It is surprising today that some people who bear the title, “New Testament Scholar,” doubt the reliability of the New Testament. Most people who read the books and articles of these scholars are under the assumption that because these persons… Read More ›
The Requirements Necessary To Be Defined As A Historical Event: You will hear critics of the New Testament assert that the stories about Jesus in the New Testament are not historical, but myth. They make this conclusion, not because there… Read More ›
Repeatedly, you will hear atheists assert that the reason they do not believe that God exists, is because there is no evidence to prove such a Being. When we examine this claim, we find that either the atheists have ignored… Read More ›
In many of the discussions I have had with those who claim to be an atheist or agnostic, they repeatedly state that “there is no evidence for God.” The type of evidence they are implying is scientific, empirical, testable, and… Read More ›
After writing and publishing 31 books over the course of 44 years, I wanted to produce a work where a reader could find everything about Jesus in a single publication. Beginning with the promise of God, in Genesis 3:15, to… Read More ›
The evidence to prove the existence of God is clear, apparent, and self evident by scientific and cosmological facts of the universe and the extant empirical evidence of the historical record. The following 10 points are sufficient evidence to empirically… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
COPYRIGHT WARNING In the discussion of God’s existence, the evidence that proves this certainty is resident within a variety of sources. This brief article notes a short list of the hundreds that are available in order to make the most… Read More ›
There is a curious paradox that is presented in the pages of the Bible that a great majority of people have not understood. Jesus described a physical birth that every person will experience; and a second spiritual birth that is… Read More ›
COPYRIGHT WARNING Is there verifiable evidence for the existence of God? Yes. In fact, the evidence is so substantial, so empirical, so undeniable, we can know for certain that God does exist. When we consider any event from history as… Read More ›
COPYRIGHT WARNING Claims by critics that the Tacitus account describing the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, were written at too great a distance to the event to be considered credible, are without merit. Tacitus was 7 years old when the Great… Read More ›
We should remember that the statements of those who witnessed the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are recorded posthumously for us in the historical record. There is absolutely no reason for any person to doubt the authenticity of the testimony which has been given to us concerning the events that are narrated in the text of the New Testament. For the past 2,000 years, no one has ever successfully impeached the testimony of the New Testament writers. There have been hundreds of attempts to impugn the single most significant event in the history of the world, but never a single successful impingement—due to the massive amount of evidence. The burden of proof to challenge the testimony recorded in the New Testament scriptures is on the opposing parties who make their claims that the text is not reliable.
Dr. Simon Greenleaf, co-founder of the Harvard Law School, is considered one of the world’s great minds concerning the rules for the laws for evidence. His “Treatise on the Rules for Evidence that is admissible in our courts of Law” is still in use today, and is a valuable authority for what constitutes valid evidence.
“Every document, apparently ancient, coming from the proper repository or custody, and bearing on its face no evident marks of forgery, the law presumes to be genuine, and devolves on the opposing party the burden of proving it to be otherwise.”[1]
Dr. Greenleaf makes an important point—because the New Testament accounts of Jesus’ horrible death and amazing resurrection exist today, with effectively the same text which they were originally written in—as early as 28 years after the events took place, this evidence presumes for us that the gospel accounts are reliable.[2] The burden for proving that these documents are not accounts of the actual events, rests upon the opposing parties who allege these claims. Dr. Greenleaf continues:
“An ancient document, offered in evidence in our courts, is said to come from the proper repository, when it is found in the place where, and under the care of persons with whom, such writings might naturally and reasonably be expected to be found; for it is this custody which gives authenticity to documents found within it. If they come from such a place, and bear no evident marks of forgery, the law presumes that they are genuine, and they are permitted to be read in evidence, unless the opposing party is able successfully to impeach them.”[3]
Unless proof can be offered which would impeach these documents, they stand as legal and historical proof that the man Jesus Christ lived, died, and was resurrected from the dead, by the testimony of the eyewitnesses who recorded these events. Because the gospels were found in the care of persons who have oversight in the Christian church, where one might naturally expect authentic documents to be found, and have remained in such care and custody for nearly 2,000 years, it is from this source that their authenticity is certain and their accounts are considered genuine. According to the professional opinion of Dr. Greenleaf who “wrote the book” on what constitutes valid evidence:
“The burden for showing them to be false and unworthy of credit, is devolved on the party who makes that objection.” -Simon Greenleaf, “The Testimony of the Evangelists.”
No critic to date has successfully impeached the four gospels in a manner that the majority of scholars would concur is reason to doubt their authenticity—or cause uncertainty that the accounts described in the New Testament narrative are anything but true and accurate testimony of the actual events which transpired in Jerusalem, concerning Jesus of Nazareth.[4]
