Reasons To Believe

A Few Great Reasons to Put Your Faith in Jesus

Note: This message contains information from several different resources including Winkie Pratney, Ravi Zacharius, Josh McDowell and others.

Truth exists (if you didn’t believe this you wouldn’t be in school)!

Academia will deny the existence of Truth – don’t fall for this.

Argument assumes its antithesis – proponents believe they’re right!

Ravi Zacharius - A correct philosophy must be logically consistent, empirically adequate and experientially relevant; all answers must individually correspond to reality, all answers must be coherent with each other.

A philosophy must address origin, meaning, morality and destiny.

Only Jesus’ answers satisfy these criteria – we’ll see why.

Jesus claimed to be the only Way, Truth and life – Jn.14:6

The main alternative, the theory of evolution does not correspond with reality.

Evolution can’t be tested by the scientific method – it isn’t a science.

It’s a worldview with negative implications: 1Accidental origin, 2lack of meaning, 3subjective morality and 4no future.

Evolution contradicts 1st law of thermodynamics – matter can’t be created.

Physics confirms beginning of universe.

This convinced Einstein a creator had to exist.

Matter was created – requiring a non-naturalistic source.

Evolution has no mechanism.

Natural selection is not a mechanism for speciation.

Positive mutations which are transferable to offspring don’t exist.

Stephen J. Gould said, “The theory of evolution by gradual mutation is effectively dead despite its persistence as textbook orthodoxy.”

Evolution defies statistics.

Simplest theoretical organism- 100,000 nucleotides, 10,000 amino acids.

Supposing nucleotides and amino acids could form spontaneously out of “primordial soup,” they would form in racemic mixtures (describe chirality).

Probability of 100,000 nucleotides and 10,000 amino acids aligning with correct chirality is 1 in 1033,113.

The World Conference on The Origin of Homochiarality and Life admits the theory of evolution depends on this but also admits no answer exists.

Probability of natural origin of simplest theoretical prokaryote is ~ 1 in 10112,827 (1 in 1045 = statistically impossible).

Evolution has been dismissed by many prominent scientists.

Ex. Francis Crick – believes aliens initiated life on earth.

Universe full of intricate design  design implies a designer.

Ex. An adult human body synthesizes ~150 x 1018 amino acids every second, with precise accuracy.

Anthropic principal asserts that earth is uniquely designed for life, recognizing over 150 universal factors necessary, in perfect accuracy, for life on earth, 10 to 15 new factors are discovered each year.

Ex. H2O – solid less dense than liquid.

Reasons to believe in the Bible. It is logically consistent and corresponds with reality:

The Bible is scientifically accurate – it describes:

Radioactive decay, in 2Peter 3:10.

Antoine Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity in 1896 (1900 yrs after the Bible).

Hydrologic cycles, in Ps.135:7, Ec.1:7and Job 36:27-29.

Atmospheric jet streams, in Ecc. 1:6.

Clouds and condensation, in Job 26:8, 37:11.

Earth’s spherical shape, Is. 40:22.

The expansion of the universe, in Job 26:7.

Edwin Hubble discovered this in 1929 (4,000 yrs after the Bible).

Based on Einstein’s General Relativity.

Earth’s foundation – hung on nothing, Job 26:7.

Copernicus published this in 1543 (3,500 yrs after the Bible).

That air has weight, Job 28:25.

Antoine Lavoisier 1778 (3,800 yrs after the Bible).

Hydrothermic vents (freshwater springs in ocean), Gen. 7:11 and Job. 38:16.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution discovered these in 1977 (4000 yrs after the Bible).

That like begets like – a biological law, Gen. 1:11-12, 21, 25.

That one event could be seen across the world – an impossibility then – now possible through TV, Mt. 24:30 and Rev. 11:9-11.

Charles Jenkins invented the first TV in 1923 (1900 yrs after the Bible).

Bible is prophetically accurate (here are a few out of thousands of examples):

Jesus alone fulfilled over 300 (odds of just 8 = 1in 1017).

Jesus’ crucifixion prophesied 1000 years before crucifixion invented, in Ps.22:16.

Alexander the Great, prophesied in great detail: Great warrior from the West  early death  empire split  recombined into the Tolomaic and the Selucid, in Daniel 8:5-12.

Rebuilding of Jerusalem and temple by Cyrus prophesied 100 years before Cyrus’ birth and 100 years before Nebuchadnezar destroyed Jerusalem, in Is.44:28.

Tyre’s destruction prophesied in great detail: destroyed, made bare as a rock, a place where fisherman dry their nets, rubble throne into the sea and never rebuilt, in Ez.26.

The Bible is historically accurate: real people, places and events corroborated by archeology (here are just a couple of examples).

Hitites – critics condemned the Bible’s description of this group; archeological digs have since proven their existence.

Caesar Agustus’ census at the time of Christ’s birth (Luke 2:1).

The Bible is full of mathematical and prophetic codes. Mathematical codes (prime number multiples in words, sentences, passages and books).

Ex. Genesis.1:1(just a few here) – 7 words, with 28 letters, the numerical equivalent of the nouns in the verse adds up to 777, the numerical value of the only verb is 203, the 1st 3 words contain the subject and have 14 letters, the other 4 words are the object and have 14 letters, the words for the 2 objects each have 7 letters.