Is God Real?
Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2022 9:57 am
I wrote this response to someone today that does not believe, and they wanted something tangible that Jesus existed. I figured I would share it here as well.
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Nik Morris I truly believe each religion is searching and seeking the one true God. I think all are acknowledging the same deity but have hitched their own culture to it.
God is all around you. If you just sit and meditate and seek him you will know it to be true. I am Christian and believe that the Old Testament prophecy came true of sending Jesus to die for our sins as a perfect sacrifice.
Its hard to describe how I "know" but its the same as you know the air is there though you cannot see it. You see the results of it's work, you breathe it and it gives you life, you feel it at times, etc. I have seen miracles first hand such as stage 4 cancer just disappear in a month. And yes I have struggled to understand why for some and not others. But I understand such is our world and the world is of sin, pain, hate, hurt, etc. Those of us that believe generally lack proper faith. Even the disciples lacked proper faith and they saw it first hand.
If you want to just have proof you can go the route of checking history. There are breadcrumbs out there. The Roman's at first wanted any thing of him wiped from the earth but there are still accounts outside of the bible to this day.
The historical evidence for Jesus of Nazareth is both long-established and widespread. Within a few decades of his supposed lifetime, he is mentioned by Jewish and Roman historians, as well as by dozens of Christian writings. Compare that with, for example, King Arthur, who supposedly lived around AD500. The major historical source for events of that time does not even mention Arthur, and he is first referred to 300 or 400 years after he is supposed to have lived. The evidence for Jesus is not limited to later folklore, as are accounts of Arthur.
The Roman historian and senator Tacitus referred to Jesus, his execution by Pontius Pilate, and the existence of early Christians in Rome in his final work, Annals.
Shortly before Tacitus penned his account of Jesus, Roman governor Pliny the Younger wrote to Emperor Trajan that early Christians would “sing hymns to Christ as to a god.” Some scholars also believe Roman historian Suetonius references Jesus in noting that Emperor Claudius had expelled Jews from Rome who “were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus.”
Ehrman says this collection of snippets from non-Christian sources may not impart much information about the life of Jesus, “but it is useful for realizing that Jesus was known by historians who had reason to look into the matter. No one thought he was made up.”
Honestly even though crucifixion was rampant there are only a few archeological pieces of evidence even to that happening. One day someone will say no one was even crucified.
The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who according to Ehrman “is far and away our best source of information about first-century Palestine,” twice mentions Jesus in Jewish Antiquities, his massive 20-volume history of the Jewish people that was written around 93 A.D.
Thought to have been born a few years after the crucifixion of Jesus around 37 A.D., Josephus was a well-connected aristocrat and military leader in Palestine who served as a commander in Galilee during the first Jewish Revolt against Rome between 66 and 70 A.D. Although Josephus was not a follower of Jesus, “he was around when the early church was getting started, so he knew people who had seen and heard Jesus,” Mykytiuk says.
In one passage of Jewish Antiquities that recounts an unlawful execution, Josephus identifies the victim, James, as the “brother of Jesus-who-is-called-Messiah.” While few scholars doubt the short account’s authenticity, says Mykytiuk, more debate surrounds Josephus’s lengthier passage about Jesus, known as the “Testimonium Flavianum,” which describes a man “who did surprising deeds” and was condemned to be crucified by Pilate. Mykytiuk agrees with most scholars that Christian scribes modified portions of the passage but did not insert it wholesale into the text.
I know that is a lot but I wanted you to know there is info out there. You are not alone in questioning it. Even his own followers had trouble grasping it and they recorded accounts of miracles etc. Just seek him. I believe we are all given the opportunity to come to him no matter what our background is and that it is bigger than a labeled religion. You don't have to have a title of Baptist, Catholic, Christian, or whatever to be drawn to and know him. You just have to step out of the cloud of confusion and distrust / unbelief and just seek to know. He has been ever present in my life, even in my worst times and when I thought there was no hope, when I questioned my religion he was still with me and each time I have came out on the other side with better understanding and a better path. He will not remove all your pain on earth or stop bad things from happening to you necessarily but he will be there and you will have comfort knowing he is there and that in the end you will be with him with no more pain or sorrow. You don't need to go to a preacher or any other man to be saved. Just listen and accept. Many churches have driven people from religion due to people just being human and mean. Churched people are not perfect and even less so those that feel they are, it is off putting. I am a sinner, I know I am not perfect, I follow the Lord because he lights my path and comforts me in this world we endure.
https://www.bethinking.org/jesus/ancien ... an-sources
https://bigthink.com/thinking/was-jesus-real/
______________________________________________________________________________
Nik Morris I truly believe each religion is searching and seeking the one true God. I think all are acknowledging the same deity but have hitched their own culture to it.
God is all around you. If you just sit and meditate and seek him you will know it to be true. I am Christian and believe that the Old Testament prophecy came true of sending Jesus to die for our sins as a perfect sacrifice.
Its hard to describe how I "know" but its the same as you know the air is there though you cannot see it. You see the results of it's work, you breathe it and it gives you life, you feel it at times, etc. I have seen miracles first hand such as stage 4 cancer just disappear in a month. And yes I have struggled to understand why for some and not others. But I understand such is our world and the world is of sin, pain, hate, hurt, etc. Those of us that believe generally lack proper faith. Even the disciples lacked proper faith and they saw it first hand.
If you want to just have proof you can go the route of checking history. There are breadcrumbs out there. The Roman's at first wanted any thing of him wiped from the earth but there are still accounts outside of the bible to this day.
The historical evidence for Jesus of Nazareth is both long-established and widespread. Within a few decades of his supposed lifetime, he is mentioned by Jewish and Roman historians, as well as by dozens of Christian writings. Compare that with, for example, King Arthur, who supposedly lived around AD500. The major historical source for events of that time does not even mention Arthur, and he is first referred to 300 or 400 years after he is supposed to have lived. The evidence for Jesus is not limited to later folklore, as are accounts of Arthur.
The Roman historian and senator Tacitus referred to Jesus, his execution by Pontius Pilate, and the existence of early Christians in Rome in his final work, Annals.
Shortly before Tacitus penned his account of Jesus, Roman governor Pliny the Younger wrote to Emperor Trajan that early Christians would “sing hymns to Christ as to a god.” Some scholars also believe Roman historian Suetonius references Jesus in noting that Emperor Claudius had expelled Jews from Rome who “were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus.”
Ehrman says this collection of snippets from non-Christian sources may not impart much information about the life of Jesus, “but it is useful for realizing that Jesus was known by historians who had reason to look into the matter. No one thought he was made up.”
Honestly even though crucifixion was rampant there are only a few archeological pieces of evidence even to that happening. One day someone will say no one was even crucified.
The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who according to Ehrman “is far and away our best source of information about first-century Palestine,” twice mentions Jesus in Jewish Antiquities, his massive 20-volume history of the Jewish people that was written around 93 A.D.
Thought to have been born a few years after the crucifixion of Jesus around 37 A.D., Josephus was a well-connected aristocrat and military leader in Palestine who served as a commander in Galilee during the first Jewish Revolt against Rome between 66 and 70 A.D. Although Josephus was not a follower of Jesus, “he was around when the early church was getting started, so he knew people who had seen and heard Jesus,” Mykytiuk says.
In one passage of Jewish Antiquities that recounts an unlawful execution, Josephus identifies the victim, James, as the “brother of Jesus-who-is-called-Messiah.” While few scholars doubt the short account’s authenticity, says Mykytiuk, more debate surrounds Josephus’s lengthier passage about Jesus, known as the “Testimonium Flavianum,” which describes a man “who did surprising deeds” and was condemned to be crucified by Pilate. Mykytiuk agrees with most scholars that Christian scribes modified portions of the passage but did not insert it wholesale into the text.
I know that is a lot but I wanted you to know there is info out there. You are not alone in questioning it. Even his own followers had trouble grasping it and they recorded accounts of miracles etc. Just seek him. I believe we are all given the opportunity to come to him no matter what our background is and that it is bigger than a labeled religion. You don't have to have a title of Baptist, Catholic, Christian, or whatever to be drawn to and know him. You just have to step out of the cloud of confusion and distrust / unbelief and just seek to know. He has been ever present in my life, even in my worst times and when I thought there was no hope, when I questioned my religion he was still with me and each time I have came out on the other side with better understanding and a better path. He will not remove all your pain on earth or stop bad things from happening to you necessarily but he will be there and you will have comfort knowing he is there and that in the end you will be with him with no more pain or sorrow. You don't need to go to a preacher or any other man to be saved. Just listen and accept. Many churches have driven people from religion due to people just being human and mean. Churched people are not perfect and even less so those that feel they are, it is off putting. I am a sinner, I know I am not perfect, I follow the Lord because he lights my path and comforts me in this world we endure.
https://www.bethinking.org/jesus/ancien ... an-sources
https://bigthink.com/thinking/was-jesus-real/