Another Response to My Secular Friend

Another Response to My Secular Friend

Brent J. Lake

APOL 220-B04: Introduction to Apologetics

October 17, 2016

We have talked about so much already such as judgmental actions and intolerance surrounding Christianity.  I am amazed when I see what the Lord is doing in your life.  For me, where you have come from and where you are now, is proof that miracles do exist.  I completely understand the questions you are facing and I would encourage you to keep asking questions so that you may learn about all of what God has for you.

Miracles

Do Miracles Exist?

        There are many miracles in the Bible that seem impossible.  For that very reason we define Jesus walking on water, turning water into wine, being born of a virgin and other inexplicable events as miracles.  These events are only possible because miracles are real.   There are too many accounts of miracles and furthermore accounts that coincide with each other to question the validity of the existence of miracles.

        In perhaps the one of the most famous verses in the Bible, Genesis 1:3, which reads, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light”^[1] we see evidence of the first miracle ever.  Well unless you believe two rocks collided with each other or you have some other opinion as to how the world was formed, you can look out your window and see proof that indeed there is light.  Proof that a miracle took place that day.  

        I do not want to spend so much time as to walk through every miracle that took place in the Bible and attempt to prove that it happened.  There are one hundred twenty-four miracles mentioned in the Bible which would take us years to discuss.^[2]  I would rather point you to the gospels and ask you to spend time comparing how each of the different authors viewed each miracle.  To solidify the validity of these accounts, keep in mind how each account varies slightly just because it is viewed through the eyes of different people.  After you read through the gospels I suggest you continue investigating by comparing how Jesus fulfilled all the prophesies set forth in the Old Testament.  Consider the miracle it is in itself that our savior exists and did in fact fulfill the three hundred fifty-three prophecies written about in the Old Testament.^[3]

The Resurrection

                The resurrection of Jesus is the bedrock of Christianity.  The fact that Jesus was resurrected is what was prophesized about in Hosea 6:2, “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, the we may live in his presence.”^[4]  Again in Job 19:23-27 it says, “Oh, that my words could be recorded.  Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument, carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead, engraved forever in the rock.  But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last.  And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God!  I will see him for myself.  Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.  I am overwhelmed at the thought!”^[5]  How amazing is it that what we know as truth today was something that the prophets told us would come to be real?  As Christians we must believe that Jesus died for our sins and trust that he rose again.  

The proof is overwhelming when you take into account that the Bible refers to over 500 witnesses who could confirm that in fact Jesus walked the earth three days after His death.^[6]  Some of the first of these witnesses were women.  In those days’ women were, generally speaking, “second class citizens”.^[7]   With that being said it proves that these accounts were true otherwise there would be no point to cite the women’s claims.  Take a moment and ask yourself, “If the stories of the resurrection were all fabricated, why would the authorities of the time include the testimony of women as the first sightings of Jesus after He was crucified?”

Gary Habermas, a well-known philosopher of religion points out the fact that most of the written accounts of the resurrection were recorded within the first century.  Taking that into consideration we can view these writings as historical facts.  Some may argue that recordings that took place some fifty to one hundred years after the resurrection could not be valid because they were written so long after it took place.  But think carefully that the most important documents pertaining to the life of Alexander the Great weren’t written until about four hundred years after his death.  If we are willing to accept these documents about the life of Alexander the Great which were written four centuries after his death to be true, then how much more valid are the documents pertaining to the resurrection?^[8]