Category: Literary authenticity of the New Testament

121 Non Biblical Sources For Jesus in the Historical Record

~ Rob Robinson ~ Leave a comment

COPYRIGHT WARNING

For many years, a great number of people have maintained that there is no record of Jesus, outside of the Bible. For this reason, some have concluded that He is merely a myth or legend.

From the non biblical record of history, we can reconstruct the entire life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The majority of these texts speak of Jesus in derogatory or non-complementary terms. None of these texts are seeking to prove the existence of Jesus nor validate Him as a genuine person of history. In fact, by their non complementary, and often scathing remarks, these writers of antiquity have preserved for us a substantial and conclusive chronicle of the same events that are a part of the New Testament narrative. Continue reading “121 Non Biblical Sources For Jesus in the Historical Record” →

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Is the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Supported by Reliable Evidence?

~ Rob Robinson ~ 1 Comment

COPYRIGHT WARNING

In the present modern age of the internet and computer technology, the world has the largest assembly of information ever known. The ability to search or write on any subject has become commonplace amongst those who have a laptop or handheld device. Research into the subject of Jesus life, death, and resurrection, is as easy as a few clicks of the keyboard. Adversaries of the Bible and Jesus Christ have written extensively in rebuttal of the historical Jesus, as well as the New Testament narrative which describes His resurrection from the dead. Many claims have been made by critics who assert that Jesus is a myth, the Bible is full of inaccuracies, and the resurrection never happened. To the untrained, these articles put forth by critics may appear, on examination, credible and factual. In fact, they are not.

To begin, most articles which claim that the Bible is inaccurate, or that Jesus is a myth, are based on the opinions of the writer and have no historical or factual basis. It is common amongst atheists and non-believers that they often espouse statements that have come to them from other atheists or non believers. Very rarely do any of those who take an adversarial position to the Bible or Jesus Christ, ever investigate whether the statements they are making–have a factual basis. Those who do posit facts, have invalid or inaccurate facts, and are not trained in the subjects that they claim to have knowledge of.

Upon a thorough examination of these positions against the Bible and the person of Jesus Christ, we find that these individuals did not begin with the idea that the facts are likely true, but commenced  upon their investigation with the assumption that the Bible is an assembly of stories–written by men and the person of Jesus Christ is a fabrication of history. When any person begins with an assumption that something is not true, this bias will cloud every part of their investigation. It is impossible to arrive at a truly impartial conclusion when we have determined ahead of time that something must not be true.

The only way in which any honest person can truly know what is true and what is false–is when we begin with the premise: “I don’t know,” and then follow the evidence where it leads. Continue reading “Is the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Supported by Reliable Evidence?” →

The Overwhelming Empirical Evidence for Jesus Death and Resurrection

~ Rob Robinson ~ Leave a comment

COPYRIGHT WARNING

It is a fundamental principle of factual authenticity that no amount of evidence is ever sufficient to convince most skeptics of the Bible and the Historical Jesus–that both are true and reliable.

This author has been actively in pursuit of the facts of Jesus Resurrection, as well as the historicity of His existence, as a real person of antiquity, for nearly 40 years. During this time, the facts which fully validate Jesus as a real person of history have continue to pile up–while those who are presented with such facts continue to deny them as credible. The person who has determined the end result of any question or unknown subject–cannot be convinced by any amount of evidence. Only those who are intellectually honest enough to admit that they do not know the full details of a particular subject and are willing to follow the facts where they lead, may discover the real truth of any endeavor.

In every discussion with today’s modern atheist who staunchly adheres to the position that the Bible is a compilation of men, and the person called Jesus Christ–is either is a myth or His life was greatly embellished in the narrative of the New Testament, I have discovered that these individuals have rarely investigated the available evidence for themselves. It is a clear and reoccurring problem with most atheists that they do not care to investigate evidence, rather they seek to support their choice that God cannot exist and Jesus is not who the Bible says that He is. Upon many interviews with these persons, I have discovered that the positions of a majority of atheists regarding God, is a matter of choice rather than a matter of facts.

In this publication I present a brief example of some of histories evidence for the man described as Jesus of Nazareth–which has been a part of the historical record for over 2,000 years. Not one piece of this evidence has ever been impeached or found invalid. Even against vigorous opposition from adversaries who refuse to accept the written historical record, this evidence from secular history has been full validated by literary and historical scholars. Continue reading “The Overwhelming Empirical Evidence for Jesus Death and Resurrection” →

Errors of Assumption by the Jews, Regarding Jesus Death by Crucifixion

~ Rob Robinson ~ Leave a comment

COPYRIGHT WARNING

The prophet Isaiah wrote nearly 2,700 years ago that when the Messiah makes His appearance in Jerusalem, He will be beaten, crucified, and rise from the dead. The leaders of Israel will see Him as He is dying on the cross and determine that He is suffering for His own sins. The prophet further describes the truth of the Messiah’s sacrifice as substitutionary and securing the salvation of every person who will embrace and accept it personally.[1]

To the present day, many Jews have been taught that Jesus died due to His own errors and that His death occurred as a result of sins which He committed against God and His word. Isaiah describes the exact opposite: Messiah will not sin Himself, but will bear the sins of the world during His sacrifice upon the cross.

Why is it that a person will hear the opinions of others and immediately accept the conclusions as accurate–without having investigated the assertions themselves? It seems that in matters of eternal significance–which is the case with Messiah, the claims of Jesus should be examined with the record of Hebrew prophecy, as well as the historical record of the New Testament narrative. The men who were present at the time Jesus conducted His three and one-half year ministry here on earth, testified that He had committed no sin, and that His death on the cross was determined in advance–for the entire world. Jesus came in fulfillment of 55 prophecies from Isaiah and the 22nd Psalm, which all described His crucifixion and death in vivid detail. Continue reading “Errors of Assumption by the Jews, Regarding Jesus Death by Crucifixion” →

Why the King of kings Came into the World–Poor and Destitute

~ Rob Robinson ~ Leave a comment

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The idea that the King of kings would be born to a poor family in the most unlikely of towns, to a nation which had only a distant memory of glory, is unthinkable. Yet, these were the circumstances which God chose to announce the birth of His Son. The Messiah coming as a root out of dry ground is descriptive of the time in which Jesus came into the world. The former glory of David’s kingdom of princes and kings was now reduced to dry ground and beggars. Jesus comes from the root of David’s kingdom, but that glorious kingdom has long since faded.

Many Bible critics claim that the story of Jesus Christ is a contrived myth made up by men in the first century. What story teller who desired to make his account popular, would choose the background that the writers of the New Testament chose for Jesus Christ?

Continue reading “Why the King of kings Came into the World–Poor and Destitute” →

That God Would Die For Us

~ Rob Robinson ~ Leave a comment

COPYRIGHT WARNING

It is a paradox of the Bible that the One who spoke the universe into existence would be willing to come to earth and lay down His life for us.

This character of Jesus as a servant sets Him apart from every other religious or spiritual leader. In Greek mythology, it is inconceivable that Zeus, Apollo, or any other Greek god would lower himself to be a servant of the beings they created. Jesus is described by the Bible as the Creator of all things; yet He came to earth and took the body of a man so that He could offer up His life as a sacrifice for the sins of all men. The humiliation, the mental and physical torture and unimaginable horrors that Jesus experienced while completing the process of our salvation, is beyond comprehension. Continue reading “That God Would Die For Us” →

The New Testament Passes Every Literary Test of History

~ Rob Robinson ~ Leave a comment

COPYRIGHT WARNING

There are certain tests that any ancient literary document must pass, in order to be considered a reliable source and accurate in the events they describe.

1. It must be validated by manuscript evidence.
2. It must come from a reliable source.
3. It must be written close to the time of the events.
4. It must have substantial copies.
5. It must be found in the custody of a relevant source.

In every case, the New Testament meets all of these criteria–above and beyond those of all other literary documents of antiquity.

Can you imagine a person coming into to the world who has the power to heal every sickness and disease of mankind as well as raise a person from the dead, simply by speaking to them or touching the afflicted person? The only human being who has ever possessed these abilities is Jesus of Nazareth, as evidenced by the New Testament. Jesus presence on the earth was an event of unparalleled importance in the history of the world. This is the reason that so many copies of the original record of His life was distributed to cities all over the earth in the first century. It is preposterous to claim that the New Testament we have in our possession today is not reliable because we don’t have the original documents which recorded these events.

Logic dictates that if there are over 24,000 copies of the original documents for any event, this event must have been of enormous importance to those who meticulously copied and redistributed these letters all over the world. The fact that all of these records of Jesus life have been used by the Christian church for 2,000 years, and were found in the custody of the church, add tremendously to their authenticity. There are no other documents of antiquity which can match the substantial record of the New Testament.

Continue reading “The New Testament Passes Every Literary Test of History” →