Jesus, the Bible and Intelligent Design

"References of Jesus Christ"

Many, if not most, secularist or non-Christians believe that the only evidence that Christians rely on for proof of the existence of Jesus Christ is their faith and the New Testament.  

However, there are multiple sources of documentation that support their claim which even historians have to acknowledge.

 

Non-Christian writers and historians who speak of Jesus and his crucifixion. 

 

Thallus (50-75 AD)

Thallus wrote of historical accounts before the Trojan Wars. In his accounts he mentioned the darkness that occurred around the whole world during the three hour crucifixion of Jesus.

 

Publius Cornelius Tacitus (56-120 AD)

In his “Annals” Roman Historian and Senator, Publius Cornelius Tacitus wrote of the execution of Jesus by Pontius Pilate and the existence of early Christians in Rome.

 

Flavius Josephus (37-100 AD)

A Roman-Jewish historian and military leader, Flavius Josephus, described Jesus in his book “Antiquities of the Jews”… as a wise man, teacher crucified under Pontius Pilate and suggested he performed miracles and rose from the dead.

 

Yuan Hong (328-326 AD)

Annals of the Later Han or Hou Hanji is a Chinese history book of the Eastern Han dynasty. It was written by Yuan Hong during the Jin dynasty (25 CE to 220 CE) 

“Yin and Yang have mistakenly switched, and the sun and moon were eclipsed. The sins of all the people are now on one man. Pardon is proclaimed to all under heaven.  (History of Latter Han Dynasty, Volume 1, Chronicles of Emperor Guang Wu, 7th year.)       

“Eclipse on the day of Gui Hai, Man from Heaven died”. (History of Latter Han, Annals, No.18, Gui Hai)

 

Quran (610 AD)

Jesus is mentioned 25 times in the Quran. His mother, Mary, is mentioned even more frequently, with 34 references.

                                                    *NOTE*

Islam Apologist profess that there are two references of Muhammad in the bible which are subject to interpretation. (Solomon 5:16 and Haggai 2:7)

1st claim Solomon 5:16

"His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem."

Muslim theologist like Zakir Naik, claim that "Altogether Lovely" (Hebrew - ma-kha-madeem) is the name used for Muhammad.

2^nd claim Haggai 2:7

"And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts."

Their belief is "desire of all nations" shall come, should be interpreted as a reference to Muhammad.

 

"A Case for the Bible" 

The bible is not one book, but a collection of 66 separate books.  The collection was written by 40 separate authors in 3 different languages over a 1500 year period. 

Within the collection of 66 books, there are 63,779 individual cross-references between all 66 books... many were written a thousand years apart from each other

There is no other collection of books, religious or otherwise that have this level of interconnectivity.

 

                      (every cross-reference in the bible across all 66 books)

 

The Quran mentions the “Torah/Tawrat” (first 4 books of the bible) 18 times, recognizing it as a holy book revealed by God for the children of Israel.

The Quran mentions “The Gospels” (Injil) 12 times.

Nowhere in the Bible is the Quran mentioned... as it was written 600 years after the New Testament.

 

 “Intelligent Design”

1. The First Cause

 

Newton’s third law of motion was Newton’s law of cause and effect. It states that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. This principle presupposes that an effect requires a cause.  If all effects require a cause, there needs to be an initial cause to create the cascade of effects. 

This theory is the basis for St. Thomas Aquinas’ ”Efficient Cause”. This proposition is that something is required to bring another thing in existence and that nothing can create itself.  The universe could not create itself.

Scientist subscribe to the “Big Bang” theory that proposes the universe began with an initial state of high density and temperature.  However there is no common consensus on what was the initial cause… (first cause).

Many propose that whatever created the first cause was always here… an omnipotent being.

The Apostle John provided an explanation of the first cause in John 1:1.

“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.”

 

2. Chaos vs. Order

 

Recent mathematical studies show that life emerging from chaos has near unsurmountable challenges and cannot be achieved through chance alone.

The probability of the simplest cell forming randomly is about 1 in 10⁶⁵⁰ (that is 1 in 10 followed by 650 zeros).

Even with all the accumulative knowledge of mankind; scientist/biologist have not been able to replicate the process to create life from non-life… yet the evolution theorist expect us to believe that this happened on its own in nature.

Evolution theorist cannot explain the mathematical complexity of chromosomes due to the rarity of functioning proteins and the intricate nature of gene formation.