Some Good Answers to the Survey Q's...

[8/15/96]
Jesus Christ is God in the flesh come to earth to live a perfect life, die on the cross-an innocent man condemned to death by the Jews of the times- in order to take the punishment for any person who is willing to put their trust in him. He was buried, descended into hell and rose again the third day, showed himself to his disciples and ascended into Heaven where he will return from to claim his church and judge the nations. He along with all this is my best friend who is always around to help me, encourage me, and love me.

The bible, consisting of 66 books, was written by over forty authors, over thousands of years and I have not found one contradiction. In addition to this the prophesies that were spoken of by the Old Testament prophets about the Coming Messiah were all fulfilled by Jesus. That's over 300 prophesies, which by reasonable estimates is an impossible to fulfill without prior knowledge of these said occurrences. It is for this reason that I believe God chose to authenticate his message, by giving bits and pieces of this knowledge to the prophets. Besides the intellectual evidence previously stated, I find my personal experience with Christ quite compelling.. He has changed my life in a way that would be impossible for anyone else to do. Because of his intimate knowledge of my soul and heart he is able to produce circumstances that will shape me into the person that he wants me to be sop that he can use me more effectively for His kingdom. This is the most compelling of any argument I can present because it would be impossible for you to tell me that these things within my heart did not occur. We can argue the authenticity if the many translations of the Bible and the lack of numerous sources documenting the life and death of Jesus, but no one can take away my faith in and history with Jesus Christ the Lord.

He is the Messiah, the Son of God, my Lord and Savior. I accept the Gospel story as the true revelation of God. My personal experience with the Gospel story about 23 years ago when I was lost. The Good News saved me from going over the edge into mental illness and death.

My life was a total mess 23 years ago. After some casual contact with some Jesus Movement people, I read the Gospel story. I believe that with the help of the Holy Spirit, it turned my life around and has given me a new life despite failings and some "ups and downs."

The hate I see in some Right Wing Christians. Christians who think the Republican Party is endorsed by Jesus.

Some dumbness about human nature that I see among some in the Christian left.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for the remission of sins. His blood is what reconciled man to God. He was then resurrected and ascended to heaven, to return again at some later date to finish his work of salvation. The only historical data I know of off hand that I've read or seen would be the Bible, which I accept as accurate for several reasons. You see, I was born and raised Jewish, (well, not religiously Jewish, just culturally, you get the picture) so I learned all about the Old Testament back in Hebrew school. The argument which convinced me of the presence and truth of God in the O.T. is that thousands of Hebrews were present at Mount Sinai when God spoke to the people and gave them the law. It seems highly unlikely that thousands of folks could have mistaken a big bolt of thunder or some other natural occurrence for the Ten Commandments, and then passed down some stupid story to impress their kids. After accepting the O.T., the New Testament (well, Jesus the Messiah, specifically) follows quite logically.
Jesus was a pretty controversial and politically important guy back in turn-of-the-millennium Israel. If a bunch of twelve ex-fishermen were to go about the land, talking about how he rose from the dead, and it weren't so, it would have been extremely easy for *anyone* to have refuted them. Besides, Jesus was not the only loud speaker who challenged the authority of the Sanhedrin back then, yet He was the only one to really make a stir. Why? There must have been something there in Jesus that made him different from all the other schmoes who were preaching around Israel to make Him so despised by the Jewish leaders and feared by the Romans. Even in the Bible, a certain Pharisee argues for the release of John and Peter from prison, arguing that if they were wrong in their teachings, they would quickly be forgotten by history, yet if they were right, they had every right to be free. Obviously, they were not forgotten.
He is the Second Person of the Godhead, Very God of Very God, Light of Light, Who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to grasped, but make himself nothing, humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross!. He was crucified according to the scriptures, dead and buried according to the Scriptures and on the third day rose from the dead according to the Scriptures. H now has the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of the Father.

The evidence for the weight of certainty placed in the writings of Paul is quite compelling, especially in that fragments and whole sections of 1 Corinthians and Philippians have been preserved which express these ideas. Given the punishment for lying, described in the Torah and other places it would be unthinkable that Paul (or any of the Apostles) would have lied about these matters. In that they were contemporaries with Jesus, and given the historical evidence that supports their accounts, I am compelled by the evidence to come to a verdict. Other types of evidence that I find equally compelling are the extra biblical witness (Josephus, the Pseudepigrapha and other documents that shed light on these areas.

Yes, The Bible.

The description is self evident.

The reason why I consider it as accurate, is that in looking at the accuracy of the document transmission, with its' many textual witnesses, we can be sure that it is accurate in regard to transmission. As to whether the writers were truthful, It did not make sense if they weren't. The old testament does not read like a mythology, and it singularly paints a portrait of the Hebrew people in a light that is not found in mythologies I've read: as a flawed people who continually break their relationship with God. Human history normally records the good, not the bad.

There was a logic and consistency that you don't find in made up stories, but only in history, recorded as it happens, not with the passing of centuries.

In first place is the historical record of the actions of the church in engaging in corrupt worldly and other worldly practices (worldly: piling up estates, skimming (a la Samuel's son) the people's gifts, refusal to tithe or practice charity or justice, entering into relationships with corrupt kings, presidents, business leaders.... the list goes on but it ends with the judgment words: complicity and duplicity. Otherworldly corruptions include refusing to teach the whole bible, preaching from one's pet scriptures (the Word cannot be domesticated, but it surely can be tarnished...)
The only begotten son of God.

My belief was first instilled when considering the incredible consistency of character in the described Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Hence, resonance with my own understanding of what people are like and what mythology looks like, told me this material was a record of someone neither ordinary nor mythological. Given the attraction of the person JC, it was natural to believe in the resurrection.

Complexity theory, chaos theory, probability theory - all of the sciences seem to blare the existence of information as the center of existence. Information presupposes an informer.
The Word of God made flesh.

Other than the fact that this person was influential out of all proportion to the social position that he held, no...no historical evidence that I know of exists. I find the message delivered compelling in my own heart. I don't think that the question is very amenable to argument, CS Lewis though, makes a good job of it.

I hold to the orthodox\conservative view of Jesus Christ that he is one of the three persons in The Trinity. Very God of very God and very man of very man. As being God he shares all the attributes of the Biblical definition of the God of the Bible. As man he was born of a virgin and came into history as human; yet sinless. Today, as a man, he is glorified and will return to earth someday.

The Biblical data is my main support for my position. I accept it as accurate based on the witness of The Holy Spirit that resides within me. The Bible itself has many aspects that lend to its credibility and reliability. to mention a few: Prophetic fulfillment, its incredible insight into human nature, its willingness to point out the weaknesses of its own writers and heroes, its consistency and confidence in its declarations, and its ability to transform those who place faith in its revelations-- even today!

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