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                        "THE CASE FOR CREATION"

                    The Historical Case For Creation

INTRODUCTION

1. In this series, we are have briefly considered...
   a. The Biblical Case For Creation
   b. The Philosophical Case For Creation
   c. The Scientific Case For Creation

2. Now we shall consider The Historical Case For Creation...
   a. Which examines historical evidence for the resurrection of Christ
   b. Then considers the implication of the resurrection to the issue of
      creation

[So we begin by first considering...]

I. THE HISTORICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

   A. THE HISTORICITY OF JESUS...
      1. Only the most ignorant or prejudiced skeptic would question
         this fact
      2. Because unbiased sources attest to the historicity of Jesus
         a. Roman historians
            1) Tacitus (112 A.D.) in his "Annals"
            2) Pliny the Younger (112 A.D.) in his letter to the emperor
               Trajan
            3) Seutonius (120 A.D.), a court official under Hadrian
         b. Jewish sources, while denying His deity, attest to His
            historicity
            1) Flavius Josephus (b. 37 A.D.), Jewish historian makes
               several references to Jesus
            2) The Talmud (books of Jewish law) speak frequently of
               Jesus
         c. Samaritan historian, Thallus (52 A.D.), tried to explain the
            darkness at the crucifixion
      3. So overwhelming is the evidence, even atheistic historians
         admit Jesus lived
         a. "One is obliged to say, 'Here was a man. This part of the
            tale could not have been invented.'" - H. G. Wells, Outline
            Of History
         b. Will Durant spent two chapters on Jesus in his book, The
            Story Of Our Civilization
      -- Fact #1:  Jesus actually lived as a person of history

   B. THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT...
      1. Its authors claim to write as historians or as eyewitnesses to
         real events
         a. Luke, the physician
            1) His gospel (Luke) and history of the early church (Acts)
               compose over a third of the New Testament
            2) He wrote as one describing historical events - Lk 2:1-4;
               Ac 1:1-3
         b. John, the beloved disciple
            1) His gospel (John) was written as an eyewitness account
               - Jn 20:30-31; 21:24-25
            2) In his epistle (1st John), he claimed to be an eyewitness
               - 1Jn 1:1-4
         c. Paul, the Jewish rabbi
            1) Half of the books of the New Testament are his personal
               letters
            2) He claimed to have been an eyewitness, along with others
               - 1Co 15:3-8
      2. As a historical document, it's evidence is remarkable!
         a. Written soon after the events it records
            1) "In my opinion, every book of the New Testament was
               written between the forties and eighties of the First
               Century A.D." - Nelson Glueck, former president of the
               Jewish Theological Seminary in the Hebrew Union College
               in Cincinnati, and renowned Jewish archaeologist
            2) "We can already say emphatically that there is no longer
               any solid basis for dating any book of the New Testament
               after 80 A.D." - W. F. Albright, Biblical archaeologist
         b. Noted for historical accuracy in areas that can be tested
            1) "It may be stated categorically that no archaeological
               discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference."
               - Glueck, ibid.
            2) "Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are
               his statements of fact trustworthy, he is possessed of
               the true historic sense...in short, this author should be
               placed along with the greatest of historians." - Sir
               William Ramsay
         c. Manuscript attestation for the New Testament unsurpassed
            1) In the number of copies for the purpose of comparison
               a) Over 4,000 Greek manuscripts, 13,000 copies of
                  portions of the New Testament
               b) Contrast that with other historical documents
                  (Caesar's Gallic Wars, only 10 Greek manuscripts;
                  Annals of Tacitus, 2; Livy, 20; Plato, 7; Sophocles,
                  100)
            2) In the time between the originals and earliest copies
               a) Fragments exist that are within 50-100 years; complete
                  copies that are within 300-400 years after the
                  originals were written
               b) Compare this with manuscripts of other classical
                  histories
                  1/ Histories of Thucydides - 1300 years
                  2/ Histories of Herodotus - 1350 years
                  3/ Caesar's Gallic War  - 950 years
                  4/ Roman History of Livy - 350 years (the earliest
                     copy is only a fragment)
                  5/ Histories of Tacitus - 750 years
                  6/ Annals of Tacitus - 950 years (there are only two
                     manuscripts)
         d. Variances between the ancient copies are minuscule
            1) Only 1/2 of one percent is in question (compared to 5
               percent for the Iliad)
            2) Even then, it can be stated:  "No fundamental doctrine of
               the Christian faith rests on a disputed reading...It
               cannot be too strongly asserted that in substance the
               text of the Bible is certain:  especially is this the
               case with the New Testament." - Sir Frederick Kenyon,
               authority in the field of New Testament textual criticism
      3. "The evidence for our New Testament writings is ever so much
         greater than the evidence for many writings of classical
         authors, the authenticity of which no one dreams of
         questioning. And if the New Testament were a collection of
         secular writings, their authenticity would generally be as
         beyond all doubt." - F. F. Bruce
      -- Fact #2:  The reliability of the New Testament as a historical
         document is very strong

   C. THE STRENGTH OF THE APOSTLES' TESTIMONY...
      1. Demonstrated by the nature of their testimony
         a. Their testimony appealed to empirical evidence
            1) Evidence derived from experiment and observation rather
               than theory
            2) For forty days they were given infallible proofs - Ac 1:3
            3) They ate and drank with Jesus - Ac 10:41
            4) They saw, heard, and touched Him - Jn 20:24-28; 1Jn 1:1-2
         b. There is no way they could have been deceived or deluded
            1) If all they had were individual dreams, visions, or
               hallucinations...perhaps
            2) But they testified that Jesus appeared to them in groups
               as well as to individuals
      2. Demonstrated by their transformation
         a. Prior to the resurrection, Jesus' disciples were afraid and
            without hope
            1) They fled at his arrest - Mk 14:50
            2) Peter cowardly denied Him three times - Mk 14:66-72
            3) The women mourned His crucifixion - Lk 23:27
            4) After His death, the disciples were sad - Lk 24:13-17
            5) After His death, the disciples hid behind closed doors,
               for fear of the Jews - Jn 20:19
         b. After the resurrection, they fearlessly praised God and
            proclaimed Jesus!
            1) Praising God in the temple - Lk 24:52-53
            2) Proclaiming Christ, despite persecution - Ac 5:28-32,
               41-42
         c. This transformation in their lives is strong evidence for
            the resurrection, as admitted by an Orthodox Jewish scholar:
            1) "If the disciples were totally disappointed and on the
               verge of desperate flight because of the very real reason
               of the crucifixion, it took another very real reason in
               order to transform them from a band of disheartened and
               dejected Jews into the most self-confident missionary
               society in world history." - Pinchas Lapide, former
               Chairman of the Applied Linguistics Department at
               Israel's Bar-Iland University (TIME, May 7, 1979)
            2) He concluded that a bodily resurrection could possibly
               have been that reason!
      3. Demonstrated by their high moral standard
         a. They taught others to live holy lives - 1Th 4:1-7; Ep 4:25
         b. They lived their own lives in unimpeachable way - 1Th 2:3-12
         c. Does this sound like people who propagate lies when they
            know better?
      4. Demonstrated by the price they paid
         a. The apostle Paul's hardship were many - 2Co 11:23-28
         b. The apostles endured much suffering because of their
            testimony - 1Co 4:9-13
         c. All but one died a martyr's death because of their testimony
         d. Even Jesus' brother, James, was thrown off the temple and
            then clubbed to death for his testimony
         e. There was no motive for them to persistently lie about
            Jesus' resurrection!
      -- Fact #3:  The testimony of the apostles is very strong

   D.  THE NEW TESTAMENT IS EITHER TRUE OR A CONTRIVED LIE...
      1. The writers of the New Testament leave us no alternative
         a. They are either eyewitnesses or false witnesses - 1Co
            15:14-15
         b. Events occurred as described, or they are cunningly devised
            fables - 2Pe 1:16-18
      2. We cannot say they might have been sincerely deceived
         a. Especially in reference to the resurrection of Jesus
            1) They claim they ate and drank with Him afterwards - Ac
               10:39-41
            2) They claim they saw and touched Him - 1Jn 1:1-4
         b. They leave us no room saying they were mistaken or deceived!
            1) Some sympathetic skeptics have tried to offer this as an
               alternative
            2) That perhaps in their grief and loss over the crucifixion
               of Jesus they hallucinated or had grief-inspired visions
               of Jesus
            3) But hallucinations and visions are highly individualistic
               experiences
               a) One person might see the hallucination or vision
               b) But several or many people don't see the same vision
                  at the same time!
            4) The resurrection appearances of Jesus include those
               witnessed by many at the same time - cf. 1Co 15:4-8
      -- Fact #4:  The New Testament is either true or a cunningly
         devised fable

[With these historical facts before us, we are now ready to consider...]

II. THE IMPLICATION OF THIS EVIDENCE

   A. WE ARE FORCED TO MAKE A DECISION...
      1. Concerning Jesus
         a. We can't deny that He lived
         b. Therefore we must decide who He is
            1) Is He what His followers claimed, the Son of God? - cf.
               Mt 16:13-17
            2) Or is the New Testament's representation of Him false?
      2. Concerning the evidence of the New Testament as a historical
         document
         a. We can't deny the overwhelming evidence for the New
            Testament
         b. Therefore we must decide concerning its historical
            reliability
            1) Will we accept it on the same basis we accept other
               historical documents?
            2) If so, then will we either accept it at face value, or
               reject it and along with all other historical documents
               whose evidence are much less?
      3. Concerning the testimony of the apostles
         a. We can't deny that they testified to the resurrection of
            Jesus
         b. Therefore we must decide whether their testimony is reliable
            1) Did they lie, or did they really see, touch, and eat with
               a resurrected Jesus?
            2) Or were they charlatans who suffered and died, knowing it
               was all for a lie?
      4. Concerning whether the New Testament is true
         a. We cannot say that it was simply a sincere but mistaken
            effort to explain who Jesus was
         b. Therefore we must decide whether it is true, or a carefully
            contrived lie!
      -- We cannot avoid making a decision regarding the evidence!

   B. THE IMPLICATIONS OF OUR DECISION...
      1. If we decide the New Testament is a carefully contrived lie
         a. We must concede that a book with the world's highest
            standard of morality was composed by a group of liars,
            frauds, and deceivers!
            1) For what book contains a higher standard of love and
               morality?
            2) E.g., Jesus' Sermon On The Mount, and Paul's Discourse On
               Love
         b. We must concede that a book with overwhelming evidence as a
            historical document was carefully put together to deceive
            1) Known historical names, places and events were carefully
               intertwined with bold-faced lies
            2) Solemn affirmations concerning its truthfulness are made,
               intended to deceive those to whom such affirmations were
               made
         c. Is it reasonable or logical to draw such a conclusion?
      2. If we decide the testimony of the New Testament is historically
         true
         a. Then everything that Jesus taught is true
         b. Including His implicit and explicit testimony to the reality
            of creation!
            1) He spoke of the beginning of creation - Mk 10:6
            2) In which God created mankind and all things - Mk 10:6;
               13:19
         c. Creation may be hard to fathom, but if one rose from the
            dead, anything is possible!
      -- The historical evidence for the resurrection also supports the
         case for creation!

CONCLUSION

1. Four facts contribute to faith in the resurrection of Jesus...
   a. The historicity of Jesus
   b. The historical reliability of the New Testament
   c. The strength of the apostles' testimony
   d. The New Testament is either true or a carefully contrived lie
   -- In view of the first three, what reasonable conclusion can we make
      of the fourth?

2. With the same type of evidence used to establish any fact of
   history...
   a. It is reasonable to believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the
      dead
   b. Which in turn makes it possible to believe in creation as the
      origin of life
   c. For He who rose from the dead testified to the reality of the
      Creation

3. Thus we add "The Historical Case For Creation" to...
   a. The Biblical Case For Creation
   b. The Philosophical Case For Creation
   c. The Scientific Case For Creation

Our next four lessons will address various matters related to the issue
of Creation, beginning with...

                         "The Days Of Creation"
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