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You would think out of all the writers, all the witnesses and the fact that a lot of what was written was well within the life time of the thousands who had seen Jesus or were around when he walked the earth that they havnt got some of it right. Some of the writers are traced back to very close to the events. Some of Paul's letters are traced back to only a matter of years after Christ. But certainly most of it is written with the 1st century which would still have eye witnesses around. Some of the authors state they are witnesses and are telling the truth. All their other writings indicate them to be fair and honest people without being irrational. So surely there is an element of truth in it all.
I have a similar miraculous story. One night when my wife were out a church coffee night of praise and worship the Holy Spirit impressed upon me that we should go home immediately. We had only been there a short time, and I didn't want to appear as though we weren't enjoying the music or that we weren't supportive of the ministry. But the Holy Spirit kept pressing me.
I eventually insisted my wife and I go home.
When we got home, our house was filled with gas vapor. Our dog had jumped up on the stovetop to get at a greasy pan my wife left on the stove. When he did so, he spun one of the gas burner controls. Not only that, it was in the perfect position to allow the auto spark to click, click, click. It was sparking even as I approached the stove and the whole house was filled with natural gas.
I told my wife to go down by the driveway as I shut it off and opened up all the windows.
God's timing is perfect. We owned that house for one year and the Lord helped us sell it for a $30,000 dollar profit so we could pay down debt and I could go into fulltime ministry.
Satan was trying to destroy our substance, but God rebuked the devourer on our behalf and got us home in time to keep the place from blowing up. God's timing is always perfect.
There are many different sources that will date Paul's writing from about 48AD to 60AD. So we can say that possibly only 15 years after Christs death or even earlier Paul was writing to the churches. You have to remember that from Christs crucifixion the church grew fast and Paul was going around doing his preaching. So even though his earliest works are dated 15 years or so after the death of Christ his preaching and words were being said even sooner after Christs death. His letters are to churches he had already visited earlier with encouragement and instruction so the words were around from a very close time after Jesus.
Paul also mentions and quotes some of the Gospel in some of his letters which would indicate that at least some were written before his later letters of around 50 to 60 AD. It would seem they would have been at least written before the fall of the temple in 70Ad as this was a major fulfillment of prophesy that was already mentioned in the new testament. Yet we read nothing about the destruction of the temple in any of the Gospels or new testament.
Finally, the majority of New Testament scholars believe that Paul's epistles are written from A.D. 48-60.
The Historical Reliability of the Gospels - Probe Ministries
The earliest works which came to be part of the New Testament are the letters of the Apostle Paul. The earliest of the books of the New Testament was First Thessalonians, an epistle of Paul, written probably in 51, or possibly Galatians in 49 according to one of two theories of its writing.
New Testament - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I can get some more but there are all fairly similar.
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No, your question was answered but you did not like the answer given.
After a person is Born Again through the Spirit the Scriptures in the Bible start to become opened up to them by the work of the Spirit. You need to know the Author to know what He has used men to write.
As mentioned in Hebrews 6:1-3 a person cannot know even the basic fundamentals unless God permits. That includes "scholars", even Greek and Hebrew theology scholars.
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Well first I wanted to see if you believed any of it was right. Some just reject it all and dont see that we have a great book that can give us insights into what it was like back then. I would imagine there are not to many written material and books that are around that can have this.Oh I imagine some of it is right, but how much and what? 80%? 60%? What if it was only 40%? Would you feel you still had an good idea of Jesus' teachings?
If we take for example the birth of Jesus. How do we prove it was true or not. There was a census around that time so historically it lines up.
http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/ngier/census.htmIn 1886, the theologian Emil Schürer, in his monumental study, Geschichte des judischen Volks im Zeitalter Jesu Christi (A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ), closely criticised the traditional view. He raised five points which showed, he believed, that the Luke account could not be historically accurate:
- Nothing is known in history of a general census by Augustus;
- In a Roman census Joseph would not have had to travel to Bethlehem, and Mary would not have had to travel at all;
- No Roman census would have been made in Judea during the reign of Herod;
- Josephus records no such census and it would have been a notable innovation;
- Quirinius was not governor of Syria until long after the reign of Herod
It is questionable that the writers knew him first hand. At best you have Paul who got information second hand at best. If you have read up on Biblical scollars instead of theologins you would know that.
Actually, there are a few problems with this census and the gospel of luke lining up. (Strange that no other gospel mentions this census, too)
A simpler solution would have been for God to urge you to clean up the pan before you left....
And, of course, all of this would have been possible without any supernatural beings.
And also, what about the times when terrible things have happened because people DIDN'T act? Are we to conclude that God wanted Satan to win in these cases?
I have a similar miraculous story. One night when my wife were out a church coffee night of praise and worship the Holy Spirit impressed upon me that we should go home immediately. We had only been there a short time, and I didn't want to appear as though we weren't enjoying the music or that we weren't supportive of the ministry. But the Holy Spirit kept pressing me.
I eventually insisted my wife and I go home.
When we got home, our house was filled with gas vapor. Our dog had jumped up on the stovetop to get at a greasy pan my wife left on the stove. When he did so, he spun one of the gas burner controls. Not only that, it was in the perfect position to allow the auto spark to click, click, click. It was sparking even as I approached the stove and the whole house was filled with natural gas.
I told my wife to go down by the driveway as I shut it off and opened up all the windows.
God's timing is perfect. We owned that house for one year and the Lord helped us sell it for a $30,000 dollar profit so we could pay down debt and I could go into fulltime ministry.
Satan was trying to destroy our substance, but God rebuked the devourer on our behalf and got us home in time to keep the place from blowing up. God's timing is always perfect.
.Here's another miracle story...
The Sago Mine disaster of Jan 2, 2006 was one of the worst mining accidents in West Virginia history. 13 miners were trapped underground. A day later, when reports came out that 12 out of the 13 miners were found alive, well, you can imagine how much God was praised in such a deeply religious community like Tallmansville, WV. Even then-Governor Joe Manchin announced that the people should "believe in miracles" from that point on.
Now, the bad news is that the reports were incorrect -- 12 out of the 13 miners were not found alive, in fact, the truth was that 12 were dead, and Randal McCloy, Jr, was the sole survivor. Now, IMO, the fact that anyone survived an explosion two miles deep in a coal mine is pretty darn miraculous, but for some reason, all the "miracle" talk stopped abruptly once the more accurate reports were made public.
I guess the moral of the story is people who want to give God credit for highly improbable events shouldn't always assume that those events are meant to break in their favor. Is it any less a miracle when you get the short end of the stick?
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Mr. TLK
You are in over your head. The just so happens point of view gets a little thin the more one learns about case after case after case.
For example, here is "just one more" just so happens!
A group of families met at a brothers home after a church meeting. There were many families with their kids playing and walking around. A point came when of the Lord's ministers felt urgently impressed that one of the childern was going to drown. The impression became pronounced until he called everybody's attention and asked if they knew where their kids were. One family said their little two year old was missing. The one who was distressed by the Lord's Spirit started briskly out of the house and to the dock in back of the house. As he went towards the dock he heard within "run" so he ran. As he got onto the dock he urgently heard "run to the end and jump into the water at full speed". The Lord's minister, in a suit, without hesitant did so and the next thing he knew he was in the water. As he opened his eyes their was the little girl underwater right before him. He quickly grabbed her and brought her to shore where she received help getting the water from her lungs, at which point she started breathing.
I know these precious brothers and talked to the minister who rescued the little girl shortly after it happened.
Nobody knew where the little girl went. Nobody knew she had fallen into the lake at the end of the dock. Nobody knew where she would be at the moment people realized she was missing. Just another "just so happens" for people who ridicule situational miracles.
What the Lord is up to through His Spirit is amazing, particularly to those who heed, follow, and know Him!
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.I'm sorry; is this supposed to be English?
So, did she have to survive for it to be considered an official "miracle"? because had she drowned, the minister's supernatural aid in finder her body would've given the family a sense of closure.
That still counts, right?
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Rather than trying to understand God's ways you are critical in evaluating them.
The Spiritual Realm is real and Satanic forces play a role.
You have no idea how many similar "the Holy Spirit led me to ........" events have happened in just your lifetime. Of all types of circumstances but with the common theme "if we did not hear and obey the Holy Spirit" the outcomes would have been destructions rather than blessings in many ways.
Thank you Brother for sharing your Supernatural event: how Supernatural Powers influence the natural and how you were instrumental and directly involved.
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You turn a deaf ear to many things of God happening around you. You act like Miracles from God do not happen. This is not a coin flipping contest. There is Spiritual Dynamics happening around us all the time by Him on High.
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I didn't say miracles didn't happen; I asked if it still counted as a "miracle" if the girl hadn't survived.
Why can't you give an answer?
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Do Miracles happen - where God through His Power Rules over the natural?
Did the minister that jumped in the lake to find and save the little girl hear the Holy Spirit within his spirit? Did he really hear God and it showed by the outcome?
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So you advocate blind acceptance and a lack of critical thought?
Where would the world be if we all did that?
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