The Case for Christ

BOOK SUMMARY The baptistry for Christ Lee Strobel. Pub. Zondervan Publishing mansion star sign Ab pop step up the Author Lee Strobel, manipulate of Studies in law of nature from Yale Law School. award-winning journalist &038 investigatory reporter for 13 yrs. at the Chicago Tribune. Pg. 303. His intent changes when his wife be bangs a Christian. He fears he totallyow lose the fun-loving companion and friend he has kip d sustainn for twelvemonths, remedy instead he is surprised by subtle changes in her character. This non only intrigues him but prompts him to expose much nearly rescuer by using the same logical and genuine approach he follows while take a crap as an investigative crime reporter.He jumps his learning quest as an dubious skeptic. His underlying inquire is, Can a case for Christ be do beyond a reasonable doubtfulness? To answer this, he sets out on a fact-finding mission. For nearly 2 courses, he interviews numerous subject theme experts and biblical scholars to answer his questions with facts and evidence. His skills in investigative reporting help un top the rightfulness regarding the reliability of the church service doctrine. Introduction Who is rescuer? This comes round run into to two answers This man was, and is, the Son of deity or else a madman or something worse. Part 1 Examining the RecordTimeframe Skeptics more or less scholars place the gospels were compose so far later the notwithstandingts that legend develop and distorted what was finally scripted down, tour savior from merely a well-advised teacher into the mythological Son of matinee idol. Pg. 32 Answers The standard scholarly dating is that Acts was written by Luke in A. D. 61-63, because Paul was lock living and under house nip in Rome. Since Acts is the 2nd of a two-part live, we know the initiative part the gospel of Luke mustinessinessiness cast been written earlier than that. And since Luke incorporates part of the g ospel of grade on, that means Mark is even up earlier.So if you allow virtuoso year for each writing, you end up with Mark written no later than some A. D. 60, a maximum gap of 30 yrs. after delivery boy weather. Pg. 34 Thats comfort within the life whiles of various eyewitnesses of the life of deliverer, including hostile eyewitnesses who would render served as a corrective if fictive teachings close saviour were going around. Pg. 33. Eyewitness testimony is the cardinal here. The two earliest biographies of Alexander the abundant were written by Arrian and Plutarch more than four hundred years after Alexanders death in 323 B. C. , yet historians take care them to be trustworthy.So whether the gospels were written 60 yrs. or 30 yrs. after the life of rescuer, the mount of beat is minimum by comparison. Pg. 33. Character mental test The gospel writers had nothing to gain except criticism, ostracism, and martyrdom. The sure had nothing to win financially. If anyt hing this would sport provided pressure sensation to keep quiet, to deny the Nazarene, to downplay him, even to forget they ever met himyet, because of their integrity, they pro involveed what they saw. Pg. 48. football team apostles were put to grisly deaths, which exhibit rich conviction for what they conceptualised and were preaching regarding deliveryman. Pg. 45 dead frame The gospels are totally invariable with each other by antediluvian patriarch standards, which are the only standards by which its fair to judge them. Pg. 45 If the gospels were identical or as well as consistent, this would make raised awareness that the writers had conspired among themselves to coordinate their stories in advance, and that would take hold cast doubt on them. Pg. 45 The Adverse Witness Test Many sight had reasons for wanting to take down this movement and would admit done so if they could perplex simply told fib better. Pg. 51. Yet, plaster bandageulation what his opponen ts did say.In later Jewish literary spurts rescuer is cal conduct a sorcerer who led Israel astraywhich acknowledges that he really did work marvelous winders, although the writers dispute the source of his power. They never say he did not work the written miracles. If critics could moderate attacked the movement on the basis that it was full of assumedhoods or distortions, they would have. But, thats merely what we dont jut. Pg. 51 Corroborating evidence out cheek the ledger Josephus, Jewish historian, A. D. 37-100 Wrote about Jewish wars that have corroborated by other historians and archaeological excavations.Pg. 81 Writes about mob, brother of savior, who was called the Christ. Stoned to death in A. D. 62. Pg. 78 Wrote about the Nazarene the tribe of his Christian pursual that had withal to this day not disappeared. Pg. 79 Tacitus, a senator and a historian of the roman type Empire, A. D. 56 117 Writes about Christ suffering extreme penalty during the rein of Tiberius at the work force of Pontius Pilatus. Refers to an immense multitude of Christ pursuit free to die for their notions. Pg. 82 Pliny the Younger, roman type citizen, and provincial governor, A.D. 23-79 Refers to rapid spread of Christianity among all classes of sight, as well as popish citizens that are sent to Rome for trial. They have high ethical standards and if they repeatedly take aim they honor Christ as matinee idol they are executed. Thallus, a Grecian historian, wrote in A. D. 52 a biography of the Mediterranean world since the Trojan War. indite the total darkness at the time of the crucifixion. Pg. 84 Phlegon, a Greek author in A. D. 137 Reported about the superior eclipse of the sun when it became night at noon in A. D. 33. Pg. 85The Mishnah, the 1st part of the Talmud, an important Jewish work compiled in A. D. 200 regarding Judaisms Oral Law Refers to Jesus as a false messiah who practiced magic and was right condemned to death. Pg. 86 Key Find ings So if we didnt have any New volition or other Christian writings, we could pause from non-Christian historic writings that 1. Jesus was a Jewish teacher 2. Many believed he performed healings and exorcisms 3. Some believed he was the Messiah 4. He was rejected by Jewish leadership 5. He was crucified under Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius 6.His followers spread beyond heaven to at that place were multitudes of them in Rome by A. D. 64 7. All types of people worshiped him as God. Pg. 87. The Scientific licence Archaeology engraft an inscription from the time of Tiberius, from A. D. 14-37 which names Lysanias as tetrarch in Abila near Damascus retributive as Luke had written. Pg. 97 basin mentions the pussycat of Bethesda and details the pool had five porticoes. When archaeologists excavated in this location 40 feet below the ground, they plant the pool site and 5 porticoes (walk ways) exactly as John had described.A split up copy of John 18 was shew in Egypt t hat papyrologists have dated to about A. D. 125. Pg. 99 Part 2 Analyzing Jesus The Identity Evidence of Gospel discs The cross Pontius Pilate inscribed INRI, an acronym for Jesus the Nazarene, faggot of the Jews. Pg. 135 The Psychological Evidence Gary Collins, Dr. in clinical psychology. mountain suffering form psychosis display inappropriate emotions such(prenominal) as anxiety, depression or even anger. Jesus did not display any such emotions nor did he exhibit the misperceptions that plague people suffering from psychosis. Jesus did not show any symptoms of mental illness.Jesus support what he verbalize by his actionshealing, aggrandizement people from the dead and the casting out of demons. Pg. 153 Prophesy Fulfillment Louis Lapides, Jewish deepen to Christianity. Grew up thinking Jesus was more derogatory than anything else. After returning from Vietnam War, he experimented with various religions and drugs. Was challenged about his disbelief in Jesus which led him to re ad the mature Testament prophesies. Was amazed of all the prophesies that Jesus fulfil Isaiah revealed the manner of the Messiahs birth (of a virgin) Micah pinpointed the place of his birth (Bethlehem)Genesis and Jeremiah contract his ancestry (a descendent of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, from the tribe of Judah, the house of David) The Psalms foretold his betrayal, his accusation by false witnesses, his manner of death (pierced in the detention and feet, although crucifixion hadnt been invented yet), and his resurrection (he would not decay but would ascent on high) and on and on (p. 179). Lapides goes on to earn a bachelors story in theology and a outperform of divinity of theology. Pg. 173 Part 3 Researching the ResurrectionTo sacrifice that Jesus rose from the dead, one must first establish that he died on the cross. The Medical Evidence The gospels split up us that Jesus worn spot linage. And universe in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was exchangeable drops of blood falling to the ground. Luke 2244 Dr. Metherell, M. D. &038 PH. D. in Engineering. Pg. 193 In unrelenting cases of anxiety, the body rel saves chemicals that break down the capillaries in the sweat glands. As a result, theres a small quantity of bleeding into these glands, and the sweat comes out tinged with a very small amount of blood. Pg. 195According to the Dr. , when Jesus was nailed to the cross, his arms would have immediately been stretched about 6 inches in length, and both shoulders would have become dislocated. This fulfilled the senior Testament prophesy in Psalm 22, which foretold the Crucifixion hundreds of years out front it took place and says, My bones are out of joint. When Jesus suffocated on the cross, a popish soldier beared it by slug a spear into his side, which likely went by means of his lung and into the heart. When the spear was pulled out, clear fluid and a openhanded volume of blood would have come out.Clear fluid from the lung and large amounts of blood from the heart. This was confirmed in John 1934 when John account he saw blood and pissing come out Jesus side when the spear was removed. Pg. 199. The Dr. testified there would be no question that Jesus was dead at this point. Pg. 200. To speed up death, Romans would use a steel shaft to shatter the victims lower leg bones. This would prevent the victim from pushing up with his legs to breathe. Jesus legs were not broken, because the soldiers al active determined that he was dead, and they just used the spear to confirm it.John 1932-36 This fulfilled other Old Testament prophesy about the Messiah, which is that his bones would remain unbroken. Ps 3420. Pg. 200 Roman soldiers had every bonus to ensure crucified prisoners were dead when removed from the cross, because they would be put to death if a prisoner escaped. Pg. 201. Last of all, if Jesus did not die, and he somehow walked away from the grave accent, he would have been in such poor delineate and looked so pitiful that his followers would have felt sorry for him and try to think of him back to health.They would never have been prompted to start a worldwide movement found on the hope that someday they too would have a resurrected body like his. Pg. 202 The Evidence of the Missing Body Joseph of Arimathea takes to body of Jesus, puts it in a grave, the tomb is visited by a small group of women followers of Jesus early on the sunshine morning following his crucifixion, and they find that the tomb is empty. They see a vision of angels locution that Jesus has risen (p. 215). Recorded in Acts 1329-31 and prophesied in Ps. 1610. Pg. 219.In the earliest Jewish writings, there was goose egg claiming the tomb still contained Jesus body. The question always was, What happened to the body? The Jews proposed the guards of the tomb trim down asleep, while the Christians proclaimed the guards were paid off to keep quiet. Pg. 221 The site of Jesus tomb was known to Christian and Jew alike. If it were not empty, it would have been impossible for a movement founded on belief in the Resurrection to have come into existence in the same urban center where this man had been publicly executed and hide. Pg. 20. The Evidence of Appearances Paul 5 B. C. 67 A. D. Wrote in both 1 Cor. 91 and in1 Cor. 158 where he someoneally encountered the resurrected Christ. Pg. 228. Persecuted Christians until his conversion sometime in A. D. 33. Refers to the fact that Jesus was a descendent of David, that he was the Messiah, that he was betrayed, that he was tried, crucified for our sins, and buried, and that he rose again on the trine day and was seen by many peopleincluding James, the brother of Jesus who hadnt believed in him prior to his crucifixion. Pg. 8 1 Corinthians 158 is part of an early church creed. In this portion of Scripture, the post-resurrection Jesus is verbalise to have appeared to Peter, the twelve, plus more than five hundred people some of whom were still alive at the writing of this epistle. People reading this at the time could still check with eye witnesses and question them if they wanted to confirm what it said. Pg. 229. This creed idler be traced back to about A. D. 32 to 38 which means it lends it credence as primitive, unembellished testimony about Jesus appearing to skeptics like Paul and James Pg. 30. Then they go on to cover the numerous sightings by other eye-witnesses mentioned in the gospels and the phonograph recording of Acts. Pg. 234. Were the appearances psychotic beliefs? Dr. Gary Habermas, PH. D. , considered expert on the resurrection. He refutes the theory that the appearances were hallucinations because a hallucination is an individual experience that happens to one person at a time. Pg. 238 The Circumstantial Evidence J. P. Moreland, PH. D. Professor and author. When Jesus was crucified, his followers were discouraged and depressed.They no longer had confidence that Jesus had been sent by God, be cause they believed anyone crucified was accursed by God. They also had been taught that God would not permit his Messiah suffer death. So they dispersed. The Jesus movement was all but halt in its tracks. Pg. 246 Then, after a get around period of time, we see them abandoning their occupations, regathering, and committing themselves to spreading a very specific messagethat Jesus Christ was the Messiah of God who died on a cross, returned to life, and was seen alive by them. Pg. 247 And when youve got eleven credible people with no posterior motives, with nothing to gain and a striation to lose, who all agree they observed something with their own eyesnow youve got some barrier explaining that away Pg. 247. The Conversion of Skeptics The gospels tell us Jesus family, including James, was embarrassed by what he was claiming to be. Later the historian Josephus tells us that James was stoned to death because of his belief in his brother. Why did Jamess life change?Paul tells us the resurrected Jesus appeared to him. Theres no other explanation. Pg. 248 Saul executed Christians when he had the chance. Suddenly, he doesnt just ease off Christians but joins their movement. He writes that he saw the risen Christ and perceive Christ appoint him to be one of his followers. Pg. 249 Revolutionizing Jewish Life for followers of Jesus Immediately after Jesus death, 10,000 Jews were leave behinding to give up five come upon practices that had served them sociologically and theologically for many centuries 1.Jewish people no longer offered sacrifices they had been doing since the time of Abraham and Moses 2. You dont become an forthcoming Jewish member simply by keeping Moses laws. 3. Worshipped on sunlight (when Jesus rose) instead of Saturday, a 1500 year tradition. 4. Began to worship Jesus as God (trinity) 5. The Messiah was someone who suffered and died for the sins of the world, whereas Jews had been trained to believe that the Messiah was going to be a political leader who would destroy the Roman armies. Pg. 251 ConclusionSo lets revisit the underlying question of this book, Who is Jesus? Lee Strobel concluded the evidence of history and his own experiences was too strong to ignore. He made a personal finale to receive Christ. Later, his five-year-old daughter went up to his wife and said, Mommy, I want God to do for me what hes done for Daddy. This book has helped strengthen my faith in Christ, by highlighting many intriguing historical facts and evidence that corroborates what is written in the Old and New Testament concerning Jesus.I will end with the books last paragraph which cites a quote from C. S. Lewis, an deist and skeptical Cambridge University professor who was eventually won over by evidence for Jesus. C. S. Lewis is virtually notably known for his best-selling book series The Chronicles of Narnia. I am essay to prevent anyone saying the really unadvised thing that people often say about Him Im ready to accept Jesus as a big good teacher, but I dont accept His claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man ho was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunaticor else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. all this man was, and is, the Son of God or else a madman or something worse. You endure shut Him up for a fool, you rump spit at Him and kill Him as a demon or you stomach fall at His feet and call Him superior and God. But let us not come with any patronizing trumpery about His being a great human teacher. He has not remaining that open to us. He did not assign to. Pg. 271.