"Prove God Exists!" OK

There’s Proof, Tons of Proof

Yes, the Bible reveals to humanity that the earth hangs on nothing (Job 26:7) and is a sphere (Isaiah

40:22). Scripture declared these facts thousands of years before telescopes and modern science discovered them. God’s word instructs His people how to wash their hands which would help ward off infections and disease (Leviticus 15:13). God’s word declared to humanity the proper function of the water cycle (Job 38:12-14), the existence of ocean currents (Psalms 8:8), the solar cycle, and the expansion of the universe (Isaiah 40:22) centuries before modern science discovered these truths. These facts are consistent with the authority of the Bible.

Facts and other evidence do not endow the Bible with authority; it is endowed with it because it is God’s word; furthermore science, testing, and examination presuppose biblical revelation. Testing utilizes a number of disciplines, such as the application of the laws of reason and induction. A pure materialistic worldview cannot justify the existence or the use of the laws of reason; these changeless norms are immaterial universals for they come from the nature of the changeless God. We have sure knowledge that the God of scripture lives. We do not think He probably exists; our faith is not just reasonable or plausible. It is impossible for the true and living God not to exist, because without Him, in principle, we can know nothing at all. He is the obligatory truth condition for all knowledge since he provides the pre-environment required for the laws of reason unavoidably utilized in all knowledge pursuits.

God Is the Foundation of All Reality

It is open to the theist . . . to suppose that it is a divine intention that human cognitive abilities are disposed to modalize reliably in accordance with modal fact. In this way, there can be a tie between modal fact and human modal judgments that plausibly accords with the proper function of human cognition while preserving the integrity of the purely natural causal processes generating such judgments. Our typical naturalist will be scandalized at this Leibnizian solution, but can he do any better? (Timothy O’Connor, p. 129).

Consider the following syllogism:

1. The God of scripture is the foundation of all reality or reality is unintelligible.

2. Reality is intelligible.

3. Therefore, God is the foundation of reality.

The consequence of asserting that God does not exist is that the world becomes unintelligible and unknowable; a non-theistic worldview lacks the explanatory power required for intelligibility because it fails to account for immutable universals required to explain anything. But the proposition that the world is unintelligible is impossible because it is self-defeating. If the world is unintelligible and unknowable, then that statement itself would be unintelligible and unknowable, hence self-voiding and false. Moreover, since God is immutable with universal reach, He is the ground and foundation of knowledge forasmuch as he provides the epistemic environment necessary for universal immutables (laws of logic, moral absolutes, etc.) required for knowledge.

A Combative Anti-theist

Harry Blaimires points out that “No one can pretend [the Old and the New Testament are not] there. Everyone who is concerned with the meaning of life and the destiny of the human race will have to take [them] into account.” God’s word declares that life must revolve around Him. We must have no other gods before Him. All men have a destiny that will find its consummation at the judgment seat of Christ. Their life will end one day and they will give an account for it. This truth must constantly remain in front of our eyes. We should live and move before the face of God; that is our duty and our joy.

Eminent atheist Michael Martin pontificates that “belief in the incarnation is clearly unjustified. Not only is the evidence for the incarnation lacking, but it is incoherent and conceptually problematic.” On the surface, his statement philosophically can raise problems for the Christian theist; yet his atheistic worldview that he reposes upon is more than problematic. Martin cannot even account for the reality of evidence or the discovery of apparent problems. He must stand on the Christian worldview to discuss evidence and problems. Christianity has a justified basis for the evaluation of evidence and the intelligent identification of problems; non-theism falls short. An atheism that is conjoined to materialism—the belief that all reality is composed only of physical material—lacks the ontic resource to account for knowledge. Consequently the avowal of materialism is not itself made of anything material. The atheist’s view cannot support or justify itself. Materialistic atheism is an immaterial system that teaches that the immaterial does not exist. Thus it pops its own philosophical balloon. By claiming to be a pure materialist, one is actually assenting to anti-materialism.

God Completes All That He Begins

Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the First and I am the Last; beside Me, there is no God. And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me. … Let them show these to them. Do not fear, nor be afraid; have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? I have declared the former things from the beginning; They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it. Suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. … Even from the beginning I have declared it to you; before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you. … You have heard; see all this. And will you not declare it? … Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit have sent Me. Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the LORD your God” (Isaiah 44:6-8; 48:3-20).

Another area of proof is the Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ. The Tanakh (Old Testament) foretold the coming of the Messiah in exact detail. The text, written centuries before the coming of Jesus, prophesied over three hundred facts about Him. No other founder of any religion can provide a similar record of his life written centuries before his birth. Religious founders like Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy, David Koresh, Muhammad, and Buddha cannot supply a widely transmitted, preexisting record that accurately prophesied the details of their lives. The three hundred clear prophecies of the coming Messiah were ordained by God. The Lord revealed historical facts about the coming of Jesus prior to His birth. All these prophecies came to pass in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Christ’s virgin birth was foretold about seven hundred years before He was born: “So, the Lord Himself shall give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). His place of birth was foretold: “And you, Bethlehem…out of you He shall come forth to Me, to become Ruler in Israel, He whose goings forth have been…from eternity” (Micah 5:2). The exact date of His entry in Jerusalem was foretold in the book of Daniel. God revealed the coming of Palm Sunday: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).

He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked—but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When you make His soul an offering for sin…My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. … And He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53:3-12).

In addition, Christ’s death on the cross was foretold before that form of execution was even invented--Psalms 22:1-16 announced the crucifixion hundreds of years before it happened: “I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people. All who see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip; they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD; let Him deliver him; let Him rescue him, since He delights in him! … I am poured out like water, and all my bones are spread apart; my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels and you have brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have circled around me; the band of spoilers have hemmed me in, they pierced my hands and my feet.” This evidence is overwhelming. Moreover, the truth is even more definite and compelling than great blocks of evidence one might compile to prove the facts of Christianity. The argument for Jesus Christ is sure: Without God, one cannot provide the necessary a priori truth conditions for reason, facts, evidence, and the analysis thereof.

An unknown author tells the story of a secular psychologist, Jewish by race, who, on hearing the prophecy of Christ’s passion and death (Isaiah 52:13-53:12), answered: “What’s so impressive about that? Anyone standing at the foot of the cross could have written that.” He was amazed to learn that the passage had been written centuries before Jesus’ crucifixion. That was the beginning of the end of his secularism. Today that doctor is a Christian.

To learn more about proof for Christianity and the foundation (God) required to analyze any evidence see my eBook The Sure Existence of God: Assured Proof for Christianity HERE

Video Trailer: Killing Christ: An Apologetics Approach

Killing Christ: An Apologetics Approach To The Arrest, Trial, Death,and Resurrection of Jesus

Check out the short video trailer of my new book:

Check out my book Killing Christ HERE

"Killing Jesus Christ" the Book

In present-day literature, of all the themes written about the life and death of Jesus Christ, none

have recurred more frequently than the “historical Jesus.” Naturalistically inclined authors claim the New Testament picture is not reliable, we've been told again and again [see Killing Christ book HERE].

But this snubs the obvious truth. Christ’s life and death are best known through first century Jewish accounts (the New Testament) and not contemporary occidental scholarship. The truth flows from one’s core convictions and makes no sense if severed from the presuppositions that give it force.

To understand the historical content of Christ’s death and life, start with the writers of His period who spoke His language within His culture.

Indeed, early Christianity was basically a movement of disenfranchised Jews who placed great emphasis on human sin and the need of divine redemption. The wickedness involved in the execution of Christ we can recognize and know. Besides, the tragic nature of the crucifixion of Jesus was foreordained to forever solve the problem of sin as it alleviates human condemnation.

This volume aims to correct slurs, while simultaneously positing positive evidence and rational proof that the Gospels reveal the truth about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Bill O’ Reilly, Skeptics, and Killing Jesus

Bill O’ Reilly, author of Killing Lincoln and Killing Kennedy, declared that Jesus merely started “a philosophy”¹ and much of the biblical narratives are allegorical and symbolic—not real history. He also suggested that Christians do not worship Jesus Christ but worship the “spirit of Jesus.”² He’s convinced that Christ’s main undertaking was to teach men how to live. I have no doubt that Christ’s moral teaching is as important as it is profound, yet His primary mission was to die to set men free. Many other skeptics and liberals have mounted quests for the historical Jesus and have landed not far from where O’ Reilly takes his readers. Ultimately the Bible holds, as the skeptics have found nothing. But skeptics will continue to publish books about their new theories on the life and death of Christ even though we have an infallible account of Christ in the New Testament.

Beyond Bill O’ Reilly, few disbelieving sleuths believe that Jesus Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 4:5) and rose from the grave in victory (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). I do. And not only that, I know with full certainty. Some contend Christ was a good teacher who died because of a tragic set of accidents. Still a few others say that Christ never existed, thus never died.

Of course, theories abound in cases of history were evidence is scarce. But as the reader will discover, there exists not only deep layers of historical data for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, there are potent logical reasons why such must be the case.

My objective is to lay out the evidence for the truth of the Gospel’s narratives and demonstrate that theories by skeptics (O’ Reilly, Aslan, etc.) not only have several faults, but what they pen, when it is inconsistent with the scriptural accounts of Christ, cannot possibly be true. I will argue:  

• God is.
• His word has been revealed.
• Scripture reveals the truth about Christ’s arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and resurrection; the contrary is impossible.

Indeed, Jesus Christ died. He was crucified. Nevertheless, His illegal execution was merely the beginning of a comprehensive transformation in history. Since Jesus’ death and resurrection, it often appears that the kingdom of man and the kingdom of God have traded places. Christ's outlook, however, was a bold and challenging assurance. The kingdom Jesus launched is the one we still see expanding today.

 *Purchase Killing Christ book HERE.

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NOTES

1.        http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/bill-oreilly-christianity-is-not-a-religion-but-a-philosophy/

http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/bill-oreilly-christianity-is-not-a-religion-but-a-philosophy/

http://www.cafemom.com/answers/1302178/Did_you_see_Bill_OReilly_making_the_claim_to_David_Silverman_that_Christianity_is_a_philosophy_not_a

2.        http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3004813/posts

New Book: Killing Christ: Contesting Trendy Critics Regarding The Death and Resurrection of Jesus

Killing Christ: Contesting Trendy Critics Regarding The Death and Resurrection of Jesus by Mike Robinson

An extraordinary conspiracy of injustice, cruelty, as well as religious and political interests sentenced an innocent man to the cruelest method of execution ever developed. Yet, the target was no mere victim, He was the Redeemer. Jesus as God and man came to die in the place of humanity. The Bible, Talmud, Mishnah, and Roman historians reveal that the Son of God was illegally arrested, tried, and executed. 

 

How did such a thing come to be? Who were the spectators, the authorities, frauds, and scoundrels? Why was Christ’s arrest illegal under Hebrew law? What was it like at Gethsemane during the arrest, or in the chambers of the chief priest as the interrogations of Jesus took place? What can an apologetics approach, using Hebraic sources, tell us about the meaning of the last words Jesus uttered on the cross? With the massive amount of evidence for the resurrection of Christ, why can we go beyond probability to full certainty that Christ is risen? Killing Christ: Contesting Trendy Critics Regarding The Death and Resurrection of Jesus will answer those questions in a way that will keep the pages turning.

In Killing Christ, Robinson invites you to experience the most stunning injustice in the history of civil law, conjoined to the supreme triumph of the power of God, and the redemption provided by the death of Christ. The author provides a chronological examination that includes a detailed look at everything from rabbinical law to Roman justice to Christ's courtroom declarations of His divinity. This new volume furnishes a readable examination and analysis of the indictments, preliminary proceedings, trials, and execution of Jesus—great for apologetics and the defense of the faith.

 Killing Christ reveals the truth about:
 

• The Arrest of Jesus Christ
• The Various Trials of Christ: An Apologetic Approach
• The Errors of the Trendy Critics (Bill O’Reilly, Reza Aslan, Bart Ehrman, etc.)
• The First Good Friday and Its Redemptive Provision

• The Ancient Rabbinic, Roman, and Non-biblical Historical Accounts
• The Proof of the Resurrection of Christ: The Facts within an Assured Rational Framework
• Who Really Killed Jesus?
• The Evidence of The Historicity of Christ’s Life, Death, and Resurrection

With all the skeptical assaults on the meaning of the death, life, and resurrection of Christ, this innovative volume is a must for every Christian, minister, and apologist—it will be a book that you will give away many times to friends. This is so because it is serious (it contains informed analysis of relevant biblical truths), rational (it is well-argued), potent (it holds the reader's attention through gripping illustrations), and spiritual (it will set you ablaze for God).

The publication of Killing Christ is indeed an event. What is intended here is an account of the arrest, trials, death, and resurrection of Christ which does justice to the full sweep of biblical testimony and the ancient historical sources (the Talmud, Mishnah, Targums, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Roman archives). What is accomplished is something on the order of a vigorous defense of Christian truth—an appropriation of the data, evidence, and facts within a synthesis of the foundational necessity of Christian theism.

Killing Christ is a valuable resource for students of the gospels, and a highly stimulating volume for all interested in Christian truth. The section on the harmony of the Gospel accounts, regarding the trials and crucifixion, alone makes this a valuable tool for apologetics. It will be hard to come away from this book without a feeling of having been enriched and challenged. This is a book that will be formative for average Christians and scholars as well as students and pastors—the author is clear, accessible and passionate.

Mike Robinson, author of dozens of books on apologetics, the long-time pastor of Christ Covenant Church and instructor at CCBS.

check out this new fascinating volume HERE

Prayer, Sovereignty, and Salvation

God is in Control: Prayer and Salvation

by Mike Robinson

Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the muscle of omnipotence (Charles H. Spurgeon.

Faith, and hope, and patience and all the strong, beautiful, vital forces of piety are withered and dead in a prayerless life. The life of the individual believer, his personal salvation, and personal Christian graces have their being, bloom, and fruitage in prayer. (E.M. Bounds).

Prayer has never been a mere option, it is a joyful duty. Prayer is a must for this nation and all its citizens. My prayer is that God will bring many multitudes to know Jesus Christ and serve Him.

Recall the story of Nebuchadnezzer. He had a dream, but he forgot it, so he commanded his impotent sorcerers and astrologers to ascertain what the content of his dream was: They couldn’t do it. Daniel prayed and prayed and God revealed the king’s dream and interpretation to him. Notice the manner in which Daniel praises God: “Daniel answered and said: ‘Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His’” (Daniel 2:20).

•  Who removes kings? God.

•  Who raises kings? God.

Scripture teaches that God Almighty controls a king’s heart like water.

•   God is in control.

The doctrine of God’s Providence was of utmost importance in the birth of the United States of America. All historical events are under God’s providential hand as He acts through human agencies. Laws alone will not change our society. Society will change when hearts change first. By God’s grace only Jesus Christ and His gospel can change people.

On July 4th 1776, The Declaration of Independence proclaimed: “We hold these truths... that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights... Appealing to the supreme judge of the world... and for the support of this declaration, with reliance on the protection of divine providence.”

No matter how much effort makes the life of a man a pleasanter and richer thing, there lives in mankind a sense that all such progress and civilization does not satisfy for the deepest human needs nor rescue them from their worst distress (Herman Bavinck).

Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15). Thus, the largest institution on the planet is the church. The kingdom that contains the most citizens is the church. The association with most men is the church of Jesus Christ. Not any one denomination, but the collective body that professes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in America. A recent Gallup Poll found the percentage of people confessing to be Born-again Christians is 46 percent. That is way up from 33 percent from the early 1990's. That is about 135 million people proclaiming salvation in Jesus Christ as Savior. 

Justification: Declared Righteous

Clouds and darkness surround Him: righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne (Psalms 97:2).

Mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13).

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. … For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him (Romans 5:1-9).

Justification is a doctrinal term. The doctrine is laid out in the books of Romans and 1 Corinthians, among others (Genesis 15; Psalm 32; Galatians; Titus). Justification, as a doctrine, is unique to Christianity. The doctrine of justification holds that the believer is declared righteous, his sins are removed, and Christ’s righteousness is imputed unto him by faith in and the grace of Christ alone. No other religious system has a means by which to erase our record of iniquity and grant us a righteous record, so that we can enter a perfect Heaven. Justification is a legal, forensic term that implies prior condemnation and results in pardon.

The holy God demands a formal, forensic righteousness, not because He is capriciously harsh but because He is completely righteous. God is not arbitrary; He is holy and perfect. Heaven is pristinely perfect and for one to enter within must have all their sins removed and have a perfect righteousness. One must be righteous to live with God in Heaven. Every man has broken God’s holy law; the solution for man’s sin and depravity is a formal, legal justification through Christ by grace through faith.

But to him who does not work, but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness (Romans 4:5).

Most Christians understand that because Christ died on the Cross, their sins are forgiven and rinsed away; this is what is called the negative aspect of justification. Something is subtracted, namely our sins. The positive aspect of justification is usually overlooked by the average modern Christian. The positive element of justification states that God imputes into the believer’s account the righteousness of Christ. Jesus not only died for us; He lived for us. His perfect, holy, and righteous life was given to those who trust in Him. Christians know that Jesus atoned for their sins and disobedience on the Cross, but His work was not merely negative and passive.

During His life of thirty-three years, Jesus lived in perfect accord with God’s law, fulfilling all righteousness on our behalf. Saved believers stand perfectly righteous before the Holy God. They are not just guiltless and sinless, but they are actually declared righteous on account of Christ. All that Jesus did on the earth is imputed into the believer’s account. We are justified before God through the active and passive obedience of Jesus. We are saved by His life and His death; that is good news. Only Christianity can bestow justification. All the world’s additional religions are based upon the religionist’s good deeds and personal merit. The problem is that Heaven is perfect, God is holy, and nothing unholy and unrighteous will enter God’s Heaven. Biblical justification is the only solution to man’s sin and Adam’s disobedience.

The Eternal Blessing of Imputation

And he believed in the LORD; and He accounted it to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6).

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).

For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace (Jeremiah 8:11).

By God’s grace through faith justification forensically renders the believer righteous and gives him peace with Heaven. Without justification, the unbeliever has no peace with God. We must never assert that there is peace when there is no peace between the ungodly and God. Without justification by grace alone, there can be no real peace. “Imputation” is the Biblical term for the positive element of justification. Through God’s grace by faith, the believer is declared righteous.

Christ preached: “Be perfect, even as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The law demands perfect obedience—a perfection equal to the Father’s perfection. Nobody except Christ has accomplished this, so we need a perfect righteousness that is not our own. We need to be justified by the works and righteousness of another. Justification is a forensic term which speaks of the Christian’s legal position before God. The believer is declared righteous despite his unrighteous deeds. The justified are given an alien righteousness, a righteousness that is not their own but is imputed unto them by faith. Not having a righteousness of our own ensures that God gets all the glory.

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men (Titus 3:4-8, italics mine).

As Thomas Boston put it, “We cry down the law when it comes to our justification, but we set it up when it comes to our sanctification. The Law drives us to the Gospel that we are justified, then sends us to the Law again to show us our duty now that we are justified.” Hence, because God has saved us by His mercy, we now strive to maintain good works because we are grateful.

A Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent (C.S. Lewis).

Give Away What You Have Received

He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him (Psalms 126:6).

In 1940 a butterfly collector was in Utah trying to enlarge his collection of bugs. At dusk he returned from his excursion and shared with his companion that he had heard a loud moaning and a cry for help. Someone was calling for assistance down the stream. His friend asked him whether he stopped and looked for the man who was in trouble. He said, “No, I had to get a particular butterfly.” The next morning the corpse of a gold prospector was discovered in what later was named Dead Man’s Gulch. Are we like the indolent butterfly collector? People are all around us, dying in their sins, and we are too busy or too dull to reach out to help. Is your life a spiritual Dead Man’s Gulch or is it a lifesaving station?

I want to care like George Whitefield cared when he pleaded, “Weep out, if possible, every argument, and compel them to cry, ‘Behold, how He loves us.’” 

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check out my new book

Killing Christ: Contesting Trendy Critics Regarding The Death and Resurrection of Jesus HERE