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Christianity

Akiane Kramarik's painting of Jesus from memory when she visited heaven

In Christianity, Jesus Christ is the central figure. To the left is one of Artist Akiane Kramarik’s renditions of Jesus Christ from memory. Akiane says she visited Heaven and spoke with Jesus from visions she started having at 3 years old.

There is a movie based on Akiane’s story called “Heaven is For Real“.

We will explore who Jesus was (and still is) on a page dedicated to Him.

Jesus taught from the Jewish Scriptures. He was Jewish. The Jewish Scriptures prophesied about Jesus. Jesus was a departure from Jewish convention because He claimed to be the prophesied Messiah and many Jews rejected that idea.

This is why there is a distinction between Judaism and Christianity.

Christianity extended from Judaism. It isn’t a new-formed religion that began in 33 BCE. We can assume it began when Judaism began.

The only addition to the Jewish Scriptures, in Christian writings, is the New Testament. It is a journal of Jesus’ life and teachings, written during Jesus’ life and after Jesus died, resurrected, and ascended to Heaven in his living physical body.

The New Testament doesn’t contain everything written about Jesus. Religious leaders used a process, guided by God, to determine the content of the Christian New Testament. A more comprehensive look at that process can be found here.

The New Testament Contains…

The story of Jesus’ life, that is known as the four Gospels.
Acts, a book that tells the story of the disciples and their lives after Jesus was no longer with them.
Letters of Paul, Peter, and John encouraged the new church in the teachings of Jesus. These are teachings from Jesus.
Several letters from lesser-known disciples of Jesus
The book of Revelation, is a prophecy written by John about the end of time.

The Integrity of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures

The entire Judeo-Christian Scriptures, as assembled into the Christian Bible are incredibly cohesive. Written over several millennia by scores of people, they read as though written by one person. Christians believe God inspired the writings. The selection of the writings contained in the Christian Bible were chosen through the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit.

Even getting interpretations correct after Jesus and those who knew Him were gone was guided by the Holy Spirit according to Christian beliefs.

Only 30 years elapsed from the original New Testament writings and the oldest existing copies of Christian manuscripts we have today.

At least archaeology hasn’t found anything older than that to date. Think about books you read 30 years ago or as long ago as you were able to read. You likely recall the content, especially if you start reading a copy to recall the content of the original.

About the Christian written artifacts, if you compare that oldest copy to copies we have more than 2,000 years later, you will find there are very few differences. The differences are small and don’t change the meaning, oldest to newest text.

That’s integrity. The New Testament’s content is virtually the same from original to current copies. What it says is reliable to the original message. And if Jesus was God as He said He was in the manuscripts, then these writings contain the very words and will of God and His purpose for creating us and the physical universe.

An Incredible Coincidence That Wasn’t A Coincidence – The Prophecies About Jesus

Just what is a “prophecy”?

Prophecy: A prediction of something to come
Merriam-Webster

Did you know the Judeo-Christian Scriptures contain over six hundred prophecies about a Messiah (Savior) from God?

Those prophecies covered every aspect of the Savior including prophecies that would have been impossible to stage if someone wanted to pose as the Savior. They included details about where He was born, how He was born, how He was conceived and who He was born to, and His purpose for being here.

What is a Messiah or Savior?

“Messiah” is a Jewish word for “Savior”. A Savior saves others. What did the Jews feel they needed to be saved from? They live in a godless and corrupt world. They felt that the Messiah would be king in the physical world and save them from that corruption.

In Christianity, Jesus said He is the Messiah. But Jesus taught that He was on earth to reconcile people back to Him; to save them from sin and death.

The prophecies about the Messiah were written over a span of 1,500 years, by people from all walks of life from kings to sheepherders. And it all reads like it was written by one person and about one person. The Scriptures are very comprehensive and cohesive.

Therefore a Savior is an important topic in Judaism and Christianity.

The prophecies are too seamless some speculate. Only one person wrote the prophecies after the fact, they surmise.

However, they are all recorded in the Judaic Scriptures which were carbon-dated to ancient times. They preceded anyone claiming to be the Messiah by, at the minimum, 800 years according to the most recent prophecy of the Jewish Scriptures. The Judaic Scriptures go back as far as 2500 BCE.

The Jews are still waiting for the Messiah. Christians feel that He already came, and Jesus is the Messiah.

A Messiah is Born!

In B.C. 33, a man was born that fit all of the prophecies that applied to the Savior’s conception and birth. His name was Jesus of Nazareth. He fulfilled all of the prophecies written about the Messiah that applied up to his death and resurrection. The other prophecies concern things yet to be. All of the applicable ones had come to pass in the life of Jesus, including how He would die and rise from the dead.

Many of those prophecies were impossible for Jesus to have staged, like who He was born to, where He was born, the manner of His death, and the price of betrayal among other prophecies.

Statisticians calculated the odds of just eight of the most significant prophecies about Jesus coming to pass. They found that the odds of all eight coming to pass in one person was 1 in 10 with 18 zeroes behind it, or 1:10,000,000,000,000,000,000.

That’s equivalent to marking one quarter and throwing it into a three-foot-deep stack of quarters that covers the land mass of Texas, then blindfolding a person, spinning them around, and asking them to find and pick up the one marked quarter on the first attempt.

That should cause you to sit up and take notice. Think of it! 600 prophecies written over 1,500 years by different people in different regions, from different walks of life…all coming to pass in one person.

That is huge evidence that God spoke through these written words.

All 600 prophecies can’t come to pass in one person because the odds are so close to zero…unless those 600 prophecies apply to that person.

The Integrity of the Christians Scriptures

The most studied writings known to mankind are the Christian manuscripts. Science has verified the manuscripts are authentic and not written at some point later than claimed. The prophecies are written about the genuine person of Jesus. If true this disproves the theory that the prophecies are a hoax.

Many of those prophecies claimed that Jesus was God and had come to earth to reconcile us back to God. It’s incredible to consider that the real person of Jesus Christ called Himself God. God, according to Christian Scripture, walked the face of the earth teaching us who He is and what our purpose is.

How does Christianity grade against our criterion?

Our Conclusions

Christianity extends back to the roots of Judaism. Since the Judaic Scriptures describe the creation and prophecy the coming of God to earth, which Christian Scripture validates in the historic figure of Jesus Christ.

The Judeo-Christian Scriptures state that God wants us to call Him “Father” or “brother” and “friend”. That alludes to God wanting a relationship with us…our purpose is to interact with God.

The Judaic Scriptures are part of the Christian Scriptures. Christian Scripture we know to be accurate too. The original writings are preserved and accurate in copies of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures.

God Himself wrote the Scriptures so there is no mistaking the authenticity of the Christian Scriptures.

Science has authenticated the Judeo-Christian Scriptures. They are written in time, just as they represent themselves.

Importance of the Written Word to Christianity

God guides us through the written word, and by His Spirit inside us according to Christian writings.

The Scriptures go back to the beginning of mankind, so they reference a time before the written word. They assert that the faith has been around since the beginning of mankind.

That makes Christianity well worth exploring if we are trying to get at the truth about which religion and which God to follow. Christianity believes everything that Judaism believes, and almost two-thirds of the writings in the books of the Christian Bible are the books of the Judaic Scriptures. The Christian writings are an extension of the Jewish Scriptures because many believe Jesus was and is the Jewish Messiah.

What Christianity Is

Christianity is…
- An ancient religion that shares the story of our origins with Judaism. Christianity is still popular today withstanding the test of time. Many people have found truth in the tenants of the faith over millennia. Christianity has the power to change lives with truth and love.
- The incredible story of 600 prophecies, written over 1,500 years, about Jesus Christ. All of those prophecies have happened with 100% accuracy. Only future prophecies await fulfillment. It’s a signature from God stating that Jesus is God and He intended for Jesus to be here. It wouldn’t be called Christianity without Jesus Christ, it would be Judaism.
- Claiming that Jesus is God; Jesus said it Himself. No other ancient religion claims God visited us on earth besides Christianity. Jesus backs the claim that He’s God with miracles, signs, and wonders! Thousands of eyewitnesses attested to these things. It’s quite a testimony. He raised people from the dead!
- About Agape Love. Agape Love is selfless love. 1 Corinthians 13 in the Christian Bible describes Agape love. It “takes no account of a wrong suffered” but loves for Love’s sake. Jesus was the supreme example of Agape Love. He selflessly gave up his life at 33 years old to pay the cost of reconciling us back to Him (God). Christianity is about the selfless love of God.
- About a genuine, loving relationship. Everyone desires and seeks genuine relationships as described in Christianity. Christianity practices that kind of relationship – when practiced as taught and exampled by Jesus.
- The way to have genuine, lasting Peace, Love, and Joy in your life. It is truly eternal when practiced in God’s way.