Summary When we use faith in conjunction with our reason we see more of what God has revealed. Therefore faith and reason are integral to us as human beings – it differentiates us from all other creatures. They both lead us on the quest for meaning, and guide and support us on the quest for truth – the quest for God. Many priests and laity have significantly contributed to science, including bedrock science and knowledge of the universe.
We use faith and reason to entrust ourselves to the Creator, or as some people put it, to commit ourselves to God. The two go hand in hand. We reason that there is a God and the final leap of faith is entrusting ourselves to His loving care.
Notes 1. An Encyclical is a papal document that covers such matters pertaining to the general welfare of the Church. It is for the whole Church and often contains pronouncements on faith and morals that are de facto infallible because they express the ordinary teaching of the Church.
2. www.vatican.va/edocs/ENG0216/_INDEX.HTM
3. John Paul II, Fides et Ratio, n.1.
4. Ibid., n.13.
5. Ibid., n.8.
6. John Paul II, Fides et Ratio, n.43.
7. See ibid., n. 16.
8. Ibid., n.38.
9. Ibid, n. 16.
10. Ibid. n.4.
11. Ibid. n.5.
12. Ibid., n.34.
13. Ibid., n.24.
14. Ibid., n.36.
15. Ibid., n.40.
16. Austin Flannery ed. Vatican Council II – The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, Costello Publishing Company, New York, 1988 Revised, p. 752.
17. First Vatican Council, Dogmatic. Constitution on Catholic Faith, c.2 (on Revelation): Denz 1785 and 1786 (3004 and 3005).
18. John Paul II, Fides et Ratio, n. 41.
19. Saint Anselm, Proslogion, 1: PL 158, 226.
20. See John Paul II, Fides et Ratio, n. 42.
21. Cf. St Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologiae, I, 1, 8 ad 2 as cited n.43 Fides et Ratio.
22. John Paul II, Fides et Ratio, n. 56.
23. St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I, 2, 3.
24. See John Paul II, Fides et Ratio, n. 1.
25. John Paul II, Fides et Ratio, n.8.
26. Ibid., n.16.
27. Ibid., n.4.
28. Ibid.
29. Bishops and priest scientists see www.catholic.com/thisrock/2008/ 0809fea2.asp
30. Jonathan Wright, The Jesuits: Missions, Myths and Histories , 2004, p. 189.
CHAPTER 14
DOES SECULAR EVIDENCE CONFIRM JESUS’S EXISTENCE? Is the Bible composed of flimsy claims by Christians upholding an obscure Jew, who pretended to be God’s Son and left no impression upon humanity except for Jews or Christians? Is there really even a single word that has been mentioned of such a character by at least one impartial historian from the early 1st century? Or are they just bogus claims by a group of believers with spectacular imaginations?
These are sincere questions that have faced countless people throughout the centuries. Witnesses from any time-period are so valuable as their testimonies can strengthen a case. It is the same with Sacred Scripture and Christianity. How strong is the evidence? Are there any impartial witnesses who have attested to Jesus being a historical figure who actually lived on earth? Do these eyewitnesses attest to Jesus performing any wonders or miracles? Is this evidence in harmony with Sacred Scripture, or is it just a lot of fables, a big hoax? You may be startled with what this chapter reveals, as I take you on a journey back to a time closer to when Jesus existed and back to some remarkable historical people.
A brilliant book which answers these questions and more is The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. The author embraces this challenge from an arresting angle; previously while an atheist he viewed the Bible as a product of wishful thinking, mere hallucinations, ancient mythology and primitive superstition. Upon his wife’s conversion to Christianity he was stunned and enthralled with the striking transformation of her character; integrity, personal confidence, and joy exuded from her. Therefore he decided to put his 20+ years of journalistic experience to a new vigorous all-out investigation into the facts surrounding the authenticity of Christianity and its founder. His research led him through a two year journey which would transform him from only giving the biblical evidence a cursory look and tossed in the ‘to do one day’ pile, to being enchanted and inspired beyond his wildest dreams. His eventual conversion occurred as a result of the thousands of hours sifting and burrowing into the depths of the historical claims of Christianity. Starting as a skeptic he scrutinised the evidence from specific experts, plowing through enormous resources. He interviewed many experts regarding such wide-ranging evidence as: eyewitness testimony, documentary, corroboratory, rebuttal, scientific, psychological, circumstantial and fingerprinting evidence. His scrupulous investigation led to a decision which changed his life for good!
It is compelling reading and may open your eyes to his stunning and inspiring research and for some may lead you to opening your mind and heart to the truth. It would be interesting to hear from anyone, especially journalists who find this chapter very helpful. Strobel compares one’s investigation to that of a real trial whereby one dispenses with one’s preconceptions.
You would be required to vow that you would be openminded and fair, drawing your conclusions based on the weight of the facts and not on your whims or prejudices. You would be urged to thoughtfully consider the credibility of the witnesses, carefully sift the testimony, and rigorously subject the evidence to your common sense and logic. I’m asking you to do the same.1
I hope you will enter into this chapter with an open mind, as I am sure you have regarding the purely scientific aspects that I have covered. Hey, you must have since you haven’t ripped this book to shreds or burnt it, lol.
So let us look at the evidence which Strobel discovered as we look at the case of the existence of Jesus, claims to Jesus being the Son of God, and whether He should be the most acclaimed individual in history. This could lead to your most startling discovery and possibly the most momentous decision you will ever make. So if you have any preconceptions, then check yourself, and tell yourself that you will enter this chapter with an open mind and heart.
Edwin Yamauchi, Professor Emeritus at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio has quite an impressive academic prowess. His areas of expertise include Ancient History, Biblical Languages and Early Church History. This includes delivery of 71 papers before learned societies, lecturing at more than 100 seminaries, and publishing 80 articles in 37 scholarly journals. He believes that from non-biblical historical sources alone, the following can be ascertained regarding the life of Jesus:2
♦ He was a Jewish teacher.
♦ Many people believed he performed healings and exorcisms. ♦ Some people confessed he was the Messiah.
♦ He was rejected by the Jewish leaders.
♦ He was crucified under Pontius Pilate during the reign of
Tiberius.
♦ Despite Jesus’s shameful death, his followers, who believed he
had risen, spread beyond Palestine so that there were multi
tudes of them in Rome in AD 64.
♦ All kinds of people from the cities and countryside – men and
women, slave and free – worshipped him as God.
Jewish Historian Testifies to Jesus’s Existence A Jewish historian and Pharisee (a Jewish politico-religious sect who believed in the resurrection contrary to the Sadducees), Josephus recorded the history of his people from 70 to 100 AD. In his comprehensive writing, Antiquities, he states:
Now, there was about this time, Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the gentiles. He was the Christ and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him. For he appeared alive again the third day, as the
divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct to this day.3
Before one should get too excited over this passage, it must be noted that scholars, both Jewish and Christian, now believe that interpolations have been inserted into the text, probably by Christians after the original was written by Josephus. But there are believed to be only three such interpolations. These are what Josephus, a Pharisee (Pharisees believed in the resurrection) would not have written:
♦ ‘If it be lawful to call him a man’ – implies he was more than a man. ♦ ‘He was the Christ’ – Josephus would not have viewed him as the Messiah.
♦ ‘For he appeared alive again the third day’ – this would be a
declaration of belief in Christ’s Resurrection.
Therefore we can reliably ascertain that Jesus was the doer of wonderful works, a teacher, and drew to Him many Jews and Gentiles. Furthermore, Pilate had condemned Him to the Cross and the tribe of Christians still existed at the time that this historical record was written.
Evidence from Roman Historians
A Roman historian Tacitus in AD 115 also confirms the existence of Jesus and illustrates the perseverance of His followers: Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome.4
It is consequential that Tacitus witnessed that an ‘immense multitude’ obviously believed in this ‘mischievous superstition’. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond at a breathtaking speed. How can this be explained when the founder of this religion suffered the most dishonourable and humiliating death possible? It is because He rose from the dead and gave His followers the power to be His disciples, teach, forgive and establish a Church.
Another Roman, Pliny the Younger (62-113 AD) whose Latin name was Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, governor of Bithynia in what is now north-western Turkey, reveals himself as a persecutor of Christians through letters to his friend, Emperor Trajan. He therefore corroborates more of the testimony that we have received from the Church through Sacred Scripture and the Church Fathers who quote most of the Gospels:
I have asked them if they are Christians, and if they admit it, I repeat the question a second and third time, with a warning of the punishment awaiting them. If they persist, I order them to be led away for execution; for, whatever the nature of their admission, I am convinced that their stubbornness and unshakable obstinacy ought not to go unpunished… This made me decide it was all the more necessary to extract the truth by torture from two slave-women, whom they called deaconesses. I found nothing but a degenerate sort of cult carried to extravagant lengths.5
Deaconesses were women whose ministry was mainly to other women, such as those being baptised, virgins and widows. It was not a consecrated order.
It is obvious Pliny chose to torture those whom he thought were the weakest victims. But the question remains: Why would anyone facing the death penalty be so stubborn or have such unshakable faith if it was all a hoax? They were given the opportunity to offer incense to the state gods and renounce their belief in Christ or die. Why would someone be willing to give up their life or in fact be willing to suffer terrible torture and humiliation for something they really did not believe in? Why would they be willing to give their lives for a cause which might not last the test of time? Could they have believed because they were witnesses, even first and secondhand witnesses to the fact that a man called Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, performed ‘wonders’ in which many of the ‘outcasts’ were cured, and transformed religion into one deeply personal and full of hope?
Josephus also corroborates a biblical account in which the high priest, Ananias seizes the opportunity upon the death of the Roman governor Festus to ensure that James, the brother of Jesus is killed, by stoning.6
The writings of the early historians outside Sacred Scripture testify that Jesus performed wonders, or ‘wonderful works’ as recorded by Josephus. As they were not believers they did not support Jesus, rather some attributed His wonders to sorcery. In comparison His supporters called them miracles. Pliny the Younger records the attitude and life of the Early Christians:
They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang an anthem to Christ as God, and bound themselves by a solemn oath not to commit any wicked deed, but to abstain from all fraud, theft and adultery, never to break their word, or deny a trust when called upon to honor it; after which it was their custom to separate, and then meet again to partake of food, but ordinary and innocent kind.7
Evidence of Pontius Pilate The existence of Pontius Pilate is attested to in the creed when we say ‘He [Jesus] was crucified under Pontius Pilate’. Sacred Scripture clearly identifies him as the Roman Governor who presided over the trial of Jesus. Tacitus in AD 115 recorded Nero’s persecution of the Christians, and also confirms the existence of his ‘procurator’, Pontius Pilate. Further evidence emerged confirming Pilate was a real historical person upon a discovery in Caesarea Maritama, on the Mediterranean coast of Israel in 1961. Antonio Frova, an Italian archaeologist discovered a plaque fragment that had been part of the steps leading to the Caesarea Theatre. Inscribed in Latin was ‘Pontius Pilatus, Prefect of Judea has dedicated to the people of Caesarea a temple in honour of Tiberius’.8 Emperor Tiberius reigned from 14-37 AD. This confirms the New Testament which records that Pilate ruled as procurator from 26-36.
The website www.probe.org states that, incredibly, there are over 39 extra-biblical sources that attest to over one hundred facts regarding the life and teaching of Jesus. Archaeology actually supports the accuracy of the Gospels in so far as confirming many cities that were mentioned in Sacred Scripture. Also as you will read in the chapter on Archaeology in God: Fact or Fiction? it has been revealed specifically how Jesus would have been nailed to the Cross.
In the Gospel of John we read, ‘After this there was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem next to the Sheep Pool there is a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew, which has five porticos; and under these were crowds of sick people, blind, lame, paralysed (John 5:1-4).”
As already covered archaeology can confirm descriptions painstakingly recorded in Sacred Scripture. Archaeologists could have uncovered Bethesda pool: ‘Forty feet underground, archaeologists discovered a pool with five porticoes, and thedescription of the surrounding area matches [Saint] John’s description.’9
Evidence of Global Earthquake and Darkness at 3pm While it could be coincidental that they uncovered a five portico pool, the phenomena that happened after Jesus died, which the gospels attest to and the historian, Thallus confirms is even more compelling. Though none of his original text remains, he is quoted by Julius Africanus in Chronography, regarding the crucifixion of Christ: ‘On the whole world, there pressed a most fearful darkness, and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down.’10
Thallus also refers to this darkness; he says he saw what appeared to him was ‘without reason an eclipse of the sun’.11 Scholar, Paul Maier, Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University refers to the darkness and earthquakes in a footnote in his book, Pontius Pilate:
This phenomenon, evidently, was visible in Rome, Athens [Greece], and other Mediterranean cities. According to Tertullian… it was a ‘cosmic’or ‘world event’. Phlegon, a Greek author from Caria writing in a chronology soon after AD 137, reported that in the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (AD 33) there was ‘the greatest eclipse of the sun’ and that ‘it became night in the sixth hour of the day [i.e. noon] so that stars even appear
ed in the heavens. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea’.12
In the Gospels of Luke and Matthew the phenomena is depicted: It was now about the sixth hour and the sun’s light failed, so that darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour [3pm] (Luke 23:44).
From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the 9th hour...And suddenly, the veil of the Sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, the rocks were split, the tombs opened and the bodies of many holy people rose from the dead, and these, after his resurrection, came out of the tombs, entered the holy city and appeared to a number of people (Matthew 27:45, 51-53).
Apostolic/Church Fathers The Church Fathers date from the Apostles to circa AD 749. They were saintly writers of the early centuries whom the Church recognises as her special witnesses of the faith. Of these, St Ignatius of Antioch, the third Bishop of Antioch (St Peter the Apostle was the first) is one of the most important, especially in his early period in history after Christ (Ignatius was martyred in AD 117). He emphasised the humanity of Jesus, as well as the historicity of Jesus walking the earth because some were claiming that Jesus only had a divine nature. In The Letter to the Trallians (AD 110) he says:
Turn a deaf ear, then, when anyone speaks to you apart from Jesus Christ, who was of the family of David and of Mary, who was truly born, who ate and drank, was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate, was truly crucified and died in the sight of those in heaven and on earth and in the underworld, who also was truly raised from the dead when His Father raised Him up. And in the same manner His Father will raise us up in Christ Jesus, if we believe in Him without whom we have no hope.13
God: Fact or Fiction?: Exploring the Relationship Between Science Religion and the Origin of Life Page 18
