Peter Baptizing Cornelius, by Francesco Trevisani, 1709

It is a common statement made by people who don’t believe the Bible is true, that stories and statements made within the 66 books of the Bible, are nothing more that fictional ancient literature. When any person simply reads these texts for themselves—apart from the opinions of critics, they find the narratives of the scriptures to be genuine and display no artifacts of deceit.

People who find problems with the Bible most often learn of these alleged difficulties from statements made by critics of the Bible. If we read only the Bible without the negative comments of atheists and critics, we would not find the Bible abhorrent.

There is an argument made by atheists that we cannot prove the Bible by the Bible, but this is an erroneous contention.

This position is incorrect because all documents which survive antiquity and describe historical events, can be proven by what these records assert. The first place we examine in order to confirm any event of antiquity, are the documents written about these events that have survived time and decay.

In any surviving manuscript evidence from the historical record, it is the documents themselves, that give us the best information to prove or disprove reliability. In this regard, the surviving manuscript copies of the New Testament are the evidence that proves or disproves the narratives of Jesus. When we objectively examine the testimony about Jesus that has been placed into this record, we find that this manuscript evidence presents no artifacts of deceit or embellishment.

Is The New Testament A Valid Historical Narrative?

There is every indication that what the writers of the New Testament state about Jesus, is from their own experience in seeing and hearing Jesus. There is no evidence anywhere that the narratives about Jesus are false, contrived, or fabricated for the purpose of deceit. Any intelligent person who simply reads these texts apart from the outside opinions of secular sources and critics, comes away with a certainty that these men are telling the truth.

1. Theses men seek to remain anonymous because they are desiring to exalt Jesus and make Him known, not themselves. Someone seeking to perpetrate a hoax would not fail to list the name of the writer so as to add to its credibility. Only an honest writer would hide his own name, and exalt the person they are writing about.
2. These men include their own embarrassing failures and inadequacies in their testimony about Jesus. This artifact of the New Testament proves the writers are telling the truth. Including embarrassing details that diminish the character of the writers, only happens in truthful statements. Peter denies Jesus and fell away. James and John wanted Jesus to call down fire from heaven to consume the people who refused to believe their message. Jesus own brothers did not believe He was the Messiah and Son of God, until after He rose from the dead.
3. These men cite the women of their group as the first to visit the tomb of Jesus on the third day, because they were all afraid, hiding out in fear of their lives. In the first century the testimony of women was considered unreliable. To include the testimony of women as evidence of Jesus’ resurrection, is inconsistent with writers seeking to validate their testimony about Jesus. The only way this would happen, is if it was actually true.
4. These men were willing to die for Jesus because they were so certain that He had been crucified, died, and rose on the third day. People die for false causes all of the time, but these men had seen Jesus killed and then alive. This is the reason they were willing to die for what they believed.
5. These men were hated, despised, abandoned by their families, friends, and lost their incomes, and status before the community. Paul was a preeminent Pharisee and Hebrew scholar. By His turning from hater and persecutor of Jesus, to the chief architect of the New Testament in validation of Jesus, Paul lost everything. This makes no sense unless Paul had really seen the risen Jesus (1 Cor. 9:1).
6. These men endured tremendous difficulties; going without food, shelter, living in poverty, and were beaten repeatedly for their testimony about Jesus. No one would live a life of poverty, beating, homelessness, and ridicule, unless what they were teaching was the truth.
7. These men describe Jesus as rejected by the leaders of Israel, seen as a false teacher who was rejected by most people. Teaching Jesus was not a very wise tactic if someone really wanted to start a new religion or make themselves famous.

The God Of The Bible Performs Miracles Throughout The Entire Bible

The 40 miracles described for Jesus by the writers of the New Testament are nothing extraordinary in comparison to the thirty-nine books that come before the New Testament. The very first line of the first chapter, of the first book in the Bible, begins with the words: “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This is the greatest miracle that has ever taken place. If God can create a universe from nothing, as the Hebrew text demands, He can certainly do all of the smaller miracles described in the entire Bible, that come after Genesis 1:1.

In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses writes to the Israelites and reminds them of all the miracles Yahweh had performed before their eyes. In spite of these miracles, the Israelites had hardened their hearts to God, and refuse to trust Him. The miracles we find in the New Testament by Jesus, were merely a continuation of the miracles that took place throughout the Old Testament.

Deuteronomy 29:2-4 “Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the LORD did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to his whole country—all the great tests of strength, the miraculous signs, and the amazing wonders. But to this day the LORD has not given you minds that understand, nor eyes that see, nor ears that hear!”

If God exists, would we expect a Being of less power and might than the One described by the entire Bible? If we could understand completely the God of the Bible, would He still be God? The Being described for us by the texts of the Bible is exceedingly greater than our limited human minds can grasp. His transcendence, unlimited power, knowledge and ability to do anything, is exactly what He should possess, if He really exists. The moral perfection described by God and His insistence upon our moral perfection is precisely what we should anticipate for a Being who has created all things. An evil god who is himself immoral and does not punish evil, could never be the true God who has made all that exists.

Proving The Existence Of God

If we can believe that God created the universe, then it is not hard to believe every other supernatural event that is described in the Bible. It is only when we first read what atheists, progressives, and critics of God and the Bible have stated, that we begin to read the Bible with suspicion. If we allow the Bible to simply speak for itself and investigate what has been written with the idea that it is likely true, can we come away with a conclusion that the Bible is true.

The Danger Of Assumptions

A basic rule for determining reliability for all ancient documents that assert eyewitness testimony is that every document should be assumed trustworthy, unless it can be shown unreliable through the burden of proof.

One of the techniques utilized in document analysis is that when an examiner uses the presumption that the subject is lying, the test will always be self-refuting. The presumption that a person is always lying, while performing any examination for truth, is pointless, since the conclusion is already made before the examination has begun.[1]

Unless we assume a general presumption of truth in every testimony, we will never be capable of determining whether anything is actually true. The only effective method that actually allows a professional examiner to determine truthful testimony is the presumption of truth at the onset.[2]

The methods that modern atheist scholars often use today in determining the reliability of the New Testament is the assumption that the text must not be true due to its supernatural references. If any examiner uses this method, even though the text specifies supernatural phenomenon, the result will always be inaccurate. The examiner must let the textual evidence itself determine the conclusions, not their personal bias at the onset.

The Four Gospels Meet The Burden Required For Valid Historical Evidence

When we utilize our current Federal Rules of Evidence, and apply these to the canonical Gospels, we find that they meet every requirement set forth for valid eyewitness testimony.[3] According to these rules which determine whether testimony is valid in proving facts, the narratives in the four Gospels would be admitted into the courts of justice in America today.

According to these guidelines, the four Gospels meet the necessary requirements of the “Ancient documents” hearsay exception.[4] In examination of the credibility for the witnesses as the authors of the four Gospels, the Federal Rules of Evidence also finds that these witnesses are reliable.[5] When we investigate the content and context of the testimony given by the four Gospel writers and asses the reliability and credentials of these authors, we find them to be credible witnesses, according to the Federal Rules of Evidence.[6]

In the final analysis of the four canonical Gospels, according to all the rules set forth by the Federal Rules, these testimonies would be admissible and credible in a court of law.[7] The rules and methods used by Simon Greenleaf in his analysis of the four Gospels were valid when he wrote this treatise, and they are still valid today according to our current rules of law for evidence and witnesses.

“Evidence is generally admitted for consideration unless the opposing party makes an objection, at which time the burden shifts to the opposing party to provide specific grounds for the objection and to demonstrate that the offered evidence should not be admitted.”[8]

In these matters, “The benefit of the doubt is given to the party presenting the evidence, thus erring on the side of inclusion rather than exclusion, in order to consider the greatest amount of relevant information possible in the quest for the truth of the matter.”[9]

In matters of past inquiry, as well as today, the burden rests upon the objectors. Also regarding that in all times, any evidence related to religious questions has been “unjustly presumed to be false, until it is proved to be true,”[10] rather than accepted as truth until explicitly impeached.

According To Legal Scholar Simon Greenleaf:

In order to rightly determine whether the New Testament is telling the truth about Jesus, we must begin with the assumption that the narratives are true, and then see if there is any evidence to disprove the assertions made in the text.

When forensic procedures are used in determining whether written testimony is true or contrived, we find that the narratives of the New Testament pass every requirement for truthful testimony in virtually every test they are subjected to.

If we start with the assumption that the writers of the New Testament are honest men who are telling the truth about what they recorded, then we do not need the opinions and conclusions of modern scholars. It is a prerequisite of law that a person or matter is cloaked with righteousness at the beginning. This is to say, the testimonies people write, and the people who write them, are considered truthful and accurate until evidence can be presented to disprove their testimony.

According to current United States Federal standards for evidence, “the testimony of the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as recorded in the four canonical gospels, would stand as credible, factual evidence in a court of law.”[15]

Today atheists and critics of the four Gospels have established standards for religious-based sources that are higher than those required for secular questions.[16] Co-founder of the Harvard School Of Law, Simon Greenleaf, argued then, and this remains true today: “the burden of disproving evidence lies squarely on the shoulders of the objector.”[17] Greenleaf argued that the reader of any texts of a historical source should be approached with “a mind free from all pride of opinion, not hostile to the truth sought for, willing to pursue the inquiry, and impartially to weigh the arguments and evidence, and to acquiesce in the judgment of right reason.”[18]

The texts of the New Testament have survived for nearly 2,000 years intact, with virtually all of the fundamental truths about Jesus coming to us with no substantial alterations to the original text. We have greater surviving manuscripts to validate these events described in the New Testament than any other event in antiquity. The comments and conclusions of modern critical scholars are based completely upon their own opinions that originate by speculation and conjecture.

All we must do is read the New Testament for ourselves to see whether the narratives about Jesus make sense, are credible, and are trustworthy. After nearly 48 years of studying the texts of the New Testament—apart from the opinions and conclusions of other scholars, I am convinced this is all that is necessary.

What Is A Biblical Scholar?

If we begin with the idea that God exists and He has the power and technology to conceive, engineer, and produce the universe we inhabit, then it is no stretch of the imagination to accept that He also has the power to communicate a message to us through men He might choose, and preserve their testimony intact so that every person on earth might have a reliable copy to read.

If The New Testament Is A Fabrication, This Must Also Include The Entire Old Testament

Did the writers of the Hebrew prophecies conspire with the writers of the four Gospels to make the world think that Messiah would perform miracles, when this is not true? Consider that the Bible is not a single book but 66 separate books, written over a 1,500-year period of time by 40 different authors.

How could 40 authors, over a period of 1,500 years, communicate with each other to develop a conspiracy to convince the world that someday a man would come to Israel and claim to be God in human flesh and perform miracles?

Critics of Jesus and the miracles He performed—forget, or do not know—the entire basis of the Old Testament was to predict a Messiah who would prove His identity by the same miracles Jesus performed.

Messianic Prophecy not only validates God’s word as true, it also proves Jesus is the Messiah whom God promised in 400 Old Testament Messianic Prophecies

The manner in which the Bible is constructed as 66 separate books by 40 different authors over such a long period of history—telling us about a Messiah with supernatural abilities—demands that it must be true. It’s not just that we have the writers of the Gospels describing Jesus as performing miracles, we also have the support of the Old Testament that predicted a miracle-working Messiah.

The Idea that the Bible Cannot Prove Itself, Is Preposterous

This is particularly true in places which describe the judgment of God—understood by reading the entire context of these narratives. When we study the texts where God brings judgment to nations, it is always after a very long time in which He warned these people for hundreds of years to cease their evil and live righteous lives. When we examine the manner in which the ancient Canaanite people lived we find many disturbing practices that are never acceptable in ethical human society.

• Worship of demonic gods.[19]
• Murdering newborn babies on the fiery hot arms of their demonic god, Molech.[20]
• Men using young boys for sexual pleasure.[21]
• Women and men participating in beastiality.[22]
• Deviant sexual behavior that degrades human life.[23]

Before the God of the Bible had brought the Hebrew people into Canaan, He told them that the people who inhabited these lands, were the epitome of evil and must be destroyed. In our modern societies we do the very same thing: Persons who hurt, kill, rob, rape, and destroy others, are either killed or placed into prisons of confinement for the rest of their lives.

Any objection to the killing of children in these judgments by God, must be met with the realization that all of the adults who are a part of God judgment and were killed, were, at one time, also children themselves. The children of evil families, grow up to also be evil and continue the practice of the evil their parents perpetrated. Only by elimination of the entire nation of evil persons can the land be purified.

Can We Prove The Bible, By The Bible?

The book of Leviticus includes a reference to the detestable practices of the Canaanites in burning their newborn babies to death on the fiery hot arms of their demon god, Molech:

Leviticus 20:1-8 “The LORD said to Moses, “Give the people of Israel these instructions, which apply both to native Israelites and to the foreigners living in Israel. “If any of them offer their children as a sacrifice to Molech, they must be put to death. The people of the community must stone them to death. I myself will turn against them and cut them off from the community, because they have defiled my sanctuary and brought shame on my holy name by offering their children to Molech. And if the people of the community ignore those who offer their children to Molech and refuse to execute them, I myself will turn against them and their families and will cut them off from the community. This will happen to all who commit spiritual prostitution by worshiping Molech. “I will also turn against those who commit spiritual prostitution by putting their trust in mediums or in those who consult the spirits of the dead. I will cut them off from the community. 7 So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I am the LORD your God. Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am the LORD who makes you holy.”

It was because of these horrendous practices of the the Canaanites that God ordered their destruction—after warning these people to repent of these terrible acts for almost 900 years. If God did not eliminate theses people from the land, their worship of demon gods and the execution of their babies to Molech, would eventually infect the Israelites and also destroy them.

The way that God brought His righteous judgment to the Canaanites for their horrendous crimes, was by the hands of the Israelites whom God led out of Egypt and into Canaan.

Forensic Evidence In The Book Of Acts That Proves The Texts Of The New Testament Are Reliable

This morning in my devotional time I was reading through the tenth chapter of Acts. I was struck by the genuineness of the narrative and the manner in which the texts present extremely important facts.

Roman centurions were not traditionally men who were interested in the God of Israel. In most cases Roman officers held great disdain for the Jews and their God. The fact that Luke records a narrative about a Roman centurion who had faith in the God of the Jews, and was seeking to know him, along with his family and close friends, is extraordinary.

Peter was not a Jew who had an innate desire to have fellowship with Romans. Like many Jews of the first century in Israel, Peter hated the Jewish occupation of their land. The manner in which the Roman soldiers treated the Jews in their own country, caused great distrust. In spite of these historical realities, we find the story of Peter being directed to go with two of the household servants of this Roman officer, Cornelius, to his home in Cesarea.

The first forensic piece of evidence in this brief narrative, is the reality of two divergent men who would never have interaction with each other as friends. A Roman centurion and a Jewish fisherman were not going to be seeking a relationship with each other. In this story that Luke records, they were not only friendly and cordial to each other, they both believed in the same God, and were both seeking a common fellowship of faith in the Messiah, Jesus.

Who would fabricate a narrative like this in ancient literature unless the story was true? This is one of the common attributes of the New Testament; stories about people who would not be normally found together. It was only after Jesus appeared in Israel early in the first century that these narratives were written. The men who recorded these events didn’t believe they were common, and the fact that a Roman and a Jew could be brought together so that the Romans officer could have an opportunity to be saved, is an emblem of truthful testimony.

Jews and Romans did not do these things and the fact that these events did take place, was the reason Luke considered it important enough to record for posterity.

Acts 10:1-43

“In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.

Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.
And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”

As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants. He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.”

There are some assertions made that texts like these from Acts chapter 10, are similar to other Roman romance novels also written and extant in the historical records. The problem with this claim is that we can see for ourselves that this is merely a story about genuine events that took place, not a romance novel

Cornelius is a unique individual amongst the Roman force in Israel. Despite being a part of the oppressive regime that had inflicted terrible suffering for the Jews, Cornelius is a direct opposite of the majority of Roman soldiers at that time.

Peter Visits Cornelius

“The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”

“No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.” But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven.

Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate, they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.”

Peter, like all Jews in Israel, was taught from early childhood that there were certain animals that God permitted for food, and other animals that should never been eaten. The fact that Peter is being shown a vision of something completely contradictory to the Law of Moses, stunned him. Peter’s response, “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean,” tells us just how serious an offense this was to a Jewish man.

The voice that Peter heard after seeing this vision, informed him that something new was taking place, and that he should no longer consider anything that God has made, unacceptable or unclean. Of course the voice that is speaking to Peter, was a voice he was familiar with. Jesus had taught this same principle to Peter and the other disciples during His public ministry on earth. The point of the teaching was not only about food, but people. Jesus was making it clear that God loves all people from every nation of the world, and wants us all to be saved.

Peter recorded Jesus teaching this principle in the Gospel of Mark, 7:14-20:

“Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. t’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”

Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used. “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.)
And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

Jesus said these things to Peter because not long after this lesson is learned by Peter, Jesus gives him an opportunity to put what he learned into practice. Back to Acts 10:1-43:

“Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you. Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.”

So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?” They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.”So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.”

I have been asked by other Christians how God speaks to me. The answer is seen here in the above texts, that the Holy Spirit “said to him…” When any person is born again by the Spirit of God, as Jesus described in John 3:3, these persons are given the gift of the Holy Spirit who comes to live inside them, permanently. This is the difference between the true believer in Jesus and the false, or pretend believer; the Spirit resident in them.

Jesus Said The Deep Truths Of The Bible Are Hidden From Unbelievers

Peter is not surprised by the Spirit speaking to Him, because for those who genuinely belong to Jesus, He always speaks to our minds by the voice of the Holy Spirit. Learning to discern the voice of the Spirit is a gradual fact that we learn by hearing His voice over and over again. All true believers hear the Holy Spirit speak; not all believers recognize or expect the Spirit to speak to them.

Peter is learning something revolutionary from the Spirit: God wants to save Gentiles just as much as Jews. The reality of the Gospel about Christ is that He came to die for the sins of the whole world. Jesus wants to save us all, and the only thing that is standing in the way of that happening, is our resistance to accept Him.

All sins have already been forgiven. Everything we have done wrong in our life that we feel guilt over, has been forgiven. All we must do is admit we have sinned and be truly sorry for those sins. Then we come to Jesus in faith that He will forgive us when we ask, and determine to continue trusting in Jesus for the rest of our life.

The only way that we can be proven as genuinely saved, is if we continue to believe and do not leave Jesus. Anyone who falls away from Jesus and does not return to Him, never was saved in the first place.

Salvation in Jesus is an eternal event that cannot be lost. In John 17:6 Jesus said in His prayer to the Father that everyone who is really saved, “was always His.” This means there never was a time when the truly saved were not His.

The Mystery Of Salvation: Who Will Be Saved; Who Will Be Lost?

God already knew who the saved would be; people who would make a genuine decision to trust in Jesus and remain with Him for all of their life—He knew these person before God created the universe or human life. It was His knowledge of who would truly repent and believe, and remain with Jesus—that He saved. God also knew those who would make a profession of faith in Jesus, but later fall away. These persons He also knew in advance, and He did not save them.

If we will be saved, we must continue with Jesus for all of our life. If we fall away and come back to Jesus and believe for the rest of our life, we are the truly saved. If we do not come back, we never were saved.

What This Story Is Really About

The reason that Jesus sent Peter to the home of Cornelius is so that he and his family could understand what Jesus has done for them, believe, and be saved.

“They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up! I’m a human being just like you!” So they talked together and went inside, where many others were assembled.

Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me.”

Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house about this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me. He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God! Now send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.’ So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you.”

Notice that from the moment Cornelius began to pray, God heard him. This is similar to the prayer of Daniel when he began to pray for his nation and people, in Daniel 9:

Daniel 9:20-23: “I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, pleading with the LORD my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain. As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision.”

God is always listening to the prayers of the unsaved who are genuinely seeking Him. At the moment we determine to turn from our sins and ask God to forgive us, He does. This is the reason that God sent Peter to the home of a Roman centurion; something unheard of in Jewish culture.

This internal structure of the story and events that Luke records, is forensic evidence of truthful testimony for genuine events that really took place. The entire New Testament bears the evidence of this forensic evidence. The entire purpose of the 260 chapters of the New Testament is to reveal Jesus as the only Savior of the world.

203 Eyewitness Statements About Jesus In The New Testament

The Gentiles Hear the Good News

“Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. 36 This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism. And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

“And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear, not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”

These internal evidences of the New Testament, as well as the historical events recorded in the Old Testament, prove that there is a very long history of miracles and the incredible works of the God revealed in the Bible.

If we merely study the Bible—apart from the comments and opinions of critical atheist and progressive scholars—we find that these texts are completely reliable. In all of the accusations made by critics of the Bible, we do not find any real evidence to support their assertions. It is the conjecture and speculation of critics that people read and believe, that often directs them into unbelief. If we just read the Bible and let it speak for itself, we find enough evidence for faith in what God said, to obtain eternal salvation.

NOTES:

[1] Professor of history, Louis Gottschalk,  Understanding History, p.89.
[2] 1. For an excellent treatment of the legal aspects of testing the trustworthiness of witnesses and the application of this testing to the New Testament, see John Warwick Montgomery Human Rights and Human Dignity (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,1986), pp.139–50. 2. Van A. Harvey surely errs when he says that it is required of a modern historian that he adopt a standpoint of methodological skepticism. See The Historian and the Believer (New York: Macmillan, 1966), 26. 3. For a general theory of evidence based on a prima facie burden of proof for skepticism, see Roderick Chisholm, “A Version of Foundationalism”, Studies in Epistemology, ed. Peter A. French et al., Midwest Studies in Philosophy, Vol.5 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press,1980), pp. 543–64.
[3] Federal Rules For Evidence. (2009).
[4] Federal Rules For Evidence. 803(16); TESTIMONY, supra note 5, § 9; see infra Table 1 (comparing Greenleaf’s evidentiary principles to corresponding modern rules).
[5] Compare TESTIMONY, supra note 5, §§ 12–25, with People v. Farrell, 34 P.3d 401, 406-07 (Colo. 2001) (considering factors to assess reliability of hearsay testimony). While such reliability tests do not overcome a criminal defendant’s right to cross-examine witnesses against him, Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004), these “indicia of reliability” continue to demonstrate what it means for a witness to provide credible testimony. See also infra note 168, 174.
[6] TESTIMONY, supra note 5, §§ 12-14 (analysis of Matthew as author), §§ 15–17 (Mark), §§ 18–22 (Luke), §§ 23–25 (John), §§ 29–44 (examining the credibility of the authors and the reliability of their testimony); see also infra Part II.B.1-2.
[7] TESTIMONY, supra note 5, § 48.
[8] Federal Rules For Evidence. 103(a)(1); TESTIMONY, supra note 5, §§ 8–10
[9] a.Nancy J. Kippenhan, Assistant Professor of Law, Liberty University School of Law.
b. Relevant evidence means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.”); see also FED. R. EVID. 402 (“All relevant evidence is admissible . . .”); FED. R. EVID. 403 (favoring admission, but excluding evidence “if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice”). See United States v. Dennis, 625 F.2d 782, 797 (8th Cir. 1980) (“In weighing the probative value of evidence against the dangers and considerations enumerated in Rule 403, the general rule is that the balance should be struck in favor of admission.”).
[10] See, e.g., TESTIMONY, supra note 5, §§ 10, 28, 33.
[11] Id. § 27.
[12] Id. (emphasis added).
[14] Id. (emphasis added).
[14] Id. § 41.
[15] 1. Nancy J. Kippenhan, Assistant Professor of Law, Liberty University School of Law (B.S., M.B.A., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; J.D., magna cum laude, Widener University School of Law). 2. Simon Greenleaf, LL.D. (1783–1853) was appointed Royall professor of law in the Law School of Harvard University from 1833 until 1846, and later succeeded Justice Joseph Story as the Dane professor of law in 1846. John Henry Wigmore, Preface to SIMON GREENLEAF, A TREATISE ON THE LAW OF EVIDENCE (16th ed. Little, Brown & Co. 2001) (1842).
[16] TESTIMONY, supra note 5, §§ 3, 27, 48.
[17] Id. §§ 28, 33, 41.
[18] 9. Id. § 1.
[19] 1.1 Corinthians 10:19-20 What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods?  No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons.
2. Deuteronomy 32:17 “They offered sacrifices to demons, which are not God,
to gods they had not known before, to new gods only recently arrived, to gods their ancestors had never feared.
[20] 1. From the Expositor’s Bible Commentary on 2 Kings 23:10, regarding child sacrifices to Molech by the Amalekites: “An eighth- century b. c. Phoenician inscription speaks of sacrifices made to Molech before battle by the Cilicians and their enemies. Topheth was the cultic installation where children were offered to the god Molech. The word is thought to signify the hearth where the child was placed. The Hebrew term has parallel terms in both Ugaritic and Aramaic with the meaning “furnace, fireplace.” Scholars have thought that Topheth was at the edge of the valley of Ben Hinnom before connecting with the Kidron Valley. The valley of Ben Hinnom has been identified with Wadier-Rahabi southwest of the City of David. Many consider Molech to be a netherworld deity featuring rituals with Canaanite origins focusing on dead ancestors.”
2. JAR-BURIAL CUSTOMS AND THE QUESTION OF INFANT SACRIFICE IN PALESTINE: W. H. WOOD, PH.D.”An unqualified affirmative answer has been received from Mr. Macalister, director of the British work at Gezer, based on his interpretation of the unique find made “in the earth underlying the temple area” of that ancient city. This “cemetery of infants deposited in large jars” when carefully explored produced such positive evidence that the conclusion was reported at once: “that we have here to deal with infant sacrifices is, I think, so self-evident that it may be assumed without argument.” This opinion has not since been changed but has been further affirmed by the other Palestinian excavators, Professor D. E. Sellin and Dr. Schumacher, and also by the distinguished Father Vincent of Jerusalem, author of “Canaan d’apres 1’exploration recente.”
3. “The description of the discovery as given by Mr. Macalister may be summarized as follows: In the earth underneath the temple area were found a number of large jars, each of which contained, besides the infilling earth, the bones of either a young infant or a child up to six years of age; the bodies had not been mutilated; they had been deposited in the jar usually head downward; the jars were full of earth which there was reason for believing had been put in at the time of burial; in four cases the bones showed some traces of fire; the usual food and liquid vessels accompanied each burial. These observations, strengthened by the opinion of Robertson Smith -that in human sacrifice “effusion of blood was normally avoided,” immediately produced the conviction that these infants had been “suffocated-perhaps smothered in the earth with which the jars were filled,” and therefore the Canaanites followed the practice of sacrificing their first-born children to their gods.”
[21] Numbers 31:16-18 “These are the very ones who followed Balaam’s advice and caused the people of Israel to rebel against the LORD at Mount Peor. They are the ones who caused the plague to strike the LORD’s people. So kill all the boys and all the women who have had intercourse with a man.
[22] 1. Mark S. Smith, trans. Ugaritic Narrative Poetry, Simon B. Parker, ed., (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 1997), 148. In the same volume see also “Baal Fathers a Bull” Simon B. Parker, trans., 181-186 and “A Birth” Simon B. Parker, trans. 186-187. Albright says that in “the light of several Egyptian accounts of the goddess, unquestionably translated from an original Canaanite myth” that Baal raped Anath while she was in the form of a calf. W. F. Albright, Yahweh and the God’s of Canaan: A Historical Analysis of Two Contrasting Faiths (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1968), 128-129. Source: citation from Clay Jones.
[23] Leviticus 20:15-16 “If a man has sex with an animal, he must be put to death, and the animal must be killed. “If a woman presents herself to a male animal to have intercourse with it, she and the animal must both be put to death. You must kill both, for they are guilty of a capital offense. Leviticus 20:13 “If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense.

Categories: Robert Clifton Robinson

Tags: Atheist New Testament Scholars, Bible, History verified by the New Testament, Is the Bible reliable?, Is the God of the Old Testament different?, prove, The New Testament as a Historical Document, The Old Testament Is The New Testament Concealed The New Testament Is The Old Testament Revealed