It's All In the Evidence

About a month ago, I told you that a good friend and I started reading the book A Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. We have been meeting for lunches each week to catch up and talk about the chapters we have read. Tomorrow, we will start the second part of the book which analyzes the evidence of Jesus specifically. Therefore, I thought I'd take the time to summarize the first section. This section dives into the evidence surrounding the New Testament. Is what is written there solid evidence to support Christ? If not, we can stop there. If this part isn't true, there would be no reason to go any further. Can what is written in the NewTestament about Christ to be trusted?

Each chapter starts off with an example of the author's experience reporting a case. He shows how testing the validity of different witnesses effects the case and its importance. Six different evidences are used: are there eyewitnesses, can they be trusted, documentary evidence, do other sources agree with those documents, archeological evidence, and  historical evidence. For each different topic, he meets with an expert in each area to get the facts and ask the hard questions. Each time, they have sufficient answers. He packs a lot of information in each chapter; each expert has more knowledge about the Bible than I could hope to have total in a lifetime. The biggest thing I see that they do is to take us back to the original context. Our minds are clouded with our current perspective that we forget about the traditions and customs of that time. For example, the New Testament books were not written down exactly when the events happened. Today, we have journals, newspapers, blogs, and other outlets to write down day today happenings for later memory. There were no computers to access back then, paper wasn't the same, there was no printer to publish documents; they had to rely on memory and passing things down orally. When you look at the time that passed between things that happened and when it was written down, it actually wasn't that much of a gap in time compared to other writings from that time. Many contradictions that people find in the Bible come from our own world view shading that of the Bible. When the correct context is used, contradictions work themselves out into understanding. The Bible comes out of the different tests standing on its own; it and its contents are found to be trustworthy.  (Have your own questions or doubts? Pick up a copy of the book and read it. See if your questions are addressed; and if so, are they answered to your sufficiency? This book doesn't beat you over the head with religion; it seeks to seek for information and present the facts.)

One question the author asks each expert is this: has the study you've done brought you closer to or pulled you further from your faith? In the end, that is what it comes down to: faith. You can have all the facts and the answers to your questions, but there comes a point in time where you simply have to take a step of faith. One thing that my friend and I have talked about at different times through the book is how our faith has been questioned. Having grown up in church and gone to Christian school and college, we have basically automatically taken things at face value. From the beginning, we believe the Bible to be true so we've had no reason to question it. Reading this section has opened our eyes to questions we've never asked. However, we've been presented with enough evidence to reclaim our faith that the Bible is true and can be trusted. My personal faith has been strengthened knowing that this document of our beliefs holds up under the test of truth. So...if the Bible is true, what does it say about Jesus and who He is? That is what we will find out during the next section.

(On a side note: writing this blog has reminded me of book reviews in college. I do miss college and learning. I miss gleaning tidbits of knowledge and understanding from professors who had studied and learned vast amounts of information on various subjects. However, I do not miss assignments and tests. I enjoyed reading and learning the information in the book for myself and not because it was assigned. Furthermore, I enjoyed being able to write a review of a book without worrying about the various headings and spaces of Terrabian formatting.)

Now, a summary of my cancer treatment. I have successfully had my second treatment of chemo. The  side effects were not as bad this time since I knew what to expect and what I could do about them. However, I am thinking I never fully got rid of that cold. I feel like now that my white cell counts are back down the cold is coming back. I've had pretty low energy and a weird feeling that seemed related to sinus pressure. Thats kept me on the couch a lot. Also, my hair is mostly out now.  I wear my wig whenever I go somewhere I don't want to look sick (ie: restaurants, church.) However, I feel confident enough to go into public without it, at least I don't have a bumpy head. I get a lot of smiles and hi's. I haven't decided if people are more friendly or if its because I don't have hair. It really doesn't bother me; I guess I wouldn't be sure what to do either. It just makes life more interesting.

Specific Prayer Request: Please pray that my cold will not return and I will have more energy. I don't  feel bad; I just don't feel good. I seem to feel better to lay or sit which doesn't help my productivity.

(Sorry for the long update. I guess I need to update more often so u can keep it short and sweet.)