I believed in Jesus before I even read the bible. When people ask me why, its my experience that happened first that verified the bible for me. I was secular and atheist and I gave myself to Jesus. The day I did I felt myself become transformed. It's like the lights turned on and the darkness melted away. It's like God put the mirror to my soul and showed me the real truth. He showed me who I really was and who others really were. I was given new eyes and a new heart. Everything I experienced is in the bible, every last thing i went through when i started reading the bible was confirmation for me. Not only that I've had supernatural experiences that I know was the Holy Spirit and the bible even explained those. I know the truth. I cant even begin to explain to you how many times God has answered my prayers. I would have to be in the guiness book of world records for coincidences at this point if He wasnt real. He is alive and real and still here with us. People can either accept my testimony or throw it away, but at the end of the day as long I can share my experiences with them I know I've planted a seed and I'm happy with that.
You were told about Jesus at some point before your belief though obviously, correct? You didn't suddenly come to the realization that Jesus existed before you had ever heard of him, right? I also "gave myself to Jesus" when I was younger. I thought I felt different. Now I realize that I'm not actually different and that it was likely just a comforting feeling of "I don't have to worry about anything because God will take care of me." I'm not trying to poke holes in your beliefs or attack you at all. I just want to ask. Do you believe that Hell (i.e. eternal torture) is real and that non-believers are destined to go there?
Statistically speaking, you should be in the Guiness Book of world records simply for the fact that so many of your prayers have been answered, as you say. Because most prayers go unanswered for most people, logically. If only there was a method to test the reliability of prayers! That would be a great defense for Christians if they had some sort of statistics backing up claims of answered prayer. And one would think would be a fairly easy task to accomplish, since answered prayers allegedly are a common phenomenon. Sadly I have yet to see anything even close to that kind of evidence be presented. :/ And I apologize if Im coming off as rude, not my intention. Hope you have a great day.
@@lugialover09 I was doing some research into it and I haven't fully completed that, but there is some evidence that shows hell isn't some eternal place of torture. It's more that God will throw your soul into the lake of fire and you will burned up (as in cease to exist) However, I haven't completed my research on this, so that I don't have a definite answer yet. A lot of things in Christianity have been cross contaminated with paganism, so there's lots of stuff that I've been looking into. I also didn't just have a fuzzy feeling. I've had spiritual experiences that confirmed it for me. Edit: I also didn't just give myself to Jesus as some off the cuff remark. I gave my whole life. I just said to God you do it. Take my life..... and i meant it. I meant it deep down in the core of my being that He could have it all. My money, my health, my job, my future, everything! I dont know where Gods going to lead me, but it all belongs to Him.
@@MaumenPurrwhitiker Its something that can never be proven. I don't feel the need to prove it either. People can believe or not and that's their right. It will never shake my faith because I know the relationship I have with my Father. I know all the things He's done for me and all the prayers He's answered. I always say dont believe me, believe God. I'm not a special snowflake. What God did for me He can do for anyone else too.
@@pinkymaxine Well, there's no evidence that Hell itself exists in any capacity. If you're just simply talking about theological evidence about the concept within the religion itself, then I suppose that's valid in a sense. I would agree that, based on the Judaic mythology upon which Christianity is founded (from what I can recall anyway), there's no actual claim of a post-mortem place of torment. I believe Sheol is the standard term used for a place of the dead which simply translates to "grave." I think that implies that they didn't really picture an afterlife; otherwise, I think it would have been more detailed in description. Also, I can't really speak to your personal experiences. If they offer sufficient evidence to you, then that's fine although they unfortunately do nothing to offer evidence to anyone else.
I believe because I was never a believer up until the day I had a NDE and and Jesus came to rescue me and miraculously healed me of spine disease and injuries. Praise the Lord Jesus ✝️
An odd reason to believe. How do you know it was Jesus? Were you just mistaken? It sounds rather illogical to hasten to accept this "miraculous" event over anything else.
If I may, Just because the apostles believed Jesus's teachings, that doesn't mean the teachings are true. If I got myself killed because I believed that giraffes are psychic and can make me invincible from harm, then that does not mean it is true. All it means is that I really believed it. Something being true and believing something to be true are not the same thing. They're not interchangeable.
Your argument falls apart at bullet number one. You never got past the circular argument part. I can answer the headline question though. Christians believe in the Bible because 1) Fear 2) Wishful thinking.
Sorry Marcus but you’re wrong. I don’t believe (in just the Bible, but also Jesus) because of fear, I believe because I have seen the changes in my own life and character. I have experienced Him. I have heard Him speak. He has answered my prayers. God bless you and I pray you come to know Him for yourself.
@@marcuspi999 He has spoken in different ways. Sometimes through creation, sometimes through numbers, sometimes He uses others. When I was hardcore struggling with pornography, I was crying by my bedside for Jesus to take it away from me. He said to me as if He was right behind me, very clearly, “My Grace is sufficient for you.” I knew it was Him because I INSTANTLY didn’t want it anymore and I was FILLED with JOY!! Everyone is different though, and everyone has different experiences. So I pray that He would come to you, in a way your HEART would receive and understand. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Always wondered about this subject but since I was agnostic, I never really bothered to look into this… that is until I started feeling“nudged” to do so. Never was one to trust without verifying, or at least having a better understanding. Great video, thank you.
I love how christians say god is love, look at the world we live in today and where is that love? And I don't want to hear free will, my free will has nothing to do with the corruption, killing, rape, starvation, etc. What did Humans do before Jesus or this god show up?
I’m sorry that you haven’t seen that love in action, but as a believer myself, I assure you Jesus is alive and well. EVERYONE’S free will has contributed to the decline of society in some way. There is always a choice and always consequences in everything we do. The Bible shows us that sin is a consequence of our desires. There is no one good, not one.
@@trumpetplyrmatt Humans wrote the bible. You need to expand your mind and do some research. Do you believe in reincarnation? Do you believe in ET, other life forms in the universes?
@@paratrooperlane7022 you’re getting off topic. Humans wrote what God had them to write. If you actually took a moment to humble yourself and ask God to reveal Himself to you, and waited until He did, He would. Christians believe in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Research does nothing if you don’t believe that God Is Who He Is. I do not believe in reincarnation at all. I believe that God has the power to raise the dead, as there are some who have came back to life to tell the Truth about Heaven and Hell. I believe God has the power to heal the sick, if people would humble themselves to be used by Him. Christians are the hands and feet of God, just like satanists believe they are used by satan and people who are not Christians are also being blinded by satan. E.T. life may exist, not sure. If you choose not to believe in God, then we have nothing to discuss.
@@trumpetplyrmatt I am not getting off topic, I am asking what you believe in besides this god of your. Satan, a word created by humans to control humans. How many beings came to earth and not through the birth cycle? And no one died for me lets be clear on that. Secondly, you were taught this religion and this god, along with everything else in your life. How does someone being born sin? They don't, there again you were taught this lie. How come each Country has its own creator? The true indigenous people of our world don’t believe in this god you talk about. The bible was written by Humans and how many of these Humans put their own belief in the bible? And your religion kills animals in a sacrifice for this god of yours, how is that loving. And you religious people say this god of yours is good? How can that be, look at the world today. What about all the other beings in the universe and the muti-verse, do they know about your god? The Origin of the word god: The earliest written form of the Germanic word god comes from the 6th century Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. When was Yeshua/Jesus actually born? No one knows. How old is religion: The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious experiences and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BCE). The prehistory of religion involves the study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the advent of written records. So life did exist before this so-called belief system, I wonder what changed? Maybe a way to control the masses? Also, people use the word he when describing the creator of all. Why is that? Because they read a book or listen to someone brainwashing them. How does a he create life? He doesn’t, only in the weak minds he exists……What about life beyond the physical, other Dimensions, Realms, Levels, etc? Are we not spirit/soul HAVING a human experience? What about all the other universes, What is beyond them? And so on……..Also, there is NO GENDER when in spirit!
@@paratrooperlane7022 you’re getting off topic because your original complaint was about horrible things happening in the earth. I gave you an explanation and you proceed to insult my beliefs by telling me I’m wrong for believing in The God Who Changes Lives (Jesus Christ). you can come at me all day with what your “research” (useless knowledge) yielded you, but at the end of the day, whether or not you believe is your choice. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. If you choose not to believe it’s because you put your faith in information and logic..faith defies logic. People have been HEALED by my God (proof for your records) and there’s medical evidence to back it up. My God has existed and there’s proof for that too. My “religion” (as you call it) is not about control, it’s about a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I have a relationship with God. I can only pray you have one too. Good day.
I like the phrase at 0:31, "we kind of have a looped conversation." Putting it in those words is preferable to the expression "circular reasoning", because a person's religious belief isn't necessarily based in reasoning. Calling it a conversation sounds like it might be more productive. After your opening comments, I was expecting some explanation of religious beliefs prior to there being scriptures of any kind. I thought you might explain some origins or features of the Israelites religious beliefs before they used scriptures. But the video itself was a kind of looped conversation, because the answers to the questions where did the bible come from? and why can we trust it? are reliant on the stories from that bible. Trying to demonstrate that the stories are trustworthy by using events from those stories is completely circular.
It's true that there's a lot of context to get into here. Explaining the origins of the Israelite religion would probably be another video (or series of videos) entirely. I'm missing something-where in the video does it seem I am demonstrating that the stories of the Bible are trustworthy because of the events in the stories? That's not what I believe, nor is that what I'm attempting to represent on the right side of the board here. It's true that the longest-lasting written accounts of Jesus' resurrection are found in the Bible. Whether those accounts are trustworthy or not is another video for another time. But (and this is where it gets dicey) modern Christians believe *that ancient Christians believed* that Jesus rose from the dead before there was any written record of this. Some believe this simply because the New Testament books affirm this (which is circular). Others, however, believe this because the Christian religion is (by church history records) older than the New Testament, and that most of its founding members (the apostles) seem to have been martyred for their beliefs. All this still hinges on faith-but specifically a faith that the Bible was written by people who sincerely believed Jesus rose from the dead, rather than people who invented the story. Many thanks for the thoughtful comment!
@@OverviewBible there are some non-christian sources for Jesus's death on the cross as well, roman and jewish historians who had no reason to perpetuate a 'myth.' @tonyetzu - it's not so important where the bible came from, as what does it actually say - how does it hang together as a whole and is there any sign of this being from God, rather than men? people say they've read the bible, but they haven't; you would never dream of criticising shakespeare without having fully read it, so why would anyone do the same with the bible? if you say you have fully read and studied it, then i have a few theme questions to ask. if not, then you are wrong to form an opinion of that which you know little about. i know i was, and then i read it, really read it.
@@OverviewBible Thank you for your honest response to tonyetzu. I also believe that it least some of Jesus's followers had experiences they believed were Jesus alive again. However, they might have had visions, as Paul admits. I appreciate you saying that ultimately it is a matter of faith. That is a lot more honest than saying that there are 5000 handwritten copies, so the Bible must be true.
These videos are great overviews. I am not Christian but want to be understanding and respectful of my Christian, Muslim, etc, neighbors and friends. And you obviously have a gift for teaching!
You do know how RARE you are? I applaud your desire to "understand" the faith of "your Christian, Muslim, etc, neighbors and friends". My prayer is that God will plant seeds that begin to open your heart & mind to the Truth (and Love inseparable, from Genesis to Revelation), Who IS Jesus, because Jesus WANTS to be found! Here's a few things to think about...the reason why I don't believe in censoring science (KNOWLEGE gained via logic & reason and & the pursuit to add more knowledge, so that more is known) is the SAME REASON why God & His Word DOESN'T NEED censorship either (people who read the bible on their own were burned as heretics during the Dark Ages). The following is a lie that's been perpetuated for thousands of years via pride-filled men (pride is at the heart of sin) so puffed up as to believe they can speak FOR One or the other without question (the reason for the logical fallacy argumentum ab auctoritate, or appeal from authority) have ALWAYS been in conflict, BUT God & science (knowledge) have NEVER been in conflict. Understand, when I say "science" I'm not talking about philosophy, but what knowledge is clearly seen & understood in creation (check out Romans 1:20) & knowledge that's gained via reason, logic & empirical evidence. Knowledge isn't Truth, but it is PART of truth (God is soooooosooo much more than mere knowledge) & therefore, like truth, ABLE TO BEAR SCRUTINY. I say "I THINK" when I'm doing just that; I say I BELIEVE, when I've taken my questions to God and His Word & His Holy Spirit Who resides in me illuminates the Truth & Love it reveals, which PERSUADES me to belief & though there's more than enough evidence (historically, scientifically, experientially), because God on earth is Spirit (God in the flesh/Jesus resides in heaven for now), the only things I KNOW are by faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God "is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" Bottom line, to understand the faith of an authentic Christian (God says man who call Him "Lord, Lord" will find they never knew Him), you must look at whether or not truth exists. You're being so rare, I sure hope you seek to know...because to the searching, proof awaits; to the Agnostic, no truth is found, because no one is searching; to the hardened Athiest, no proof is ever enough :( & to those acquainted with the depth of their sin, who've found grace and forgiveness through the victorious life, death & resurrection of Jesus Christ, no further proof is required.
Why do Christians have a lot of confidence in the people who canonized the Bible? They always talk about church leaders as good people with the best intention at heart. Sure, they admit these prominent figures' imperfections, but when it comes to the bible, it just seems so perfectly made and carefully put together. I was a devout Christian but I saw people using the bible to construct their own legacy while actually believing that they're doing God's work. The audacity can be overwhelming.
I'd caution against generalizing here. Most Christians are very, very undereducated when it comes to the Bible's origins and canonization history. Examining the Old Testament (the Tanakh) as ancient literature reveals a marvelously and artistically edited library. The New Testament, not so much. In a sense, we have the Reformation and the printing press to thank for our finalized canons.
I love this channel. Jeffrey is phenomenal teacher, and extremely well versed and well read. The bible is not the easiest book to follow and understand and Jeffrey puts every aspect of it in perspective. I like watching at least one of his tutorials every day in my quest to become much more engaged in biblical study. Thanks Jeffrey, great, great job.
False no one who ever wrote about Jesus ever met him and no stories were written about him until after his death just tall tells being passed down by word for years until someone wrote them down.
Yes, it is a circular argument. I was in a Bible Study group in grad school (in engineering), and we discussed this topic. Even though everyone in the room had years of training in mathematics and critical thinking, they were unwilling to admit that this was a circular argument. I say they were unwilling to admit this because it was obvious that they were all HIGHLY TRAINED in logical thinking, as every one of us was valedictorian from our undergraduate universities (MIT, UVA, Columbia, Princeton, Stanford, UPenn, etc, etc, etc), so knew perfectly well what circular reasoning was. But, they were all polite.
I have several sincere questions: How can a question about the veracity of 2 Peter not be considered heretical? When is a question/doubt about the veracity of a book of canon, heretical and when is it sincere inquiry? What was the criteria for how a book got into the canon? Who held the standards for what is considered in the canon? If it took so long to define the books of the bible, why do "biblical Christians" believe the bible is now complete and no other writings should be considered? (My expectations is you'll give me another circular defining, "because the bible says so.") Who or what gave the "curators" authority to decide what goes in it? This video makes it sound like it was by consensus and other than inspiration. How can an Orthodox Christian believe there are other books outside the bible canon, and still be considered Christian?
I believe in the bible because the lineage described and the anecdotal evidence of personal account and witness is enough for me personally to believe in that evidence.
Why don't you believe in Islam or Hinduism? Surely there are plenty of personal accounts and anecdotal evidence backing those up as well. As to the lineage, how can you verify that 1. those people existed and 2. that the lineage as described is actually accurate? It's not surprising that the written record of a lineage would be consistent with itself after thousands of years to make sure it makes sense. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just saying that you have no method by which you can prove that you're right in your belief. Edit: I'm rather late in following up on my own comment here, but I only just recently discovered that actually the two lineages given for Jesus (in Matthew and Luke) differ wildly after David and only really agree upon reaching Joseph and Jesus. Also, it actually doesn't make much sense for Joseph's lineage to matter at all because Jesus did not descend from his family.
The books of the Bible did not "come together". They were chosen by men. Men disagreed thousands of years ago, and still do today about which ones should be accepted. How it even got the name is recorded by history.
But the church is not allowed to manufacture new and unnecessary doctrines like what Roman Catholic Church has done! Scripture Alone goes along with Christ Alone, By Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone and Glory To God Alone! The Gospel came before having a Church in Rome. It is all about the Gospel!
We believe bcoz we experienced God's wondrous love in our lives. We learned later bcoz of what we experienced and it just prove more of God's amazing existence and that Jesus is the true Living God. The Bible is indeed life's instructions and contains evidence of God that we see proof in history.
@Koshi Kun the best part is He created ALL languages so you can pray in whatever language you speak. He understands all. Just be humble before Him. He loves you.
@Koshi Kun God is the Creator. He created ALL. He allows man to think what they want to, but ultimately if you steal His Glory..well, let’s just say I wouldn’t want to be you in the end when you kneel before Him. EVERYONE WILL kneel before Him eventually..
@Koshi Kun Well, I’m not going to sit here and argue with you. All I can say is He cares very much for you and I pray that soon you believe that for yourself. There’s a verse in the Bible which states “..casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” It’s very much true. Jesus Christ has changed my life and I will never be the same, no matter how much anyone may try to reason intellectually or doubt His Existence. Some things are not received through intelligence..it’s a heart issue. you’re not very close with your parents are you?
Very soon after I became born again God impressed me with the knowledge that the Bible is true is every respect. So I didn't need to decide on this. I even rang my Vicar and told him that the bible is true!!
@David OrtizJust because Bible or Christian tradition claims apostoles were killed for claiming Jesus rose from death doesn't make it true. It is just part of mythology created by religion to convince its followers.
Marek Kedzierski It might be true though. The planetoids and asteroids which hit earth and mercury and the other planets, the billions of years it took for earth to form and life to evolve, the big bang: what if these were false/misunderstood interpretations created to fit with and explain that specific secular worldview? Who knows.
@@marekkedzierski8237 with that logic any historical claims could be considerate as fact such as American discovered, Napoleon, most of the wars in human history etc etc.
@@pafoneto1275 It doesn't work like that. We have hundreds of documents about Napoleon, all written during his lifetime by both his supporters and his enemies, not to mention physical objects like paintings, busts, statues and coins. Compare that to apocryphal stories about apostles that show up hundreds of years after their time and are spread solely by church, which has clear self-interests in inventing such stories.
@@OverviewBible The disciples were not the Apostles for one thing, they are fictional characters. Christianity started as several different belief systems based on a combination of Jewish and Pagan ideas. The one sect that gained the favor of the Roman state eventually wiped out the other versions. Jesus as an actual person was not required to form Christian dogma, it is not even very likely. Paul never talks about Jesus as a human, just a spiritual entity. Richard Carrier and Robert Price are good sources for this point of view.
The idea that the teachings of Jesus are codified in the New Testament is just an assumption. So even if Jesus died and rose again (big if), and even if this proved his teachings true (big if), that still wouldn't make the Bible true. The idea that the teachings of Jesus' apostles (whoever they were) are codified in the New Testament is also just an assumption. Do you have any good evidence of the teachings of Jesus' apostles?
The New Testament has over 5000 archeological manuscripts. 98% of these are consistent with each other. This weeds out the 2% as altered edition of the New Testament. The Old Testament proves Old Testament as accurate and contains prophecy about Jesus. Addition: The Old Testament is proven to be accurate by the Dead Sea scrolls which were written some hundreds of years before Jesus.
Systems are based on shared assumptions, and religions are no exception. People assumed Jesus rose from the dead. And later, people assumed that they had a workable body of Jesus' teachings in the documents that became our New Testament. It's an expression of faith.
@@OverviewBible Thanks for your response. If you don't mind me asking, why do you choose to adopt those assumptions? Were you raised in a Christian family?
You are using circular reasoning again using Jesus. Because you believe the Bible is the truth therefore you believe everything written in the Bible about Jesus is true. Bingo. I read about a book that says Santa claus is real and how he has done so much for the children. How do I know if the book is real? Well, because in the book it said it was written by Santa Claus. I have no proof outside of the book that this book is truly written by Santa Claus or whether he existed. There you go.
Unlike the Santa book in your analogy, the Bible never claims to have been written by Jesus. (If it did, maybe this would be easier.) If Jesus ever wrote anything himself, those writings never survived. But the idea that Jesus rose from the dead is far older than the Bible we have today. There *are* some Christians who believe that Jesus rose from the dead because it's written in the Bible. And that's circular reasoning. However, the earliest Christians didn't even *have* the Bible we have today. But they still suffered and died spreading this new message of a risen Messiah. Peter, James, John, and the other earliest followers of Jesus weren't spreading a message they read in a book. They truly believed that a person had died and come back to life, and that his message was trustworthy. Christianity, as a religion, isn't a result of the Bible. The Bible is a result of Christians.
@@OverviewBible Christianity, as a religion, is a result of the Bible. And the Bible (New Testament) is a result of first-century Christians. However, there seems to have been different strains of early Christianity, and many of them didn't survive. The various books of the New Testament appear to have been authored by different Christian sects.
@@puremusicdaz "you basically ignored everything he said and repeated yourself." I didn't ignore it. I was just clarifying the 'chicken and egg' situation. If you disagree with what I said then please feel free to correct me. And if you would like me to respond to something in particular that he said then I'm happy to do so. "..the world has taught you to reject the truth of the bible. your choice." Actually, "the world" didn't teach me that. I have read parts of the Bible and found it to be primitive, archaic and barbaric. And I have considered the claims of Christians for myself and have concluded that they are largely erroneous and ridiculous.
My belief in the bible is that I've seen the fruits of the labor of the behaviorial and moral systems work. I believe in the laws for the good of people and I believe that the lessons gained from the Bible would take humanity forward instead of how we've been... stagnant if not moving backwards. I believe there is a God I have no idea if it is the christian or judian God but I believe the creator exists and governs the natural world.
¿Do you believe in and worship the God of Deuteronomy? You know, the "God" described as being jealous, wrathful, vengeance seeking, fear and loyalty demanding, genocide/rape/slavery commanding, etc., etc. ¿You worship that thing? ¿Really?
Thanks for demonstrating that the whole circular argument is not only circular, but based on a series of fallacies and a complete lack of critical thinking. Effectively you believe because you think that someone else did, even though you don’t know who they were or have any supportive evidence outside of your beliefs. Completely circular and unjustified.
"Effectively you believe because you think that someone else did, even though you don’t know who they were…" That's generally how history works. "or have any supportive evidence outside of your beliefs." [Shrug] There are nearly two millennia's worth of developed thought preserved in museums and libraries around the world. Christianity had to come from somewhere.
@@OverviewBible extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Christianity most likely came out of an overactive imagination combined with a desire for power and control. Unless you can support your assertions with something substantial then you have a collection of stories about what people believed. Believing something doesn’t make it true.
@@markedwards4879 "Christianity most likely came out of an overactive imagination combined with a desire for power and control." I'm a bit lost in the irony here, Mark. I don't see how this claim re: Christianity's origins is any more empirically grounded than the historical one. Whose overactive imagination? And whose power and control? Did Constantine and his cronies just fabricate a few centuries of tradition out of nowhere? Why co-opt the Jewish sacred texts, specifically? This isn't just a matter of an overactive imagination: what you're describing amounts to a mass conspiracy. I imagine you can appreciate the desire to see some evidence of this kind of manipulation. "Believing something doesn’t make it true." In many ways, you've summed up my thoughts on Christianity and religion in general, Mark. The purpose of this video isn't to prove empirically that the Bible or Christianity is true-rather, it's to give people a straightforward picture of _why_ people believe it's true. I'm not sure how the gospel can be empirically proven. Believing something doesn't make it true, but usually people believe things because they think they're true. But unfortunately we don't all approach life with the same process for determining what is "true." If we did, we'd all believe the same things!
@@OverviewBible I’m not surprised that you are lost since evaluating arguments and distinguishing the reliability of evidence doesn’t appear to be a strength for you. My claim is pretty simple, and not even a particularly strong claim. Which is more likely, that some supernatural being did all of these unlikely things or that some people made up some stuff and a bunch of other people took them at face value and believed it? At present no one has even demonstrated the existence of the supernatural at all, whereas legend, myth and manipulation are real things. Even your last comment lacks integrity. The imaginations of a lot of people combined over centuries to create the OT, and the imaginations of decades worth of people to compile and create the NT. Co-opting the Jewish texts makes it much easier to convert people who are already familiar with much of the doctrine- have a look at how cults start. Mass conspiracy? No, not really. Once the ball is rolling enough gullible people will continue it going. Think about the flat earthers or Roswell incident believers as examples of how easy it is for this to happen, with the latter gaining critical mass in a couple of decades. Bear in mind the at lest 3 decades between the cruxifixction and the earliest gospel, which had been handed down orally.. You are right about people believing it’s true, but you can at least apply a modicum of skepticism to the claims while analysing their voracity. Not my video, but this just about sums it up nicely. ruclips.net/video/UDORCict0VQ/видео.html
@@markedwards4879 "I’m not surprised that you are lost since evaluating arguments and distinguishing the reliability of evidence doesn’t appear to be a strength for you." Oof. I'm open to discussing these sorts of topics with people who disagree with me, but hopefully you can understand my lack of interest in doing so with this tone. Have a good one, Mark. =)
I mean there is archeological, historical, geographical, and circumstantial evidence that supports The Bible. Not to mention The Bible isn't just 1 book, rather it's 66 different books compiled into one, therefore one book can be validate and prop up another book, especially when it comes to prophetic evidence.
I got great insight from this video. Please correct me if I'm wrong. "Jesus risen from the dead" is the core fact/believe that breaks the bible's circular reasoning?. I also have a legit question that I have issues wrapping my head around. He said Jesus followers being murder is a "good indication" they were telling the truth? Please help me understand that premise. Thanks.
I'm glad this is helpful! To clarify, I do believe that a lot of people's reasoning when it comes to what they believe about the Bible is indeed circular. However, Christianity as a faith tradition predates the Bible, so it wasn't always this way. Earlier on, people shared a message with other people, and the recipients deemed the messengers trustworthy (for a variety of reasons). Re: martyrdom, it's more of a "good indication" that they *thought* they were telling the truth than actual evidence of a resurrection. The idea that several adults would dedicate and sacrifice their lives (without any real material gain) for something they knew was a lie is a little too ridiculous for many to accept. ;-)
I do appreciate this video. It gives someone like me, an agnostic, a better understand of the "Why". But I'm still a bit confused on why so many people don't question it. For example, it appears it took 1500 years for everyone to agree what was canon in the Bible. And that's what modern day Christians believe are now the correct teachings of God. 1500 years of possible issues with things being changed, added, subtracted, through time where we know accurate record keeping was very very poor across all of history. Not trying to criticize or call anyone an idiot, I'm very open to hearing the counter arguments or if I'm not understanding the timeline correctly, but it seems odd to me to put beliefs in the fantastic miracles and events when just by the passing of time so much of it could have been changed and completely untrue. I mean we've all done the telephone game. It's one thing to pass history down about dates and events and believe history knowing it's probably not 100% accurate, but when the events are so magnificent and we're told to believe them when they weren't even agreed upon until people 1500 years after the events agreed they happened...
It sounds like this question is asked in good faith, so here goes … I should specify that while the canon was finalized in the 1500s, the text of the books themselves wasn't in a state of wild flux. Yes, we have textual variants (copies of texts that use different language, or even include passages that others don't), and of course there's the issue of translation. Furthermore, the books in the Bible have been held in high esteem by (at least some factions of) Christians since the third century. (Most of the earlier Church canon lists line up pretty closely with what we have today.) The question wasn't "What should these books say?" so much as "To which of these books do we assign the highest possible level of authority and sacredness?" For me, the most compelling argument against the idea that these texts underwent radical changes (e.g., insertion or exaggeration of miracles) is based on how messy the Bible is. If Christian leaders were OK with grossly tampering with the Bible in this way, we'd expect to see a much cleaner through line, fewer contradictions, and more overt statements of dominant Christian doctrines and dogmas. Take, for example, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. This concept is never directly stated or explained in the pages of Scripture. Ever. Christians have drawn this doctrine from various passages as a means of conceptualizing the nature of and relationships between the god of Israel, the human Jesus, and the Spirit. This was a hotly contested problem in early Christianity. If Church leaders made common practice of "improving" the content of these texts, inserting a few paragraphs into one of Jesus' discourses or one of Paul's letters would be a pretty easy fix, wouldn't it? There's also the issue of Christ's death-why did he have to die? We have various reasons given throughout the New Testament, but Christians have had to synthesize various passages to arrive at (different) conclusions. If it were common practice to "update" these books in order to make them more compelling, believable, and efficient in preserving power structures, this would be a lot smarter of a fix than, say, adding an extra two zeroes to the number of people Jesus fed with a few loaves and fish. But that's really not the issue, and I don't think it gets at the heart of your question. It seems like you're asking "why so many people don't question" the Bible. And to a degree, you already gave yourself the answer: "[the Bible is] what modern day Christians believe are now the correct teachings of God." Christians, for the most part, don't read the Bible, don't study it, and don't know much about its history. (This biblical illiteracy is the whole reason I started this project ten years ago!) We aren't taught to approach it as literature first, we aren't taught about ancient rhetorical conventions, and we aren't taught about the process by which it came together. We're simply told that every word of it is "inspired by God" or "God-breathed." Assumptions of inerrancy and infallibility are the norm, and (sadly) many people in the Christian faith have been given an "all or nothing" ultimatum: accept that our faith tradition's interpretation of every word of this is true and good and acceptable, or reject the faith outright. With stakes this high, questioning often isn't worth it-or an unacceptable thing to consider altogether. I don't think the lack of questioning you're referencing is confined to coercion in cause. Another factor is lack of motivation-some people simply never get enough of an intellectual nudge to begin the process. And as someone with a long history in the church, I feel confident in assuring you that Christians ask questions. They bring them to people in positions of religious authority, which usually results in some level of convincing (or at least reassuring) answer that aligns with their faith tradition. I'd venture that most of the time both the questions and answers are offered with good intentions-but if both parties believe certain things about what the Bible *must* be, then there's always the risk that they might be shielding themselves from what the Bible *is.* I hope this is helpful!
@@OverviewBible Thank you for the lengthy response. I grew up in the Catholic Church and indeed was never allowed to question anything about the scripture on my family. I think it's partly what drove me away.
The Lord give us freedom of choice. I believe in the Bible reading 📚 it for the first time ⏲ using audio books 📚 on you tube and listening 🎶 to your explainations really enjoying it. I grew up in a house 🏠 where religion was not really spoke about unfortunately. My dad broke away from his faith which was Catholism a long time ago. Therefore, have to find the Lord myself I do not really believe in one set church but I do believe in doing research for yourself... 😇 👼 🙏 🤲 ⛪
Good for you! Because one of the wonderful proofs of God (for those who diligently seek God, Who wants to be found!) is Truth (Who IS Jesus) IS ABLE TO BEAR SCRUTINY! Luke 11:9 says "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Keep searching & don't settle!
So there was no real agreement about what properly belonged in the bible until the 1500s ? So there was no basic consensus until 15 centuries after Christ ?
There was much agreement on most of the New Testament. The gospels, Acts, the Pauline epistles, 1 Peter, and 1 John were ubiquitously accepted within a few centuries. But it wasn't until the Reformation that large branches of Christianity began issuing a final word on what books belonged in the Scriptures.
I do not know what is your personal background or who are your target audience but I don't like your approach to the subject (I read your replies too) as it increases confusion among Christians and brings in confirmation bias among Christophobes and Anti-Christianity crowds. If you are Christian who is trying to educate and inform about the Bible, I wish you reconsider your approach and try to include some apologetics to your historical narration.
@@jasper2621 I was 7 yrs old. Now I'm 60. God doesn't change. God is sure as the sun you look to every morning and true as the moon with the gentle cool breeze on your skin. His love and friendship are fearce and He whispers unspeakable truths that never fail. I only know Him and the enemy of my soul that hates me and would destroy me if it were not for JESUS my Redeemer. Anything else is counterfeit and a LIE. Who else since HE HAS LIVED and DIED still has lovers or thousands of followers? None compares to Him!
@@jasper2621 the Quran has history and written of Jesus. The fact that they see Him as a prophet proves He lived in history. The fact that Acts still happens proves He is God the greatest prophet and The King of The Jews. So as His title when He was born and the day they nailed His hands and feet! Truly He is the GREATEST CONTROVERSY for He is God alone!
Because of account evidence AND the fact that I experience him all the time (not just instances that some could call "coincidences"). In that, my belief in the Lord giving Christians the eyes to see and ears to hear, gives me spiritual sensory stimuli. I see what's wrong in our world especially the infamous: "good will become evil and evil will become good". Those in opposition refer to it as a paradigm shift that is good for them. For Christians it will get worse. In opposing eyes, the world evolves becoming more accepting without desire restrictions (more animalistic). When God removes himself, they will "drink and be merry" because of self or as the Bible says, "they will become lovers of themselves"....can't argue with historical finds and true predictions.
The Holy Bible reveals history and history authenticates the Bible. 1 Corinthians 12: 3 says, "no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holyspirit. The holy spirit reveals the Bible to us as true word of God
For your consideration Robert: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:26-27 “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:29-32
Pray tell, where are their words and teachings? Unless you subscribe to the theory that the narrator of the Gospel attributed to John is actually Lazarus (which has some in-story merit), we don't have any of these writings preserved today. (Also, although the Bible documents 10 resurrections, the Matthew account claims "many saints" arose when Jesus died--so the count would be much higher than 10 people.)
Well... I think there's no logic BUT let's say there is a logic so would you answer me? Can any "Christian" (Tell me that why and how on earth can a god die and you literally say that he's powerful so why couldn't he change this world with his own power) Why would a god give his own live for you? And how can a "death" come and take a god? Isn't that so funny? (That's why I don't believe in "Jesus") Fun fact Jesus is a prophet in Islam.
Well, if christ doesn't exist we're all going to hell because we're all sinners and broke God's law. The only person who can save us is Christ since he didn't commit any sins. God can't sent any of his angels to die for us since they're immortals. This is basically the quick detailed definition of why christ need to die on the cross: -believers will rose from the dead because christ did - when he died he earned a new righteous body which believers will also get as they die - believers will go to heaven and will live in a righteous life since no sinner can enter heaven - christ will be the king *there's a difference of the end times of revelation between destroying the world and destroying the planet. God will never destroy the planet as he promised that during the times of great flood in noah's time. That's why we had rainbow because its God's promise
Question: if the bible was really the word of god who is all powerful, why does it have mistakes? Why does it have more than one version? Why is the massage not clear,like why does he sometimes say hes not god but sometimes hint that he is?like hes all powerful he should be able to say it clearly.(l am a Muslim if that helps you answer me)if l find a convincing answer l WILL convert to Christianity.
This is a great question, and I'll try to keep the answer simple. However, there are several things to address here, so please forgive a long response: 1) Re: "The Bible" being "the word of God." This is not a claim that the Bible ever makes about itself (because while some texts reference each other, at no point does the Christian Bible refer to itself in its current for-in any extant orthodox canon. Various prophets claimed to bring "the word of the Lord" to the people, and New Testament authors agree that the works of the Tanakh/Old Testament were written by humans inspired by the God of Israel-but *divine inspiration is not the same as divine authorship.* 2) Re: the God of the Bible being "all powerful," this is not a consistent argument made in the texts of the Bible-at least in terms of how we use "all powerful" today. For example, when the king of Moab sacrifices his own son to his god, it effectively routes a Yahweh-backed campaign (2 Kings 3:9-27). Paul seems to believe that God works through the imperfect world for the good of those who love and obey him (Romans 8:18-28), but the argument that the God of ancient Israel or first-century Christianity is completely free of any limitations or constraints is not supported by the entire Christian canon(s). 3) Re: "why does it have mistakes?" The simple answer is that it was written by imperfect people. The more nuanced answer is that textual inconsistencies can arise from multiple sources. Some inconsistencies may be simple mistakes, some inconsistencies may arise from different authors having different rhetorical goals. Imposing modern journalistic standards on ancient religious texts is a recipe for disappointment. (Sidenote: I find it amusing that while the Bible is filled with stories of God accomplishing his purposes through the imperfect execution of humans, somehow people get the idea that religious texts are the exception. It's totally acceptable that God anointed a king like Saul and allowed him to fail miserably, but unthinkable that God would allow a theological historian to goof a horsemen count when writing pages that would later be considered Scripture.) 4) re: "Why does it have more than one version?" Because it made more sense to spread the message(s) of the Bible by translating it into different languages. Languages evolve over time, so it follows that new translations will take place. 5) Re: "he's all powerful; he should be able to say it clearly." The New Testament authors argue that Yahweh's message _was_ said clearly-but rather than through text, through the person and ministry of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3; John 1:1; 14:9-10). First-century Christians believed that Jesus rose from the dead, and this validated his claims to divine authority (Matthew 28:18). Drafting a perfect Bible (as we know it today) does not seem to have ever been God's priority. ;-) I hope this helps!
¿Why do you believe miracles prove anything? Something occurs that you can't understand and immediately people make up all sorts of explanations that make them feel however they want to feel about it. That never makes your belief true.
@@peterblock6964 What I had in mind is that they preached something and then demonstrated what they just preached by performing what most called "miracles". Like for example they said that they can heal people with the power of God and then performed a bunch of healing miracles. That made their claim much more credible. This is similar to what is happening in modern science. If you hear that "electrons are like little marbles but they have properties of waves", for your brain it might be hard to swallow. So the scientist can perform a few experiments to show you that "electrons are like little marbles" and then perform a double slit experiment to demonstrate that under certain conditions they show an interference pattern instead of just an image of the double slit. Now it is much easier to believe the claim about the properties of electrons. Miracles in themselves don';t prove anything. Even what is miracle is actually relative. If you showed a typical smartphone to an average person from first century, he would think the device is some sort of miracle. He might even believe it is alive. Yet for us smartphones are not miracles. This is because we know how they work but for someone from the first century would be utterly impossible to even imagine how it could work.
I believe you missed a very important point. That his followers, the apostles and close disciples, were first hand witnesses to his teaching, prophecy and accounts. It was not heresay from others and they wrote of their accounts, thus forming the bible.
@@OverviewBible While I believe we can learn about God and Jesus through the Bible, I also believe that man has selfishly used the book to mostly ruin the message! I encourage seekers to read the Bible and it's own history. How it was created. But also look within yourself and the universe around you. God makes himself plain if one is open, watching and listening.
This is where in the Bible we know Gods word came through the prophets Peter 2 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Don’t wanna say the Bible is wrong but how come Adam is not the son of God nor are any other prophets? They’re plenty of prophets that were super amazing and did a lot of great good things that people wouldn’t even be close to be doing now.
¿Do you understand what "Life" is and what "Death" is and who/what is it that is "Alive" in a body, and who/what is it that remains when the body dies? And NOT just have you memorized an answer that you read or someone told you. Don't just jump to the conclusion "It must be God" every time something is beyond your understanding.
This seems pretty off-topic, Peter. But we don't have any conclusive evidence for what a person's consciousness experiences when the body dies (if anything). You might consider taking your own advice when it comes to jumping to conclusions. ;-)
Well, @@OverviewBible, since we are essentially clueless about Life and Death and what happens when a consciousness leaves the physical body all conclusions about the meaning of if someone's consciousness re-materialized after death of the body are meaningless conjecture and proof of absolutely nothing. To explain why people might believe the Bible is kind of pointless if those reasons are not sound. Sure, perhaps it opens a window into the psychology of believers but most are not really going through the process of assessing evidence. It's just cultural habit at this point.
Catholicism is not based circular reasoning. We believe the bible not because of the bible but because of the Magisterium of the Catholic church. If you hand me a letter with your name on it; I believe it's from you not only because there is your name on it. It is because you handed over to me. Jesus Christ establish Catholic church. And the Early Christians/Catholics gave the bible to the world.
The Lord give us freedom of choice. I believe in the Bible reading 📚 it for the first time ⏲ using audio books 📚 on you tube and listening 🎶 to your explainations really enjoying it. I grew up in a house 🏠 where religion was not really spoke about unfortunately. My dad broke away from his faith which was Catholism a long time ago. Therefore, I have to find the Lord myself I do not really believe in one set church but I do believe in doing research for yourself... 😇 👼 🙏 🤲 ⛪
never mind who died for this idea,you base your entire premisse on presumption that Jesus actualy rose from the dead?did I came to right conclusion? so its like that was the confirmation of their expectations for basing religion around it? if so and i got it correctly,isnt that another gap wich was filled by so called eyewitnessess of the event?
not sure if you're a bit drunk, but yes, the fact that Jesus rose again from the grave and lives is the basis for the faith. over 500 people saw Him resurrected, and many of those were persecuted, tortured and killed, all for a big lie?
@@puremusicdaz so,considering your answer,how come you re the one who is not sure about me being drunk?irony or hipocrisy?what should i call you? but instead of dissing you,i ask you to explain your belief that is out side of your experience...would you be so kind to tell me why do you believe?
@@puremusicdaz nope, only one person wrote that over 500 people saw him ressurected im sure you know who wrote it, do ya...??? Could you name just ONE of that 500...????
@@babhag5481 well here we are 2000 years later, still talking about Him.. the 12 apostles (including matthias) for a start. i don't even know where you're coming from, but i don't think you do either.
The BEST answer I've heard yet! Why do I believe the Bible? "I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable source of historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claim that their writings are divine rather than human in origin."
Christians believe because they were born into it. It's a culture thing. Christianity is weak mainly because there's little in it to really learn from. The sermon on the Mount is okay, but there's not that much there really it's pretty sparse . Stoicism is older and provides actual tools for living well. The problem with Christianity is that you're told to look to an external source, God, for everything, and are therefore set up for failure, because things outside of you are out of your control.
I always believe in creation,in God ,never believe in evolution, everything useful and functional in the world has to be planned and made meticulously,if people leave things to itself randomly,then it would become a big mess, even if people did not clean their home periodically,it would become a place that is not livable, so there is nothing called mother nature but really a world and human race that is wonderfully planned and made by God
Religions are shaped by humans. So whether humans used religion or some other framework, we'd see a world that reflects human nature. Humans are curious, and so humans were always going to try to explain the unexplainable (whether it was through anthropomorphizing the natural word or otherwise). Humans are power-hungry, so the wealthy and strong were always going to find ways to dominate the poor and the weak. Humans are tribalistic, so they were always going to develop ways to identify and protect their own (and, in the process, identify and exclude the others).
This is great, but could you provide the citations as to where you got this info, especially the stuff from 6:00 and after when the church decided what was authoritative.
A belief, it's just a belief! I believe in the Pucca! In Celtic tradition this is a spirit that takes the form of a large rabbit or in another way a shape shifter. And just likes to communicate with you! That makes my belief just as valid as anybody else's belief.
I read the Bible and still don't believe. It's other religions that led me back to the Bible. They proved that the Bible is true. When all those other religions cannot help you defeat your demons, but only Jesus Christ can defeat your demons, then you will know the Bible is true.
Yes in every way no matter how you try to defend it the the bottom line is the Bible is real because god said and god is real because the Bible said .. circular argument ..
4:38 That wasn't the only reason. After these people were murdered, the still alive Christians didn't just bury these bodies. They asked God if his plans with these lives were finished. A whole lot of times the answer was "no". And when they received the "no", they used the power of Jesus to raise them from dead. So imagine these nonbelievers witnessing these Christians being murdered (this was done publicly) and then later meeting them alive. They were like "how in the !@#$%^ this is possible". The reply of course was "the death has to bow down in front of the name of Jesus". That cracked a lot of non-believing hearts open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This forced the demons to stop the persecution and change it to infiltration. Today we don't have such miracles because of the 1700 years of demonic influence caused by this type of infiltration.
Can you prove that demonic influence is a cause of lack in miraculous signs? 🤔 Isn't there healings going on today on church, and casting out evil spirits?
Okay, genuine question. So if Jesus knew he was the “son of God” wouldn’t he just be brainwashed by his parents to believe so? 🧐 I feel like no one talks about Jesus as a child. It’s fascinating because that for me feels like such a pivotal thing.
I think I see where you're coming from. If I understand you correctly, you're asking if Jesus believed he was the son of God because his parents conditioned him to believe that about himself. While I'm sure plenty of well-meaning parents have planted delusions of grandeur within their children, the Christian surrounding Jesus' family from the earliest times doesn't leave much room for this interpretation of events. For example, the earliest-written gospel (Mark) says that Jesus' mother and brothers thought he was out of his mind at the beginning of his ministry (Mark 3:20-21, 31). It's important to remember that we're looking back at these events from a 21st-century perspective. In the modern Western world, Christianity is the dominant religion. But in Joseph and Mary's time, it was not. Judaism was a tiny ethnic faith tradition within the vast Roman empire. For two lower-class Jews under Roman rule to conspire to brainwash their child into believing he was divine would have been incredibly cruel: he would just be one more troublemaking lunatic for the government to snuff out. Mary and Joseph didn't know Christianity would become what it is today, and as Jesus was (presumably) their firstborn, raising their heir to be fodder for the capital punishment machines of their time would be a rather numb-skulled strategy. ;-)
You use circular reasoning when explaining why you believe the apostles to be trustworthy. Every religious argument boils down to a circular logical fallacy. It's why Kierkegaard said that belief as a Christian is never going to be rational. A Christian trying to use rationality is one of the most cringeworthy things I've witnessed.
I wouldn't confuse reasoning for empirical rationality. I'm just describing why generations of people in this faith tradition have considered the Old and New Testaments to be sacred texts-not trying to give an apologetic for whether or not they _should_ be considered anything. To be fair, this video is four years old, and if I were to redo this today, I would have been more specific on language like "believe the Bible" and "word of God," because these phrases have taken on meanings of their own in different camps.
@@OverviewBible fair points! Thanks. I do think this is apologetics in sheep's clothing though. Just my fallible human perspective though. I do greatly appreciate your ability to communicate well 🙂
Thanks for the kind words. I try. =) For what it's worth re: the sheep's clothing comment, the communication that goes into this channel is a bit of a balancing act. Almost any conversation about the Bible or Christianity concerns at least 2500 years' worth of diverse tradition, and many, many dogmas have gone in and out of style over that time. I try to present facts in a way that's easy to digest for people coming from various backgrounds and levels of biblical and ecclesiastical history--but that does leave some of my more general videos vulnerable to the biases of individual viewers. In the case of this video, to some, it will come off as confirmation that Christians *don't* use circular reasoning in their approach to the Bible. To others, it's enough to get them thinking about how sacred texts are just as much a product of those who preserve them as they are a product of those who wrote them (in the case of the Bible, perhaps more so). But for me, my main point in making this video was to produce *something* that makes the case for the Bible (or at the very least, the collection, preservation, and arrangement thereof) as a product of Christianity, rather than the other way around.
A well-presented and explained video. Nice job. I do, however, have a couple of issues with your presentation, not the least of which is the altruistic motives you ascribe to those who compiled the various documents into (more or less) the Bible we know today. From Marcion and Tatian's efforts to compile a uniform book of teachings in the 100s, to the First Council of Nicaea 200 years later, the motives of most Roman officials and church leaders were anything but pure. I have little doubt that a good faith effort to include the most legitimate and genuine teachings was made -- but only as far as it aligned with the need to maintain order and control over the Roman citizenry. One need only look at what was included -- and more importantly, what was not -- to see just how true that is. Power plays for both influence and wealth also played a role in those decisions, and especially in those made at later gatherings such as the second council in 787 and the Hampton Court Conference led by King James in 1604. Also significant is the marketing that helped sell Christianity to the masses, such as naming the anonymously written gospels after Jesus's disciples to make them more "legitimate." Of course, all of this doesn't even touch on the evidence showing Christianity to be apocryphal and based on little more than a series of fanciful stories, historical fiction, and a successful public relations campaign. (To be fair, as an atheist and humanist, I believe all religions are at best, myths and at worst, frauds. Unfortunately, they are myths and frauds that have over the millennia caused far more human misery than they've alleviated. I will say, though, that none have caused more suffering in the last 500 years than Christianity.) Sorry -- I didn't mean to get off track. I'll leave those arguments for another time. Thanks again for a great video.
sWORD -- Father and Son -- Yahu'Ah Yahu'Sha: ...Kingdom's Power and Authority -- 'Saving Will' Testimony, ...Spirit and Truth IN the (verses) of the Whole Living WORD WithIN!!! (echad) IN Covenant Loyalty -- Morning by Morning Womb!!! (Isaiah 50:4-10; respectively) The Most High Ab Yahu'Ah hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how TO speak a sWORD IN season TO him that is weary: (Spirit and Truth, everlasting TO everlasting) ...He wakeneth (morning by morning), ...He wakeneth mine ear TO hear as the learned. (Covenant Loyalty) 5 The Most High Ab Yahu'Ah hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. 6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: ...I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 7 For the Most High sovereign will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: ...therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. 8 He IS near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: ...who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. 9 Behold, the Most High sovereign will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up. 10 Who IS among you that feareth the Most High Ab Yahu'Ah, ...that obeyeth the voice of his servant, ...that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust IN the name of the Most High Ab Yahu'Ah, and stay upon his Most High sovereign!!! (Psalm 143:8) Cause me TO hear Thy LovingKindNess IN the (morning) womb; for IN Thee do I trust: ...Cause me TO know TheWay whereIN I should walk; for I lift up my soul unTO Thee. Remember, as we step out on the stage of life; ...we are performing TO an audience of one, our heavenly Father Ab Yahu'Ah Sovereign! Help build a Kingdom's mindset IN prayer, seeking, testing, perceiving, and be open TO receiving discernment, wisdom, and understanding through sWORD Spirit and Truth withIN one! Repent, and return TO one(s) first love through the everlasting sWORD unTO Life; Yahu'Sha Messiah: ..."If you Love Me hearken unTO My Commands!" (Ab Yahu'Ah's voice) Praise and thanks TO the Most High Ab Yahu'Ah, and give all esteem TO His anointed Hebrew Son Yahu'Sha Messiah, our King, High Priest, and Intercessor unTO Life, Love, Logic, and Loyalty, for believers that "Hear Ye Him Only!"
If you're used to trusting in God because of the Bible you should know you're pretty much wrong. I do believe in God and his son as beings which act in every single moment of my life. Unfortunately most of people think that you only have to believe in God to be saved, but, the truth is... You have to believe in God and being assured that nobody can reach out the father If It wasn't for the mercy of his son Jesus, along with that you must fallow all God's commandments. If you do that and try no to sin, maybe, you'll be saved when you die. Only God can judge your acts on earth. We don't deserve the grace, we only have It because of Jesus Christ.
Inquisitor: "Why do you believe the Bible?" Christian: "Because it's the word of God." Inquisitor: "Why do you believe the Bible is the word of God?" Christian: "Um, uh, I've got to go over there now. Bye."
@@horsesense6173 My point is that I've never met a Christian who can explain why they believe the Bible is "the word of God". Also, I'm pretty sure that almost all Christians are Christians because they either were raised in the faith or because they had some kind of conversion experience, not because they were convinced by arguments about the Bible.
@@endofscene - I will speak for myself. I believe the Bible is the word of God because God gives me the faith to believe. This is different from the belief that many secular people have when they claim to believe in the stories of the "big bang", man evolving from monkeys and that there is no God. Unlike Christians, I don't see how secular people can believe in anything and yet, they do.
@@horsesense6173 Thanks for your comment. "God gives me the faith to believe" can be used to justify belief in anything - any holy book, any pope, any church, any doctrine. And if God gives you the faith to believe certain things about the Bible then surely She also gives you the ability to correctly *interpret* the Bible. This would mean that your particular interpretation is the correct one and anyone who disagrees or whose "faith" results in a *different* interpretation is wrong. (Likely most Christians disagree with you about interpretations of certain Bible books, passages, verses, concepts, etc.) P.S. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "secular people". Most people are religious and/or believe in God, but they are not Christian.
@@endofscene - My belief in the Bible and my interpretations of the Bible passages and it's messages is guided by God. As he is sovereign, I have no doubt that what he is revealing to me is correct. I don't feel the need to correct anyone else as that is not my place; it is God's place.
![The 12 Tribes of Israel in the Bible [Whiteboard Bible Study]](/img/1.gif)
I believed in Jesus before I even read the bible. When people ask me why, its my experience that happened first that verified the bible for me. I was secular and atheist and I gave myself to Jesus. The day I did I felt myself become transformed. It's like the lights turned on and the darkness melted away. It's like God put the mirror to my soul and showed me the real truth. He showed me who I really was and who others really were. I was given new eyes and a new heart. Everything I experienced is in the bible, every last thing i went through when i started reading the bible was confirmation for me. Not only that I've had supernatural experiences that I know was the Holy Spirit and the bible even explained those. I know the truth. I cant even begin to explain to you how many times God has answered my prayers. I would have to be in the guiness book of world records for coincidences at this point if He wasnt real. He is alive and real and still here with us. People can either accept my testimony or throw it away, but at the end of the day as long I can share my experiences with them I know I've planted a seed and I'm happy with that.
You were told about Jesus at some point before your belief though obviously, correct? You didn't suddenly come to the realization that Jesus existed before you had ever heard of him, right? I also "gave myself to Jesus" when I was younger. I thought I felt different. Now I realize that I'm not actually different and that it was likely just a comforting feeling of "I don't have to worry about anything because God will take care of me." I'm not trying to poke holes in your beliefs or attack you at all. I just want to ask. Do you believe that Hell (i.e. eternal torture) is real and that non-believers are destined to go there?
Statistically speaking, you should be in the Guiness Book of world records simply for the fact that so many of your prayers have been answered, as you say. Because most prayers go unanswered for most people, logically. If only there was a method to test the reliability of prayers! That would be a great defense for Christians if they had some sort of statistics backing up claims of answered prayer. And one would think would be a fairly easy task to accomplish, since answered prayers allegedly are a common phenomenon.
Sadly I have yet to see anything even close to that kind of evidence be presented. :/
And I apologize if Im coming off as rude, not my intention. Hope you have a great day.
@@lugialover09 I was doing some research into it and I haven't fully completed that, but there is some evidence that shows hell isn't some eternal place of torture. It's more that God will throw your soul into the lake of fire and you will burned up (as in cease to exist) However, I haven't completed my research on this, so that I don't have a definite answer yet. A lot of things in Christianity have been cross contaminated with paganism, so there's lots of stuff that I've been looking into.
I also didn't just have a fuzzy feeling. I've had spiritual experiences that confirmed it for me.
Edit: I also didn't just give myself to Jesus as some off the cuff remark. I gave my whole life. I just said to God you do it. Take my life..... and i meant it. I meant it deep down in the core of my being that He could have it all. My money, my health, my job, my future, everything! I dont know where Gods going to lead me, but it all belongs to Him.
@@MaumenPurrwhitiker Its something that can never be proven. I don't feel the need to prove it either. People can believe or not and that's their right. It will never shake my faith because I know the relationship I have with my Father. I know all the things He's done for me and all the prayers He's answered. I always say dont believe me, believe God. I'm not a special snowflake. What God did for me He can do for anyone else too.
@@pinkymaxine Well, there's no evidence that Hell itself exists in any capacity. If you're just simply talking about theological evidence about the concept within the religion itself, then I suppose that's valid in a sense. I would agree that, based on the Judaic mythology upon which Christianity is founded (from what I can recall anyway), there's no actual claim of a post-mortem place of torment. I believe Sheol is the standard term used for a place of the dead which simply translates to "grave." I think that implies that they didn't really picture an afterlife; otherwise, I think it would have been more detailed in description. Also, I can't really speak to your personal experiences. If they offer sufficient evidence to you, then that's fine although they unfortunately do nothing to offer evidence to anyone else.
I believe because I was never a believer up until the day I had a NDE and and Jesus came to rescue me and miraculously healed me of spine disease and injuries. Praise the Lord Jesus ✝️
An odd reason to believe. How do you know it was Jesus? Were you just mistaken? It sounds rather illogical to hasten to accept this "miraculous" event over anything else.
Amen, Praise God!
If you don't have the Holy Spirit you will never be sure. The Devil is smart enough to know it is real and trembles with fear 😨
If I may, Just because the apostles believed Jesus's teachings, that doesn't mean the teachings are true. If I got myself killed because I believed that giraffes are psychic and can make me invincible from harm, then that does not mean it is true. All it means is that I really believed it. Something being true and believing something to be true are not the same thing. They're not interchangeable.
True and well put
If 500 people suffered brutal deaths to tell me they saw the same giraff demonstrate physical abilities, I would take their claims seriously.
Your argument falls apart at bullet number one. You never got past the circular argument part. I can answer the headline question though. Christians believe in the Bible because 1) Fear 2) Wishful thinking.
You do realize Christianity predates the Bible, right?
@@OverviewBible Okay. Alright.
Sorry Marcus but you’re wrong. I don’t believe (in just the Bible, but also Jesus) because of fear, I believe because I have seen the changes in my own life and character. I have experienced Him. I have heard Him speak. He has answered my prayers. God bless you and I pray you come to know Him for yourself.
@@trumpetplyrmatt Well if he spoke to you, that's different. How did he speak to you and what did he say?
@@marcuspi999
He has spoken in different ways. Sometimes through creation, sometimes through numbers, sometimes He uses others. When I was hardcore struggling with pornography, I was crying by my bedside for Jesus to take it away from me. He said to me as if He was right behind me, very clearly, “My Grace is sufficient for you.” I knew it was Him because I INSTANTLY didn’t want it anymore and I was FILLED with JOY!! Everyone is different though, and everyone has different experiences. So I pray that He would come to you, in a way your HEART would receive and understand. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Always wondered about this subject but since I was agnostic, I never really bothered to look into this… that is until I started feeling“nudged” to do so. Never was one to trust without verifying, or at least having a better understanding. Great video, thank you.
God bless you!
@@fernandowong371Hail satan!
What does “nudge” mean to you?
I love how christians say god is love, look at the world we live in today and where is that love? And I don't want to hear free will, my free will has nothing to do with the corruption, killing, rape, starvation, etc. What did Humans do before Jesus or this god show up?
I’m sorry that you haven’t seen that love in action, but as a believer myself, I assure you Jesus is alive and well. EVERYONE’S free will has contributed to the decline of society in some way. There is always a choice and always consequences in everything we do. The Bible shows us that sin is a consequence of our desires. There is no one good, not one.
@@trumpetplyrmatt Humans wrote the bible. You need to expand your mind and do some research. Do you believe in reincarnation? Do you believe in ET, other life forms in the universes?
@@paratrooperlane7022 you’re getting off topic. Humans wrote what God had them to write. If you actually took a moment to humble yourself and ask God to reveal Himself to you, and waited until He did, He would. Christians believe in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Research does nothing if you don’t believe that God Is Who He Is. I do not believe in reincarnation at all. I believe that God has the power to raise the dead, as there are some who have came back to life to tell the Truth about Heaven and Hell. I believe God has the power to heal the sick, if people would humble themselves to be used by Him. Christians are the hands and feet of God, just like satanists believe they are used by satan and people who are not Christians are also being blinded by satan. E.T. life may exist, not sure. If you choose not to believe in God, then we have nothing to discuss.
@@trumpetplyrmatt I am not getting off topic, I am asking what you believe in besides this god of your.
Satan, a word created by humans to control humans. How many beings came to earth and not through the birth cycle? And no one died for me lets be clear on that. Secondly, you were taught this religion and this god, along with everything else in your life. How does someone being born sin? They don't, there again you were taught this lie.
How come each Country has its own creator? The true indigenous people of our world don’t believe in this god you talk about.
The bible was written by Humans and how many of these Humans put their own belief in the bible? And your religion kills animals in a sacrifice for this god of yours, how is that loving.
And you religious people say this god of yours is good? How can that be, look at the world today. What about all the other beings in the universe and the muti-verse, do they know about your god?
The Origin of the word god: The earliest written form of the Germanic word god comes from the 6th century Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan.
When was Yeshua/Jesus actually born? No one knows.
How old is religion: The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious experiences and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BCE). The prehistory of religion involves the study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the advent of written records.
So life did exist before this so-called belief system, I wonder what changed? Maybe a way to control the masses? Also, people use the word he when describing the creator of all. Why is that? Because they read a book or listen to someone brainwashing them. How does a he create life? He doesn’t, only in the weak minds he exists……What about life beyond the physical, other Dimensions, Realms, Levels, etc? Are we not spirit/soul HAVING a human experience? What about all the other universes, What is beyond them? And so on……..Also, there is NO GENDER when in spirit!
@@paratrooperlane7022
you’re getting off topic because your original complaint was about horrible things happening in the earth. I gave you an explanation and you proceed to insult my beliefs by telling me I’m wrong for believing in The God Who Changes Lives (Jesus Christ). you can come at me all day with what your “research” (useless knowledge) yielded you, but at the end of the day, whether or not you believe is your choice. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. If you choose not to believe it’s because you put your faith in information and logic..faith defies logic. People have been HEALED by my God (proof for your records) and there’s medical evidence to back it up. My God has existed and there’s proof for that too. My “religion” (as you call it) is not about control, it’s about a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I have a relationship with God. I can only pray you have one too. Good day.
I like the phrase at 0:31, "we kind of have a looped conversation." Putting it in those words is preferable to the expression "circular reasoning", because a person's religious belief isn't necessarily based in reasoning. Calling it a conversation sounds like it might be more productive.
After your opening comments, I was expecting some explanation of religious beliefs prior to there being scriptures of any kind. I thought you might explain some origins or features of the Israelites religious beliefs before they used scriptures.
But the video itself was a kind of looped conversation, because the answers to the questions where did the bible come from? and why can we trust it? are reliant on the stories from that bible. Trying to demonstrate that the stories are trustworthy by using events from those stories is completely circular.
It's true that there's a lot of context to get into here. Explaining the origins of the Israelite religion would probably be another video (or series of videos) entirely.
I'm missing something-where in the video does it seem I am demonstrating that the stories of the Bible are trustworthy because of the events in the stories? That's not what I believe, nor is that what I'm attempting to represent on the right side of the board here.
It's true that the longest-lasting written accounts of Jesus' resurrection are found in the Bible. Whether those accounts are trustworthy or not is another video for another time. But (and this is where it gets dicey) modern Christians believe *that ancient Christians believed* that Jesus rose from the dead before there was any written record of this.
Some believe this simply because the New Testament books affirm this (which is circular). Others, however, believe this because the Christian religion is (by church history records) older than the New Testament, and that most of its founding members (the apostles) seem to have been martyred for their beliefs.
All this still hinges on faith-but specifically a faith that the Bible was written by people who sincerely believed Jesus rose from the dead, rather than people who invented the story.
Many thanks for the thoughtful comment!
@@OverviewBible there are some non-christian sources for Jesus's death on the cross as well, roman and jewish historians who had no reason to perpetuate a 'myth.'
@tonyetzu - it's not so important where the bible came from, as what does it actually say - how does it hang together as a whole and is there any sign of this being from God, rather than men?
people say they've read the bible, but they haven't; you would never dream of criticising shakespeare without having fully read it, so why would anyone do the same with the bible?
if you say you have fully read and studied it, then i have a few theme questions to ask. if not, then you are wrong to form an opinion of that which you know little about. i know i was, and then i read it, really read it.
@@OverviewBible Thank you for your honest response to tonyetzu. I also believe that it least some of Jesus's followers had experiences they believed were Jesus alive again. However, they might have had visions, as Paul admits. I appreciate you saying that ultimately it is a matter of faith. That is a lot more honest than saying that there are 5000 handwritten copies, so the Bible must be true.
These videos are great overviews. I am not Christian but want to be understanding and respectful of my Christian, Muslim, etc, neighbors and friends. And you obviously have a gift for teaching!
Most assuredly, he surely does have the "teaching" gift.
You do know how RARE you are? I applaud your desire to "understand" the faith of "your Christian, Muslim, etc, neighbors and friends". My prayer is that God will plant seeds that begin to open your heart & mind to the Truth (and Love inseparable, from Genesis to Revelation), Who IS Jesus, because Jesus WANTS to be found! Here's a few things to think about...the reason why I don't believe in censoring science (KNOWLEGE gained via logic & reason and & the pursuit to add more knowledge, so that more is known) is the SAME REASON why God & His Word DOESN'T NEED censorship either (people who read the bible on their own were burned as heretics during the Dark Ages). The following is a lie that's been perpetuated for thousands of years via pride-filled men (pride is at the heart of sin) so puffed up as to believe they can speak FOR One or the other without question (the reason for the logical fallacy argumentum ab auctoritate, or appeal from authority) have ALWAYS been in conflict, BUT God & science (knowledge) have NEVER been in conflict. Understand, when I say "science" I'm not talking about philosophy, but what knowledge is clearly seen & understood in creation (check out Romans 1:20) & knowledge that's gained via reason, logic & empirical evidence. Knowledge isn't Truth, but it is PART of truth (God is soooooosooo much more than mere knowledge) & therefore, like truth, ABLE TO BEAR SCRUTINY. I say "I THINK" when I'm doing just that; I say I BELIEVE, when I've taken my questions to God and His Word & His Holy Spirit Who resides in me illuminates the Truth & Love it reveals, which PERSUADES me to belief & though there's more than enough evidence (historically, scientifically, experientially), because God on earth is Spirit (God in the flesh/Jesus resides in heaven for now), the only things I KNOW are by faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God "is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" Bottom line, to understand the faith of an authentic Christian (God says man who call Him "Lord, Lord" will find they never knew Him), you must look at whether or not truth exists. You're being so rare, I sure hope you seek to know...because to the searching, proof awaits; to the Agnostic, no truth is found, because no one is searching; to the hardened Athiest, no proof is ever enough :( & to those acquainted with the depth of their sin, who've found grace and forgiveness through the victorious life, death & resurrection of Jesus Christ, no further proof is required.
Why do Christians have a lot of confidence in the people who canonized the Bible?
They always talk about church leaders as good people with the best intention at heart.
Sure, they admit these prominent figures' imperfections, but when it comes to the bible, it just seems so perfectly made and carefully put together.
I was a devout Christian but I saw people using the bible to construct their own legacy while actually believing that they're doing God's work.
The audacity can be overwhelming.
I'd caution against generalizing here. Most Christians are very, very undereducated when it comes to the Bible's origins and canonization history.
Examining the Old Testament (the Tanakh) as ancient literature reveals a marvelously and artistically edited library. The New Testament, not so much. In a sense, we have the Reformation and the printing press to thank for our finalized canons.
Great job sharing this info with us Christians, and those whom want to know more about the Bible & ancient Scriptures.
I love this channel. Jeffrey is phenomenal teacher, and extremely well versed and well read. The bible is not the easiest book to follow and understand and Jeffrey puts every aspect of it in perspective. I like watching at least one of his tutorials every day in my quest to become much more engaged in biblical study. Thanks Jeffrey, great, great job.
False no one who ever wrote about Jesus ever met him and no stories were written about him until after his death just tall tells being passed down by word for years until someone wrote them down.
Watch one message foundation on YT
Actually Apostle John met Jesus and wrote the book of John and Revelations
Yes, it is a circular argument. I was in a Bible Study group in grad school (in engineering), and we discussed this topic. Even though everyone in the room had years of training in mathematics and critical thinking, they were unwilling to admit that this was a circular argument. I say they were unwilling to admit this because it was obvious that they were all HIGHLY TRAINED in logical thinking, as every one of us was valedictorian from our undergraduate universities (MIT, UVA, Columbia, Princeton, Stanford, UPenn, etc, etc, etc), so knew perfectly well what circular reasoning was. But, they were all polite.
I have several sincere questions:
How can a question about the veracity of 2 Peter not be considered heretical?
When is a question/doubt about the veracity of a book of canon, heretical and when is it sincere inquiry?
What was the criteria for how a book got into the canon?
Who held the standards for what is considered in the canon?
If it took so long to define the books of the bible, why do "biblical Christians" believe the bible is now complete and no other writings should be considered? (My expectations is you'll give me another circular defining, "because the bible says so.")
Who or what gave the "curators" authority to decide what goes in it? This video makes it sound like it was by consensus and other than inspiration.
How can an Orthodox Christian believe there are other books outside the bible canon, and still be considered Christian?
I believe in the bible because the lineage described and the anecdotal evidence of personal account and witness is enough for me personally to believe in that evidence.
Why don't you believe in Islam or Hinduism? Surely there are plenty of personal accounts and anecdotal evidence backing those up as well. As to the lineage, how can you verify that 1. those people existed and 2. that the lineage as described is actually accurate? It's not surprising that the written record of a lineage would be consistent with itself after thousands of years to make sure it makes sense. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just saying that you have no method by which you can prove that you're right in your belief.
Edit: I'm rather late in following up on my own comment here, but I only just recently discovered that actually the two lineages given for Jesus (in Matthew and Luke) differ wildly after David and only really agree upon reaching Joseph and Jesus. Also, it actually doesn't make much sense for Joseph's lineage to matter at all because Jesus did not descend from his family.
@@lugialover09 I think the genealogies in Matthew and Luke lead to two different Josephs. (Mary’s father and Mary’s husband)
@@alfzepo9976 Both genealogies explicitly refer to Joseph as being Jesus's father.
Bible and evidence are oxymoron
@@lugialover09 I heard an interesting theory, I’m not fully sure if one is Mary’s and one is Joseph’s or both are Joseph’s but from different fathers.
The books of the Bible did not "come together". They were chosen by men. Men disagreed thousands of years ago, and still do today about which ones should be accepted. How it even got the name is recorded by history.
It all boils down to your faith in the apostle’s claims,the accounts of Jesus’s miracles and ultimately his resurrection.
The circularity and illogic of Sola Scriptura is why I left Protestantism and became a Catholic. The Church came before and gave us the Bible.
But the church is not allowed to manufacture new and unnecessary doctrines like what Roman Catholic Church has done! Scripture Alone goes along with Christ Alone, By Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone and Glory To God Alone! The Gospel came before having a Church in Rome. It is all about the Gospel!
We believe bcoz we experienced God's wondrous love in our lives. We learned later bcoz of what we experienced and it just prove more of God's amazing existence and that Jesus is the true Living God. The Bible is indeed life's instructions and contains evidence of God that we see proof in history.
@Koshi Kun
Sorry you don’t believe. Maybe one day you will
@Koshi Kun the best part is He created ALL languages so you can pray in whatever language you speak. He understands all. Just be humble before Him. He loves you.
@Koshi Kun
God is the Creator. He created ALL. He allows man to think what they want to, but ultimately if you steal His Glory..well, let’s just say I wouldn’t want to be you in the end when you kneel before Him. EVERYONE WILL kneel before Him eventually..
@Koshi Kun
Well, I’m not going to sit here and argue with you. All I can say is He cares very much for you and I pray that soon you believe that for yourself. There’s a verse in the Bible which states “..casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” It’s very much true. Jesus Christ has changed my life and I will never be the same, no matter how much anyone may try to reason intellectually or doubt His Existence. Some things are not received through intelligence..it’s a heart issue. you’re not very close with your parents are you?
Well good for you. I experienced pain, emptiness, loneliness, mental ilness, being poor and broke and in debt.
Thank you God!!!👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌
Very soon after I became born again God impressed me with the knowledge that the Bible is true is every respect. So I didn't need to decide on this. I even rang my Vicar and told him that the bible is true!!
Yup because god said and god is real because the Bible said .. circular argument
"Most of Jesus close followers were martyred". According to whom?
@David OrtizJust because Bible or Christian tradition claims apostoles were killed for claiming Jesus rose from death doesn't make it true. It is just part of mythology created by religion to convince its followers.
Marek Kedzierski It might be true though. The planetoids and asteroids which hit earth and mercury and the other planets, the billions of years it took for earth to form and life to evolve, the big bang: what if these were false/misunderstood interpretations created to fit with and explain that specific secular worldview? Who knows.
@@marekkedzierski8237 - The resurrection has been recorded as a historical fact.
@@marekkedzierski8237 with that logic any historical claims could be considerate as fact such as American discovered, Napoleon, most of the wars in human history etc etc.
@@pafoneto1275 It doesn't work like that. We have hundreds of documents about Napoleon, all written during his lifetime by both his supporters and his enemies, not to mention physical objects like paintings, busts, statues and coins. Compare that to apocryphal stories about apostles that show up hundreds of years after their time and are spread solely by church, which has clear self-interests in inventing such stories.
You are not very well informed. Read Bart Ehrman, a real biblical scholar.
Care to cite exactly where Professor Ehrman has disagreed with the content of this video?
@@OverviewBible The disciples were not the Apostles for one thing, they are fictional characters. Christianity started as several different belief systems based on a combination of Jewish and Pagan ideas. The one sect that gained the favor of the Roman state eventually wiped out the other versions. Jesus as an actual person was not required to form Christian dogma, it is not even very likely. Paul never talks about Jesus as a human, just a spiritual entity. Richard Carrier and Robert Price are good sources for this point of view.
@@laARTstream … I'll just take that as a "no."
The idea that the teachings of Jesus are codified in the New Testament is just an assumption. So even if Jesus died and rose again (big if), and even if this proved his teachings true (big if), that still wouldn't make the Bible true.
The idea that the teachings of Jesus' apostles (whoever they were) are codified in the New Testament is also just an assumption. Do you have any good evidence of the teachings of Jesus' apostles?
The New Testament has over 5000 archeological manuscripts. 98% of these are consistent with each other. This weeds out the 2% as altered edition of the New Testament.
The Old Testament proves Old Testament as accurate and contains prophecy about Jesus.
Addition: The Old Testament is proven to be accurate by the Dead Sea scrolls which were written some hundreds of years before Jesus.
@@chris_2208 Thanks for your comment but your points are irrelevant to the points in my comment.
@@chris_2208 Thanks for your comment but your points are irrelevant to the points in my comment.
Systems are based on shared assumptions, and religions are no exception. People assumed Jesus rose from the dead. And later, people assumed that they had a workable body of Jesus' teachings in the documents that became our New Testament. It's an expression of faith.
@@OverviewBible Thanks for your response. If you don't mind me asking, why do you choose to adopt those assumptions? Were you raised in a Christian family?
Love you friend. Thanks for the way you think with such clarity and insight. Keep it up.
You are using circular reasoning again using Jesus. Because you believe the Bible is the truth therefore you believe everything written in the Bible about Jesus is true. Bingo.
I read about a book that says Santa claus is real and how he has done so much for the children. How do I know if the book is real? Well, because in the book it said it was written by Santa Claus. I have no proof outside of the book that this book is truly written by Santa Claus or whether he existed. There you go.
Unlike the Santa book in your analogy, the Bible never claims to have been written by Jesus. (If it did, maybe this would be easier.) If Jesus ever wrote anything himself, those writings never survived.
But the idea that Jesus rose from the dead is far older than the Bible we have today.
There *are* some Christians who believe that Jesus rose from the dead because it's written in the Bible. And that's circular reasoning.
However, the earliest Christians didn't even *have* the Bible we have today. But they still suffered and died spreading this new message of a risen Messiah. Peter, James, John, and the other earliest followers of Jesus weren't spreading a message they read in a book. They truly believed that a person had died and come back to life, and that his message was trustworthy.
Christianity, as a religion, isn't a result of the Bible. The Bible is a result of Christians.
OverviewBible you have actually blown my mind!!!!! This makes so much sense!!! Thanks for the insight!
@@OverviewBible Christianity, as a religion, is a result of the Bible. And the Bible (New Testament) is a result of first-century Christians. However, there seems to have been different strains of early Christianity, and many of them didn't survive. The various books of the New Testament appear to have been authored by different Christian sects.
@@endofscene
you basically ignored everything he said and repeated yourself. the world has taught you to reject the truth of the bible. your choice.
@@puremusicdaz "you basically ignored everything he said and repeated yourself."
I didn't ignore it. I was just clarifying the 'chicken and egg' situation. If you disagree with what I said then please feel free to correct me. And if you would like me to respond to something in particular that he said then I'm happy to do so.
"..the world has taught you to reject the truth of the bible. your choice."
Actually, "the world" didn't teach me that. I have read parts of the Bible and found it to be primitive, archaic and barbaric. And I have considered the claims of Christians for myself and have concluded that they are largely erroneous and ridiculous.
My experience supports my faith.
My belief in the bible is that I've seen the fruits of the labor of the behaviorial and moral systems work. I believe in the laws for the good of people and I believe that the lessons gained from the Bible would take humanity forward instead of how we've been... stagnant if not moving backwards. I believe there is a God I have no idea if it is the christian or judian God but I believe the creator exists and governs the natural world.
¿Do you believe in and worship the God of Deuteronomy?
You know, the "God" described as being jealous, wrathful, vengeance seeking, fear and loyalty demanding, genocide/rape/slavery commanding, etc., etc.
¿You worship that thing?
¿Really?
Thanks for demonstrating that the whole circular argument is not only circular, but based on a series of fallacies and a complete lack of critical thinking. Effectively you believe because you think that someone else did, even though you don’t know who they were or have any supportive evidence outside of your beliefs. Completely circular and unjustified.
"Effectively you believe because you think that someone else did, even though you don’t know who they were…"
That's generally how history works.
"or have any supportive evidence outside of your beliefs."
[Shrug] There are nearly two millennia's worth of developed thought preserved in museums and libraries around the world. Christianity had to come from somewhere.
@@OverviewBible extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Christianity most likely came out of an overactive imagination combined with a desire for power and control.
Unless you can support your assertions with something substantial then you have a collection of stories about what people believed. Believing something doesn’t make it true.
@@markedwards4879 "Christianity most likely came out of an overactive imagination combined with a desire for power and control."
I'm a bit lost in the irony here, Mark. I don't see how this claim re: Christianity's origins is any more empirically grounded than the historical one. Whose overactive imagination? And whose power and control? Did Constantine and his cronies just fabricate a few centuries of tradition out of nowhere? Why co-opt the Jewish sacred texts, specifically? This isn't just a matter of an overactive imagination: what you're describing amounts to a mass conspiracy. I imagine you can appreciate the desire to see some evidence of this kind of manipulation.
"Believing something doesn’t make it true." In many ways, you've summed up my thoughts on Christianity and religion in general, Mark. The purpose of this video isn't to prove empirically that the Bible or Christianity is true-rather, it's to give people a straightforward picture of _why_ people believe it's true. I'm not sure how the gospel can be empirically proven. Believing something doesn't make it true, but usually people believe things because they think they're true. But unfortunately we don't all approach life with the same process for determining what is "true." If we did, we'd all believe the same things!
@@OverviewBible I’m not surprised that you are lost since evaluating arguments and distinguishing the reliability of evidence doesn’t appear to be a strength for you.
My claim is pretty simple, and not even a particularly strong claim. Which is more likely, that some supernatural being did all of these unlikely things or that some people made up some stuff and a bunch of other people took them at face value and believed it? At present no one has even demonstrated the existence of the supernatural at all, whereas legend, myth and manipulation are real things.
Even your last comment lacks integrity. The imaginations of a lot of people combined over centuries to create the OT, and the imaginations of decades worth of people to compile and create the NT. Co-opting the Jewish texts makes it much easier to convert people who are already familiar with much of the doctrine- have a look at how cults start.
Mass conspiracy? No, not really. Once the ball is rolling enough gullible people will continue it going. Think about the flat earthers or Roswell incident believers as examples of how easy it is for this to happen, with the latter gaining critical mass in a couple of decades. Bear in mind the at lest 3 decades between the cruxifixction and the earliest gospel, which had been handed down orally..
You are right about people believing it’s true, but you can at least apply a modicum of skepticism to the claims while analysing their voracity.
Not my video, but this just about sums it up nicely. ruclips.net/video/UDORCict0VQ/видео.html
@@markedwards4879 "I’m not surprised that you are lost since evaluating arguments and distinguishing the reliability of evidence doesn’t appear to be a strength for you." Oof. I'm open to discussing these sorts of topics with people who disagree with me, but hopefully you can understand my lack of interest in doing so with this tone. Have a good one, Mark. =)
It’s the word of God, revealed to believers by the Holy Spirit… Don’t ever forget about the Holy Spirit brother, that’s why the comforter is here,
Have you got a reason to believe the Bible outside of the Bible?
I mean there is archeological, historical, geographical, and circumstantial evidence that supports The Bible. Not to mention The Bible isn't just 1 book, rather it's 66 different books compiled into one, therefore one book can be validate and prop up another book, especially when it comes to prophetic evidence.
I got great insight from this video. Please correct me if I'm wrong. "Jesus risen from the dead" is the core fact/believe that breaks the bible's circular reasoning?. I also have a legit question that I have issues wrapping my head around. He said Jesus followers being murder is a "good indication" they were telling the truth? Please help me understand that premise. Thanks.
I'm glad this is helpful! To clarify, I do believe that a lot of people's reasoning when it comes to what they believe about the Bible is indeed circular. However, Christianity as a faith tradition predates the Bible, so it wasn't always this way. Earlier on, people shared a message with other people, and the recipients deemed the messengers trustworthy (for a variety of reasons).
Re: martyrdom, it's more of a "good indication" that they *thought* they were telling the truth than actual evidence of a resurrection. The idea that several adults would dedicate and sacrifice their lives (without any real material gain) for something they knew was a lie is a little too ridiculous for many to accept. ;-)
@@OverviewBible Thanks very much I appreciate your response.
You sir have just gained another subscriber
I do appreciate this video. It gives someone like me, an agnostic, a better understand of the "Why". But I'm still a bit confused on why so many people don't question it. For example, it appears it took 1500 years for everyone to agree what was canon in the Bible. And that's what modern day Christians believe are now the correct teachings of God. 1500 years of possible issues with things being changed, added, subtracted, through time where we know accurate record keeping was very very poor across all of history. Not trying to criticize or call anyone an idiot, I'm very open to hearing the counter arguments or if I'm not understanding the timeline correctly, but it seems odd to me to put beliefs in the fantastic miracles and events when just by the passing of time so much of it could have been changed and completely untrue. I mean we've all done the telephone game. It's one thing to pass history down about dates and events and believe history knowing it's probably not 100% accurate, but when the events are so magnificent and we're told to believe them when they weren't even agreed upon until people 1500 years after the events agreed they happened...
It sounds like this question is asked in good faith, so here goes …
I should specify that while the canon was finalized in the 1500s, the text of the books themselves wasn't in a state of wild flux. Yes, we have textual variants (copies of texts that use different language, or even include passages that others don't), and of course there's the issue of translation. Furthermore, the books in the Bible have been held in high esteem by (at least some factions of) Christians since the third century. (Most of the earlier Church canon lists line up pretty closely with what we have today.) The question wasn't "What should these books say?" so much as "To which of these books do we assign the highest possible level of authority and sacredness?"
For me, the most compelling argument against the idea that these texts underwent radical changes (e.g., insertion or exaggeration of miracles) is based on how messy the Bible is. If Christian leaders were OK with grossly tampering with the Bible in this way, we'd expect to see a much cleaner through line, fewer contradictions, and more overt statements of dominant Christian doctrines and dogmas. Take, for example, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. This concept is never directly stated or explained in the pages of Scripture. Ever. Christians have drawn this doctrine from various passages as a means of conceptualizing the nature of and relationships between the god of Israel, the human Jesus, and the Spirit. This was a hotly contested problem in early Christianity. If Church leaders made common practice of "improving" the content of these texts, inserting a few paragraphs into one of Jesus' discourses or one of Paul's letters would be a pretty easy fix, wouldn't it? There's also the issue of Christ's death-why did he have to die? We have various reasons given throughout the New Testament, but Christians have had to synthesize various passages to arrive at (different) conclusions. If it were common practice to "update" these books in order to make them more compelling, believable, and efficient in preserving power structures, this would be a lot smarter of a fix than, say, adding an extra two zeroes to the number of people Jesus fed with a few loaves and fish.
But that's really not the issue, and I don't think it gets at the heart of your question. It seems like you're asking "why so many people don't question" the Bible. And to a degree, you already gave yourself the answer: "[the Bible is] what modern day Christians believe are now the correct teachings of God."
Christians, for the most part, don't read the Bible, don't study it, and don't know much about its history. (This biblical illiteracy is the whole reason I started this project ten years ago!) We aren't taught to approach it as literature first, we aren't taught about ancient rhetorical conventions, and we aren't taught about the process by which it came together. We're simply told that every word of it is "inspired by God" or "God-breathed." Assumptions of inerrancy and infallibility are the norm, and (sadly) many people in the Christian faith have been given an "all or nothing" ultimatum: accept that our faith tradition's interpretation of every word of this is true and good and acceptable, or reject the faith outright. With stakes this high, questioning often isn't worth it-or an unacceptable thing to consider altogether.
I don't think the lack of questioning you're referencing is confined to coercion in cause. Another factor is lack of motivation-some people simply never get enough of an intellectual nudge to begin the process.
And as someone with a long history in the church, I feel confident in assuring you that Christians ask questions. They bring them to people in positions of religious authority, which usually results in some level of convincing (or at least reassuring) answer that aligns with their faith tradition. I'd venture that most of the time both the questions and answers are offered with good intentions-but if both parties believe certain things about what the Bible *must* be, then there's always the risk that they might be shielding themselves from what the Bible *is.*
I hope this is helpful!
@@OverviewBible Thank you for the lengthy response. I grew up in the Catholic Church and indeed was never allowed to question anything about the scripture on my family. I think it's partly what drove me away.
The Lord give us freedom of choice. I believe in the Bible reading 📚 it for the first time ⏲ using audio books 📚 on you tube and listening 🎶 to your explainations really enjoying it. I grew up in a house 🏠 where religion was not really spoke about unfortunately. My dad broke away from his faith which was Catholism a long time ago. Therefore, have to find the Lord myself I do not really believe in one set church but I do believe in doing research for yourself... 😇 👼 🙏 🤲 ⛪
Good for you! Because one of the wonderful proofs of God (for those who diligently seek God, Who wants to be found!) is Truth (Who IS Jesus) IS ABLE TO BEAR SCRUTINY! Luke 11:9 says "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Keep searching & don't settle!
One reason why I believe is because I used to be really sort of viscerally repulsed by Christianity but then I started to feel more open to it.
I love how he says "that"
So there was no real agreement about what properly belonged in the bible until the 1500s ? So there was no basic consensus until 15 centuries after Christ ?
There was much agreement on most of the New Testament. The gospels, Acts, the Pauline epistles, 1 Peter, and 1 John were ubiquitously accepted within a few centuries. But it wasn't until the Reformation that large branches of Christianity began issuing a final word on what books belonged in the Scriptures.
There were no chapters until the 1200's. No verses until the 1300's. God inspired the writers. He did not "dictate" what they wrote.
I do not know what is your personal background or who are your target audience but I don't like your approach to the subject (I read your replies too) as it increases confusion among Christians and brings in confirmation bias among Christophobes and Anti-Christianity crowds. If you are Christian who is trying to educate and inform about the Bible, I wish you reconsider your approach and try to include some apologetics to your historical narration.
This was a very good and informative way of putting it.
I believe because i got the experience from the book of Acts. The Holy Ghost came to me and made me feel God in my soul.
Holy spirit bruh
Watch one message foundation on YT
I have a Muslim friend who said he had a similar experience reading the Quran. How do you know your experience isn’t a delusion?
@@jasper2621 I was 7 yrs old. Now I'm 60. God doesn't change. God is sure as the sun you look to every morning and true as the moon with the gentle cool breeze on your skin. His love and friendship are fearce and He whispers unspeakable truths that never fail. I only know Him and the enemy of my soul that hates me and would destroy me if it were not for JESUS my Redeemer. Anything else is counterfeit and a LIE. Who else since HE HAS LIVED and DIED still has lovers or thousands of followers? None compares to Him!
@@jasper2621 the Quran has history and written of Jesus. The fact that they see Him as a prophet proves He lived in history. The fact that Acts still happens proves He is God the greatest prophet and The King of The Jews. So as His title when He was born and the day they nailed His hands and feet! Truly He is the GREATEST CONTROVERSY for He is God alone!
Because of account evidence AND the fact that I experience him all the time (not just instances that some could call "coincidences"). In that, my belief in the Lord giving Christians the eyes to see and ears to hear, gives me spiritual sensory stimuli. I see what's wrong in our world especially the infamous: "good will become evil and evil will become good". Those in opposition refer to it as a paradigm shift that is good for them. For Christians it will get worse. In opposing eyes, the world evolves becoming more accepting without desire restrictions (more animalistic). When God removes himself, they will "drink and be merry" because of self or as the Bible says, "they will become lovers of themselves"....can't argue with historical finds and true predictions.
The Holy Bible reveals history and history authenticates the Bible. 1 Corinthians 12: 3 says, "no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holyspirit. The holy spirit reveals the Bible to us as true word of God
Don't argue w Super Christians: i tried it once about evolution. I "lost" because i lost my mind and swore at him
For your consideration Robert:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Genesis 1:26-27
“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
Ephesians 4:29-32
Ten people were raised from the dead in the Bible.
¿How come we don't read and trust the words and teachings of all of them?
Pray tell, where are their words and teachings? Unless you subscribe to the theory that the narrator of the Gospel attributed to John is actually Lazarus (which has some in-story merit), we don't have any of these writings preserved today.
(Also, although the Bible documents 10 resurrections, the Matthew account claims "many saints" arose when Jesus died--so the count would be much higher than 10 people.)
The point, @@OverviewBible, is that resurrection is not a valid reason for believing teachings.
Well... I think there's no logic BUT let's say there is a logic so would you answer me? Can any "Christian" (Tell me that why and how on earth can a god die and you literally say that he's powerful so why couldn't he change this world with his own power) Why would a god give his own live for you? And how can a "death" come and take a god? Isn't that so funny?
(That's why I don't believe in "Jesus") Fun fact Jesus is a prophet in Islam.
Why? If Jesus was not God in the flesh, died and rose from the dead there would be no such thing as Christianity.
Well, if christ doesn't exist we're all going to hell because we're all sinners and broke God's law. The only person who can save us is Christ since he didn't commit any sins. God can't sent any of his angels to die for us since they're immortals.
This is basically the quick detailed definition of why christ need to die on the cross:
-believers will rose from the dead because christ did
- when he died he earned a new righteous body which believers will also get as they die
- believers will go to heaven and will live in a righteous life since no sinner can enter heaven
- christ will be the king
*there's a difference of the end times of revelation between destroying the world and destroying the planet. God will never destroy the planet as he promised that during the times of great flood in noah's time. That's why we had rainbow because its God's promise
Very interesting; thank you, sir.
Question: if the bible was really the word of god who is all powerful, why does it have mistakes? Why does it have more than one version? Why is the massage not clear,like why does he sometimes say hes not god but sometimes hint that he is?like hes all powerful he should be able to say it clearly.(l am a Muslim if that helps you answer me)if l find a convincing answer l WILL convert to Christianity.
This is a great question, and I'll try to keep the answer simple. However, there are several things to address here, so please forgive a long response:
1) Re: "The Bible" being "the word of God." This is not a claim that the Bible ever makes about itself (because while some texts reference each other, at no point does the Christian Bible refer to itself in its current for-in any extant orthodox canon. Various prophets claimed to bring "the word of the Lord" to the people, and New Testament authors agree that the works of the Tanakh/Old Testament were written by humans inspired by the God of Israel-but *divine inspiration is not the same as divine authorship.*
2) Re: the God of the Bible being "all powerful," this is not a consistent argument made in the texts of the Bible-at least in terms of how we use "all powerful" today. For example, when the king of Moab sacrifices his own son to his god, it effectively routes a Yahweh-backed campaign (2 Kings 3:9-27). Paul seems to believe that God works through the imperfect world for the good of those who love and obey him (Romans 8:18-28), but the argument that the God of ancient Israel or first-century Christianity is completely free of any limitations or constraints is not supported by the entire Christian canon(s).
3) Re: "why does it have mistakes?" The simple answer is that it was written by imperfect people. The more nuanced answer is that textual inconsistencies can arise from multiple sources. Some inconsistencies may be simple mistakes, some inconsistencies may arise from different authors having different rhetorical goals. Imposing modern journalistic standards on ancient religious texts is a recipe for disappointment.
(Sidenote: I find it amusing that while the Bible is filled with stories of God accomplishing his purposes through the imperfect execution of humans, somehow people get the idea that religious texts are the exception. It's totally acceptable that God anointed a king like Saul and allowed him to fail miserably, but unthinkable that God would allow a theological historian to goof a horsemen count when writing pages that would later be considered Scripture.)
4) re: "Why does it have more than one version?" Because it made more sense to spread the message(s) of the Bible by translating it into different languages. Languages evolve over time, so it follows that new translations will take place.
5) Re: "he's all powerful; he should be able to say it clearly." The New Testament authors argue that Yahweh's message _was_ said clearly-but rather than through text, through the person and ministry of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3; John 1:1; 14:9-10). First-century Christians believed that Jesus rose from the dead, and this validated his claims to divine authority (Matthew 28:18).
Drafting a perfect Bible (as we know it today) does not seem to have ever been God's priority. ;-)
I hope this helps!
3:55 You forgot that they were making miracles to confirm the words they preached. That prompted the other people to believe what they said.
¿Why do you believe miracles prove anything?
Something occurs that you can't understand and immediately people make up all sorts of explanations that make them feel however they want to feel about it. That never makes your belief true.
@@peterblock6964 What I had in mind is that they preached something and then demonstrated what they just preached by performing what most called "miracles". Like for example they said that they can heal people with the power of God and then performed a bunch of healing miracles. That made their claim much more credible.
This is similar to what is happening in modern science. If you hear that "electrons are like little marbles but they have properties of waves", for your brain it might be hard to swallow. So the scientist can perform a few experiments to show you that "electrons are like little marbles" and then perform a double slit experiment to demonstrate that under certain conditions they show an interference pattern instead of just an image of the double slit. Now it is much easier to believe the claim about the properties of electrons.
Miracles in themselves don';t prove anything. Even what is miracle is actually relative. If you showed a typical smartphone to an average person from first century, he would think the device is some sort of miracle. He might even believe it is alive. Yet for us smartphones are not miracles. This is because we know how they work but for someone from the first century would be utterly impossible to even imagine how it could work.
I believe you missed a very important point. That his followers, the apostles and close disciples, were first hand witnesses to his teaching, prophecy and accounts. It was not heresay from others and they wrote of their accounts, thus forming the bible.
Where does the Bible claim to be the "word of God"? Where is a single sentence that says it was written for people today?
You're on to something. ;-)
@@OverviewBible While I believe we can learn about God and Jesus through the Bible, I also believe that man has selfishly used the book to mostly ruin the message! I encourage seekers to read the Bible and it's own history. How it was created. But also look within yourself and the universe around you. God makes himself plain if one is open, watching and listening.
This is where in the Bible we know Gods word came through the prophets
Peter 2
Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
I believe the bible because of the bible. Its called faith. Its the only valid for the word of God.
We can’t teach a turtle about the ocean if he lives in a well. Faith not by argument! 🙏🌺☦️🌺🙏
Don’t wanna say the Bible is wrong but how come Adam is not the son of God nor are any other prophets? They’re plenty of prophets that were super amazing and did a lot of great good things that people wouldn’t even be close to be doing now.
¿Do you understand what "Life" is and what "Death" is and who/what is it that is "Alive" in a body,
and who/what is it that remains when the body dies?
And NOT just have you memorized an answer that you read or someone told you.
Don't just jump to the conclusion "It must be God" every time something is beyond your understanding.
This seems pretty off-topic, Peter. But we don't have any conclusive evidence for what a person's consciousness experiences when the body dies (if anything).
You might consider taking your own advice when it comes to jumping to conclusions. ;-)
Well, @@OverviewBible, since we are essentially clueless about Life and Death and what happens when a consciousness leaves the physical body all conclusions about the meaning of if someone's consciousness re-materialized after death of the body are meaningless conjecture and proof of absolutely nothing.
To explain why people might believe the Bible is kind of pointless if those reasons are not sound.
Sure, perhaps it opens a window into the psychology of believers but most are not really going through the process of assessing evidence. It's just cultural habit at this point.
Catholicism is not based circular reasoning. We believe the bible not because of the bible but because of the Magisterium of the Catholic church. If you hand me a letter with your name on it; I believe it's from you not only because there is your name on it. It is because you handed over to me.
Jesus Christ establish Catholic church. And the Early Christians/Catholics gave the bible to the world.
The Lord give us freedom of choice. I believe in the Bible reading 📚 it for the first time ⏲ using audio books 📚 on you tube and listening 🎶 to your explainations really enjoying it. I grew up in a house 🏠 where religion was not really spoke about unfortunately. My dad broke away from his faith which was Catholism a long time ago. Therefore, I have to find the Lord myself I do not really believe in one set church but I do believe in doing research for yourself... 😇 👼 🙏 🤲 ⛪
never mind who died for this idea,you base your entire premisse on presumption that Jesus actualy rose from the dead?did I came to right conclusion? so its like that was the confirmation of their expectations for basing religion around it? if so and i got it correctly,isnt that another gap wich was filled by so called eyewitnessess of the event?
not sure if you're a bit drunk, but yes, the fact that Jesus rose again from the grave and lives is the basis for the faith. over 500 people saw Him resurrected, and many of those were persecuted, tortured and killed, all for a big lie?
@@puremusicdaz so,considering your answer,how come you re the one who is not sure about me being drunk?irony or hipocrisy?what should i call you? but instead of dissing you,i ask you to explain your belief that is out side of your experience...would you be so kind to tell me why do you believe?
@@puremusicdaz nope, only one person wrote that over 500 people saw him ressurected
im sure you know who wrote it, do ya...???
Could you name just ONE of that 500...????
@@babhag5481 well here we are 2000 years later, still talking about Him..
the 12 apostles (including matthias) for a start. i don't even know where you're coming from, but i don't think you do either.
The BEST answer I've heard yet!
Why do I believe the Bible?
"I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable source of historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claim that their writings are divine rather than human in origin."
Which author is an eye witness?
Right.....
Wow this was splendid! A+++! :D
Jesus,wasn’t, isn’t YHWH.
A God didn’t die on a cross.
Christians believe because they were born into it. It's a culture thing. Christianity is weak mainly because there's little in it to really learn from. The sermon on the Mount is okay, but there's not that much there really it's pretty sparse . Stoicism is older and provides actual tools for living well. The problem with Christianity is that you're told to look to an external source, God, for everything, and are therefore set up for failure, because things outside of you are out of your control.
I always believe in creation,in God ,never believe in evolution, everything useful and functional in the world has to be planned and made meticulously,if people leave things to itself randomly,then it would become a big mess, even if people did not clean their home periodically,it would become a place that is not livable, so there is nothing called mother nature but really a world and human race that is wonderfully planned and made by God
Great job Jeffrey
i wonder what the world look like today if religions did not exist to shape the world
Religions are shaped by humans. So whether humans used religion or some other framework, we'd see a world that reflects human nature.
Humans are curious, and so humans were always going to try to explain the unexplainable (whether it was through anthropomorphizing the natural word or otherwise). Humans are power-hungry, so the wealthy and strong were always going to find ways to dominate the poor and the weak. Humans are tribalistic, so they were always going to develop ways to identify and protect their own (and, in the process, identify and exclude the others).
This is great, but could you provide the citations as to where you got this info, especially the stuff from 6:00 and after when the church decided what was authoritative.
research Council of Nicea.
THINK ON THESE THINGS yes thank you 🙏 but I meant exact citations..
A belief, it's just a belief! I believe in the Pucca! In Celtic tradition this is a spirit that takes the form of a large rabbit or in another way a shape shifter. And just likes to communicate with you! That makes my belief just as valid as anybody else's belief.
I read the Bible and still don't believe. It's other religions that led me back to the Bible. They proved that the Bible is true. When all those other religions cannot help you defeat your demons, but only Jesus Christ can defeat your demons, then you will know the Bible is true.
During what 500 years was the bible created?
winter solstice anyone ? 2:15
Circular reasoning for brainwashing nonsense
Jeffrey, thank you for your work. These videos are very helpful.
bc they are naive
Conan O'Brien's son, Nanoc O'Brien!
Yes in every way no matter how you try to defend it the the bottom line is the Bible is real because god said and god is real because the Bible said .. circular argument ..
4:38 That wasn't the only reason. After these people were murdered, the still alive Christians didn't just bury these bodies. They asked God if his plans with these lives were finished. A whole lot of times the answer was "no". And when they received the "no", they used the power of Jesus to raise them from dead. So imagine these nonbelievers witnessing these Christians being murdered (this was done publicly) and then later meeting them alive. They were like "how in the !@#$%^ this is possible". The reply of course was "the death has to bow down in front of the name of Jesus". That cracked a lot of non-believing hearts open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This forced the demons to stop the persecution and change it to infiltration. Today we don't have such miracles because of the 1700 years of demonic influence caused by this type of infiltration.
Can you prove that demonic influence is a cause of lack in miraculous signs? 🤔
Isn't there healings going on today on church, and casting out evil spirits?
Wow, this is mindless
is this book full of thousands of words letters just material meaningless crap to waste hours and days reading?
Okay, genuine question. So if Jesus knew he was the “son of God” wouldn’t he just be brainwashed by his parents to believe so? 🧐 I feel like no one talks about Jesus as a child. It’s fascinating because that for me feels like such a pivotal thing.
I think I see where you're coming from. If I understand you correctly, you're asking if Jesus believed he was the son of God because his parents conditioned him to believe that about himself.
While I'm sure plenty of well-meaning parents have planted delusions of grandeur within their children, the Christian surrounding Jesus' family from the earliest times doesn't leave much room for this interpretation of events. For example, the earliest-written gospel (Mark) says that Jesus' mother and brothers thought he was out of his mind at the beginning of his ministry (Mark 3:20-21, 31).
It's important to remember that we're looking back at these events from a 21st-century perspective. In the modern Western world, Christianity is the dominant religion. But in Joseph and Mary's time, it was not. Judaism was a tiny ethnic faith tradition within the vast Roman empire. For two lower-class Jews under Roman rule to conspire to brainwash their child into believing he was divine would have been incredibly cruel: he would just be one more troublemaking lunatic for the government to snuff out. Mary and Joseph didn't know Christianity would become what it is today, and as Jesus was (presumably) their firstborn, raising their heir to be fodder for the capital punishment machines of their time would be a rather numb-skulled strategy. ;-)
I’ll believe anything my ginger daddy tells me.
You use circular reasoning when explaining why you believe the apostles to be trustworthy. Every religious argument boils down to a circular logical fallacy. It's why Kierkegaard said that belief as a Christian is never going to be rational. A Christian trying to use rationality is one of the most cringeworthy things I've witnessed.
I wouldn't confuse reasoning for empirical rationality. I'm just describing why generations of people in this faith tradition have considered the Old and New Testaments to be sacred texts-not trying to give an apologetic for whether or not they _should_ be considered anything.
To be fair, this video is four years old, and if I were to redo this today, I would have been more specific on language like "believe the Bible" and "word of God," because these phrases have taken on meanings of their own in different camps.
@@OverviewBible fair points! Thanks. I do think this is apologetics in sheep's clothing though. Just my fallible human perspective though. I do greatly appreciate your ability to communicate well 🙂
Thanks for the kind words. I try. =)
For what it's worth re: the sheep's clothing comment, the communication that goes into this channel is a bit of a balancing act. Almost any conversation about the Bible or Christianity concerns at least 2500 years' worth of diverse tradition, and many, many dogmas have gone in and out of style over that time. I try to present facts in a way that's easy to digest for people coming from various backgrounds and levels of biblical and ecclesiastical history--but that does leave some of my more general videos vulnerable to the biases of individual viewers.
In the case of this video, to some, it will come off as confirmation that Christians *don't* use circular reasoning in their approach to the Bible. To others, it's enough to get them thinking about how sacred texts are just as much a product of those who preserve them as they are a product of those who wrote them (in the case of the Bible, perhaps more so).
But for me, my main point in making this video was to produce *something* that makes the case for the Bible (or at the very least, the collection, preservation, and arrangement thereof) as a product of Christianity, rather than the other way around.
I hope we get to have some discussion sometime. I have some questions to ask.
Great teaching; thank you, sir.
A well-presented and explained video. Nice job. I do, however, have a couple of issues with your presentation, not the least of which is the altruistic motives you ascribe to those who compiled the various documents into (more or less) the Bible we know today. From Marcion and Tatian's efforts to compile a uniform book of teachings in the 100s, to the First Council of Nicaea 200 years later, the motives of most Roman officials and church leaders were anything but pure.
I have little doubt that a good faith effort to include the most legitimate and genuine teachings was made -- but only as far as it aligned with the need to maintain order and control over the Roman citizenry. One need only look at what was included -- and more importantly, what was not -- to see just how true that is.
Power plays for both influence and wealth also played a role in those decisions, and especially in those made at later gatherings such as the second council in 787 and the Hampton Court Conference led by King James in 1604. Also significant is the marketing that helped sell Christianity to the masses, such as naming the anonymously written gospels after Jesus's disciples to make them more "legitimate."
Of course, all of this doesn't even touch on the evidence showing Christianity to be apocryphal and based on little more than a series of fanciful stories, historical fiction, and a successful public relations campaign. (To be fair, as an atheist and humanist, I believe all religions are at best, myths and at worst, frauds. Unfortunately, they are myths and frauds that have over the millennia caused far more human misery than they've alleviated. I will say, though, that none have caused more suffering in the last 500 years than Christianity.) Sorry -- I didn't mean to get off track. I'll leave those arguments for another time. Thanks again for a great video.
OMG YOU ART AMAZING 👏
Watch one message foundation on YT
sWORD -- Father and Son -- Yahu'Ah Yahu'Sha:
...Kingdom's Power and Authority -- 'Saving Will' Testimony,
...Spirit and Truth IN the (verses) of the Whole Living WORD WithIN!!! (echad)
IN Covenant Loyalty -- Morning by Morning Womb!!!
(Isaiah 50:4-10; respectively) The Most High Ab Yahu'Ah hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how TO speak a sWORD IN season TO him that is weary: (Spirit and Truth, everlasting TO everlasting)
...He wakeneth (morning by morning),
...He wakeneth mine ear TO hear as the learned. (Covenant Loyalty)
5 The Most High Ab Yahu'Ah hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair:
...I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
7 For the Most High sovereign will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded:
...therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
8 He IS near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together:
...who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.
9 Behold, the Most High sovereign will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.
10 Who IS among you that feareth the Most High Ab Yahu'Ah,
...that obeyeth the voice of his servant,
...that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust IN the name of the Most High Ab Yahu'Ah, and stay upon his Most High sovereign!!!
(Psalm 143:8) Cause me TO hear Thy LovingKindNess IN the (morning) womb; for IN Thee do I trust:
...Cause me TO know TheWay whereIN I should walk; for I lift up my soul unTO Thee.
Remember, as we step out on the stage of life;
...we are performing TO an audience of one, our heavenly Father Ab Yahu'Ah Sovereign!
Help build a Kingdom's mindset IN prayer, seeking, testing, perceiving, and be open TO receiving discernment, wisdom, and understanding through sWORD Spirit and Truth withIN one!
Repent, and return TO one(s) first love through the everlasting sWORD unTO Life; Yahu'Sha Messiah:
..."If you Love Me hearken unTO My Commands!" (Ab Yahu'Ah's voice)
Praise and thanks TO the Most High Ab Yahu'Ah, and give all esteem TO His anointed Hebrew Son Yahu'Sha Messiah, our King, High Priest, and Intercessor unTO Life, Love, Logic, and Loyalty, for believers that "Hear Ye Him Only!"
If you're used to trusting in God because of the Bible you should know you're pretty much wrong. I do believe in God and his son as beings which act in every single moment of my life. Unfortunately most of people think that you only have to believe in God to be saved, but, the truth is... You have to believe in God and being assured that nobody can reach out the father If It wasn't for the mercy of his son Jesus, along with that you must fallow all God's commandments. If you do that and try no to sin, maybe, you'll be saved when you die. Only God can judge your acts on earth. We don't deserve the grace, we only have It because of Jesus Christ.
How do you know you believe in right God. There are 3000 others, have you checked them out? And if not why not
Could also say that I believe in the Bible because I’ve personally seen and experienced the Holy Spirit’s effect on people and myself.
@HmmLOL you can say anything you want.
You didn’t justify anything
"Uhhthaaat"
That's the most annoying way a person can pronounce "that"
Aww, thanks for putting up with me, Will!
The Bible is true because it says so.
In a word, "Faith"
Romans 10:17 -- "So then, faith comes by hearing, and" (CLARIFICATION) "hearing by the Word of God."
Inquisitor: "Why do you believe the Bible?"
Christian: "Because it's the word of God."
Inquisitor: "Why do you believe the Bible is the word of God?"
Christian: "Um, uh, I've got to go over there now. Bye."
endofscene - What's your point ?
@@horsesense6173 My point is that I've never met a Christian who can explain why they believe the Bible is "the word of God".
Also, I'm pretty sure that almost all Christians are Christians because they either were raised in the faith or because they had some kind of conversion experience, not because they were convinced by arguments about the Bible.
@@endofscene - I will speak for myself. I believe the Bible is the word of God because God gives me the faith to believe. This is different from the belief that many secular people have when they claim to believe in the stories of the "big bang", man evolving from monkeys and that there is no God. Unlike Christians, I don't see how secular people can believe in anything and yet, they do.
@@horsesense6173 Thanks for your comment.
"God gives me the faith to believe" can be used to justify belief in anything - any holy book, any pope, any church, any doctrine.
And if God gives you the faith to believe certain things about the Bible then surely She also gives you the ability to correctly *interpret* the Bible. This would mean that your particular interpretation is the correct one and anyone who disagrees or whose "faith" results in a *different* interpretation is wrong. (Likely most Christians disagree with you about interpretations of certain Bible books, passages, verses, concepts, etc.)
P.S. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "secular people". Most people are religious and/or believe in God, but they are not Christian.
@@endofscene - My belief in the Bible and my interpretations of the Bible passages and it's messages is guided by God. As he is sovereign, I have no doubt that what he is revealing to me is correct. I don't feel the need to correct anyone else as that is not my place; it is God's place.
He needs a course n logic.
They haven't read it. Those who've read it know it and accept it on its own terms.
God clearly exist in us if you have the patience to look
I looked. I tried talking to God. I got nothing. Did I just not believe enough? How would you know if I didn't?
Psalms 19:1 - The heavens declare the glory of God.
@@arvinlora9067 circular argument again
Yeah sure. He and i had coffee this morning had a smoke and talked about the weather and stuff. 👌
Well there’s a more simple way of putting it we Christians believe in the Bible because Jesus is real and he is our lord and savior
Butterman 805 you think Jesus is real because it says so in the bible
TheLooneyGhost is that a question?
This is an example of circular logic. Thanks!
Lol thats not a good expample hahahahhahaha