Practical evidence of Christianity part 1

Why each of us is special according to an atheist

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist who doesn’t believe in God but admitted in a podcast that the amount of genetic variables available could make an innumerable amount of people, the people who are created come from an infinite amount of possibilities, making them special.

The anthropic principle

Michio Kaku is another astrophysicist who says the stable protons in our universe alone are unique in that they allow for life and matter to be formed, whereas mathematically most other universes are just electrons unable to form anything. All matters in the universe and the equation for the burning of the sun, along with the distance of the Earth, are just right to allow for life on Earth. Our Universe is rare, and it’s led to the anthropic principle, which is a theory that says all observations about the universe are constrained to our specific universe, which was able to create life. It implies that all science is limited by our specific universe or possible intelligent design. It’s a scientific theory to answer why the universe is so finely tuned to create life.

“…that all science is limited by our specific universe or possible intelligent design”

Why Christianity vs other religions?

It starts with Jesus; even non-religious historians have evidence and have recorded eyewitness testimony of his life (Tacitus, Josephus, Pliny the Younger, Suetonius, Thallus, Mara bar Serapion, and Lucian of Samosata). The idea that Jesus did not exist outside of religious texts is a common misconception. The real argument is whether he rose from the dead. However, eyewitness testimony from multiple sources that meet the standards of historical documentation says that he did. Using the same standards by which we record and accept credible accounts of history, we have testimonies of Jesus' life and resurrection. Historical scholars unanimously agree that Jesus existed.

In addition to this, the Old Testament is dated to be 400 years older than the New Testament, and yet it predicted the events of the New Testament. This means that dozens of writers from different parts of the world, as much as 1,000 years apart, created a book with consistent truths and predictions throughout.

“It starts with Jesus; even non-religious historians have evidence and have recorded eyewitness testimony of his life”

Is the New Testament, by definition, a historical or fictional work?

True historical works are defined by their authenticity, significance to humanity, importance in understanding a time period, and preservation. By these standards, the New Testament is a historical document, not a work of fiction. There is access to genuine handwritten documents on papyrus, parchment, or vellum. The origins are often traceable: many manuscripts were preserved in monasteries, libraries, or discovered in archaeological contexts. The significance to humanity is undeniable, and apart from religious belief, they are primary sources for understanding early Christianity, the Roman world, Jewish-Greek interaction, and ancient manuscript culture.

The New Testament has unparalleled manuscript preservation compared to other ancient works. Over 5,800 Greek manuscripts, plus 10,000 Latin and 9,000+ other language copies, survive. This makes it the best-attested work of antiquity by far (e.g., Homer’s Iliad has about 1,800 manuscripts, much later than the originals).

History of major world religions

The Hebrews, Muslims, Christians, and Non-religious all acknowledge that Jesus existed based on historical accounts. Non-religious historians Thallus (who witnessed the crucifixion), as told by Julius Africanus, Tacitus, Mara Bar-Serapion, Phlegon, Pliny the Younger, Suetonius, Lucian of Samosata, and Celsus (non-religious historians). These historians didn’t believe Jesus was who he claimed to be, but acknowledged his existence. They try to give alternate explanations for the empty tomb (Matthew 28:12-14, the chief priests paid bribes for alternative stories for the empty tomb). Where things differ is that the Hebrews believe Jesus was an imposter, and the non-religious historians either thought the same or saw him as a great philosopher. The Muslims believed in him, but believe that the Prophet Mohammed has the correct interpretation of his words, and Jesus was a prophet but not the son of God.

Timeline of Judaism vs other world religions

The religions that historically predate Judaism/The Bible are Zoroastrianism and Hinduism. Zoroastrianism is said to have influenced Judaism because it also has one god, plus the dynamic of a good and bad deity. It promotes good towards others and has an afterlife. Part of its founding was in opposition to the multiple deities from paganism in that part of the world (the Iranian area). Although Judaism wasn’t officially established until around 2,000 BC, when Zoroaster supposedly lived and founded the religion. Abraham, the founder of Judaism, was already alive and started the Jewish movement by 2,000 BC (estimated birth 2,167 BC) through God speaking to him. The religion at the time was shared by spoken word, and since Zoroastrianism was created to oppose other religions like Iranian paganism, what Abraham founded appears more original in my opinion because it came from nothing and may have influenced Zoroastrianism with all its similarities, since it shared a similar region. Either way, when religions do have similarities, correlation does not mean causation.

Whereas Zoroastrianism ran its course as a religion created in response to a problem, Judaism was preserved through multiple occurrences of slavery and war. They say history is written by the winner, but Israel lost…a lot. The preservation of this religion for this long is supernatural. Especially since its core (Judaism, Islam, Christianity) is now a dominant world religion, not something regional like Hinduism.

“They say history is written by the winner, but Israel lost…a lot”

In Part 2 we'll dive deeper into the historical documentation, accuracy and translations of the Bible.