CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES (Part 4)
By: Cougan Collins
lgchurchofchrist@cableone.net
This week, let’s begin examining the external evidence of Jesus’ existence from those known as the “apostolic fathers”. They are called this because it is believed these men sat at the feet of the apostles or at the feet of those who sat at the feet of the apostles. These writings are dated from A.D. 90 - 160. These writings quote or paraphrase nearly every Scripture found in the New Testament, which proves the New Testament was written in the 1st century. Since these men were willing to die for the truth contained within the New Testament proves they believed it to be true and historically accurate.
Let me give you one example of one of these early writers:
Polycarp (A.D. 69-155) lived in the city of
Some more external evidence comes from the Catacombs under
The catacomb vaults are filled with artwork, which
testifies to their deep faith in Christ amidst the
A simple question needs to be answered, would millions of Christians be
willing to die after the first century if Jesus was just a myth?
Of course not! One of the most well-known Jewish teachers
of the first century named Gamaliel understood that
if the story of Jesus was fake that Christianity would only last for a small
while, but it if was true and God was involved, it would continue to grow (Acts
5:34-39). As Gamaliel wisely stated, we have seen Christianity
continue to grow for almost 2000 years in which many have laid down their lives
for the cause of Christ.
Another external evidence that has continued to prove the
validity of the Scriptures is Archeology. The purpose of Archeology in regards
to the Bible is to excavate, decipher, and critically evaluate the ancient
records of the past that touch directly or indirectly on the Bible and its
message.
According to various sources, Archeology
had its start in 1798 when Napoleon invaded
Be sure to check out next week’s
article as we examine more evidence about Jesus’ existence and the reliability
of the New Testament. Feel free to worship with us.