In Defense of the Christian Faith

The following a repost in honor of my two year blogging anniversary which begins this Monday, August 23rd! This was the first official post (after the introduction) that I did on August 28, 2008. It is rather long, but it is very informative. Check it out, and let me know what you think! ------------------- Hearsay or Reliable Testimony? Recently, I've come across some who insist that the students of the Disciples (i.e. Iraneus) cannot be trusted, because, according to them, it is defined as either "hearsay” or “from a ‘friend of a friend.’” Some even go so far as to say that the disciples themselves cannot be trusted! This made me do some research. Here is what I’ve come up with: Simon Greenleaf, author of the book The Testimony of the Evangelists (which I highly recommend) and Professor of Law in the mid-1800s, said that when there are no suspicious circumstances, all the witnesses are to be assumed credible, unless the objector can prove otherwise, the burden of proof...

In my studies today, I was noticing all the amazing parallels between the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Haven't you heard the critics tell you that this "proves" that they are copy-cats? Well, I beg to differ. I've talked about this subject before in relation to some of the bigger "contradictions", but today I'd like to show you some minor ones in a short passage of Mark compared with Matthew's Gospel. Mark 7:31-37 states, "Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of hi...

Recently, I've come across some who insist that the students of the Disciples (i.e. Iraneus) cannot be trusted, because, according to them, it is defined as either "hearsay” or “from a ‘friend of a friend.’” Some even go so far as to say that the disciples themselves cannot be trusted! This made me do some research. Here is what I’ve come up with: Simon Greenleaf, author of the book The Testimony of the Evangelists (which I highly recommend) and Professor of Law in the mid-1800s, said that when there are no suspicious circumstances, all the witnesses are to be assumed credible, unless the objector can prove otherwise, the burden of proof falling on him to do so. He further states that the testimony of one is not to be more important than another’s, not even if the testimony is the defendant’s. However, the Christian’s testimony is usually assumed to be false until proven true! His testimony should be held true until proven false, just like everyone else’s testimony is. Rona...