Outside of Faith, Can We Be Sure That Jesus Actually Did Live?

Question:

Would it be true to say that no one is perfectly sure of Jesus in history until they are sure of him in their life?

For no one can have a final demonstration of truth concerning the nature of Christ or His work unless he can say "I am sure of Jesus Christ, because He lives in me."?

My Reply:

I see 2 questions here:

1. Can it be said that nobody can be perfectly sure that Jesus lived in history until they've accepted Him as Lord and Savior?
2. Can it be said that nobody can fully know the truth and true nature of Jesus Christ until they've accepted Him as their Lord and Savior?

1) Without faith, we still know that Jesus existed and walked the earth.  One way is because ancient secular historians have actually written about Him. Another way is from Archaeological digs in surrounding areas and places where Jesus lived and traveled (did you know that there's actually archaeological evidence of ancient graffiti by somebody mocking his friend for worshiping Jesus?) Also, the Jewish leaders of that day and today admit Jesus lived and walked the earth, yet still refuse to accept Him as the Messiah. So no, I don't believe #1 can be said.

2) I wonder about this one, actually. I say this because I have a friend who boggles me. He grew up in the Church (hated it, but yet grew up in it). He knows God exists, He knows Jesus is the Messiah, and that Jesus is God in the flesh. Though doesn't accept the Christian Truth about Jesus Christ and His nature, he does know it (or know of it), and yet chooses to have nothing to do with Him.  So for #2, I have to say that one's debatable.

---Pastor Andy

Proof of Jesus

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Question:

This question has been unanswerable by Christians, do you have the guts to give this one a straight answer?  Their are like (lets say) 1,000 different religions in the world (actually a lot more). Each religion is no more valid than Harry Potter. In other words, each religion is as invalid as any other religion.
Here's the odd thing, Christians believe that if you choose to believe Jesus, you're saved.  But if you choose another religion to believe in, you're doomed, disregarding all your virtuous acts!
It is the exact same thing as putting 1,000 tennis balls in front of you. The only difference is that each ball is marked with a different number. Only one tennis ball is the correct one (suppose ball 24), if you choose the wrong ball, you're doomed! So basically, Christians believe that by blindly choosing the right ball, you are saved! How hilarious!
And don't tell me that there's any proof to your bible. If you really believe there's proof, then Jesus would've just appeared for everyone to see, but he hasn't!  The truth is that you believe that the Bible is true and every other religion is false with no basis at all. You just choose one ball and make up your mind that it's the correct ball with nothing to back it up.

My Reply:

Interesting analogy with the tennis balls. You're right to say that one would have to be the right one, and all the others would be wrong...at least you acknowledge the existence of A truth. That's further than most critics.
But now, in the case of the balls, let's say #24 is the right ball. Christians aren't the ones blindly choosing the balls, everybody else who believes that all the balls are also true are the ones choosing blindly. We Christians believe the right ball has been revealed to us, and so go to pick that ball.
 Now, as for Jesus appearing before tons of people for them all to see: Jesus actually did, only you weren't there to see it. After His resurrection, He appeared to over 500 people at a time (I don't know if they were all clustered in one place or because He's omni present, He appeared in different places). But the point is, we can say, "Oh, well that's what the Bible says." Yeah, but when the apostles preached and wrote their letters about Jesus' resurrection, those 500+ people were still living, and could've disproved their story at any time. But they didn't. In fact, nobody was able to disprove their message, or even prove them wrong. They could only argue with them to confuse their listeners, which they did.
And it's not only Gospel writers who talk about this, but even secular writers of and just after their time have written about the resurrection, the faith, the followers, the beliefs, and the events that go with them.
Basically, if you don't want to believe in anything about Jesus, then base it on the evidence, not personal disbelief. But the evidence all points to Jesus' resurrection.

Check out Josh McDowell's book: "Evidence of Christianity". It's a long read, but no doubt has some of the answers to your questions explained.  Or if you want a shorter book, then check out Lee Strobel’s book, “The Evidence for Christ”.

---Pastor Andy