Truth or Fairytale

Why is it that we Christians believe in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the cornerstone of our faith and of our salvation?

The short answer is because the Bible tells us these things. Secondly, the largest piece of evidence we have to the validity of the Gospel is transformed lives. How do you explain serious sinners like murderers or mafia members being transformed by the power of the Gospel? Someone coming to Christ and leaving the mafia would be in eminent danger of being murdered by the mafia. Why would they risk death if their faith wasn’t real? They would not!

A fellow I knew well in my early twenties had given his life to Christ, and when he did, he was instantly delivered from heroin addition. How is that possible? The transforming power of Christ!

Let me tell you a story that is quite remarkable, but at the same time, quite sad.

I gave my life to Jesus as a senior in high school and experienced being “born again.” It was remarkable and miraculous. Overnight, nearly everything in my life changed. Immediately, I quit smoking and drinking, and of course, I quit my popular rock group because it was the God of my life and because it engaged me in a sinful lifestyle. I was full of joy. Jesus had given me a fresh and new life.

Around that time I stopped to visit someone I had known since my boyhood. The visit turned out to resemble an ambush. This fellow, though he had grown up in the church, had abandoned the faith, and he was anxious to dump all his intellectual, but not factual, knowledge on me, I guess wanting me to engage in a debate.

I was not prepared and for the most part was caught speechless. Being a new Christian, I had not had to intellectually defend my faith. It was a kind of nightmare as I just let him steam role me with all his knowledge about why Christianity was debunked.

He presented many arguments:

1. He said that Jesus was a good man, but not God, a very common and I might say “tired” argument against the deity of Christ.

Answer: Jesus was either God or a lunatic but He was not just a good man. A good man would not blatantly lie, saying he was God, if he was not.

2. He said that Jesus’ body was stolen from the tomb and his followers said that he had risen from the dead, another “really tired” argument.

Answer: A squad of four roman soldiers were guarding the tomb and to let the body be stolen away would deliver to them a penalty of death. You really think they were going to allow the body to be stolen when they would lose their very lives because of it? Preposterous!

3. He claimed that all the healings Jesus performed were not miracles; they were the result of a positive mental attitude on the part of those who were healed.

Answer: Now that’s just ridiculous. People were healed of blindness and leprosy because they had a positive mental attitude? Not to mention that Lazarus, who had been dead for three days, came out of the tomb . . . alive!

4. There were many other ridiculous arguments, including that the 12 apostles lied about the whole of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

Answer: Eleven of the 12 disciples were put to death for their faith and John was boiled in oil, although he came out of that unhurt. Psychiatrists testify that maybe one man would die for a lie, but 11? No way, no how!

Well, I left that visit that day without being able to refute any of his arguments because I was a new Christian and I really didn’t know much.

So, Joe or Mary Christian, how much do you know about the proof of the Gospel you believe and live your life by? Could you refute someone who hurled atheistic arguments at you, claiming your faith is a big lie? I believe that very few Christians today, could on an intellectual level, defend their faith.

Let me give you some “facts” that would give you a start in your intellectual defense of the Gospel. First of all, are there any other reliable, historical sources that report the death and resurrection of our Savior? Yes, there is one, and really one is all you need. The source is the writings of Flavius Josephus.

“Who was Flavius Josephus?” you ask.

Flavius Josephus was a Jewish historian that lived during the time of Jesus. He was a Jew who attained Roman citizenship and the Romans hired him as a historian. He was not a Christian, so there was no personal advantage for him to lie about the life of Jesus. He simply recorded history as he saw it because it was his job.

It has been a while, so I decided to find the passage where he speaks about Jesus. His book is 778 pages long, of very small print, so how was I to find this passage about Jesus?

I decided to google it, and the internet produced the very place in Josephus’ book that I was looking for. It is just one long paragraph, but it plainly states that Jesus rose from the dead. I think it is an extremely exciting thing to read this account written by a non-believing Jew over 2000 years ago. If you are so adventurous as to purchase Josephus’ book and read it, this passage is found on page 379.

Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it to be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as received the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ; and when Pilate, at suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.

To the critics who want to say Jesus was just a good man, here is to any one who is honest with his own reasoning, irrefutable truth that Jesus was God and that He rose from the dead.

Why is this so important? Jesus proved that He was God by rising from the dead. No other founder of any other religion rose from the dead. They were mere men and a mere man cannot get anyone to heaven. Buddha, Mohammed, or Confucius cannot get you to heaven, and it is doubtful that they are there, themselves. Only Jesus Christ can get you to heaven.

Nearly 70 percent of evangelical Christians today say that there are other ways to heaven than through Jesus Christ.

There is no other way to heaven except by Jesus Christ, because only a sinless man who was God could pay the price for our sins so that by believing in His life, death, and resurrection, we can get to heaven.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 ESV)

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12 ESV)

Our faith is based on hard facts. Every Christian needs to know this.

Hopefully this article will give you ammunition in your Christian walk when an unbeliever, atheist, or agnostic wishes to dislodge your faith.

Spring and Summer Blessings!

I think we are all thankful that some warmer weather has arrived. George and I wish you all a spring and summer full of memorable activities. With these activities there can also be more expense. We ask that you would not forget about sowing financially into our ministry. Without your support we cannot continue on with the work the Lord has called us to do. Currently, we still need $1,000.00 to pay for George’s book that is printed and is sitting at the printer.

We CANNOT distribute the word the Lord has given George unless we get contributions from people like you.

Please do not think someone else will make the necessary contributions because then no one does. If you are blessed by our ministry we ask you take it upon yourself to do your part.

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In His Service,

George and Lorraine Halama

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Photo taken by Lorraine