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In order to make any honest examination of the person of Jesus Christ
one must first come to grips with the fact of His reality. Much
of the material in this section (points 1-4) is taken from "The
New Evidence that Demands a Verdict" (1999) by Josh McDowell.
1) The reliability of the Old Testament documents (which speak at
length of the ministry of Jesus) is beyond question. The accuracy
of the text as copied through the ages was held to be of utmost
importance by the copyists. Archeology has verified many of the
events spoken of in the Old Testament. Extra-Biblical documents
uncovered through archeological investigation also verify the culture
and context of the Old Testament.
2) The New Testament documents are among the most numerous and reliable
ancient documents in existence. Josh McDowell gives the following
comparison of the New Testament to other widely accepted ancient
documents:
| AUTHOR |
BOOK |
DATE WRITTEN |
EARLIEST COPIES |
TIME GAP |
NO. OF COPIES |
| Homer |
Iliad |
800 B.C. |
c. 400 B.C. |
c. 400 yrs. |
643 |
| Herodotus |
History |
480-425 B.C. |
c. A.D. 900 |
c. 1,350 yrs. |
8 |
| Thucydides |
History |
460-400 B.C. |
c. A.D. 900 |
c. 1,300 yrs |
8 |
| Plato |
|
400 B.C. |
c. A.D. 900 |
c. 1,300 yrs. |
7 |
| Demosthenes |
|
300 B.C |
c. A.D. 1100 |
c. 1,400 yrs. |
200 |
| Caesar |
Gallic Wars |
100-44 B.C. |
c. A.D. 900 |
c. 1,000 yrs. |
10 |
| Livy |
History of Rome |
59 B.C.-A.D. 17 |
4th cent. (partial) |
mostly 10th cent. |
1 partial
19 copies |
| Tacitus |
Annals |
A.D. 100 |
c. A.D. 1100 |
c. 1,000 yrs |
20 |
| Pliny Secundus |
Natural History |
A.D. 61-113 |
c. A.D. 850 |
c. 750 yrs. |
7 |
| New Testament |
|
A.D. 50-100 |
c. 114 (fragment)
c. 200 (books)
c. 250 (most of NT)
c. 325 (complete NT) |
+ 50 yrs.
100 yrs.
150 yrs.
225 yrs. |
5366 |
Josh McDowell, "The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict,"
pg. 36
3) No historical documents exist in any form that conclusively show
that Jesus did not exist.
4) No ancient historian gives evidence of any doubt concerning the
reality of Jesus. That many of these were antagonistic toward Christianity
gives weight to their acceptance of His existence.
5) It is inconceivable that the disciples would allow themselves
to be persecuted to their deaths for a system of belief built upon
a person who never existed, which they themselves had concocted
and knew to be a lie.
6) It is equally inconceivable that such a story could have been
invented and so widely accepted without significant and lasting
opposition (such as is voiced today against those who deny the holocaust). |
