Post by iris89 on Oct 31, 2007 14:22:15 GMT -5
Unbelieving Atheist Do Not Want to Accept Reality:
INTRODUCTION:
Unbelieving atheist and agnostics will go to any extremes to deny reality when the facts per John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (Authorized King James Bible; AV) clearly show they are in error. They will vehemently reject logic such as presented by myself in articles such as “Why Sweat Apparent Bible Contradictions:” and “There are Sound Reasons for Believing in God:”. In the latter I used strong reasoning with regard to the fact that every creation has both a designer and a maker, as follows: <<<” Most Christians believe that the regularity, the design evident in the universe, points to God, a supreme creative Intelligence.
Some scientists believe the universe is pointless, without rhyme or reason; that the human race is not the center piece, but a freak accident, the by-product of pointless material forces in a back water of the universe.
Others believe it is reasonable to believe in God the Creator, concluding from a study of the scientific evidence that a Supreme Intelligence is at work.
We do not believe God is like a super clockmaker, who then wound up the universe and left it to itself. We do not believe only in a god of the gaps, whom we use when we have no scientific explanation. We see God in the laws of nature. We do not believe in God because we need to do so, nor because we prefer to believe, as we prefer spaghetti rather than roast lamb and mint sauce. God often helps us feel good, but that is not a good reason to believe
Many of us believe the universe has been fine-tuned for the existence of humans, that a place for humans was built into the universe from the beginning. In fact, we believe the cosmos was made with us in mind. What evidence is there for this?
An enormous number of coincidences enable human life to exist. If the earth was smaller, gravity would be too weak to retain an atmosphere. If it were much bigger there would be too much hydrogen. If we were much closer to the sun it would be too hot for liquid water; if we were much further away it would be too cold for us.
Almost one hundred chemical elements occur in nature, the smallest being hydrogen, which appeared soon after the Big Bang. Nearly all the other elements were forged later when giant stars exploded. Most of the elements in our bodies were made in explosions before our sun was born.
If the force holding the hydrogen nuclei together had been much weaker, the process could not have gone past hydrogen. If this force had been only a bit stronger, the stars would have burned themselves out in millions of years, not the billions of years needed to produce life.
The production of life has depended on a fantastic and delicate balance of forces. If the nature of space had been slightly different the universe could have collapsed a fraction of a second after it began; or undergone such ferocious expansion that all matter, even atoms, would have been torn apart quickly.
We know now that neither the earth nor the sun is the centre of the universe. Our sun is like a pebble on an immense beach. Why is the universe so large?
If the universe was the size of Europe it would have lasted a few milliseconds. A universe the size of our solar system would have lasted a few hours.
To claim these coincidences and many others are the product of chance is like claiming a runaway truck in a rubbish dump produced the Mona Lisa.
To sum it all up (E-equals-MxC2) shows energy and matter can not be created or destroyed by any mechanism known to man and yet one or the other or both had to come in existence at sometime or nothing we now know including mankind itself would exist. Therefore, even if a Bible that tells who created all did not exist, the universe and all in it would clearly show the existence of a Creator.
Now would it not be reasonable, then, to say that far more complex things such as the eyes, the ear, and the human brain originated with an intelligent designer?”>>>.
But of course they rejected it, and they rejected also the fact that the birth and life of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ fulfilled many prophecies. Now here is what on unbelieving atheist said,
<<<” And what you fail to discuss is that the writers of the books of the New Testament had the Old Testament at their disposal. That makes it easy to write a story about someone who "fulfills a prophecy", doesn't it? Let's see, read the prophecies about the Messiah....then write a story about someone that you want people to believe was the Messiah. Some creative writing here, some good imagination there, and voila, one book that is "in harmony'...because the later writers went out of their way tomake sure that they were in harmony with the earlier writers. And then the books that went into the New Testament were picked and chosen and edited by committees of men who wanted to make sure that they all agreed as well.
And even at that, they failed. Despite your protestations otherwise, there are glaringly obvious contradictions in the bible:”[source – an unbelieving atheist that does not want to accept reality]>>>.
Now let’s look at the facts, the reality, with respect the prophecies from an archaeological time table view that shows their contention to be completely wrong.
ARCHAEOLOGY PROVES ATHEIST WRONG AND OLD TESTAMENT UNALTERED:
Recent archaeological finds clearly show that the Old Testament that we have has not been changed or modified as has another so called ‘holy book’ the Qur’an which was trashed by Caliph Uthman in the Seventh Century.
Ancient scrolls were found in some caves in and around the Wadi Qumran in Palestine. These scrolls contained most of the Old Testament and, also, some secular documents, and were much older than the previously known ancient copies of the Bible, but contained no major deviations from the ancient copies we already had. Therefore, conforming the Bible we now have is accurate except for translating errors and bias errors in some translations.
Let’s look at some of these findings.
<<<” The scrolls and scroll fragments recovered in the Qumran environs represent a voluminous body of Jewish documents, a veritable "library", dating from the third century B.C.E. to 68 C.E. Unquestionably, the "library," which is the greatest manuscript find of the twentieth century, demonstrates the rich literary activity of Second Temple Period Jewry and sheds insight into centuries pivotal to both Judaism and Christianity. The library contains some books or works in a large number of copies, yet others are represented only fragmentarily by mere scraps of parchment. There are tens of thousands of scroll fragments. The number of different compositions represented is almost one thousand, and they are written in three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
There is less agreement on the specifics of what the Qumran library contains. According to many scholars, the chief categories represented among the Dead Sea Scrolls are:
… While the group producing the sectarian scrolls is believed by many to be the Essenes, there are other scholars who state that there is too little evidence to support the view that one sect produced all of the sectarian material. Also, there are scholars who believe there is a fourth category of scroll materials which is neither biblical, apocryphal, nor "sectarian." In their view, such scrolls, which may include "Songs of the the Sabbath Sacrifice", should be designated simply as contemporary Jewish writing.” [source - The Qumran Library, www.ibiblio.org/expo/deadsea.scrolls.exhibit/Library/library.html on 10/31/2007]>>>.
And,
<<<” Library of Congress Materials Relating to the Qumran Library
These items were on display in the exhibit at the Library of Congress, May - August 1993. Images of these objects are not included in the online version of the exhibit, but these exhibit captions are included to provide some additional background on the scholarly work surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Qumran Community, and its Library.
Psalms Scroll
J. A. Sanders published his findings on the Psalms Scroll first in 1965, as the fourth volume of "Discoveries in the Judaean Desert," the official publication series. This is a later version published in the United States.
J.A. Sanders The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll (Itacha, 1967). Printed book. General Collections, Library of Congress.
The First Hebrew Printed Book of the Bible: The Psalms
Hand-written books of the Bible were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. This Psalter is the first book of the Bible printed in Hebrew. This edition of the Psalms includes the commentary of David Kimhi and was printed in 1477, probably in Bologna. The commentary on the Psalms was heavily censored by Church authorities. The owner of the book, however, inserted by hand each word that had been expunged.
Psalms (Bologna, 1477) Printed book. Hebraic Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress.
The Aleppo Codex
Until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, the Aleppo Codex, which dates to the tenth century C.E., was the oldest known Bible codex. This facsimile was published in 1976.
Aleppo Codex (Jerusalem, 1976) Printed book. Hebraic Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress.
The Complutensian
This is the earliest of the great polyglot editions of the Bible and includes texts in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin. Produced under the patronage of Cardinal Francisco Ximenes de Cisneros (1436-1517), it was believed to have cost 50,000 gold ducats. Psalm 145 is a hymn arranged according to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It is interesting to note that today's biblical text does not include a verse for the letter "nun," the fourteenth letter of the alphabet. The fragment of the Psalm Scroll displayed here does include a missing verse for this letter.
Psalms [Complutensian] (1514-1517) Printed polyglot Bible. Rare and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress.
The Community Rule
A complete version of the Community Rule was uncovered in Cave 1. It was photographed by J. Trever, an archaeologist at the American Schools of Oriental Research in Jerusalem. This manuscript is one of three that were exhibited at the Library of Congress in 1949. The fragment of the Community Rule on display here is from Cave 4.
John Trever Scrolls from Qumran Cave I (Jerusalem, 1972) Printed book. Hebraic Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress
Torah Scroll
This eighteenth-century Torah scroll was written in North Africa. It is rolled to Leviticus, 23:22-29, which corresponds to the Leviticus Scroll from Cave 4 displayed here (object no. 4). Note the "wandering peh" (a Hebrew letter) which occurs frequently in the displayed column.
Torah Scroll (North Africa, c. 18th century) Parchment. Hebraic Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress.
Leviticus Scroll
The large paleo-Hebrew fragment of Leviticus on display here was published in 1985 by D.N. Freedman and K.A. Mathews. The authors transliterated the paleo-Hebrew script into modern Hebrew characters.
D.N. Freedman and K.A. Mathews The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll (11 Qpaleo Lev) (Winnona Lake, Indiana, 1985) Printed book. General Collections, Library of Congress
First Maccabees
Displayed here is the opening page of the First Book of Maccabees from the Walton Polyglot Bible. First Maccabees describes the rule of the early Hasmonean princes who freed Judea from the yoke of the Syrian rulers in 168 B.C.E. It is included in the Roman Catholic scriptural canon, but was removed from the Protestant canon after the Reformation and relegated to the Apocrypha.
First Maccabees [Walton's Polyglot] (London, 1655-1657) Printed book. Hebraic Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress
Samaritan Bible
The modern descendant of the paleo-Hebrew script of the Leviticus Scroll (object no. 4) is the Samaritan script. This biblical manuscript, written in the Samaritan script, is opened to Leviticus 23:22-29. Note the similarity between the paleo-Hebrew script of the Leviticus Scroll written in the late second century B.C.E. and this Samaritan manuscript from the late nineteenth century.
Leviticus [Samaritan Pentateuch] (1880) Manuscript book. Hebraic Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress
Dead Sea Scrolls from the Third Century C.E.
In his ecclesiastical history, Eusebius relates the story of Origen, who consulted scrolls found in caves near Jericho for his "Hexapla," a comprehensive redaction of the Hebrew Scriptures completed in the first half of the third century C.E.
In the . . . edition of the Psalms . . . [Origen reported] again how he found one of [the translations] at Jericho in a tunnel in the time of Antoninus the son of Severus.
Eusebius Auncient ecclesiasticall histories ... (London, 1585) Printed book. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
The First "Dead Sea Scroll": The Damascus Document
Scholar and educator Solomon Schechter's discovery in 1896 of a sectarian document--which turned out to be a medieval version of the Damascus Document--among the Cairo Genizah trove was first published in 1910 as "Fragments of a Zadokite Work." Displayed here is a reprint of this first Dead Sea Scroll publication, published 37 years before the discovery.
Solomon Schechter Documents of Jewish Sectaries (New York, 1970) Printed book. General Collections, Library of Congress.
Ecclesiasticus: The Wisdom of Ben Sirah
Included among the Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus extols wisdom and ethical conduct. A Hebrew version of the book, which was known only in Greek after the tenth century, was discovered by Solomon Schechter in the Cairo Genizah in the late nineteenth century. Fragments of the original Hebrew version were discovered in Cave 2.
Displayed here are Greek (from the Septuagint), and Latin versions of Ecclesiasticus from the second of the great polyglot Bibles, the "Antwerp" or "Plantin" Polyglot.
Ecclesiasticus [Plantin's Polyglot] (Antwerp, 1569-1572) Printed book, volume 3. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress.”
[source – Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress, USA]>>>.
So ancient manuscripts from both before and after the birth of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ are in agreement and have no major differences one to another; therefore, proving the Bible we now have is the same as the one of ancient times.
These unbelievers fail to recognize the fact that the Bible is NOT the product of one committee or strongman. It has over 40 individual writers who wrote under divine inspiration/guidance putting the thoughts of God (YHWH) into the words of men much as transcribing secretaries today taking transcription and then later typing it out. In other words one real author, God (YHWH), and many scribes each of whom wrote in his own style over a period of approximately 1,600 years. All of what people call or consider inconsistencies are really not such, but most often just a problem of translation and/or understanding, i.e., lack of understanding of what the original writer writing in his own language and culture meant/said in his original writing. What is remarkable, is the writers over such a period of time all wrote in harmony when even most posters on threads on this forum can not even stay on track or subject over a period of a few days and/or weeks at most with the original subject of the thread. This fact of harmony over a period so great as to almost stagger the imagination shows that it had one guiding force or author who divinely inspired its writers as humans of their own volition can not keep on track over short periods of time.
To wit, the Bible is the ONLY book God (YHWH) ever inspired men to write as his scribes. In other words, God is its author and men only put his thoughts given to them by divine inspiration into their own words, the words of men. Not only that, all the other writers of later so called religious guidance books borrowed from it and made changes in accord with their strong man or so called prophet. Take the example of Joseph Smith who borrowed from it to write the Book of Mormon, but failed to give credit or source to the Bible and twisted some borrowed things into bizarre distortions. Other examples are of course the bizarre writings of David Koresh the Prophet of the Branch Dividians of Waco, Texas; and the Quran, etc.
Now let’s look at the fulfilled prophecies.
FULFILLED PROPHECIES ABOUT JESUS (YESHUA) CHRIST:
PROPHECY FULFILLED WHEN JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED
[ 1. Betrayed by a friend - Psalms 41:9 - John 13:18-27 - 460 BCE ]]
[ 2. Thirty (30) of silver thrown in Temple - Zechariah 11:13 - Matthew 27:3-5 - 518 BCE ]
[ 3. Betrayed for thirty (30) pieces of silver - Zechariah 11:12 - Matthew 26:14-15 - 518 BCE ]
[ 4. Potters field bought for thirty (30) pieces of silver&Zechariah 11:13 - Matthew 27:6-10 - 518 BCE ]
[ 5. Forsaken by His disciples - Zechariah 13:7 - Mark 14:27-50 - 518 BCE ]
[ 6. Falsely accused by false witnesses - Psalms 35:11-21 - Matthew 26:59-61 - 460 BCE ]
[ 7. Remained silent before accusers - Isaiah 53:7 - Matthew 27:12-14 - 732 BCE ]
[ 8. Was wounded and bruised - Isaiah 53:4-6 - 1 Peter 2:21-25 - 732 BCE ]
[ 9. Spit upon and beaten - Isaiah 50:6 - Matthew 26:67-68 - 732 BCE ]
[ 10. Was mocked - Psalms 22:6- 8 - Matthew 27:27- 31 - 460 BCE ]
[ 11. Fell under the cross (stauros) - Psalms 109:24- 25 - John 19:17, Luke 23:26 - 460 BCE]
[ 12. Had hands and feet pierced - Psalms 22:16 - John 20:24-28 - 460 BCE ]
[ 13. Was crucified with thieves - Isaiah 53:12 - Matthew 27:38 - 732 BCE ]
[ 14. Prayed for His enemies - Isaiah 53:12 - Luke 23:34 - 732 BCE ]
[ 15. His own people rejected him - Isaiah 53:3 - John 19:14-15 - 732 BCE]
[ 16. Was hated without cause - Psalms 69:4 - John 15:25 - 460 BCE ]
[ 17. Friends stood aloof - Psalms 38:11 -Luke 22:54; Luke 23:49 - 460 BCE ]
[ 18. People wag their heads - Psalms 22:7; Psalms 109:25 - Matthew 27:39 - 460 BCE]
[19. He was stared at by people - Psalms 22:17 - Luke 23:35 - 460 BCE]
[ 20. Gamblers divided his clothes - Psalms 22:18 - John 19:23-24 - 460 BCE ]
[ 21. He became very thirsty - Psalms 22:15 - John 19:28 - 460 BCE ]
[ 22. He was given gall & vinegar - Psalms 69:21 - Matthew 27:34 - 460 BCE ]
[ 23. He committed himself to God - Psalms 31:5 - Luke 23:46 - 460 BCE ]
[ 24. His forsaken cry - Psalms 22:1 - Matthew 27:46 - 460 BCE ]
[ 25. His bones not broken - Psalms 34:20 - John 19:32-36 - 460 BCE ]
[ 26. Was buried in tomb of a rich man - Isaiah 53:9 - Matthew 27:56-60 - 732 BCE ]
[ 27. A darkness came over the land - Amos 8:9 - Luke 23:44-45 - 804 BCE ]
[ 28. His heart was broken - Psalms 69:20;Psalms 22:14 - 460 BCE ]
[ 29. His side pierced - Zechariah 12:10 - John 19:34-37 - 648 BCE ]
PROPHECIES FULFILLED CONCERNING HIS BIRTH
[ 1. Born of the seed of women - Genesis 3:15 - Galatians 4:4 - 1513 BCE ]
[ 2. Born to a virgin Hebrew - Isaiah 7:14 - Matthew 1:18-25 - 732 BCE ]
[ 3. Children are killed by Herod - Jeremiah 31:15 - Matthew 2:16-18 - 580 BCE ]
[ 4. Born of the family line of Jesse - Isaiah 11:1 - Luke 3:32 - 732 BCE ]
[ 5. Born into the Tribe of Judah - Genesis 49:10 - Revelations 5:5 - 1513 BCE ]
[ 6. Born in Bethlehem - Micah 5:2 - Matthew 2:1-6 - 717 BCE ]
[ 7. Seed of David - Jeremiah 23:5 - Luke 3:31 - 580 BCE ]
[ 8. Seed of Jacob - Numbers 24:17 - Luke 3:34 - 1473 BCE ]
[ 9. Seed of Isaac - Genesis 21:12 - Luke 3:23-34 - 1513 BCE ]
[ 10. Seed of Abraham - Genesis 22:18 - Matthew 1:1 - 1513 BCE ]
PROPHECIES ON HIS PERSONALITY
[ 1. His zeal for this Father (YHWY) - Psalms 69:9 - John 2:15-17 - 460 BCE ]
[2. His existence before creation - Micah 5:2 - 1 Peter 1:20 - 717 BCE ]
[ 3. He shall be called Lord - Psalms 110:1 - Acts 2:36 - 460 BCE ]
[ 4. Called Immanuel (God with us) - Isaiah 7:14 - Matthew 1:22-23 - 732 BCE ]
[ 5. Anointed by the Spirit (HS) - Isaiah 11:2 - Matthew 3:16-17 - 732 BCE ]
[ 6. He is a Prophet - Deuteronomy 18:18-19 - Acts 3:18-25 - 1473 BCE ]
[ 7. He will be a Priest - Psalms 110:4 - Hebrews 5:5-6 - 460 BCE ]
[ 8. He will be a Judge - Isaiah 33:32 - John 5:22-23 - 732 BCE ]
[ 9. He will be a King - Psalms 2:6 - John 18:33-37 - 460 BCE ]
PROPHECIES CONCERNING HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY
[ 1. Will be preceded by a messenger - Isaiah 40:3 - Matthew 3:1-3 - 732 BCE ]
[ 2. He would perform miracles - Isaiah 35:5-6 - Matthew 9:35 & 11:4 - 732 BCE ]
[ 3. Ministry to begin in Galilee - Isaiah 9:1-2 - Matthew 4:12-17 - 732 BCE ]
[ 4. Would teach with parables - Psalms 78:1-4 - Matthew 13:34-35 - 460 BCE ]
[ 5. He would preach in temple - Malachi 3:1 - Matthew 21:10-12 - 443 BCE ]
[ 6. Enter Jerusalem on a donkey - Zechariah 9:9 - Matthew 21:1-7 - 518 BCE ]
[ 7. Stone of stumbling to Jews - Isaiah 28:16; Psalms 118:22 - 1 Peter 2:6-8 - 732 BCE ]
[ 8. Light to Gentiles - Isaiah 49:6 - Acts 13:46-48 - 732 BCE ]
PROPHECIES CONCERNING HIS RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION
[ 1. Raised from the dead - Psalms 16:8-11 - Acts 2:24-31 - 460 BCE ]
[ 2. Only begotten Son of God (YHWH) - Psalms 2:7 - Acts 13:32-35 - 460 BCE ]
[ 3. Ascended to God (YHWH) - Psalms 68:18 - Ephesians 2:8-10; John 6:26 - 460 BCE ]
[ 4. Seated at the Right Hand of God (YHWH) - Psalms 110.1 - Hebrews 1:3-13 - 460 BCE]
OTHER, SO CALLED HOLLY BOOKS, HOWEVER HAVE REAL CONTRADICTIONS, NOT JUST APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS:
Let's look at other so called Holy Books and see some real contradictions.
<<<”The eastern "scriptures" have no interest in history, because this is the world of illusion from which we are to be delivered. Ancient polytheistic religions likewise had no interest in history. Their gods acted only in myths, removed as far as possible from real history.
The Koran is almost entirely assertions of Allah. It has very little historical interface, and what there is contains clear inaccuracies.
Sura 26:55-60 says that the Israelites under Pharaoh were but "a scanty band" (in contrast to the multitude mentioned in Ex. 1:9) and that in leaving Egypt they forsook "their gardens and fountains and splendid dwellings" (in contrast to their slavery and hardship mentioned Ex. 1:11-14). This renders the whole motive for Israel's deliverance obscure…
The Book of Mormon makes many historical references, but it too is full of historical anachronisms and geographical inaccuracies.
1 Nephi 2:5-8 states that the river Laman emptied into the Red Sea. But there has never been any river that emptied into the Red Sea, either in historic or prehistoric times.
Alma 46:15 states that believers were called "Christians" back in 73 BC-fully seven decades before Jesus was even born!”[source - Xenos Christian Fellowship Christian Principles Unit 3: Provisions for Spiritual Growth]>>>.
AGREEMENT PROVES RELIABILITY:
The agreement between the writings of the various writers of the New Testament on the fulfillment of prophecy clearly show that it was not some contrived effort to record in agreement as this was all done before the existence of computers, the Internet, radio, television, the telephone, FAX, and the telegraph so collaboration of individuals in many locations, as was the case of the various writers, would have been impossible. Therefore the claim of atheist as recorded in the introduction is clearly without merit. Also, the fact that the writers of the Bible wrote over a period of 1,600 years and yet all were in agreement; whereas, today even with all the modern means of communication and collaboration, individuals are not even in agreement over very short periods.
See Part Two:
INTRODUCTION:
Unbelieving atheist and agnostics will go to any extremes to deny reality when the facts per John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (Authorized King James Bible; AV) clearly show they are in error. They will vehemently reject logic such as presented by myself in articles such as “Why Sweat Apparent Bible Contradictions:” and “There are Sound Reasons for Believing in God:”. In the latter I used strong reasoning with regard to the fact that every creation has both a designer and a maker, as follows: <<<” Most Christians believe that the regularity, the design evident in the universe, points to God, a supreme creative Intelligence.
Some scientists believe the universe is pointless, without rhyme or reason; that the human race is not the center piece, but a freak accident, the by-product of pointless material forces in a back water of the universe.
Others believe it is reasonable to believe in God the Creator, concluding from a study of the scientific evidence that a Supreme Intelligence is at work.
We do not believe God is like a super clockmaker, who then wound up the universe and left it to itself. We do not believe only in a god of the gaps, whom we use when we have no scientific explanation. We see God in the laws of nature. We do not believe in God because we need to do so, nor because we prefer to believe, as we prefer spaghetti rather than roast lamb and mint sauce. God often helps us feel good, but that is not a good reason to believe
Many of us believe the universe has been fine-tuned for the existence of humans, that a place for humans was built into the universe from the beginning. In fact, we believe the cosmos was made with us in mind. What evidence is there for this?
An enormous number of coincidences enable human life to exist. If the earth was smaller, gravity would be too weak to retain an atmosphere. If it were much bigger there would be too much hydrogen. If we were much closer to the sun it would be too hot for liquid water; if we were much further away it would be too cold for us.
Almost one hundred chemical elements occur in nature, the smallest being hydrogen, which appeared soon after the Big Bang. Nearly all the other elements were forged later when giant stars exploded. Most of the elements in our bodies were made in explosions before our sun was born.
If the force holding the hydrogen nuclei together had been much weaker, the process could not have gone past hydrogen. If this force had been only a bit stronger, the stars would have burned themselves out in millions of years, not the billions of years needed to produce life.
The production of life has depended on a fantastic and delicate balance of forces. If the nature of space had been slightly different the universe could have collapsed a fraction of a second after it began; or undergone such ferocious expansion that all matter, even atoms, would have been torn apart quickly.
We know now that neither the earth nor the sun is the centre of the universe. Our sun is like a pebble on an immense beach. Why is the universe so large?
If the universe was the size of Europe it would have lasted a few milliseconds. A universe the size of our solar system would have lasted a few hours.
To claim these coincidences and many others are the product of chance is like claiming a runaway truck in a rubbish dump produced the Mona Lisa.
To sum it all up (E-equals-MxC2) shows energy and matter can not be created or destroyed by any mechanism known to man and yet one or the other or both had to come in existence at sometime or nothing we now know including mankind itself would exist. Therefore, even if a Bible that tells who created all did not exist, the universe and all in it would clearly show the existence of a Creator.
Now would it not be reasonable, then, to say that far more complex things such as the eyes, the ear, and the human brain originated with an intelligent designer?”>>>.
But of course they rejected it, and they rejected also the fact that the birth and life of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ fulfilled many prophecies. Now here is what on unbelieving atheist said,
<<<” And what you fail to discuss is that the writers of the books of the New Testament had the Old Testament at their disposal. That makes it easy to write a story about someone who "fulfills a prophecy", doesn't it? Let's see, read the prophecies about the Messiah....then write a story about someone that you want people to believe was the Messiah. Some creative writing here, some good imagination there, and voila, one book that is "in harmony'...because the later writers went out of their way tomake sure that they were in harmony with the earlier writers. And then the books that went into the New Testament were picked and chosen and edited by committees of men who wanted to make sure that they all agreed as well.
And even at that, they failed. Despite your protestations otherwise, there are glaringly obvious contradictions in the bible:”[source – an unbelieving atheist that does not want to accept reality]>>>.
Now let’s look at the facts, the reality, with respect the prophecies from an archaeological time table view that shows their contention to be completely wrong.
ARCHAEOLOGY PROVES ATHEIST WRONG AND OLD TESTAMENT UNALTERED:
Recent archaeological finds clearly show that the Old Testament that we have has not been changed or modified as has another so called ‘holy book’ the Qur’an which was trashed by Caliph Uthman in the Seventh Century.
Ancient scrolls were found in some caves in and around the Wadi Qumran in Palestine. These scrolls contained most of the Old Testament and, also, some secular documents, and were much older than the previously known ancient copies of the Bible, but contained no major deviations from the ancient copies we already had. Therefore, conforming the Bible we now have is accurate except for translating errors and bias errors in some translations.
Let’s look at some of these findings.
<<<” The scrolls and scroll fragments recovered in the Qumran environs represent a voluminous body of Jewish documents, a veritable "library", dating from the third century B.C.E. to 68 C.E. Unquestionably, the "library," which is the greatest manuscript find of the twentieth century, demonstrates the rich literary activity of Second Temple Period Jewry and sheds insight into centuries pivotal to both Judaism and Christianity. The library contains some books or works in a large number of copies, yet others are represented only fragmentarily by mere scraps of parchment. There are tens of thousands of scroll fragments. The number of different compositions represented is almost one thousand, and they are written in three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
There is less agreement on the specifics of what the Qumran library contains. According to many scholars, the chief categories represented among the Dead Sea Scrolls are:
… While the group producing the sectarian scrolls is believed by many to be the Essenes, there are other scholars who state that there is too little evidence to support the view that one sect produced all of the sectarian material. Also, there are scholars who believe there is a fourth category of scroll materials which is neither biblical, apocryphal, nor "sectarian." In their view, such scrolls, which may include "Songs of the the Sabbath Sacrifice", should be designated simply as contemporary Jewish writing.” [source - The Qumran Library, www.ibiblio.org/expo/deadsea.scrolls.exhibit/Library/library.html on 10/31/2007]>>>.
And,
<<<” Library of Congress Materials Relating to the Qumran Library
These items were on display in the exhibit at the Library of Congress, May - August 1993. Images of these objects are not included in the online version of the exhibit, but these exhibit captions are included to provide some additional background on the scholarly work surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Qumran Community, and its Library.
Psalms Scroll
J. A. Sanders published his findings on the Psalms Scroll first in 1965, as the fourth volume of "Discoveries in the Judaean Desert," the official publication series. This is a later version published in the United States.
J.A. Sanders The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll (Itacha, 1967). Printed book. General Collections, Library of Congress.
The First Hebrew Printed Book of the Bible: The Psalms
Hand-written books of the Bible were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. This Psalter is the first book of the Bible printed in Hebrew. This edition of the Psalms includes the commentary of David Kimhi and was printed in 1477, probably in Bologna. The commentary on the Psalms was heavily censored by Church authorities. The owner of the book, however, inserted by hand each word that had been expunged.
Psalms (Bologna, 1477) Printed book. Hebraic Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress.
The Aleppo Codex
Until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, the Aleppo Codex, which dates to the tenth century C.E., was the oldest known Bible codex. This facsimile was published in 1976.
Aleppo Codex (Jerusalem, 1976) Printed book. Hebraic Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress.
The Complutensian
This is the earliest of the great polyglot editions of the Bible and includes texts in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin. Produced under the patronage of Cardinal Francisco Ximenes de Cisneros (1436-1517), it was believed to have cost 50,000 gold ducats. Psalm 145 is a hymn arranged according to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It is interesting to note that today's biblical text does not include a verse for the letter "nun," the fourteenth letter of the alphabet. The fragment of the Psalm Scroll displayed here does include a missing verse for this letter.
Psalms [Complutensian] (1514-1517) Printed polyglot Bible. Rare and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress.
The Community Rule
A complete version of the Community Rule was uncovered in Cave 1. It was photographed by J. Trever, an archaeologist at the American Schools of Oriental Research in Jerusalem. This manuscript is one of three that were exhibited at the Library of Congress in 1949. The fragment of the Community Rule on display here is from Cave 4.
John Trever Scrolls from Qumran Cave I (Jerusalem, 1972) Printed book. Hebraic Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress
Torah Scroll
This eighteenth-century Torah scroll was written in North Africa. It is rolled to Leviticus, 23:22-29, which corresponds to the Leviticus Scroll from Cave 4 displayed here (object no. 4). Note the "wandering peh" (a Hebrew letter) which occurs frequently in the displayed column.
Torah Scroll (North Africa, c. 18th century) Parchment. Hebraic Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress.
Leviticus Scroll
The large paleo-Hebrew fragment of Leviticus on display here was published in 1985 by D.N. Freedman and K.A. Mathews. The authors transliterated the paleo-Hebrew script into modern Hebrew characters.
D.N. Freedman and K.A. Mathews The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll (11 Qpaleo Lev) (Winnona Lake, Indiana, 1985) Printed book. General Collections, Library of Congress
First Maccabees
Displayed here is the opening page of the First Book of Maccabees from the Walton Polyglot Bible. First Maccabees describes the rule of the early Hasmonean princes who freed Judea from the yoke of the Syrian rulers in 168 B.C.E. It is included in the Roman Catholic scriptural canon, but was removed from the Protestant canon after the Reformation and relegated to the Apocrypha.
First Maccabees [Walton's Polyglot] (London, 1655-1657) Printed book. Hebraic Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress
Samaritan Bible
The modern descendant of the paleo-Hebrew script of the Leviticus Scroll (object no. 4) is the Samaritan script. This biblical manuscript, written in the Samaritan script, is opened to Leviticus 23:22-29. Note the similarity between the paleo-Hebrew script of the Leviticus Scroll written in the late second century B.C.E. and this Samaritan manuscript from the late nineteenth century.
Leviticus [Samaritan Pentateuch] (1880) Manuscript book. Hebraic Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress
Dead Sea Scrolls from the Third Century C.E.
In his ecclesiastical history, Eusebius relates the story of Origen, who consulted scrolls found in caves near Jericho for his "Hexapla," a comprehensive redaction of the Hebrew Scriptures completed in the first half of the third century C.E.
In the . . . edition of the Psalms . . . [Origen reported] again how he found one of [the translations] at Jericho in a tunnel in the time of Antoninus the son of Severus.
Eusebius Auncient ecclesiasticall histories ... (London, 1585) Printed book. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
The First "Dead Sea Scroll": The Damascus Document
Scholar and educator Solomon Schechter's discovery in 1896 of a sectarian document--which turned out to be a medieval version of the Damascus Document--among the Cairo Genizah trove was first published in 1910 as "Fragments of a Zadokite Work." Displayed here is a reprint of this first Dead Sea Scroll publication, published 37 years before the discovery.
Solomon Schechter Documents of Jewish Sectaries (New York, 1970) Printed book. General Collections, Library of Congress.
Ecclesiasticus: The Wisdom of Ben Sirah
Included among the Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus extols wisdom and ethical conduct. A Hebrew version of the book, which was known only in Greek after the tenth century, was discovered by Solomon Schechter in the Cairo Genizah in the late nineteenth century. Fragments of the original Hebrew version were discovered in Cave 2.
Displayed here are Greek (from the Septuagint), and Latin versions of Ecclesiasticus from the second of the great polyglot Bibles, the "Antwerp" or "Plantin" Polyglot.
Ecclesiasticus [Plantin's Polyglot] (Antwerp, 1569-1572) Printed book, volume 3. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress.”
[source – Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress, USA]>>>.
So ancient manuscripts from both before and after the birth of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ are in agreement and have no major differences one to another; therefore, proving the Bible we now have is the same as the one of ancient times.
These unbelievers fail to recognize the fact that the Bible is NOT the product of one committee or strongman. It has over 40 individual writers who wrote under divine inspiration/guidance putting the thoughts of God (YHWH) into the words of men much as transcribing secretaries today taking transcription and then later typing it out. In other words one real author, God (YHWH), and many scribes each of whom wrote in his own style over a period of approximately 1,600 years. All of what people call or consider inconsistencies are really not such, but most often just a problem of translation and/or understanding, i.e., lack of understanding of what the original writer writing in his own language and culture meant/said in his original writing. What is remarkable, is the writers over such a period of time all wrote in harmony when even most posters on threads on this forum can not even stay on track or subject over a period of a few days and/or weeks at most with the original subject of the thread. This fact of harmony over a period so great as to almost stagger the imagination shows that it had one guiding force or author who divinely inspired its writers as humans of their own volition can not keep on track over short periods of time.
To wit, the Bible is the ONLY book God (YHWH) ever inspired men to write as his scribes. In other words, God is its author and men only put his thoughts given to them by divine inspiration into their own words, the words of men. Not only that, all the other writers of later so called religious guidance books borrowed from it and made changes in accord with their strong man or so called prophet. Take the example of Joseph Smith who borrowed from it to write the Book of Mormon, but failed to give credit or source to the Bible and twisted some borrowed things into bizarre distortions. Other examples are of course the bizarre writings of David Koresh the Prophet of the Branch Dividians of Waco, Texas; and the Quran, etc.
Now let’s look at the fulfilled prophecies.
FULFILLED PROPHECIES ABOUT JESUS (YESHUA) CHRIST:
PROPHECY FULFILLED WHEN JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED
[ 1. Betrayed by a friend - Psalms 41:9 - John 13:18-27 - 460 BCE ]]
[ 2. Thirty (30) of silver thrown in Temple - Zechariah 11:13 - Matthew 27:3-5 - 518 BCE ]
[ 3. Betrayed for thirty (30) pieces of silver - Zechariah 11:12 - Matthew 26:14-15 - 518 BCE ]
[ 4. Potters field bought for thirty (30) pieces of silver&Zechariah 11:13 - Matthew 27:6-10 - 518 BCE ]
[ 5. Forsaken by His disciples - Zechariah 13:7 - Mark 14:27-50 - 518 BCE ]
[ 6. Falsely accused by false witnesses - Psalms 35:11-21 - Matthew 26:59-61 - 460 BCE ]
[ 7. Remained silent before accusers - Isaiah 53:7 - Matthew 27:12-14 - 732 BCE ]
[ 8. Was wounded and bruised - Isaiah 53:4-6 - 1 Peter 2:21-25 - 732 BCE ]
[ 9. Spit upon and beaten - Isaiah 50:6 - Matthew 26:67-68 - 732 BCE ]
[ 10. Was mocked - Psalms 22:6- 8 - Matthew 27:27- 31 - 460 BCE ]
[ 11. Fell under the cross (stauros) - Psalms 109:24- 25 - John 19:17, Luke 23:26 - 460 BCE]
[ 12. Had hands and feet pierced - Psalms 22:16 - John 20:24-28 - 460 BCE ]
[ 13. Was crucified with thieves - Isaiah 53:12 - Matthew 27:38 - 732 BCE ]
[ 14. Prayed for His enemies - Isaiah 53:12 - Luke 23:34 - 732 BCE ]
[ 15. His own people rejected him - Isaiah 53:3 - John 19:14-15 - 732 BCE]
[ 16. Was hated without cause - Psalms 69:4 - John 15:25 - 460 BCE ]
[ 17. Friends stood aloof - Psalms 38:11 -Luke 22:54; Luke 23:49 - 460 BCE ]
[ 18. People wag their heads - Psalms 22:7; Psalms 109:25 - Matthew 27:39 - 460 BCE]
[19. He was stared at by people - Psalms 22:17 - Luke 23:35 - 460 BCE]
[ 20. Gamblers divided his clothes - Psalms 22:18 - John 19:23-24 - 460 BCE ]
[ 21. He became very thirsty - Psalms 22:15 - John 19:28 - 460 BCE ]
[ 22. He was given gall & vinegar - Psalms 69:21 - Matthew 27:34 - 460 BCE ]
[ 23. He committed himself to God - Psalms 31:5 - Luke 23:46 - 460 BCE ]
[ 24. His forsaken cry - Psalms 22:1 - Matthew 27:46 - 460 BCE ]
[ 25. His bones not broken - Psalms 34:20 - John 19:32-36 - 460 BCE ]
[ 26. Was buried in tomb of a rich man - Isaiah 53:9 - Matthew 27:56-60 - 732 BCE ]
[ 27. A darkness came over the land - Amos 8:9 - Luke 23:44-45 - 804 BCE ]
[ 28. His heart was broken - Psalms 69:20;Psalms 22:14 - 460 BCE ]
[ 29. His side pierced - Zechariah 12:10 - John 19:34-37 - 648 BCE ]
PROPHECIES FULFILLED CONCERNING HIS BIRTH
[ 1. Born of the seed of women - Genesis 3:15 - Galatians 4:4 - 1513 BCE ]
[ 2. Born to a virgin Hebrew - Isaiah 7:14 - Matthew 1:18-25 - 732 BCE ]
[ 3. Children are killed by Herod - Jeremiah 31:15 - Matthew 2:16-18 - 580 BCE ]
[ 4. Born of the family line of Jesse - Isaiah 11:1 - Luke 3:32 - 732 BCE ]
[ 5. Born into the Tribe of Judah - Genesis 49:10 - Revelations 5:5 - 1513 BCE ]
[ 6. Born in Bethlehem - Micah 5:2 - Matthew 2:1-6 - 717 BCE ]
[ 7. Seed of David - Jeremiah 23:5 - Luke 3:31 - 580 BCE ]
[ 8. Seed of Jacob - Numbers 24:17 - Luke 3:34 - 1473 BCE ]
[ 9. Seed of Isaac - Genesis 21:12 - Luke 3:23-34 - 1513 BCE ]
[ 10. Seed of Abraham - Genesis 22:18 - Matthew 1:1 - 1513 BCE ]
PROPHECIES ON HIS PERSONALITY
[ 1. His zeal for this Father (YHWY) - Psalms 69:9 - John 2:15-17 - 460 BCE ]
[2. His existence before creation - Micah 5:2 - 1 Peter 1:20 - 717 BCE ]
[ 3. He shall be called Lord - Psalms 110:1 - Acts 2:36 - 460 BCE ]
[ 4. Called Immanuel (God with us) - Isaiah 7:14 - Matthew 1:22-23 - 732 BCE ]
[ 5. Anointed by the Spirit (HS) - Isaiah 11:2 - Matthew 3:16-17 - 732 BCE ]
[ 6. He is a Prophet - Deuteronomy 18:18-19 - Acts 3:18-25 - 1473 BCE ]
[ 7. He will be a Priest - Psalms 110:4 - Hebrews 5:5-6 - 460 BCE ]
[ 8. He will be a Judge - Isaiah 33:32 - John 5:22-23 - 732 BCE ]
[ 9. He will be a King - Psalms 2:6 - John 18:33-37 - 460 BCE ]
PROPHECIES CONCERNING HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY
[ 1. Will be preceded by a messenger - Isaiah 40:3 - Matthew 3:1-3 - 732 BCE ]
[ 2. He would perform miracles - Isaiah 35:5-6 - Matthew 9:35 & 11:4 - 732 BCE ]
[ 3. Ministry to begin in Galilee - Isaiah 9:1-2 - Matthew 4:12-17 - 732 BCE ]
[ 4. Would teach with parables - Psalms 78:1-4 - Matthew 13:34-35 - 460 BCE ]
[ 5. He would preach in temple - Malachi 3:1 - Matthew 21:10-12 - 443 BCE ]
[ 6. Enter Jerusalem on a donkey - Zechariah 9:9 - Matthew 21:1-7 - 518 BCE ]
[ 7. Stone of stumbling to Jews - Isaiah 28:16; Psalms 118:22 - 1 Peter 2:6-8 - 732 BCE ]
[ 8. Light to Gentiles - Isaiah 49:6 - Acts 13:46-48 - 732 BCE ]
PROPHECIES CONCERNING HIS RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION
[ 1. Raised from the dead - Psalms 16:8-11 - Acts 2:24-31 - 460 BCE ]
[ 2. Only begotten Son of God (YHWH) - Psalms 2:7 - Acts 13:32-35 - 460 BCE ]
[ 3. Ascended to God (YHWH) - Psalms 68:18 - Ephesians 2:8-10; John 6:26 - 460 BCE ]
[ 4. Seated at the Right Hand of God (YHWH) - Psalms 110.1 - Hebrews 1:3-13 - 460 BCE]
OTHER, SO CALLED HOLLY BOOKS, HOWEVER HAVE REAL CONTRADICTIONS, NOT JUST APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS:
Let's look at other so called Holy Books and see some real contradictions.
<<<”The eastern "scriptures" have no interest in history, because this is the world of illusion from which we are to be delivered. Ancient polytheistic religions likewise had no interest in history. Their gods acted only in myths, removed as far as possible from real history.
The Koran is almost entirely assertions of Allah. It has very little historical interface, and what there is contains clear inaccuracies.
Sura 26:55-60 says that the Israelites under Pharaoh were but "a scanty band" (in contrast to the multitude mentioned in Ex. 1:9) and that in leaving Egypt they forsook "their gardens and fountains and splendid dwellings" (in contrast to their slavery and hardship mentioned Ex. 1:11-14). This renders the whole motive for Israel's deliverance obscure…
The Book of Mormon makes many historical references, but it too is full of historical anachronisms and geographical inaccuracies.
1 Nephi 2:5-8 states that the river Laman emptied into the Red Sea. But there has never been any river that emptied into the Red Sea, either in historic or prehistoric times.
Alma 46:15 states that believers were called "Christians" back in 73 BC-fully seven decades before Jesus was even born!”[source - Xenos Christian Fellowship Christian Principles Unit 3: Provisions for Spiritual Growth]>>>.
AGREEMENT PROVES RELIABILITY:
The agreement between the writings of the various writers of the New Testament on the fulfillment of prophecy clearly show that it was not some contrived effort to record in agreement as this was all done before the existence of computers, the Internet, radio, television, the telephone, FAX, and the telegraph so collaboration of individuals in many locations, as was the case of the various writers, would have been impossible. Therefore the claim of atheist as recorded in the introduction is clearly without merit. Also, the fact that the writers of the Bible wrote over a period of 1,600 years and yet all were in agreement; whereas, today even with all the modern means of communication and collaboration, individuals are not even in agreement over very short periods.
See Part Two: