Is Jesus a copycat myth? 1. Osiris 2. Horus 3. Mitherous
Promises followers immortalities
Performed miracles.
Born a virgin
Rose from the dead
Born on December 25th
Evidence for Jesus. 1. Secular Historical Sources
Legitimate Historical secular sources:
Cornelius Tacitus: (55-120AD) The Greatest Historian of ancient Rome” lived through the reigns of over half a dozen Roman empires.
Lucian of Samosata: Greek Satirist of the latter half of the First Century. Despised and hated Christianity.
Josephus ben Mattathias(37/38-100AD) Jewish Historian.
More: Pliny the Younger, Thallus, Phlegon
“No Serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non-historical Jesus.” -Otto Betz
“There is overwhelming evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ, both in secular and biblical history. Perhaps the greatest evidence that Jesus did exist is the fact that thousands of Christians in the first century AD, including the twelve apostles, were willing to give their lives as martyrs for Jesus Christ. People will die for what they believe to be true, but no one will die for what they know to be a lie.” -gotquestions.org
2. Culture Jesus matters in Culture: There is more influence from Jesus than any other character in human history.
“Jesus has had such an unparalleled, thoroughgoing, and decisive impact on virtually every area of modern culture—literature, architecture, music, the arts, higher education, world literacy, even science—that he remains, irrevocably, the one man who cannot be erased from history, even if every ancient manuscript detailing his life disappeared from existence.” - Greg Koukl on J Warner Wallace's Work of Person of Intrest. https://coldcasechristianity.com
1. Literature(sacred and secular)- From virgin birth to resurrection. There is more written about Jesus than any other character in history.
2. Music: Every historical era of music has been dominated by Christ-followers singing about Jesus.
3.Visual arts: The gospel could be easily extracted by the multitudes of painted etched sculpted, or crafted about Jesus for the first 500 years of his life on earth.
4. Education: Many Major universities that lead in academia were established by Christ-followers.
5. Science: “Christianity gave rise to modern science: The Scientific Revolution (roughly 1300 to 1700) was initiated by Christian theological ideas… One of those key ideas was the idea of intelligibility: that nature is intelligible. There's an order and design that can be understood and discerned by the scientist because nature is the product of a rational mind, namely the mind of God, and that that same mind or creator who made nature with that rational order built into it made us and our reason, so that we could perceive and understand the reason that he built into nature.” Stephen C Meyer
You can reject Jesus, but you cannot logically dismiss his impact on History and Culture.
3. Other religions Jesus is either Merged or Modified
Hinduism- Jesus is a wise teacher
Buddhism Merge Jesus
New age- Jesus is used in propagating ideas.
Islam- Jesus mentioned as a prophet
The Resurrection: Two major views that oppose the Resurrection 1. Stolen by the Disciples The disciples stole the body:
Fact one: If the body had been stolen by his followers, all that would be needed to disprove the claim would be to produce the body. No body has ever been produced.
Fact two: There were Roman guards at the site of the tomb. How, then, could any of Jesus' followers have stolen his body?
Fact three: There was a giant stone covering the tomb, which would have taken several people to move. The guards could not have overlooked such an operation.
Fact four: The early followers of Jesus were persecuted for their belief. They were offered two options: renounce their belief in the resurrection or die. It seems unlikely that, were the disciples to have stolen the body, they would have all been ready to die rather than confess their deeds.
>It is true that people die every day for beliefs that are not true. But these are lies that they fully believe to be true. How often do people die for what they know to be a lie?
2. Swoon Theory: Jesus did not actually die
Jesus was almost killed, but perhaps druged so the authorities would think he was dead, or he was just sleeping.
He bled in a tomb with no food or water for 3 days
He still had the strength to remove the rock covering, which took several men to move. And Overpowered roman guards.
The resurrection is reasonable.
The most significant evidence is that there is a tomb, but it is empty.
“Jesus is not just resurrected; he is the resurrection.”
The Claim of Christ: John 14:6 (NIV) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus is the savior; therefore, he can save me and be the savior of every man, woman, and child.
Luke 19:10 (NIV) For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Jesus is the only one who made a way. 1. He’s the only one that could. 2. He’s the only one that would 3. He is the only one who did Romans 5:6 (NIV) 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. If there are many ways to God, then Jesus died in vain.
“Jesus is either Liar, Lunatic or he is The Lord.” - CS Lewis
“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher.” C.S. Lewis
We have to get Jesus right.
The greatest question ever asked: Matthew 16:13–15(NIV) 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
