One of the big challenges that we, Christians, are facing is the continued and overwhelming attack from the non-believers. Years ago, before the Internet era, their arguments had more limited exposure to the public. But everything changed with the Internet and social media.
I have also noticed how their arguments have become more aggressive and radical. I remember listening to statements like this: "I believe in Jesus as an extraordinary man, perhaps the most pure revolutionary, but just a man”. This last statement is benign compared to what is being said nowadays such as, “There is no historical proof that Jesus existed.”
There are several potential problems with this last statement. The most concerning one is when our teenagers get exposed to those arguments without appropriate preparation. I should also add that there is propaganda that presents religion as completely foolish. This strategy presents the atheist as a sophisticated and smart individual, meanwhile we believers are following some kind of unfounded myth.
In today’s world, faith is very important but we need more than that. We need to have certain concepts very clear in our mind. But also we need to be able to educate our youngsters with solid but simple concepts.
Let me start by clarifying that we are not foolish. We are not alone as believers. I am referring to extraordinary scientists that also believed in God. I am not talking about midlevel scientists. I am referring to pioneers like Lois Pasteur who discovered the bacteria as the cause of infections.
As I mentioned before their arguments are becoming more radical. The whole questioning about the existence of Jesus as a historical figure is potentially dangerous because social media is echoing it. The strategy behind it is that the older the historical event is, documentation of that event becomes more scarce.
In my book “The Physical Death and Resurrection – a Surgeon’s view”, I cited the book “Jewish Antiquities” were the historical Jesus is mentioned twice in that treaty. In other words, a man named Jesus existed as documented by extra-biblical sources.
One thing for sure is that it is impossible to understand how or why the Roman Empire became Christian if they never got in contact with a man named Jesus - The Christ. For instance, when the Romans colonized Israel, two different cultures interacted. If Christ was never around, then the Romans should have adopted Judaism but instead they became Christians. It is obvious that SOMETHING REALLY HAPPENED!