Why Do You Believe What you Believe?

2. Why Do You Believe What you Believe?

3. Why Do You Believe What you Believe? • My parents taught this way and I do not know any other way.

4. Why Do You Believe What you Believe? • My parents taught this way and I do not know any other way. • What about Muslims or Buddhists?

5. Why Do You Believe What you Believe? • My parents taught this way and I do not know any other way. • What about Muslims or Buddhists? • Could they not say the same thing?

6. Why Do You Believe What you Believe? • My parents taught this way and I do not know any other way. • What about Muslims or Buddhists? • Could they not say the same thing? • I have had a religious experience.

7. Why Do You Believe What you Believe? • My parents taught this way and I do not know any other way. • What about Muslims or Buddhists? • Could they not say the same thing? • I have had a religious experience. • I feel the presence of God and have seen prayers answered.

8. Why Do You Believe What you Believe? • My parents taught this way and I do not know any other way. • What about Muslims or Buddhists? • Could they not say the same thing? • I have had a religious experience. • I feel the presence of God and have seen prayers answered. • What about other faiths could they not say the same thing.

9. Why Do You Believe What you Believe? • My parents taught this way and I do not know any other way. • What about Muslims or Buddhists? • Could they not say the same thing? • I have had a religious experience. • I feel the presence of God and have seen prayers answered. • What about other faiths could they not say the same thing. • What makes you right and them wrong?

10. Why Do You Believe What you Believe? • My parents taught this way and I do not know any other way. • What about Muslims or Buddhists? • Could they not say the same thing? • I have had a religious experience. • I feel the presence of God and have seen prayers answered. • What about other faiths could they not say the same thing. • What makes you right and them wrong? • Can this kind of faith whether the storms?

11. Why Do You Believe What you Believe? John 20:24-26 24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

12. Why Do You Believe What you Believe? John 20:30-31 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name

13. Types of Evidence • Archeological Evidence • Manuscript evidence • Advanced Medical Knowledge • Advanced Scientific Knowledge

14. Bible Archeology Does not prove Divine Inspiration Adds realism Gives corroboration for Bible Stories

15. 1 Kings 16:30-3230 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria.1 Kings 18:3-43 And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, 4 and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.”

16. Signet Ring of Jezebel Found 1964 Dates to 9th century (800) Symbols spell JZBL Owner was royalty

18. 1 Samuel 20:15-1715 and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord take vengeance on David's enemies.” 17 And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.2 Samuel 3:1-33 There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker. 2 And sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel; 3 and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;

19. Tel Dan Stele Found 1993 Text refers to the “House of David” Dates to around 9th century B.C,

21. 2 Kings 24:10-1710 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, 12 and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign 13 and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the Lord had foretold. 14 He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, except the poorest people of the land. 15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. The king's mother, the king's wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, 7,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war. 17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

22. Babylonian Tablet Found in late 1800’s in Babylon Tablet records the capture of Jerusalem in 597 BC Written in 6th Century.

24. 2 Chronicles 32:1-432 After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself. 2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and intended to fight against Jerusalem, 3 he planned with his officers and his mighty men to stop the water of the springs that were outside the city; and they helped him. 4 A great many people were gathered, and they stopped all the springs and the brook that flowed through the land, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?” 2 Chronicles 32:3030 This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.2 Kings 20:2020 The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

25. Hezekiah’s Tunnel Created around 700 B. C. Can be toured today. Has an inscription at the end describing the events

27. Jeremiah 36:1-436 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. 3 It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him.

28. Baruch Bulla Found in 1975 Dates to 6th or 7th century Proves the existence of Baruch

29. Possible Baruch Finger Print

31. Manuscript Evidence We do not have the original copies of the Bible We do have copies of the originals We can have faith that they are accurate

32. Dead Sea Scrolls Found in Caves in 1947 The great Isaiah scroll is one of the oldest copies of the Bible in existence Dates around 100 B. C. 1100 years older than the previous oldest texts found. Very few errors found in the 1100 year difference

33. Isaiah 53:1-3 Over 1700 years of differences are underlined KJV Isaiah 53:1-3 1600 A. D. [1] Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?[2] For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.[3] He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Great Isaiah Scroll Isaiah 53:1-3 150 B. C. [1] Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?[2] For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor he hath comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire ourselves.[3] He is despised and rejected of men and man of sorrows, and he knows grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; and despised him, and we esteemed him not.

34. Manuscript Evidence for the New Testament • There are over 5000 different copies of the New Testament in existence. • Some even date to a time when the authors were even still alive. • If you include translations of the above copies then we have 24,000 plus copies of the New Testament writings.

37. Evidence for The Bible • Do you not see the Hand of God? • Would God expect us to follow without a proper guide? • What does Luke say about the idea?

38. Luke 11:5-13 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence[a] he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for[b] a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

39. Psalm 119: 1-8 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,who walk in the law of the Lord!2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,who seek him with their whole heart,3 who also do no wrong,but walk in his ways!4 You have commanded your preceptsto be kept diligently.5 Oh that my ways may be steadfastin keeping your statutes!6 Then I shall not be put to shame,having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.7 I will praise you with an upright heart,when I learn your righteous rules.[b]8 I will keep your statutes;do not utterly forsake me!

40. Hebrews 11:1-311 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.Hebrew 12:1-212 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

41. INSPIRATION When I am tired, the Bible is my bed; Or in the dark, the Bible is my light; When I am hungry, it is vital bread; Or fearful, it is armor for the fight; When I am sick, 'tis healing medicine; Or lonely, thronging friends I find therein. If I would work, the Bible is my tool; Or play, it is a harp of happy sound. If I am ignorant, it is my school; If I am sinking, it is solid ground. If I am cold, the Bible is my fire; And wings, if boldly I aspire. Should I be lost, the Bible is my guide; Or naked, it is raiment, rich and warm. Am I imprisoned, it is ranges wide; Or tempest-tossed, a shelter from the storm. Would I adventure, 'tis a gallant sea; Or would I rest, it is a flowery lea. Dr. Amos R. Wells

42. Sources Ultrecht University (2007, Oct. 29) “Ancient Seal Belonged to Queen Jezebel” ScienceDaily, 29 Oct. 2007. Web March 2013. McDowell, Josh. Evidence that Demands a Verdict.Vol. 1 1972. Israel’s Messiah .com Barry L. Brumfield March 2013. Eight Jewish Archeological Discoveries. John Roach, 2013 NBCNews .com Sermons on Evidences by Marty Pickup, Pleasant Valley Church of Christ, Oct. 5 2012. Marty Pickup former Professor at Florida College. Bible and Archeology online Museum Blog, Mike Caba, Dean of Faculty at Kilns College in Bend OR. Dec. 2010.