Witnesses for Christianity
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1. BIBLICAL
ACCOUNT OF WHAT OCCURRED WHEN CHRIST DIED (INCLUDES STATEMENT OF THE ROMAN
CENTURION THAT JESUS WAS THE SON OF GOD)
“And behold the veil of the temple
was rent in two from the top even to the bottom: and the earth quaked and the
rocks were rent.
And the graves were opened:
and many bodies of the saints that had slept arose,
And coming out of the tombs
after his resurrection, came into the holy city and appeared to many.
Now the centurion and they
that were with him watching Jesus, having seen the earthquake and the things
that were done, were sore afraid, saying: Indeed this was the Son of God.
[Matthew 27: 51-54]
2. BIBLICAL ACOUNT OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT COMING TO THE APOSTLES AND MARY, AN EVENT PRE-ANNOUNCED BY JESUS (PENTECOST)
“And when the days of the
Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place:
And suddenly there came a sound
from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming: and it filled the whole house where
they were sitting.
And there appeared to them
parted tongues, as it were of fire: and it sat upon every one of them.
And they were all filled
with the Holy Ghost: and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as
the Holy Ghost gave them to speak.
Now there were dwelling at
Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
And when this was noised
abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded in mind, because that
every man heard them speak in his own tongue.
And they were all amazed,
and wondered, saying: Behold, are not all these that speak Galilean?
And how have we heard, every
man our own tongue wherein we were born?
Parthians and Medes and Elamites
and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
Phrygia
and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of
Rome,
Jews also, and proselytes,
Cretes, and Arabians: we have heard them speak in our own tongues the wonderful
works of God.
And they were all
astonished, and wondered, saying one to another: What meaneth this?”
[Acts 2:1-12]
3. THE TRANSFIGURATION (Matthew
17:1-8)
After six days Jesus took Peter, James,
and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was
transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became
white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to
them, conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
"Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents 5 here, one for
you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
While he was still speaking, behold, a
bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that
said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to
him."
When the disciples heard this, they fell
prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
"Rise, and do not be afraid." And when the disciples raised their
eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.
4. BIBLICAL ACCOUNT OF THE EMPTY TOMB
“And
in the end of the sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day of the
week, came Mary Magdalen and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre.
And behold there was a great
earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and coming rolled
back the stone and sat upon it.
And his countenance was as
lightning and his raiment as snow.
And for fear of him, the
guards were struck with terror and became as dead men.
And the angel answering,
said to the women: Fear not you: for I know that you seek Jesus who was
crucified.
He is not here. For he is
risen, as he said. Come, and see the place where the Lord was laid.
And going quickly, tell ye
his disciples that he is risen. And behold he will go before you into Galilee.
There you shall see him. Lo, I have foretold it to you.
And they went out quickly
from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, running to tell his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them,
saying: All hail. But they came up and took hold of his feet and adored him.
Then Jesus said to them:
Fear not. Go, tell my brethren that they go into Galilee. There they shall see
me.
Who when they were departed,
behold, some of the guards came into the city and told the chief priests all
things that had been done.
And they being assembled
together with the ancients, taking counsel, gave a great sum of money to the
soldiers,
Saying: Say you, His
disciples came by night and stole him away when we were asleep.
And if the governor shall
hear of this, we will persuade him and secure you.
So they taking the money,
did as they were taught: and this word was spread abroad among the Jews even
unto this day.
And the eleven disciples
went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
And seeing him they adored:
but some doubted.
And Jesus coming, spoke to
them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth.
Going therefore, teach ye
all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Ghost
Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even
to the consummation of the world.” (Matthew 28:1-20)
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OLD
TESTAMENT PROPHECIES COME TRUE ABOUT THE CHRIST
I came across a beautiful article in The
Rock magazine (April 2004 issue) by Hebrew Catholic Rosalind Moss who lists
some of the fulfilled prophecies. She writes:
“……..he would be rejected by men (cf. Is
53:3), betrayed by a friend (Ps 41:9), sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zech
11:12), silenced before his accusers (Is. 53:7), MOCKED (Ps. 22:7-8), beaten
(Is. 52:14), spit upon (Is. 50:6), pierced through his hands and feet
(Ps.22:16), crucified with thieves (Is. 53:12), given gall and vinegar to drink
(Ps. 69:21), pierced through his side (Zech. 12:10), that not a bone would be
broken (Ps. 34:20), that lots would be cast for his garments (Ps. 22:18)? And
that beyond the Passion he would be buried in a rich man’s tomb (cf. Is. 53:9),
rise from the dead (Ps. 16:10), ascend into heaven (Ps. 68:18), and sit down at the right hand
of God (Ps. 110:1)? (It Was Sin That Killed Our Savior: Reflections on Mel
Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ by Rosalind Moss. This Rock magazine.)
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Famous quote from “Mere
Christianity” by atheist-turned-Christian C.S.
Lewis:
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing
that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral
teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must
not say. A man who is merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would
not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with
the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell.
You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else
a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at
Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and
God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great
human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. (Mere Christianity [New York:
Touchstone, 1996] 56).
Here’s a passage by the late Rev. William G. Most’s book:
“Men do not cling to mere fancies when
facing lions, torture and death. Second, Christianity was being confirmed by
miracles at that time. …..miracles still happen and are checked with scientific
strictness. In addition, as St. Augustine shrewdly observed, if the uneducated
and ignorant Apostles had been able to sell such a difficult and demanding
doctrine to sophisticated Greeks and Romans, without any miracles, that fact
itself would be a miracle.
“…….Quadratus, earliest of the Greek
apologists for Christianity, writing about 123 A.D., said, “The things done by
the Savior remained always, for they were true. Those cured, those who rose
from the dead were not only seen when they were being cured and raised, but
were constantly present, not only while the Savior was living, but also for
some time after He had gone, so that certain of them came down even to our own
time.”
This is remarkable. Quadratus says that
some who were healed by Christ or even raised by the dead lived until his own
time.”
(“Catholic Apologetics Today” by Rev.
William G. Most)
Here in the Bible, St. Paul (formerly Saul of Tarsus who persecuted
disciples of Christ) preaches on the Resurrection and all the people who
witnessed it:
“For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also
received: how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures: And
that he was buried: and that he rose again according to the scriptures: And that
he was seen by Cephas, and after that by the eleven. Then was he seen by more
than five hundred brethren at once: of whom many remain until this present, and
some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen by James: then by all the
apostles. And last of all, he was seen also by me, as by one born out of due
tine. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an
apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am
what I am. And his grace in me hath not been void: but I have laboured more
abundantly than all they. Yet not I, but the grace of God with me: For whether
I or they, so we preach: and so you have believed. Now if Christ be preached,
that he arose again from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no
resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then
Christ is not risen again. And if Christ be not risen again, then is our
preaching vain: and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false
witnesses of God: because we have given testimony against God, that he hath
raised up Christ, whom he hath not raised up, if the dead rise not again. For
if the dead rise not again, neither is Christ risen again. And if Christ be not
risen again, your faith is vain: for you are yet in your sins. Then they also
that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have
hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now Christ is risen from
the dead, the firstfruits of them that sleep: For by a man came death: and by a
man the resurrection of the dead. And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all
shall be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15: 3-22)
Here are some quotes from Peter Kreeft in Chapter 9 of
“Miracles”
“Yes, modern science has explained away some of the things some of the
ancients thought miraculous, like thunderbolts. But it has not explained away
any of the miracles in the New Testament. Science has not made the Virgin Birth
or the Resurrection or the feeding of the five thousand one bit less miraculous.”
“…..miracle stories were added later to many other religions, and even
contradict the original idea. For instance, the story of Mohammed flying to the
moon on his horse contradicts insistence that the Koran be his only miracle,
And Buddha taught that anyone who performed a miracle was not teaching his
dharma (doctrine) because a miracle would encourage belief in the illusion of
the separate, objective material world.
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MORE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES ABOUT JESUS (There are many, many others)
Isaiah 7:14 “Behold
a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.”
Micheas 5:2: And thou
Bethlehem Ephrata, art a little one among the thousands of Juda, out of thee
shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: and his going
forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity.
Isaiah 53:2-12 “And he shall
grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground:
there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and there was
no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him:
Despised, and the most
abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look
was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our
infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a
leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our
iniquities, he was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon
him, and by his bruises we are healed.
But he was wounded for our
iniquities, he was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon
him, and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone
astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid on
him the iniquity of us all.
He was offered because it
was his own will, and he opened not his mouth: he shall be led as a sheep to
the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not
open his mouth.
He was taken away from
distress, and from judgment: who shall declare his generation? because he is
cut off out of the land of the living: for the wickedness of my people have I
struck him.
And he shall give the
ungodly for his burial, and the rich for his death: because he hath done no
iniquity, neither was there deceit in his mouth.
And the Lord was pleased to
bruise him in infirmity: if he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a
longlived seed, and the will of the Lord shall be prosperous in his hand.
Because his soul hath
laboured, he shall see and be filled: by his knowledge shall this my just
servant justify many, and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore will I distribute
to him very many, and he shall divide the spoils of the strong, because he hath
delivered his soul unto death, and was reputed with the wicked: and he hath
borne the sins of many, and hath prayed for the transgressors.
Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the spirit of grace, and of prayers: and they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced: and they shall
mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son, and they shall grieve over him,
as the manner is to grieve for the death of the firstborn.”
Psalm 22:18 “they divide my
garments among them; for my clothing they cast lots.”
Daniel 9: 24-26 “Seventy weeks are shortened upon thy people, and upon thy holy city,
that transgression may be finished, and sin may have an end, and iniquity may
be abolished; and everlasting justice may be brought; and vision and prophecy
may be fulfilled; and the Saint of saints may be anointed.
Know thou, therefore, and
take notice: that from the going forth of the word, to build up Jerusalem
again, unto Christ, the prince, there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two
weeks: and the street shall be built again, and the walls, in straitness of
times.
And after sixty-two weeks
Christ shall be slain: and the people that shall deny him shall not be his. And
a people, with their leader, that shall come, shall destroy the city, and the
sanctuary: and the end thereof shall be waste, and after the end of the war the
appointed desolation.”
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WEB
SITES ON EVIDENCE OF GOD
http://members.aol.com/plweiss1/veritas.htm
(Christian Philosophy Made Simple)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06608b.htm
(Existence of God: Catholic Encyclopedia)
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0149.html
(St. Thomas
Aquinas’ proofs of God)
http://jp.thomas.name/jesus/godsexistence.html
(Summary of arguments
for God)
http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/GODIS.htm
(Summa Theologica
by St.
Thomas Aquinas)
http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ15.HTM
(Science, Design & the
Cosmological Argument)
http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ75.HTM
(Philosophy & Christianity)
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0002.html
(Reasons
to Believe)
http://www.cwo.com/~pentrack/catholic/apolo.html
(Catholic
apologetics)
http://enotalone.com/books.php?mode=books&topic=Christianity+-+Theology+-+Apologetics
(lists books proving Christianity)
http://www.newadvent.org/summa/
(Summa Theologica: the
theological masterpiece of St. Thomas Aquinas)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14663b.htm
(Life and Works of St. Thomas
Aquinas)
http://www.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/gc.htm
(Summa Contra
Gentiles by St. Thomas Aquinas)
http://www.diopitt.org/tea_design.php
(Intelligent Design or Mindless Evolution – 2005)
http://www.cathmed.org/publications/linacrequarterly/1998_02.html
(Two Lourdes miracles and a Nobel Laureate)
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http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12789a.htm
(facts of Christ’s
Resurrection)
http://www.a180.net/apologetics_articles.html
(Bunch of apologetics
articles)
http://www.scripturecatholic.com/messianic_prophecies.html
(Messianic
Prophecies Fulfilled by Christ)
http://www.leaderu.com/everystudent/easter/articles/josh2.html
(evidence
for resurrection)
http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=5070
(If Christ
Had Not Been Raised)
http://www.silk.net/RelEd/creed12.htm
(articles on the Resurrection)
http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/1999/apr1999p20_368.html
(skeptical
historians can’t deny events after Christ’s death)
http://www.greatbiblestore.com/cat.php?cat_id=7502
(list of books proving
Christianity)
http://www.christianarsenal.com/Apologetics/Resurrection.htm
(The Reasons
to Believe Christ Rose)
http://www.cin.org/kc8-4.html
(Resurrection in The Early Church)
http://apologetics.johndepoe.com/res.html
(The Resurrection)
http://cbn.com/SpiritualLife/Easter/Did_The_Resurrection_Really_Happen.asp
(Reasons
to Believe)
http://www.apologeticspress.org/faq/r&r9305a.htm (Frequently Asked Questions About the Resurrection
)
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0021.html
(answers questions from skeptics)
http://www.godonthe.net/evidence/messiah.htm
(More Messianic Prophecies)
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Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (focusing on evidence for
Christianity)
The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel
The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel (focusing on evidence for
Christianity)
The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel (focusing on evidence for Christianity)
The Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen (focusing on evidence for Christianity)
The Old
Riddle and the Newest Answers by John GERARD ((London,
1904).
Essays on
Un-natural History by John Gerard
THE UNKNOWN GOD by Alfred Noyes
Apologetics and Christian Doctrine by Archbishop John Sheehan
Principles of Natural Theology by George Hayward Joyce, 1923
Apologetics and Catholic Doctrine by Archbishop Michael Sheehan
God and the Supernatural by Father Cuthbert
Voyage to
Lourdes by Alexis Carrel, Nobel Prize winner in
medicine
The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of
Christ by Gary R. Habermas,
The Historical Reliability of the Gospels
by Craig L. Blomberg
New Testament Documents: Are they Reliable?
by F.F. Bruce
http://www.ichrusa.com/saintsalive/florence.htm (St. Juliana Falconieri & St. Antoninus)
http://www.ichrusa.com/saintsalive/johnv.htm (St. John Vianney)
http://www.ichrusa.com/saintsalive/bernad.htm (St. Bernadette)
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Father Frank Chacon puts it this way:
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