PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR EXPERIENCE Episode 83

HOLY WEEK FOR CHRISTIANS: 

With are the turmoil in the world I decided to do a deep dive into the case for Christianity, Is the claims of the bible true? or is it a myth or just a story. In this episode i use my investigative lens to look into the facts that two atheist found at different time's and place's, but for the same reason. These two men Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel set out to disprove the bible and the claims of Jesus that He was the son of God.  In Josh's book, "Evidence That Demands a Verdict" and Lee's book "The Case for Christ" they both became convicted that the bible was true. These two men aren't push overs, Lee is an award wining Journalist and Jose a very successful attorney. In this episode I share a summary of what they found. Check it out and see what you think. Happy Easter. 

Transcript

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Hello, this is a Private Investigator Experience podcast and I'm your host, Phil. I also look at world events through my investigative lens, provide some facts for everyone to make their own decisions about. Over the years, I've looked at terrorist attacks, stalker issues around celebrities and other high net worth people, political decisions that will affect our way of life and changes in laws that can affect our free speech. My first effort in its endeavor was back in the seventies when I got involved in Israel and Lebanon and started discovering terrorism. And my first book, hostile Intent was my case study on finding the source of terrorism, written in an investigative style. It's got some things in it that people think are fiction. That didn't really happen, but they did. And so this is Holy. And most people in the United States know what that is. And even out around the world Christians are the majority in the US we're Christian nation formed on biblical principles, and that's factual. If anyone wants to go back and look at the founding documents and our founding fathers in what they wrote and what they said, but I'm amazed at the number of people who don't know anything about God or. Who professed to be atheists or were agnostics. And so this Holy week in the Christian religion is probably the two things that are at the top of the list is the birth of Jesus. And then Easter, which was the death of Jesus on the cross. If it true, that Christians claim that Jesus is the son of God. He came to earth as a man to redeem sinful men kind. Is that real or is it just a myth? I decided to take a deep dive investigation to take a look at this. I wanna share some facts that you can consider for yourself if these claims aren't true. I'm gonna be looking at the lies of two individuals. They were atheists. Both of them started. The first was a man by the name of Josh McDowell, who wrote a book called Evidence That Demands a Verdict. This book was written many years ago and he was an attorney. He very skilled attorney who decided that he was going to disprove Christianity, though he took his legal approaches, was as if preparing a case for court, have all the facts enough to beyond the reasonable doubt. I'm gonna tell you about his story a little bit. Josh is now a respected Christian apologetics writer, offering a thorough examination of evidence for the faith. Let me ask you this, what if historical evidence supporting Christianity is true? What would you do? Would you explore it if you don't know anything about Christianity? And then I'm gonna look at a second individual who was a skeptical journalist named Lee Strobel. Imagine hardened atheist, armed with a notepad and a to disprove Christianity. He defined himself, persuaded by the fact that is Lee Strobel's story. His was detailed in a book for Christ. Turned medal doubter into a believer. And so let's unpack both of these lives and they're very similar. They were both in about a two year journey and they found out some of the same facts as they went along. So I'm gonna pulling them together and just lay out a few things here in, and first off, Strobel wasn't just journal. He was an award winning legal editor for the Chicago Tribune newspaper. He was trained to chase Black and expose truth. When his wife became a Christian, it sparked a peripheral crisis for him. He saw it as a challenge to his Atheistic worldview. Launched a two year investigation interviewing top scholar. Determined to debunk their faith, but the evidence he found flipped the script. Let's look at some evidence that he found out. The Bible's manuscript evidence is unparalleled. 24,000 total New Testament manuscripts Latin and Coptic and others. They dwarf any other ancient worker. The time gap between the original writings and the earliest copies are remarkably, it's a short timeframe. The John Ryland's fragmented record ad 1 25. Is dated within about 35 years of the gospel of John's composition. Then we have the archeological discoveries such as the hitite civilization. It was once thought to be a myth, but it was confirmed in the 19th century consistent with biblical accounts over skepticism. Then we have the Dead sea Scrolls. These are dated between two 50 BC and AD 68, and they include nearly the entire Old Testament with the Isaiah Scroll showing 95% textual accuracy compared to copies. Then we have more findings that tell Dan Steele dated to the 19th century BC and this is the earliest extra biblical reference to the house of David, king David and his historical existence. Even if you're aware the Bible haven't been around Christianity. You heard of King David, which was a very famous man and leader in Israel. Then we had another story. From the Bible. The pool of this was mentioned in John nine seven, and this was extubated in 2004 in Jerusalem, it matched a New Testament description of its location and function. It's not a myth anymore. And then some people say the Bible's been corrupted over time. Textural criticism, let's do this, reveals 99.5% accuracy in the New Testament manuscript with the variance, mostly minor, like a spelling or a word order. Definitely no core doctrine is effective. Let's dive into two key areas that rock Strobel's skepticism, the reliability of the New Testament and the evidence for Jesus' resurrection, and that is what's being celebrated on this coming Sunday. These aren't are just abstract ideas. They're the concrete pillars that support the Christian faith. I think by the end you'll see white Strobel couldn't walk away from what he discovered and why it just might matter to you. Okay, so the reliability of the New Testament, can we trust the New Testament as a historical document. If its shaky the whole case crumble. If it holds up, everything changes. Stroble asked this question and the answers he got were game changers. The gospels were written within decades of Jesus' life. Mark was around 70 a d just 40 years after Jesus' death. Then we have James, the half brother of Jesus who wrote James in AD 45. And that's just a blink in historical terms. But compare that to Alexander the Great's biography. It was written 400 years after his death, and no one doubted its core facts. They take it as truth 400 years later. Why then should we doubt the Gospels Paul's letter like. From, 55 AD included a creed about Jesus's resurrection that scholars were able to trace within two to five years of the event. And that's close. This closeness means eyewitnesses. Were still around people who could say, that's not how it happened. It didn't happen at all. We know that didn't happen. There wasn't anybody that stood up because it happened to be true In the manuscript evidence, we've got over 5,000 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, blows every other ancient text out of the water. This mountain of copies, which scholars compare them, he seemed to gather the original with over 99% accuracy. It's mind blowing, right? Most differences are tiny things like Jesus versus Jesus Christ, or misspelled word. Nothing that shakes the big picture. contrast with other ancient work or gaps and guesses are common. The New Testament preservation is unmatched. Then we could look at more archeological support. Dig sites keep backing up The New Testament. In 1961, the Pilate inscriptions were found on rocks that proof Pilate was real and that he was living in that timeframe. The pool of Bethesda. John five skeptics called it fake until archeologists found it in Jerusalem, exactly where John said it was. Then the village where Jesus grew up, Nazareth that existence was questioned too, but digs uncovered that first century village very real, just as described. These fines and many more. We don't even have time to go into show the gospel writers knew their stuff. They weren't making up or people Strobel went on and to talk to a renowned expert, Dr. Craig Bloomberg. He was a New Testament expert who'd studied this text for years and decades. Bloomberg said the gospels, check all the boxes for reliability, early accounts, multiple sources and details that match history. He highlighted the embarrassing bit like Peter denying Jesus three times after he was arrested or the disciples to argued over who's greatest why would these unless they're true Bloomberg's work on gospel authorship and transmission gave Strobel hard data. But what about the contradictions, skeptics asked. Sure. Now, one gospel says one angel at the tomb. Another says two. Think of it like this. If you have two witnesses to a car accident each, see it from a different angle, but the crash still happened. These variations show independence, not collusion. Fabricated stories would line up perfectly. Bloomberg told Strobel minor discrepancies are a hallmark of authentic testimony, a flaw. What about the evidence for the resurrection Objection. They say the resurrection is impossible. Let's look at that. If there is a transcendent God that exists, miracles are possible and possible. We have the empty tomb 500 plus witnesses, The resurrection is Christianity's make or break moment if it's real. Jesus is who he said he was. Game over for skepticism. Strobel found three big clues that point to Yes. Let's unpack them the empty tube. All four gospels say the tube was empty. Was found by women, and in that timeframe, women's word didn't count for much. It's a bold move if you're faking it. Jesus' enemies didn't deny it. They said the disciple stole the body, that an admission, that the tomb empty. That was in Matthew 28, 11 through 15. The location was public knowledge. Romans and Jewish readers could've paraded a body if he was still there. They didn't because the tomb was empty. No, grave robbers don't unwrapped, bodies, and the disciples weren't exactly master thieves. Then we have the post-resurrection appearances. Over 500 people saw Jesus alive, there was Thomas who needed to touch the wounds to believe from, was a John 2024 to 29. And then we have James, Jesus' brother. He went from a skeptic to a church leader after seeing him, family is the hardest to. Paul story, apostle Paul. You might have heard of him when you're around the church or not. He was a Christian hating Pharisee, who met Jesus on the road to Damascus and became a apostle of Jesus. And this was a casual change because the Apostle Paul was running all over the countryside. Arresting, putting in prison and killing Christians. So this was a radical change for him. These weren't hallucinations. Jesus ate fish, he talked, hung out. Over 500 people don't hallucinate the same thing at the same time. Then we have post crucifixion. The disciples were a mess hiding. Scared, hopeless. Then suddenly they're preaching to crowds and facing death. Peter went from denying Jesus to dying for him crucified upside down. James was beheaded Liars don't die for a con. They had no riches or fame to gain just persecution. Their courage, Grieves conviction, the shift happened fast. Within weeks, they're proclaiming the resurrection in Jerusalem where it could have been disproved at fault. The disciple stole the body. Nope. They were too scared and the tomb had Roman guards who would die if they failed. Then what about the swo theory? Jesus just fainted. Roman executioners were pros crucifixion kills and the spear thrust to aside confirmed that 19 four, even if Jesus. Beaten half dead guy does away a two ton stone and inspire a movement. Every alternate theory falls apart under scrutiny. Strobel couldn't find one that held water Let's look at to the Old Testament, Micah five two. This specifies Bethlehem as a messiah. Fulfilled precisely in Jesus's per Matthew two one. And despite Bethlehem obscurity, it proved to be true Another example is Isaiah 53. This was 700 years or 700 BC before Jesus'. A suffering servant for humanities sins and this easily matched Jesus's crucifixion. 700 years later, John 1934, over 300 Messianic prophecies aligned with Jesus, including Psalm's 22, 16 to 18. The Pierce hands and. Divided garments, which was done by the soldiers before Jesus was put on the cross. This was written centuries before crucifixion was even invented. The Dead Sea Scrolls dated pre Jesus time. They contained all these prophecies in the great Isaiah Scroll with the whole book of Isaiah on it ruled out. And then what about a mathematician? Peter Stoner calculated the odds of one's person fulfilling just eight specific prophecies, as in one to power was 17. A and this is like finding a single marked silver dollar in a two foot deep pile covering Texas. That's a pretty big chance. I think that's probably more than one than 300 million to win the lottery. Strobel's Bowl's digging showed the New Testament stands up to scrutiny early, preserved and archeologically solid. The resurrection evidence empty to eyewitnesses. These two skeptics. McDowell and Strobel into believers. This isn't blind faith. These are two really smart men. It's a case built on fact strong enough to sway, a hard nose journalists and a professional attorney. You curious to call action, take a look. Evidence. By McDowell or Strobel's the case for Christ. Check it out. Someone who who knows about this, don't just nod and move on, dig in, ask questions, test it yourself. The evidence won't run away. Skeptic. And look where it got them if Jesus rose, he's more than a teacher. He's the son of God. That's a truth worth wrestling with. What would it mean for you if it's real? That's the question. McDowell and Strobel couldn't Shake, and neither should we. This evidence built the strong case for Christianity. I encourage you to investigate it for yourself and see where it leads. Please leave any comments or questions or thoughts, ideas you have on this, on any of the platforms, so you can email me at plittlepi777@gmail.com what do you think about the evidence? If you like this, please share it, subscribe and have other people check it out. I pray that you will feel God's love and experience God in a deeper way this Easter season. Thank you. May God bless you, your family, and may God bless America.