Chapter 14 Discussion

1. What is circumstantial evidence? Circumstantial evidence is material that does not prove your case by itself but does not make much sense if the other material is not accurate.

2. Would you be willing to die for something that you knew was a lie or a hoax? Most people would say no to this question. Even skeptics admit that the fact that 10 out of 12 apostles died martyr's deaths means that they truly believed the resurrection was real.

3. Can you name anyone who you never expected to see become a Christian? Did it change their lifestyle and if so in what way? I think Saul of Tarsus is the classic example here. Saul was an upcoming Pharisee. He would have been very wealthy, popular and powerful. We see he turned from persecutor of Christians to become their foremost missionary voice, this drastically changed world history and he sacrificed everything.

4. Are there any behaviors from the Apostles and disciples of Christ that do not make sense if the resurrection is all based on a lie? Jews are big on the Law of Moses, obeying the Sabbath and monotheism. The first 3000 Christian were Jews and they immediately started teaching salvation by grace, switched their worship to Sunday, accepted the Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and gave up animal sacrifice believing that Jesus' sacrifice was once and for all.

5. Many people believe Jesus is the greatest moral teacher of all time or a prophet but reject his claim of being God or the Son of God. Is this a logical conclusion after seeing the evidence presented in this book? I believe that there is plenty of evidence to show that Jesus and his immediate followers (Apostles) taught that he was God the Son. There is no indication that Jesus behaved in any unusual way to suspect he was mentally unstable. I think there are only two choices: either He was who He claimed to be or a lying impostor. If he lied to make himself look like the Messiah then he cannot be a great moral teacher. The idea He was just a man and great teacher is not a logical conclusion. If I were not a Christian I would have to reject Him completely and want nothing to do with Him or the Bible. People who call themselves Christians but reject the divinity of Christ are just living in an artificial bubble they create to placate their lives and it is unrealistic.

I hope to post my responses tomorrow. Be looking for my next lesson in the near future. God Bless.

Chapter 14 Discussion Questions

Well, this is the last chapter. As much as I love this book I am ready to move on to the next topic. Here are some discussion questions to think about.


1. What is circumstantial evidence?


2. Would you be willing to die for something that you knew was a lie or a hoax?


3. Can you name anyone who you never expected to see become a Christian? Did it change their lifestyle and if so in what way?


4. Are there any behaviors from the Apostles and disciples of Christ that do not make sense if the resurrection is all based on a lie?


5. Many people believe Jesus is the greatest moral teacher of all time or a prophet but reject his claim of being God or the Son of God. Is this a logical conclusion after seeing the evidence presented in this book?


I hope to post my responses tomorrow. Be looking for my next lesson in the near future. God Bless.

Chapter 13 Discussion

Well, I finished the Case for Christ in my Sunday School connect group yesterday. I am trying to finish out on the blog this week. Below are some responses to the questions I posted from chapter 13. Next Sunday Nov 1st I will be teaching in another connect group. I am on a rotation in that class. I will teach a lesson on where the Bible came from starting with a discussion on the history of writing and writing materials. I will post that lesson next week.


1. Are there any eyewitnesses who saw Christ after the crucifixion and if so who are some of the famous ones? The four Gospel accounts all report witnesses who saw Christ raised from the dead. The Apostle Paul reports that over 500 witnesses saw Christ and Paul challenged skeptics to go ask them for themselves. The most famous eyewitnesses where Mary Magdalene, Peter, John, all the remaining apostles and James the half brother of Jesus.


2. Is the most likely scenario not that the resurrection is a legend that was created centuries or at least many decades after the crucifixion? Doesn't the list grow over time showing that it is a legend gradually blown out of proportion? This idea comes from listing the accounts in a proposed chronological order of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. Doing this makes the list look like it gets larger over time making it suspicious. However, Paul's writings are older than the Gospels and he reports the largest number so this hypothesis gets turned upside down.


3. Some people believe Jesus' resurrection was only spiritual and not literal, physical. What are some implications of that? My first reaction is shock that these people who are so skeptical are inventing an explanation that proves the existence of a spirit world and life after death. Secondly, it ignores the evidence of Jesus inviting people to touch his wounds and he even said he was not a phantom.


4. Could people have hallucinated the resurrection? This comes from people who reject the resurrection because it seems so impossible. The trouble is that hallucinations are unique to each individual. Masses of 500 people don't experience the same hallucination.


Chapter 14 is the last chapter and I will try to have that completed this week. Take care.

Chapter 13 Discussion Questions

Chapter 12 demonstrated that Jesus' tomb was in fact empty. The next question is what happened to the body? Is there any real solid evidence of Jesus' resurrection? Here are some questions to think about and I will respond to them within a few days.


1. Are there any eyewitnesses who saw Christ after the crucifixion and if so who are some of the famous ones?


2. Is the most likely scenario not that the resurrection is a legend that was created centuries or at least many decades after the crucifixion? Doesn't the list grow over time showing that it is a legend gradually blown out of proportion?


3. Some people believe Jesus' resurrection was only spiritual and not literal, physical. What are some implications of that?


4. Could people have hallucinated the resurrection?


This Sunday October 25, 2009 will be my last lesson on the book in my Sunday School connect group. We will be covering chapters 11-14. I will then again produce some CDs if you would like a copy. Be looking for my next study and devotions I will be posting in the near future.

Chapter 12 Discussion

Here are some responses to my chapter 12 discussion questions. If you haven't looked at them yet scroll down to the previous post and think about them before you read my responses.

1. The details of the empty tomb in the four Gospel accounts vary somewhat. They vary in sequence of events, how many angels were present, what women were present, etc. Does this mean the story should be suspect? Actually, lawyers will tell you that if different accounts agree too much even in the minor details that they are suspect because they feel the people have collaborated with each other. The basic facts are the same in all accounts of the women going to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body, they find it empty and report back to the Apostles.

2. Jesus being buried by a religious leader like Joseph of Arimathea seems highly unlikely, should I believe this part of the story? Since Jesus confronted the leaders, this does seem surprising but we do see that Nicodemus became a follower of Christ so it should not be ruled out. Actually, since all four Gospel accounts state this that gives it incredible clout.

3. Many crucified victims were left to be preyed upon by scavengers such as vultures and wild dogs or they were buried in mass graves. Is this a possible explanation why Jesus' grave cannot be found? There is too much evidence from authentic manuscripts to believe he was just abandoned on the cross. Besides, the Shroud of Turin - even if it is not Jesus' burial cloth - at the very least shows an example of one crucified victim that was buried.

4. What does the fact that the Gospels record that the first witnesses to an empty tomb were women such as Mary Magdalene tell us about the story? Women in the first century were not considered to be credible witnesses by Jewish men. If the Gospel accounts were fabricated you would expect them to ignore the women and have Peter, James and John be the first witnesses to the empty tomb.

5. What do the Jewish rebuttals to the resurrection tell us about the tomb? The Jewish story to refute the resurrection claimed that the body of Christ was stolen by the Apostles. This actually confirms that the tomb was in fact empty.

The next chapter looks at evidence for the resurrection itself.

Chapter 12 Discussion Questions

Chapter 12 is about the empty tomb and Chapter 13 is on the Resurrection. This may seem a little redundant but actually you can't talk about the resurrection until you can demonstrate that the tomb was in fact empty. Here are some questions to ponder.


1. The details of the empty tomb in the four Gospel accounts vary somewhat. They vary in sequence of events, how many angels were present, what women were present, etc. Does this mean the story should be suspect?


2. Jesus being buried by a religious leader like Joseph of Arimathea seems highly unlikely, should I believe this part of the story?


3. Many crucified victims were left to be preyed upon by scavengers such as vultures and wild dogs or they were buried in mass graves. Is this a possible explanation why Jesus' grave cannot be found?


4. What does the fact that the Gospels record that the first witnesses to an empty tomb were women such as Mary Magdalene tell us about the story?


5. What do the Jewish rebuttals to the resurrection tell us about the tomb?

Chapter 11 Discussion

Scroll down to the previous post to see the questions for chapter 11 before viewing my answers here. Here are some responses I would give.

1. Have you ever heard of the Swoon Theory? The Swoon Theory is the idea that Jesus did not really die on the cross. This basically comes from people who do not believe a resurrection is possible so they need a natural explanation for the resurrection story of Jesus. They believe he passed out and appeared dead and then regained consciousness while in the tomb. When he got out of the tomb and people saw him they thought a miracle had occurred.

2. Is it possible Jesus survived the crucifixion without dieing? It is just not plausible to believe that Jesus only swooned on the cross. Jesus was already in bad shape from the whipping with massive blood loss and then the soldiers saw he was dead and that it why they did not break his legs. The final piece of evidence is that one soldier thrust a sword into Jesus' side. The fact that blood and water flowed shows that the sword pierced the pericardial sac around Jesus' heart so that would have killed him even if he was still alive. To believe the Swoon Theory you have to believe that the Apostles took a pathetically beaten and injured man, nursed him back to health without any antibiotics or cosmetic surgery, paraded him around to show off his "resurrection body" and then they all died martyr's deaths for this even though they knew it was a hoax. That takes more faith than the resurrection itself.

3. What would the whipping have been like for Christ? Roman whippings were very cruel. The whips had metal and sharp objects embedded into it that would have lacerated Jesus' skin all the way from his shoulders down to his knees. A historian named Eusebius from the fourth century said that you could see the internal organs such as the intestines after a whipping.

4. Why was Jesus nailed to the cross when most crucifixion victims were only tied? Many skeptics have said that crucifixion did not involve nailing but that the victims were only tied to the cross. Archaeologists have found that some crucifixions did involve nailing, a heel bone with the nail still in it has been unearthed. It appears nailing was reserved for the worst of the worst of criminals. What does that tell us of how badly the Jewish leaders wanted rid of Him?

5. Why did Jesus die so quickly when many victims lasted for days on a cross? Victims that were only tied to a cross could last for several days before they died of exposure. The Bible says Jesus died in about six hours. This shows that he was in such bad shape from the whipping and then the tortuous nailing on top of that took its toll very quickly in comparison.

6. Where would water come from to cause the blood and water to flow after the Roman soldier thrust his spear into Jesus' side? The doctor interviewed in this chapter talks about how inflammation and the overworking of the heart pumping hard to try to adjust for Jesus' low blood pressure would have caused fluid to build up in the pericardial sac around Jesus' heart. This was pierced by the soldiers sword and indicated that cause of death (COD) was probably cardiac arrest.

I'll put up chapter 12 in a few days. We are nearing the end of the book and then I look forward to resuming my daily devotions of walking through the Bible and looking at it from a scientific perspective.

Chapter 11 Discussion Questions

Well, things are going well but busy here. My wife and I went through the new member class at our new Church and this past Sunday I taught chapters 4 and 5 out of the book in Sunday School. On a personal note we found out the baby we are expecting is a girl and the due date is Feb 18, 2010. Here are some questions to think about for chapter 11.


1. Have you ever heard of the Swoon Theory?


2. Is it possible Jesus survived the crucifixion without dieing?


3. What would the whipping have been like for Christ?


4. Why was Jesus nailed to the cross when most crucifixion victims were only tied?


5. Why did Jesus die so quickly when many victims lasted for days on a cross?


6. Where would water come from to cause the blood and water to flow after the Roman soldier thrust his spear into Jesus' side?


This is a very interesting chapter as a medical doctor examines what Jesus' body would have gone through during this crucifixion.

Chapter 10 Discussion

This Sunday October 4 I will be covering chapters 4 and 5 in my Sunday School class. We are having great discussions and I can get you mp3 files of those if you want. Here are my responses to some questions I posted from chapter 10.


1. How much time do you think modern Jews spend teaching their children about the Messiah? I get the impression as Louis Lapides stated in this chapter that most Jews never really think about the Messiah or grow up studying the topic. Probably Orthodox Jews that may go on to be Rabbis or teachers are the only ones to give it much thought.


2. What opinion do you think most Jews have of Jesus? Most Jews would admit that Jesus was extremely influential on human history but have a negative view of him because they see him as someone who deceived people into thinking he was the Messiah when he really wasn't.


3. What are some objections Jews have with Christians about how we view the Messiah? I saw a Jew on Larry King Live that said they do not expect the Messiah to be God or the Son of God but just an exalted human being that God uses to deliver them. Since they are strict monotheists they are turned off by the Christian view of the Triune God.


4. What are some famous Old Testament Messianic prophesies you've heard? The most famous ones to me are Isaiah 53 with the suffering servant and Isaiah 7 and 9 that predict the virgin birth and Immanuel. Malachi's prediction of the Messiah being born in Bethlehem is also popular.


5. Could it be that Jesus just fulfilled these by accident or coincidence? You will see the odds against this are astronomical. Jesus fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophesies.


6. Could it be that followers changed the biography of Jesus to make it look like he fulfilled prophesy when he really didn't? We have seen that the manuscripts of the New Testament are the most authentic we have in all of history so to doubt their wording would mean that we cannot know anything for sure about any of ancient history.


7. Could it be that Jesus studied these and then intentionally tried to fulfill them? I first saw this on a two hour Discovery special. An example they gave is that it was well known that the Messiah would ride a colt into a certain gate of the city proclaiming himself. So, this is what Jesus did in what we call the Triumphal entry on Palm Sunday. The problem I have with this is how did Jesus convince the crowd to praise Him. He had to have done other things to convince them. This explanation does not fit for prophesies he fulfilled that he had no control over. For instance, how did he choose where he would be born, or convince people he was born of a virgin? How did he get his parents to move to Galilee when he was just a toddler because the Messiah needed to have roots from there also? How did he control his genealogy so he would be a descendant of Abraham, Jacob, Judah, Jesse and David? Those are some pretty good magic tricks. Especially as you read the Gospel according to Matthew he emphasises how Jesus fulfilled prophesy from the Old Testament so you can see how a first century Jew knew what characteristics to look for.


8. Is it possible that Christians read these prophesies out of context and they really aren't Messianic prophesies at all? These prophesies are in the Jewish Old Testament and can be verified separately from Christianity when you look at what Jews expect from the Messiah. I went to the library the other day and got a copy of the Jewish Old Testament and it says on the inside cover that it is free from Christian contamination. Then opening up to those famous passages in Isaiah it says the same thing that the Messiah will be called Immanuel, Mighty God and by his stripes we will be healed. I find it fascinating that Jews do not anticipate the Messiah to suffer but to be a successful political leader.