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From: aeq@pucc-h (Jeff Sargent)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Converts from Evidence - (nf)
Message-ID: <674@pucc-h>
Date: Fri, 13-Apr-84 21:30:19 EST
Article-I.D.: pucc-h.674
Posted: Fri Apr 13 21:30:19 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Apr-84 08:38:43 EST
References: <334@iuvax.UUCP>
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Lines: 42

Reply to Daryel Akerlind:

You do have a point that Christians should use their minds to the fullest in
either reading or writing books, articles, etc. supporting their faith.

Josh McDowell's book "Evidence that Demands a Verdict" sets forth evidence
for the accuracy of the available Biblical manuscripts (i.e. for their being
the same as originally written), archeological evidence wherein the Bible
turns out to match reality, and several complex cases of fulfilled prophecy.
McDowell came up with a figure for the odds that all the prophecies he
quoted would have been fulfilled as they have been purely by chance; while
I thought some of his argument leading up to his figures included some hand-
waving, he still got across the point that the likelihood of all these things
happening, by chance, exactly as predicted is infinitesimal.  This doesn't
necessarily prove Christianity, but it lends credence to the idea that there
is a very perspicacious and knowledgeable Someone behind Biblical prophecy.
Be warned that this book started out as lecture notes, and thus is a bit
dry to read (besides being fairly large).

It is interesting that there were several self-styled Messiahs around the time
of Jesus.  If Jesus is the true Messiah, it would make sense for Satan to send
up several decoys around Jesus's time so as to distract people from Jesus.

I have to confess that you're probably right:  I also doubt that objective
evidence is enough to fully convince anyone to accept Christ or to follow any
other religious belief.  Some Christians even have said this explicitly.
There is a verse in Romans (I think) which reads "If you will confess with
your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him
from the dead, you will be saved."  The Biblical use of the word "heart" does
not mean emotion, but rather the central "you"; as one sermon expressed it,
the phrase "in your heart" in that verse might be taken to mean
"intuitively" -- i.e. a knowledge that is certain, but not based solely on
the reason.  As I've expressed before, it is an impenetrable mystery to me
why God has not chosen to give you that knowledge; I'm sorry.  I can think of
all sorts of things to say, but they all sound pious and insensitive and are
probably inaccurate anyway; so I'll just shut up for now.


-- 
-- Jeff Sargent
{allegra|ihnp4|decvax|harpo|seismo|ucbvax}!pur-ee!pucc-h:aeq
One man's data are another man's garbage.