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14 GOOD REASONS |
The faith described in the Bible involves believing the truth about an event that has
already taken place. Because the New Testament is the most reliable ancient historical
manuscript (see reason 14) we can trust what it says. Jesus did in fact rise from the dead.
"The Son of Man must suffer many things ... be rejected ... he must be
killed and after three days rise again" (Mark 8:31).
Josh McDowell was a man who was sure Christianity was worthless and who
focussed his energies on discrediting the resurrection of Jesus. In the process of
trying to destroy the faith of Christians, he came to see the New Testament was an
accurate history book.
Read Josh McDowell's story of a skeptic who changed his mind
Read entire books online that show the weight of evidence for the Bible
"The persons commonly called Christians ...
Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea
for the reign of Tiberius..." 6
(Cornelius Tacitus, Roman historian, 112 A.D.)
Our time scale is based on BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini) that means "in the year of our Lord". The birth of Jesus is a very solid historical fact.
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There is hope! Lynton Allan |
People have been rescued from the darkest, most hopeless situations when they have put their
trust in Jesus. Some people try to downplay the power Jesus has to change lives by saying;
"It seems that only people in desperate situations turn to God." It is true that
many times God has to do something to get our attention but this does not prove that God
is not real but simply that people are generally very stubborn when it comes to change!
It is also true that many people who have never been confronted with a major crisis
have a strong faith in God.
God has already sent Jesus to die for our sins and He is waiting for our response.
People have been rescued from:
"In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar - when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea ..."
(Bible, Luke 3:1).
"While Paul was ... in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that
the city was full of idols"
(Bible, Acts 17:16).
"This Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than ... Napoleon; without science and learning, He shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined ... He spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since ... Without writing a single line, He set more pens in motion ... than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times." 3 (Historian Philip Schaff)
"I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of people would die for Him." 4 (What Napoleon Bonaparte himself said about Jesus)
"Everything in Christ astonishes me. His spirit overawes me, and His will
confounds me ... I search in vain in history to find the similar to
Jesus Christ, or anything that can approach the gospel." 11
(More of what Napoleon Bonaparte said about Jesus)
"All the kings that ever reigned put together; have not affected the life of mankind
on earth as powerfully as that one solitary life." 5
(From One Solitary Life, by an unknown author, written about the life of Jesus.)
One of the reasons the Bible is the world's best selling book is because it gives people real hope and truth.
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Who is Jesus?
Composers
"To God's will I submit myself." 12 (George Frederic Handel)
"To God alone, the glory." 12 (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Bach would frequently initial his blank manuscript pages with the marking,
'J.J.' ('Help me, Jesus') or 'I.N.J.' (In the name of Jesus)." 12
"I offer all my praises to Almighty God ... Each day I prayed to God to give me strength." 12 (Franz Haydn)
"God, be my Rock, my light, forever my trust." 12 (Ludwig Van Beethoven)
"May God be with you." 12 (Felix Mendelssohn)
"Through Christ alone ... salvation comes to us." 12 (Franz Liszt)
If you think that "Christians are uncreative people" we encourage you to read the book: "The Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers" by Patrick Kavanaugh, Sparrow Press, USA, 1992. Order through your local Christian bookshop and read what some of the greatest musical composers of all time believe to be the truth about God, Jesus and the Bible.
Famous Scientists
"Overwhelming strong proofs of intelligent and benevolent design lie around us
... the atheistic idea is so non-sensical that I cannot put it into words." 13 (Lord Kelvin)
"I am a Christian ... I believe only and alone ... in the service of Jesus Christ ...
In Him is all refuge, all solace." 13 (Johannes Kepler)
"Order is manifestly maintained in the universe … the whole being governed by the sovereign will of God." 13 (James Prescott Joule)
"There are those who argue that the universe evolved out a random process, but what random process could produce the brain of man or the system of the human eye?" 13 (Werhner Von Braun)
"Almighty Creator and Preserver of all things, praised be all Thou has created." 13 (Carl Linnaeus)
"I am a believer in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity."
13 (Sir Joseph Lister)
"The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator. Science brings men nearer to God." 13 (Louis Pasteur).
Pasteur strongly opposed Darwin's theory of evolution because he felt it did not conform to the scientific evidence.
Robert Boyle believed in Jesus Christ's "Passion, His death, His resurrection and ascension,
and all of those wonderful works which He did during His stay upon earth, in order to
confirm the belief of His being God as well as man." 13
Sir Isaac Newton said, "Atheism is so senseless. When I look at the solar system, I see the earth at the right distance from the sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light. This did not happen by chance." and also "The true God is a living, intelligent and powerful being."
Michael Faraday was careful to "Thank God, first, for all His gifts." 13
If you believe that "Christians can't think for themselves" we encourage you to read "21 Great Scientists Who Believed the Bible" by Ann Lamont published by Answers in Genesis, P.O. Box 6302, Acacia Ridge D.C., Queensland, 4110, Australia, 1995.
Read about the book "21 Scientists Who Believed the Bible"
Present day PhD. scientists speak out
"In the words of the well-known scientist, Robert Jastrow, 'for the scientist who has lived by faith in the power of reason, the story [of the quest for the answers about the origin of life and the universe] ends like a bad dream. he has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries." (Jerry R Bergman, Instructor of Science at Northwest State College, Archbold, Ohio. He holds a PhD in Evaluation and Research from Wayne State University and a PhD in Human Biology from Columbia Pacific University.)
Read why 50 PhD scientists from all around the world reject evolution on scientific grounds and choose to believe in creation in the book "In Six Days (why 50 scientists choose to believe in creation)" edited by John F Ashton PhD, New Holland Publishers, 1999. (The above 10 quotes were taken from this book.)
Read the scientific evidence against evolution (short and concise)
Acknowledgement of quote sources
Go to reasons 8 - 14
Read encouraging life stories online
Be encouraged and challenged by reading ...
> the room
> one solitary life
> the bridge
© Copyright 19th April 2003
Taken from the web site www.changinglivesonline.org
This article is copyright and can not be reproduced without the author's permission.
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