Why Believe in Jesus?

Contents for Why Believe in Jesus?

Why Seek Revelation?
This Unit is a transition Unit from the first part of the encyclopedia (Why Believe in God?). It gives a summary of the evidence for God from Physics and philosophy, shows why reason must be complemented by revelation, and makes the transition from a Creator to Jesus.

A brief summary of the four sets of evidence for God.
a.	The evidence from physics.

b.	The evidence from the logical proof for the existence of God.

c.	The evidence from philosophy of mathematics.

d.	The evidence from near-death experiences and human transcendentally.

If reason can probe so deeply, why do we need God to reveal himself (revelation)? There are five basic areas into which reason cannot probe deeply.
a.	The heart of God.

b.	How to pray and worship.

c.	Specific ethical precepts and attributes of God that cannot be known by reason (e.g. the trinity).

d.	God’s inspiration, response to prayer, and redemption of suffering.

e.	The dynamic of sacred community.

What is the historical evidence for Jesus outside of the New Testament?
==== What are the rigorous historical methods used to verify historical claims in the New Testament? ====

==== Why did the early Church proclaim Jesus to be divine when it was apologetically disadvantageous? ====

==== The high cost of the proclamation of Jesus’ divinity. ====

Is there anyway of verifying the historical veracity of the resurrection accounts from non-gospel material?
==== Why did Christianity grow so rapidly after the public humiliation and persecution of its Messiah?  How did this differ from all other messianic movements around the same period? ====

==== Five Christian mutations of Second Temple Judaism’s doctrine on the resurrection. ====

The significance of the eschatological son of man (Daniel 7).
==== Jesus’ claim to be exclusive son of the Father – the parable of the wicked vintners, and the stone rejected by the builders. ====

The unique charge of blasphemy applied to Jesus—why?
==== The famous Q logion -- “No one knows the Son except the Father and no one knows the Father except the Son…” ====