Thought I'd post this article, "Is Christianity Evidence-Based" written by a medical doctor in the UK. It seems very few people on Elite Trader know that there is evidence to support a belief in the Bible and therefore, a belief in Jesus. This article does a good job of summarizing several areas where such evidences can be found and I hope if there are any genuine seekers of God out there that this article will be of help.
Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable’(Henry Mecken).[1] Many share Mecken’s view that real faith occurs in spite of evidence to the contrary.
However, the fact is that everyone has a ‘faith’, a worldview they live by to understand the world, to provide a moral framework and a purpose for which to live. We justify medical decisions on the scrupulous weighing of evidence, such as which antacid to use for dyspepsia. How much more important is it to pick the right worldview, by which we think, live and trust in for our future beyond death?
General arguments for the existence of God
Cosmological
Theologians through the ages have pointed to the need for a ‘first cause’, the divine hand which first started the process of cause and effect. In contrast, the Mayans, Greeks and Communists believed in an endless succession of events that had no beginning. Stephen Hawking[2] points out that the Big Bang Theory, based on Hubble’s evidence of an expanding universe, fits with the biblical view of a beginning for time and space.
Teleological
Observations indicate that at 10 -43 seconds after the Big Bang the universe was expanding at a fantastically special rate of speed, with a total density close to the critical value on the borderline between recollapse and everlasting expansion. Hawking estimated that even a decrease of one part in a million million when the temperature of the universe was 1010 degrees would have resulted in the universe’s recollapse before life could get started; a similar increase would have precluded the galaxies from condensing out of the expanding matter.[3]
If any of the fundamental constants of the universe were even slightly altered the universe would not sustain life. For instance, changes in either the gravitational force or electromagnetism by only one part in 1040 would have spelled disaster for stars like the sun, essential for the survival of all life. The constants are independent of each other, yet each seems perfectly set to create a universe that would nurture life.
In biology and medicine too, there is a natural sense of awe and wonder. From the stunning complexity of the clotting cascade, with its fine web of self-regulation, to the rich beauty of a tropical rainforest, the material world points to a creative mind behind it all.
Experiential
Many people still testify to God’s life changing power and personal touch. For instance, John Newton is famous for writing ‘Amazing Grace’. Formerly a slave trader, God turned him around. He eventually campaigned successfully for the abolition of slavery.
Moral
The concept of an ‘ought’ demands an agency outside of ourselves, to whom we are accountable. Atheistic ‘explanations’ lack coherence and remove the obligation to follow conscience. A common formulation is that ‘morality is just the rationalisation that doing good to others will eventually benefit the individual’. This surely is self-interest, the opposite of altruism! Why then sacrifice your interests when it is clear you will not benefit, such as caring for a demented patient whom you will outlive? This is not to say that you cannot be an atheist and act morally, only that a materialist worldview neither demands nor justifies it.
Democratic
Of the 5 thousand million people on the planet in 1995 there were 1,700 million Christians, 1,300 million Muslims and 13 million Jews4. Therefore theism, a belief in a personal God, is the number one worldview (60%), and Christianity is the most popular form of theism. Our atheistic culture is an anomaly both historically and geographically. A majority view does not make Christianity true (any more than it would a belief in UFOs), but any majority view does demand serious consideration.
Despite their differences, the three theistic religions hold to a common history: the creation, fall, flood, and the importance of one man, Abraham, and his offspring. All three also agree on the existence of a supreme being, who is all powerful, all knowing, morally perfect, creator and sustainer of the universe, and a self-revealing God. This God has chosen to speak to us through acts in history, prophets, inspired writings, and through a special relationship with one nation Israel. They agree on the rebellion of man leading to broken relationships and a fallen world. And they each warn of a judgement leading to a real heaven or a real hell.
Incarnational
Christians, however, believe that God has taken a giant step further to make himself known, when he clothed himself in human skin and actually entered human history personally, 2,000 years ago. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of this. Hebrews 1:3 states ‘The son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being’. Thus to meet Jesus is to meet God himself. Speculation has ended. That was OK for the disciples who walked, talked with and learned from Jesus, but how about for us 2,000 years later? We cannot meet Jesus physically today. But we can learn about Jesus through the historical documents that recorded his life and teaching, the Bible.
The Bible
The Bible is the most important book ever written. It is quite unique in its:
Circulation. The Bible has been read by more people in more languages than any other book in history. Up to 1932 alone more than 1,300,000,000 Bibles had been printed and by 1966 at least one book in the Bible had been translated into 1,280 languages.
Survival. Great care has been taken in its transmission over 3,500 years. The Jews had whole classes of men whose sole duty was to pass on every letter and digit with near perfect fidelity. No other text can compare. Who ever counted the letters and syllables of Plato or Aristotle? Even Shakespeare’s writing from recent history has hundreds of readings in dispute. In contrast, with maybe ten to twenty exceptions, the text of every verse in the New Testament is settled by general consent of scholars.
Continuity. A collection of books written over a 1,500 year time span, by over 40 authors from every walk of life. Kings, herdsman, soldiers, legislators, fisherman, statesmen, courtiers, priests and prophets, a tentmaking rabbi and a Gentile physician have all contributed, writing from three continents. The writing is diverse, including history, law (civil, criminal, ethical, ritual, sanitary), poetry, parable, allegory, biography, personal correspondence, personal memoirs and diaries, prophecy and apocalyptic. Yet there is a unity, which binds the whole together, a singular voice speaking through it.
Influence. The history of Western art, literature, law, ethics and culture can only be understood with reference to the Bible. It is a scandal that many otherwise educated people have not read it for themselves. As historian P Schaff has summarised:
‘Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, he shed more light on things human and divine than all the philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.’
So the Bible has been influential, but is it actually true, historically accurate? Lets look at the common objections.
He then moves into evidences for the gospels and Jesus. Here is one quote about Jesus' resurrection:
God has given us enough evidence to validate a reasonable faith in Himself, as He is revealed in the Bible. No twisting by false teachers or imposing our own imaginations onto His being is needed, and no picking and choosing which Scriptures are believable and which ones aren't. God has spoken. God has revealed Himself. His conclusion is one that I also agree with:
