTHERN END OF THE DEAD SEA REBELLED AGAINST THEIR MESOPOTAMIAN OVERLORDS:
- THESE FIVE CITIES WERE: SODOM, GOMORRAH, ADMAH, ZEBOIIM, AND ZOAR.

The Tel Dan Inscription 820 BC
2 Kings 8:28-29

- Hazael, king of Aram declares: “I killed Jehoram, son of Ahab, King of Israel, and I killed Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, king of the House of David.” Actually not true. 2 Kings 8:28-29 Joram (not Jehoram) was wounded, but did not die. He was killed by Jehu.
- The Tel Dan Stele is a black basalt stele erected by an Aramaean king in northernmost Israel, containing an Aramaic inscription to commemorate his victory over the ancient Hebrews. Although the name of the author does not seem to appear on the available fragments, it is most likely a king of neighboring Aram Damascus
- The stele was discovered at Tel Dan, previously named Tell el-Qadi, a mound where a city once stood at the northern tip of Israel.
- The inscription has been dated to the 9th or 8th centuries BCE. The 8th-century limit is determined by a destruction layer caused by a well-documented Assyrian conquest in 733/732 BCE. Because that destruction layer was above the layer in which the stele fragments were found, it is clear that it took place after the stele had been erected, then broken into pieces which were later used in a construction project at Tel Dan, presumably by Hebrew builders. It is difficult to discern how long before that Assyrian conquest these earlier events took place.
- Because it mentions both “Israel” and the “House of David”, the Tel Dan Stele is often quoted as supporting evidence for the Bible account.

The Sennacherib Cylinder or Taylor Prism British Museum, London (2 Kings 18) 691 BC
- As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke. I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities, walled forts, and to the countless small villages in their vicinity. I drove out of them 200,150 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, big and small cattle beyond counting and considered [them] booty. Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage.

Cyrus Cylinder British Museum 535 BC
Ezra 1:2-4
- Almost identical to Ezra 1:2-4 …I returned to [these] sacred cities on the other side of the Tigris, the sanctuaries of which have been in ruins for a long time, the images which [used] to live therein and established for them permanent sanctuaries. I [also] gathered all their [former] inhabitants and returned [to them] their habitations. Furthermore, I resettled upon the command of Marduk the great lord, all the gods of Sumer and Akkad whom Nabonidus has brought into Babylon to the anger of the lord of the gods, unharmed, in their [former] chapels, the places which made them happy. May all the gods whom I have resettled in their sacred cities ask daily Bel and Nebo for long life for me and may they recommend me…to Marduk, my lord, may they say thus: Cyrus, the king who worships you and Cambyses, his son…all of them I settled in a peaceful place.

Pilate Inscription Caesarea AD 30
- Governorship of Pilate: No record, the critics say 1961 Caesarea Maritima The Pilate inscription. Pilate’s title as “Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea.”

OT Discoveries
- King David’s reign.
- The existence of patriarchs (Abraham, Issac, and Jacob).
- The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
- The Jewish Captivity
- An Assyrian king
- The tunnel into Jerusalem during David’s reign
- The site of Solomon’s temple

NT Discoveries
- Historian Colon J. Hemer says that archaeology has confirmed not dozens, but hundreds of details from the biblical account of the early church including small details which have been corroborated
- The pavement of John 19:13
- The pool of Bethesda
- Jacob’s well
- The ancient cities of Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Capernaum
- The residence of Pilate in Jerusalem

The Text and Canon of the Old Testament
- The Cairo Codex: The former and latter prophets AD 895
- The Leningrad Codex: Oldest Hebrew manuscript of the whole Old Testament AD 1008
- The Masoretes and the Masoretic Text. These guys were fanatics!
- All this changed in 1949 with an Arab child in the hills east of Jerusalem…

The Masoretes AD 500-1000
- Before starting to copy the scrolls or codices, the scribe required by the Masoretes to go through an elaborate ceremony. In order to preserve the integrity of the text, the Masorete scribes counted all the letters in the Old Testament. They kept track of such arcane details as the middle verse of the Pentateuch (Leviticus 8:7). They also found the middle verse of the entire Hebrew Bible (Jeremiah 6:7). They were aware of the middle word of the whole Old Testament, as well as the middle word of each book. They also kept record of the middle letter and verse of each book. Taking it to the extreme, they also counted the number of times each Hebrew letter appeared in each book and counted the number of verses which contained all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. All this was intended to produce exact copies of the Scriptures. All this without word processors.

The Effect of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran)

Manuscript Evidence for the canonical gospels
- The Rylands Fragment
John 18:31-33, 37
AD 125

Codex Sinaiticus (350 AD)
Codex Vaticanus (350 AD)
Alexandrian Codex (350 AD)
Codex Bezae (300 AD)
Chester Beaty Papyrus (200 AD)
John Rylands Papyrus (125 AD)

Textual Evidence for Ancient Manuscripts
- Compared to the Bible, other ancient writings don’t come close to the amount of copies and closeness in dates to the original events.
- View a chart comparing these documents

A quote
- The scholar F.F. Bruce, in The Books and the Parchments sums it up well: “There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament.”

Prophetic Evidence
- The Bible is the only book in the world that has precise, specific, predictions that were made hundreds of years in advance and that were literally fulfilled.
- In J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy he lists:
- 1,817 predictions from the Bible
- 1,239 from the Old Testament
- 578 from the New Testament

The Old Testament Has 71 Predictions
About the First Coming of Christ!

- The Succession of Great World Kingdoms (Daniel 2:37-42)
- Cyrus King of Persia (Isaiah 44:28-45:1 ff)
- The return of Israel to the land
- The closing of the Golden Gate (Matthew 21 – Ezekiel 44:2)
- The Destruction of Tyre (Ezekiel 26: 3-14)
- The Bible is the only book in the world that has precise, specific, predictions that were made hundreds of years in advance and that were literally fulfilled.

Conclusions
- The Bible had been led by the Holy Spirit in its canon development and through the amazing unity of its formation
- The Bible is reliable:
- Because of its incredible breakthroughs in medical science
- Because of its scientific evidence in several areas
- Because of the amazing archeological finds that confirm its history of the ancient world
- Because of the hundreds of prophecies that have been fulfilled from the OT to the NT
- Because of the manuscript evidence that far surpasses any other literary text
- As a result, God commands us to use it and defend it!

If The Bible is the Word of God We Need to Put it Into Practice
- John 12:47-50 The Word will be our judge
- James 1:22-25 Put it into practice
- John 7:17 It works.
- 2 Timothy 4:1-5 No sentimentality. Eternal life is at stake.

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The Case for Jesus as the Son of God – Outline

Introduction: If you like mysteries, and you strive to uncover the truth, this lesson is for you. It’s the ultimate Crime Scene Investigation (CSI). It’s the amazing events surrounding the murder of Jesus and the case for him as the son of God.
Matthew 16
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.

- Jesus predicted his death and resurrection.

Case: Is Jesus the Son of God?
- The sign that confirms Jesus is the son of God is:
- Jesus’ resurrection from the death
- Nobody (not even prophets) has done this. Buddha is still in his grave. Mohammad is still in his grave. Jesus did not remain in the grave.
- Matthew 16:4 “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:14 “And if Christ has not been raised; our preaching is useless, and so is your faith.”

Types of Evidence
- Eyewitness testimony
- Is the eyewitness reliable? Biased?
- Supporting testimony
- Can you find a neutral party to confirm some part of the testimony ?
- Material evidence
- Any evidence that confirms what really happened?

Evidence for Jesus Is God
- The Eyewitness testimonies:
- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
- Are they reliable eyewitnesses?
- The Supporting testimonies: Jewish and Roman historians confirm many details about events in the Bible
- The Material evidence:
- Archaeological evidence

Eyewitness Testimonies to Jesus
- The 4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

- Why should you believe any of these gospels?

Why Believe:
The Accounts Are Reliable
- Memories fade
- People who witnessed the event die
- The 4 gospels were written very early after Jesus’ death and resurrection: Some scholars say…
- Mark: around 70 A.D.
- Matthew: around 80 A.D.
- Luke: around 80 A.D.
- John: around 90 A.D.

An Earlier Date for Luke
- A case can be made to date the Gospel of Luke before 60 AD (30 yrs after Jesus’ death)
- Gospel of Luke written AFTER Acts
- Acts ENDS without telling us about Paul’s death in 66 AD
- Act probably written BEFORE Paul’s death in 66 AD
- Gospel of Luke would then be written around 60 AD!

Earlier Testimonies to Jesus
- Gospels were all written after Paul’s letters !!!
- Paul’s conversion occurred around 32-35 AD
- Paul’s first meeting with the apostles in Jerusalem occurred around 35-38 AD
- Paul’s ministry probably began in the late 40′s AD
- Paul’s letter probably written in the 50′s A.D. (20 yrs after Jesus’ death)

The Importance of Time of Writing
- There are still people ALIVE in 70 A.D. who were alive in 30-33 A.D.
- If Mark was lying, he would be corrected for sure (what if someone told you that the Korean War never happened?)

Writing Bible vs. Julius Caesar’s Bio
- Bible writing sources are closer in time and more reliable than Caesar’s bio.
Writing Bible vs. Alexander’s Bio
- Bible writing sources are closer in time and more reliable than Alexander’s bio.

Why Believe the Bible: Reliable
- We have documented proof that the Bible is more reliable than historical documents on kings (Alexander, Julius Caesar):
- Bible records what has happened after a shorter period time (memory fades)
- Bible preserves the record for posterity better (that is important because if you lose the writing, the record will not get passed down)
- In fact: The Bible is the most reliable ancient document that we have today !!!

Why Believe the Bible: Authorship
- Suppose: Just suppose you were to invent Christianity as a new religion… from your own fantasy…
- Who would you want as writers of the Gospels?
- Have the most prominent disciples of Jesus write the gospels
- Peter, Thomas
- Well, What do you see in reality?

Believing the Bible: Authorship
- Matthew: one of Jesus’ disciples who was a tax collector (a traitor to Jews!)
- Mark: follower of Peter – he is not even a disciple of Jesus!
- Luke: follower of Paul – he is not even a Jew (Greek)!!!
- John: one of Jesus’ disciples – the youngest (inexperienced) disciple of Jesus

Believing the Bible: Authorship
- If you want to invent a fake religion, you might as well make it look very good by having prominent disciples (like Peter or Thomas) to write the gospels
- Great news: there are gospels that are called:
- Gospel of Thomas
- Gospel of Peter
- Bad news: these books have been removed from the Bible…

“Gospel” of Thomas (150 AD)
- Note the late date of writing (less reliable)!!!
- Gospel of Thomas is loved by “gnostics”
- Gnostics emphasized the humanity of Jesus
- A verse from gospel of Thomas:
- Simon Peter said to them, “Make Mary leave us, for females don’t deserve life”
Jesus said, “Look, I will guide her to make her male…. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven”

“Gospel” of Peter (120 AD)
- Some verses from this “gospel” (concerning Jesus’ resurrection):
- “…they saw three men come out of the tomb, two of them sustaining the other one, and a cross following after them”
- “… The head of the two they saw had heads that reached up to heaven, but the head of him that was led by them went beyond heaven”
- The resurrected Jesus was HUGE

Why believe the Bible: content
- Suppose: Just suppose you were to invent Christianity as a new religion…from your own fantasy…
- How would you portrait Jesus’ disciples – the founders of the new Christian faith?
- As: pure, brave, friendly… like Saints!!!…
- All the usual good qualities of course – who would want to follow bad examples in life?
- What do you see in reality?

Why believe the Bible: content
- How are the disciples described in the Bible…
- Bickering and backstabbing
- Matthew 20:21 “‘What is it you want?’ he asked. She said, ‘Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.’”
- Cowards
- Everyone ran away when Jesus was arrested
- Peter denied Jesus 3 times
- Unbelieving: Thomas!

Why believe the Bible: Content
- Why are the disciples described in the Bible in such a bad light???…
- Because it was the truth
- (The naked truth is not always pretty and clean!!!)

Why believe ? The Evidence!

Why Believe: The Empty Tomb
- We have historical writing from non-Christians in the Jewish Talmud confirming Jesus’ death by crucifixion on Passover:
- It is taught: On the eve of Passover they hung Yeshu (Jesus)… in “Talmud Sanhedrin 43a”
- We have historical writings (many: Paul’s letters, gospels, etc) confirming the apostle’s teaching of Jesus’ resurrection – What can we conclude ?

Why Believe: The Empty Tomb
- Fact: “Jesus did die” (from non-Bible source)
- Jesus’ disciples were preaching He has resurrected
- So what’s the best way to make the apostles shut up on their preaching of Jesus’ resurrection ?
- Show them the dead body of Jesus!!!
- What did the Jewish Leaders do instead:
- Matthew 28:12-13 “…When the chief priest had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers (who were guarding the tomb), a large sum of money, telling them, ‘You are to say, “His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.”‘”
- WHY couldn’t they do it? The Tomb was EMPTY!!!

Why Believe the Bible: Testimonies
“Put your money where you mouth is”
- Talk is cheap (preaching the gospel is cheap)
- Are you willing to back up your message with “money” ?
- Some men are willing to give up their life for a false religion that they believe is true
- No (sane) man is willing to give up his life for a religion that he KNOWS is false!!!
- If Christian faith is a lie, WHO would know?

Why believe the Bible: Testimonies
- If the Christian faith is a lie, then those who started the Christian religion who know:
- Jesus’ 11 apostles (Peter, Matthew, John…)
- Saul of Tarsus (Paul)
- James (brother of Jesus) who was the head of the Church in Jerusalem
- So if any one who knows whether the Christian religion is a lie, it would be these people!!!
- Did they “put their money where their mouth (faith) was?”

Why believe the Bible: Testimonies
- No sane person will die for a religion that they know is a lie:
- Peter was crucified (head down) in Rome.
- Paul was decapitated in Rome around 66 A.D.
- James (the brother of Jesus) was stoned to death in Jerusalem
- What is even more amazing:
- Paul had once persecuted Christians (his own letters)
- Before Jesus’ resurrection, James did not believe (John 7:5) (Try imagine if you were Jesus’ brother)

Why believe the Bible: Testimonies
- All the disciples, Paul and James needed to to to escape death was to deny Jesus.
“Those who denied that they were or had been Christians… These I thought should be discharged.” – A letter by Pliny, a Roman governor

- Why didn’t they do it? Matthew 10:33 “But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
- If Jesus had not resurrected, they would know. Do you believe that Jesus was still dead?

Evidence from Neutral Parties
Supporting Evidence from Non-Christians
- A testimony in a trial is strongest when the witness has nothing to gain from the outcome
- Gospels are testimonies of Christians
- Luckily, we find plenty of supporting evidence from non-Christian historians
- Note: these historians did not intend to write about Jesus. They wrote about Jesus because of the Christian movement spawn by Jesus’ resurrection

Some famous ancient historians
- Josephus: (37-100 AD), Jewish historian
- Antiquities: on the Jewish history
- War: on the Jewish-Roman war
- Tacitus: (~110 AD), Roman historian
- Annals: History of Rome from begin till 66 AD
- Suetonius: (~60 AD), Roman historian
- Lives of the Caesars: on Roman emperors
- Pliny: (~70-100 AD), Roman governor
- Wrote letters to his Emperor and friend
- BTW: we learn Roman history from writings by Tacitus, Suetonius and Plutarch

Josephus on Jesus
- Jewish Historian Josephus (100 AD) on Jesus:
- Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man…He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles… And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross…

A neutral party confirms:
- Jesus lived (as historical as George Washington!)
- Pilate lived
- Jesus was crucified

Josephus on James and Jesus
- Antiquities, Book 20, Chapter 9
- Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned…
- Historical facts (confirms Bible):
- Jesus lived and had a brother named James
- Jesus was called “Christ” (Messiah) by His followers

Josephus confirms Pilate
- Antiquities, Book 18 , Chapter 3
- But now Pilate, the procurator of Judea, removed the army from Caesarea to Jerusalem, to take their winter quarters there, in order to abolish the Jewish laws.

Jewish Historian agrees with the Bible:
- Matthew 27:2 “They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.”

Tacitus Wrote About Jesus
- Annals, Book XV
“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 (Christians) 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 Judaea, 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 on Christians
- Annals, Book XV.
“Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.”

Method of Taking Census Confirmed
- Luke’s description on the census was criticized as inaccurate in the past:
- Luke 2:1 “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world”
- Luke 2:3 “And everyone went to his own town to register.”
- Critics said the way the census was taken was absurd and therefore wrong

Method of taking Census Confirmed
- Archeology proves Luke right!
- A papyrus dated around 104 A.D. by C.Vibius Maximus, Prefect of Egypt:
- The enrollment by household being at hand, it is necessary to notify all who for any cause soever are outside their nomes (administrative divisions of Egypt) to return to their domestic hearths, that they may also accomplish the customary dispensation of enrollment and continue steadfastly in the husbandry that belongs to them.”

Extreme Accuracy of Luke

Luke mentioned minor details that was not important in the story; which checks out:
- Acts 18:2 “There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife, Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them.”

- Luke did not even care to tell us WHY they were expelled from Rome… (clearly because it was not important because everyone KNEW why!!!)

Suetonius Corroborates Luke

In “Life of Claudius” Suetonius wrote:
- As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he [Claudius] expelled them from Rome.
- Even this small detail CHECKS OUT !!!
- If Luke was accurate in minor details, how accurate do you think he is with the main story?
- Luke 1:3 “Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning..”

Testimony of a Former Atheist

William Ramsay in his book “St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen”:
- I began with a mind unfavorable to it [Acts]
- More recently, I found myself often brought into contact with the Book of Acts as an authority for the topography, antiquities, and society of Asia Minor.
- It was gradually borne in upon me that in various details the narrative showed marvelous truth.

Biblical Facts Confirmed by Archeology

Luke 3:1
“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee…”

- A stone inscription was found with Pontius Pilate’s name as governer of Judea.

Biblical People found by Archaeology
Acts 13:6-7
“They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus…”

- In 1877 a stone inscription was found near Paphos bearing Sergius Paulus’ name and title of proconsul.

Remains confirming Biblical events
- That crucifixion was used by Romans in Jesus’ time to execute criminals

Logical Evidence
- Either Jesus is Lord, or…
- He is a legend – he never made the claim of being divine and the church made it up!
- He is a liar – he knew his claims were false but made it up!
- He is a lunatic – he didn’t know his claims were false was was sincere!

So What is Your Verdict?

The only logical answer, “Jesus is Lord.”

Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

- You don’t know who you are until you know Jesus.

1 John 2:3-6
3 “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

- Are you willing to suffer for the sake of the gospel, which reveals God’s purpose.

John 7:1:16-17
16 “Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. 17 If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.’”

- We need to be men and women of the truth, living out Jesus’ teaching.

For more information
Books:
- “Evidence that Demands a Verdict” by Josh McDowell
- “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel
- “True and Reasonable” by Douglas Jacoby

Download audio

Does God Exist or Are You an Accident? – Outline

Andrew N. Smellie, B.S., M.H.A.
Evangelist, Washington DC International Christian Church

This is an age-old question that has been debated for thousands of years. We can examine this question from a variety of philosophical, theological or scientific viewpoints, but for the sake of time, we are going to examine some of the major evidence for God that is easy to understand. My name is Andrew Smellie, and I serve as the minister for the Washington DC International Christian Church. Just to give you a little background about myself, I graduated from pre-medical program at Cornell University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Human Biology and completed a Masters degree in Health Administration at Cornell before God called me into the ministry. This month I have been given the opportunity to provide logical, scientific and practical proof of the existence of God, the validity of the Bible and the claim that Jesus is the Son of God. Today we are going to examine the evidence for God, and allow you to make a decision or a verdict. Kind of like a jury. The question is whether God exists, or whether you are an accident. A freak of nature that has a personality. So let’s jump in.

Click here for the slide show of this lesson

The Study of Apologetics

What is it?
- The Science and Art of Christian Persuasion!
- Christian (1 Peter 3:15)
Jesus is Lord and the people need to know the truth!
- Persuasion (Acts 17:2-4)
We are called to persuade others like Paul did!
- Science (Isaiah 40:22, 55:10, Job 26:7)
Study of archeology, astronomy, medicine, & physics!
- Art (1 Corinthians 9:19-22)
Building loving relationships with people that will break down the roadblocks of pride, sin, and false beliefs through discussion and challenges!

Why Is This Important to Study?

- To deepen our love for God and our neighbors (Matthew 22:37-38)!
- We need to love God with all our “mind”!
- To prepare us to answer the claims of the world (1 Peter 3:15-17)!
- We need to be confident about the basics!
- To protect our brothers and sisters in the church from false doctrine (Acts 20:30-31)!
- Even disciples of Jesus in the past have distorted the truth!

The Bible states:
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
Psalm 14:1-3

Pretty intense Scripture! Many people say that they don’t believe in God because they don’t want to believe in an absolute truth. They call themselves “good” people, but who defines what is good? Either our Creator gives us our standard of right and wrong, or we make up the standard ourselves, essentially becoming our God – our own Judge and Jury. This is what I did for years.

Darwin’s THEORY of Evolution & Natural Selection

“Mutations” supply the new raw material
“Natural selection” retains the mutations which provide a reproductive advantage
All life (plant and animal) has derived from a common ancestor
YET Darwin also stated, “I cannot look at the universe as a result of blind chance.”

The “Theory of Evolution” was described by Darwin in 1859 in his famous book “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection”. There had been evolutionary ideas before Darwin’s time (such as the ancient “Great Chain of Being”) but Darwin was the first to propose a reasonable scientific mechanism for how life forms could change through natural means.

The basic idea of organic evolution is that randomly occurring mutations introduce a small change into an organism. Natural selection retains those changes which end up providing the organism with some slight advantage, because the individual with the change is more likely to survive and reproduce at a higher rate, whereby the beneficial change is eventually spread throughout the entire population. “Differential reproduction” describes this idea.

The theory also speculates that all life, including both plants and animals, derived from a single simple life form through a very long series of small changes. “Descent with modification” describes this idea.

Evolution: Proved or Not?

The word “evolution” is used in different ways – one true, the others not

“Micro-evolution” – gradual changes within a kind of animal (Ex: several generations of dogs

“Macro-evolution” – gradual change from one kind of animal to another (Ex: from fish to amphibian to reptile – is “a research topic”)

So … is evolution really true or not? Has it been proved? Most scientists will say it has been proved beyond doubt and should no longer be called a “theory,” and in a sense they are right. Others will say there is not a shred of evidence evolution has occurred, and they are also right. The problem is that the same word is being used in different ways.

The adaptation of populations to form new species through natural selection is well-proven. It is a fact. This is what textbooks and popular shows call “evolution.” It is better labeled “micro-evolution”. Creationists prefer the terms “adaptation” or “speciation”. All “examples” of evolution fall into this category.

Change beyond the species level is also popularly termed “evolution” (including the formation of the structures of the universe and the first life). Above species-level changes are better labeled “macro-evolution”. Evolutionists acknowledge that macro-evolution is still a theory (actually more like a concept) without much proof, requiring further research. It is still a question whether macro-evolution uses the same mechanisms as micro-evolution, or something else.

Understanding the difference between micro and macro-evolution is key to understanding a big part of the creation/evolution controversy. The other key is to realize that the controversy is less about scientific fact than about promotion of a theistic versus atheistic world view.

If Macro-evolution is True

Evolutionary biologist and historian William Provine of Cornell University said that if macro-evolution is true, then there are five inescapable conclusions:
- There’s no evidence for God.
- There’s no life after death.
- There’s no absolute foundation for right and wrong.
- There’s no ultimate meaning for life.
- People don’t really have free will.

Radical concessions from an ardent Darwinist!

Reference: See Philip E. Johnson, Darwin on Trial, 2nd edition (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 126-127.

The Appeal of Evolution

Basically only two choices:
- God exists and He created us
- There is no God, so natural processes must explain how we got here

The appeal of evolutionary thought: it provides a way for people to justify to themselves that there is no God, so they can live and do as they want

What is the appeal of evolutionary philosophy? Many people believe in evolution because it is what they were taught and are ignorant of the actual facts. But its ultimate appeal is that it provides an excuse for people to justify their selfish behavior. It is part of the “long war against God” that has been fought throughout the ages. Evolution provides a necessary support for “humanism,” “secularism,” “communism” and other man-centered philosophies.

Now that we have examined some of the arguments that are out there against the existence of God, let’s look at some of the proof.

#1) The Origin of the Universe: Cosmology

Cosmology is the study of the universe and how it began. It attempts to answer the questions, “Where the universe came from?” “Why does it exist?”

Two Possibilities:

- The universe has always existed
If that’s true, then it was not created!

- The universe has NOT always existed
If that’s true, then the universe was created!

Since the universe could not create itself, there must be some sort of Creator!

Since it is a given that the universe exists, there are two possibilities which follow this reasoning. Either the universe has always existed or it has not. If it has always existed, then it was not created. If it has not always existed, then the universe was created. A thing cannot create itself. Physicists and philosophers call this the law of causality. Since the universe could not create itself (cause itself to exist), that would imply some sort of creator.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the works of his hands.”
Psalm 19:1

“The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.”
Psalm 97:6

Over the past few hundred years, there has been a widening gulf between science and Christianity. The popular perception today is that science and the Bible contradict each other. However, over the past 100 years scientists have made some amazing discoveries that have affirmed the truth of God’s eternal word. Psalm 19:1 and 97:6 says that God’s creation declares his glory, and that declaration has never been more clear than it is today in your and my lifetime.

Why should we care what science says? The pronouncements of scientists will not affect our faith.

The first point to realize is that God reveals himself through science. This is called “general revelation.” It is God’s revelation of himself to all people at all times and in all places. Psalm 97:6 says, “The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.” As we investigate science we see the glory and the righteousness of God. We can see his power, his creativity, his beauty, his precision and order. God does not call all of us to be scientists, any more than he calls all of us to be professional theologians. But he does call each of us to heed his revelation of himself – his general revelation in nature, and his special revelation in his Word (the Bible).

Our Assumptions

Big Bang
Old Universe (14.5 billion years)
Old Earth (4.5 billion years)

Modern science claims that the universe began with a big bang about 14 billion years ago and the earth is 4.5 billion years old. You may not believe in the big bang, and you may not believe in an old earth, but modern science is virtually unanimous in these beliefs. So my approach is to show how modern mainstream science testifies to the truth of the Bible. Whether the earth is old or young is a controversial subject in Christianity and it is worth a separate discussion. For now I will ask you, for the sake of argument, to grant the modern scientist his belief in a big bang and an old earth. Perhaps it is not true that the universe and the earth are billions of years old. But for the purposes of this discussion I will assume that modern science is correct that the universe and the earth are old, and I will proceed from that point to show how modern science testifies to the truth of the Bible.

2nd Law of Thermodynamics

“For any spontaneous process in a closed system, entropy increases.”
What does that mean in Laymen’s terms???

With the absence of “supernatural intervention,” the universe will run down completely. Order leads to disorder!

The first discovery of science that supports the Bible is that universe indeed had a beginning. Less than 100 years ago scientists believed that the universe had always existed. It wasn’t created. It just always was. But then Albert Einstein came along and formulated his theory of relativity in 1915. The theory of relativity has been confirmed by hundreds of experiments, and it implies that the universe and time itself had a beginning about 14 billion years ago. Before 14 billion years ago there was no space and there was no time. But if the universe and time had a beginning, who began it? Something with an existence beyond the universe and beyond time must have created the universe, just as the Bible claims.

For example, if you cleaned your room and then went in and out of it consistently, it would become more disorderly as time went on unless there is an outside effort made to clean it. To think that there was no Creator implies that disorder leads to order – that design came out of nothing – a direct contradiction to the 2nd law of Thermodynamics.

Evidence from The Big Bang?

Astrophysical evidence points to an event otherwise known as the “Big Bang” 15 billion years ago, where it is believed that physical space, matter, energy and time were created in the universe. Fred Hoyle, an astronomer, explains that the Big Bang theory requires that the creation of the universe came from nothing. If you were to go back in time, you would reach a point in which, in Hoyle’s words, the universe was “shrunk down to nothing at all.”2 Therefore, the Big Bang evidence requires that the universe began to exist and was created out of nothing, a conclusion that agrees with the beginning of creation by God in the Bible. Without a Creator, the universe is an accident, the planets are accidents, and human beings are accidents. Nothing is special or has any purpose. The evidence is clear that we are not accidents, but rather were planned and designed by a Creator.

The Big Bang was Fine-Tuned!

When the universe was one second old, its rate of expansion had to be exactly the right value to within 0.000000000000001%

The creation event that scientists call the big bang was fine tuned to allow for the formation of stars and planets. When the universe was one second old, if its expansion had been one 1000th of a 1000th of a 1000th of a 1000th of a 1000th of a percent higher, then all the matter in the universe would have dispersed so rapidly that stars and planets would never have formed. We would not be here. On the other hand, if its expansion had been one 1000th of a 1000th of a 1000th of a 1000th of a 1000th of a percent lower, then all the matter in the universe would have collapsed back on itself because of gravity, and the universe would have lasted only a few seconds.

Stephen Hawking
An infinitesimal change of the universal expansion after the Big Bang would have caused the universe to re-collapse!

60 mph for 40 years: 21,024,000 miles
(plus or minus one hair width)

How hard is it to be this precise? The accuracy is plus or minus 10–17. Suppose that you need to adjust the speed of your cruise control on your automobile to 60 mph with this accuracy. So you set the cruise control and you travel for forty years. You get good gas mileage so you don’t have to stop for gas. After forty years you’ve traveled around the world over 800 times. You’ve traveled exactly 21,024,000 miles. If you are off by more than 15 microns (one hair width) then your tuning was not accurate enough. That’s how accurately the expansion of the big bang had to be fine-tuned in order to allow for the existence of the universe.

Gravity was Fine Tuned!

The strength of gravity must be within .00000000000000000000000000000000000001% in order for life to exist in the universe

Stronger gravity: inconsistent sun burning
Weaker gravity: not enough metal

But not only was the big bang fine-tuned, gravity was also fine-tuned. If force of gravity was slightly stronger, all stars would be larger than our sun because their stronger gravity would suck in more matter from outer space. Larger stars burn more rapidly than smaller stars. These larger stars would burn too rapidly and inconsistently to support life. The fluctuations in the intensity of their burning would result in huge temperature variations in their solar systems, and life could not survive.

John Barrow & Frank Tipler
A change in the strength of gravity by only one part in 10100 would have prevented a life-permitting universe

Dimes up to the moon on 48 billion Earths!

It’s hard to visualize this level of precision, but here’s an analogy. Pile dimes from here to the moon, a height of about 240,000 miles. Now suppose each of the 6 billion people on Earth have 8 of their own worlds. That makes 48 billion worlds. Pile dimes on 48 billion other worlds the same size as Earth. Paint one dime red and mix it into the 48 billion piles of dimes. Blindfold a friend and ask him to pick out one dime. The odds that he will pick the red dime are the same as the fine tuning of gravity in our universe.

Fine-Tuning

Over 200 parameters had to be fine-tuned for life to exist in the universe.

The odds are one chance out of 10237

That is like flipping a coin and getting tails 787 times in a row!

We could actually list 200 parameters that need to be fine-tuned in order to support life, which reduces the probability of any planet existing with the capability to support life to one out of 10237.

These are the same odds as flipping a coin and getting heads 787 times in a row. If I flipped a coin and got heads 787 times in a row, would you want to bet that I would get tails the 788th time? You would be absolutely certain that I had a two-headed coin. If you had to bet, you would bet that the next flip would be heads again. And that is exactly what we are doing as Christians. We see the design in the universe, and we say, “I bet that there is a Creator,” because 787 heads in a row is too many to be a coincidence. The design that we see in the universe is too much to be a coincidence. And it’s a great bet because if we’re wrong, what have we lost? But if we’re right we get to go to heaven for an eternity of happiness.

But the non-Christian is betting that the next coin flip will be tails. The non-Christian thinks that those 787 heads in a row are just a coincidence, and that the next flip will be tails. And it’s a bad bet, because if he is right, what has he gained? But if he is wrong … well, he’s taking a terrible risk.

#2) The Complex Order in the Universe: The Anthropic Principle

Looking at the above facts as well as other evidence, many scientists have come to the conclusion that the observable universe points to a Creator, known as the Anthropic Principle. The Anthropic Principle is the observation that the universe has all the necessary and narrowly defined characteristics to make human life possible.3 When we look at the world around us, it would seem, at least at first glance, that the universe was somehow designed to support and nourish human life. It seems obviously clear that the laws of nature had been designed with the specific purpose of creating a universe which can support advanced life forms.

Constants Which Had to be Just Right For Life

Constant…………………………A Little Bigger…………….A Little Smaller

1. Gravitational constant………….very short-lived stars………no stars

2. Strong Nuclear Force……………no hydrogen, fusion…………only hydrogen

3. Weak Nuclear Force……………..all H2: He at big bang………no He at big bang, no heavy elements

4. Electric Force…………………no chemical bonding…………no chemical bonding

5. Expansion rate of universe………no galaxies………………..universe collapses quickly

6. Ratio of electrons to protons……no stars and galaxies……….no stars and galaxies

7. Ratio of matter to antimatter……too much radiation for life….not enough matter for galaxies to form

8. Proton/neutron mass difference…..protons decay, no nuclei…….protons decay, no nuclei

9. Decay rate of 8Be………………no elements heavier than Be….catastrophic explosion of stars

10. 12C to 16O nuclear energy ratio…almost no oxygen……………almost no carbon

11. Many others

The perfect size of the Earth

Consider these facts about the Earth alone:

a) The perfect size of the Earth. The Earth’s size and corresponding gravity holds a thin layer of mostly nitrogen and oxygen gases, only extending about 50 miles above the Earth’s surface. If Earth were smaller, an atmosphere would be impossible, like the planet Mercury. If Earth were larger, its atmosphere would contain free hydrogen, like Jupiter. If the ration of carbon to oxygen had been slightly different than it is, none of us would have been here to breathe the air. Earth is the only known planet equipped with an atmosphere of the right mixture of gases to sustain plant, animal and human life.

The Earth’s Distance From the Sun (narrow orbital life zone)

b) The Earth’s distance from the Sun. The temperature swings we experience on Earth are roughly -30 degrees to +120 degrees. If the Earth were any further away from the sun, we would all freeze. Any closer and we would all burn up. Even a fractional variance in the Earth’s position to the sun would make like on Earth impossible. The earth remains this perfect distance from the sun while it rotates around the sun at a speed of nearly 67,000 mph. It is also rotating on its axis (23.5 degrees), allowing the entire surface of the Earth to be properly warmed and cooled every day.

Can a junkyard produce a 747?

Sir Fred Hoyle: The likelihood of a cell forming by chance is the same as a “tornado sweeping through a junk-yard and assembling a Boeing 747 from the material within.”

The late Sir Fred Hoyle, a world-renowned astronomer, stated that the likelihood of a cell forming by chance is the same as a “tornado sweeping through a junk-yard and assembling a Boeing 747 from the material within.”7 I always give an example of my cell phone when explaining the need for a Creator. I ask my friend who is questioning God’s existence, “If I were to take my cell phone, smash it into a thousand pieces, and put it in a brown paper bag and shake it vigorously, would it come back together in perfectly working order?” The answer is obvious. No.

#3) Irreducible Complexity – Biochemistry

“A single system composed of several well-matched, interacting parts that contribute to the basic function, wherein the removal of any one of the parts causes the system to effectively cease functioning.” – Prof. Michael Behe

A system is irreducibly complex if it has a number of different parts that all work together to accomplish the task of the system, and if you were to remove one of the parts, the system would no longer work. One example of this would be a car. If you removed the battery, it would not work. There are also hundreds of other vital parts to make it work. Michael Behe, a renowned molecular biochemist and author of the book Darwin’s Black Box – and the champion of the concept of irreducible complexity – uses the example of the common hardware store mousetrap to explain this issue. “If you take away any of these parts – the spring or the holding bar or whatever – then it’s not like the mousetrap becomes half as efficient as it used to be. It doesn’t catch half as many mice. Instead it doesn’t catch any mice. It’s broken. It doesn’t work at all”.8 According to Behe, a basic mousetrap doesn’t have any unnecessary parts you could take off and still achieve the same result. In scientific terms, when a machine can’t be simplified any further, it is said to have irreducible complexity. Why is this important? Behe states that “We’ve learned that the cell is actually run by irreducible complex micro machines. The existence of these machines challenges a test that Darwin himself provided.”8

The Human Eye… A wonder

Schematic diagram of the “irreducibly complex” human eye:

1: posterior chamber, 2: ora serrata, 3:ciliary muscle, 4: ciliary zonules, 5: canal of Schlemm, 6: pupil, 7: anterior chamber, 8: cornea, 9: iris, 10: lens cortex, 11: lens nucleus, 12: ciliary process, 13: conjunctiva, 14: inferior oblique muscle, 15: inferior rectus muscle, 16: medial rectus muscle, 17: retinal arteries and veins, 18: optic disc, 19: dura mater, 20: central retinal artery, 21: central retinal vein, 22: optical nerve, 23: vorticose vein, 24: bulbar sheath, 25: macula, 26: fovea, 27: sclera, 28: choroid, 29: superior rectus muscle, 30 :retina

In his Origin of Species, Charles Darwin stated, “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous successive, slight modifications, my theory (macro-evolution) would absolutely break down.”9 In order for these “micro machines” within human cells to have developed over time, they must have achieved this one step at a time. In the case of a mousetrap, it would be like starting with just the platform, evolving over time into a platform with a hammer, then to a platform with a hammer and spring and so on. But Darwin’s theory of natural selection, or “survival of the fittest”, says that the best systems will work, therefore surviving and develop further. A mousetrap that is just a flat wooden platform doesn’t work, so according to natural selection, it wouldn’t develop further; it would become extinct. Like the mousetrap, molecular machines within cells are irreducibly complex. If their parts are not in the correct places, they will not work.

Any incomplete molecular machines would die, one by one.

“Intelligent Design” is the Answer

According to Behe, “My conclusion can be summed up in a single word: design. I say that based on science. I believe that irreducibly complex systems are strong evidence of a purposeful, intentional design by an intelligent agent. No other theory succeeds; certainly not Darwinism.”8 I agree.

God provides the best explanation for fully functioning biological organisms, systems, an subsystems that couldn’t come about through a gradual macro-evolutionary process, without totally ceasing to exist at lower, evolutionary levels. The alternative theory is that biological systems took huge, unseen leaps from simple to complex without any guided process or forward-looking instructions. From a one-celled ameba to a 100 trillion-celled human being? Cellular systems are much more complex than a mousetrap or a car. We’ll examine their amazing capacities in my final point.

#4) Biological Storage of Information

DNA

The storage capacity of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is unbelievable.
DNA is the carrier of genetic information for all complex organisms. DNA contains a four-letter chemical alphabet for all the proteins from which our bodies are made. No theory has come close to explaining how this information got into biological matter by natural means. However, if we were to find this kind of information in a book or computer code, we would know it had an intelligent source! Would a book or computer code write itself? The answer is obvious. The information in DNA points to an Intelligent Designer who created the genetic material with its protein-building instructions. Through the entire chain of DNA uses only six essential ingredients, the tiny chain is enormously long – often containing billions of parts. If you were to take the amount of DNA in a single human body, straighten it out, and lay it end to end, it would extend for 50 billion kilometers (from the Earth to beyond the solar system)!10 Obviously the amount of complex information on a single strand is enormous.

The Complexity of Proteins

When scientists announced that they had finally mapped the three billion codes of the human genome – a project that filled the equivalent of 75,490 pages of the New York Times – geneticist Francis S. Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, said DNA was “our own instruction book, previously known only to God.”11 In the six feet of DNA tightly coiled inside every one of our body’s 100 trillion cells, it is amazing to see how the genetic information is provided to create all of the different proteins out of which our bodies are built. In fact, each one of the 30,000 genes that are embedded in our 23 pairs of chromosomes can yield as many as 20,500 different kinds of proteins.12 The evidence is clear: if you can’t explain where the information comes from, you haven’t explained life, because it’s the information that makes the molecules into something that actually functions.

A minimum structure in a protein requires at 75 amino acids. For a protein molecule to form by chance you would need:

The right bonds between the amino acids

Amino acids come in right-handed and left-handed versions, and you have to get only left-handed ones

The amino acids must like up in a specified sequence, like letters in a sentence.

The probability of a protein molecule forming by chance would be 1 x 10^126! Impossible!

Imagine trying to make even a simple book by throwing Scrabble letters onto the floor. Or imagine closing your eyes and picking Scrabble letters out of a bag. Are you going to produce Romeo & Juliet in anything like the time of the known universe? Even a simple protein molecule is so rich in information that the entire history of the universe since the Big Bang wouldn’t give you the time you need to generate that molecule by chance.

Books by Accident?

“Human DNA contains more organized information than the Encyclopedia Britannica. If the full text of the encyclopedia were to arrive in computer code from outer space, most people would regard this as proof of the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. But when seen in nature, it is explained as the workings of random forces.”1
- George Sim Johnson

Simplest Life Form: break it down

- E. coli contain about 500 billion atoms.
- E. coli have 3000-4000 different proteins.
- DNA and RNA to make and be made by these proteins.
- Dozens of lipids (membrane)
- Saccharides
- Other organic molecules

A Feat of Engineering

Design a robot:
- Less than 1/4 inch tall
- Can carry heavy loads
- Can dig large holes
- Can cross any terrain
- Can find its own energy sources
- Can make other robots like itself
Do this and you would be famous – people would marvel at your skills

Suppose you were an engineer and were told that your job was to design a robot having the listed specifications. To build such a robot is today beyond our technological capabilities, and if we ever build such a robot, you can sure that a lot of planning and designing will have gone into the effort. People recognize the tremendous intelligence and skill that would be needed to perform such a task.

Engineering Performed

- This work has been done
- The robot is called an “ant”
- We squash them because they are trivial and unimportant compared to man
- Complex things require a designer, intelligence, and a plan!
- Evolution has NO designer, NO intelligence, NO plan!

Yet, the task outlined on the previous slide HAS been performed. It is a “robot” we call an “ant”. And even though an ant is marvelously designed and has many capabilities, it is trivial and unimportant compared with man. If the intelligence and planning needed “just” to build an ant/robot is so great, how much greater intelligence and planning must have been required to create the universe, the earth, and all living things! Evolution and naturalism, having no designer to supply intelligence, following no plan, is absolutely, totally incapable of having produced the world we know.

Summary

- Cause and effect must trace back to a “first cause” (God)
- Complexity cannot arise by chance
- Design and purpose in nature requires intelligence
- Ultimately there are only two origins choices (natural or super-natural), and the random, undirected processes of evolution are incapable of creating life or advancing it to higher forms, or explaining how something (the universe) came from nothing – the super-natural is necessary!
- The biblical revelation

In summary, what are the top evidences in support of God?

First, The well-known principle of “cause and effect” requires that there must have been some infinite “first cause” (which we label “God”), as an effect is always less than its cause.

Second, complexity never arises through the results of random, chance processes. This is a common sense observation consistent with known scientific laws. Living things are complex machines.

Third, nature exhibits a tremendous amount of design. The universe, the earth, and living things are not only highly complex, but have function and purpose. The ecosystem of the earth is finely tuned with every part of it related to the rest in a delicate balance.

Finally, all theories of origins ultimately come down to either a supernatural or natural (or no) cause. Evolution postulates that complex living systems self-developed from dead chemicals. Macro-evolution has never been demonstrated. A naturalistic big bang into people scenario is unscientific. Supernatural causes are a necessity.

What is Your Verdict?

“Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature –have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
Romans 1:20

So what is Your Decision?

If people don’t believe there is a God, they believe that nothing produces everything, non-life produces life, randomness produces fine-tuning, and chaos produces information. To be honest, it sounds like they need more faith to believe that there isn’t a God than to believe that there is a God! The decision is yours to make. Consider the following scripture and ask yourself the question, “If God did exist, would I want to know him?” Therein lies your answer. Examine the evidence and your heart in order to discover the truth.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” – Romans 1:20

For those of you who are faithful disciples of Jesus, I pray that you will preach the Word and develop a conviction to be “prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason or the hope you have.” (1 Peter 3:15) If you are trying to make a decision about believing in God, I encourage you to seek God with all your heart through His Word. As Jesus states, “Seek and you will find.” Matthew 7:7

Helpful Websites:

logos.upsidedown21.org
www.doesgodexist.org
www.evidenceforchristianity.org
www.godandscience.org
www.bethinking.org

Seek the Truth and enjoy!