Conjecture and theory, no matter how cleverly constructed, are true only if demonstrated with solid supporting evidence. This is the requirement of the Scientific Method: hypothesis demonstrated by experiment and observation. The theory of evolution and Big Bang cosmologies postulating that the universe expands and collapses in cycles of reincarnation are pure conjecture since there is no way to test them.
Yet “scientific” mankind seems to jump to conjecture instead of staying with facts, when the evidence suggests responsibility to his Maker. The Bible is right: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25).
Solid supporting evidence is not only the requirement of The Scientific Method but is also the requirement in a criminal court of law. All kinds of theories may be proposed to explain a crime and its motive, but unless there is evidence and especially eyewitness testimony, the theories remain theories and are not considered true. Clever conjecture is never enough on which to “rest your case”.
As C.S. Lewis, famous former Professor of English Literature at Oxford and then at Cambridge, points out in his writings, logic tells us there are three possibilities when evaluating eyewitness testimony. In this case, that of the apostles and the over 500 witnesses of the resurrected Christ over the forty days between His resurrection and ascension when Jesus Christ is recorded in the New Testament to have appeared on ten different occasions – “Either they were liars, or they were madmen, or they were telling the truth.”
That the apostles were liars is highly unlikely, considering their upstanding moral character and the fact that they all suffered and died for their lie. That they were insane is also highly unlikely considering the clarity and consistency of thought conveyed by the writers of the New Testament, as well as the consistency of their behavior. The apostle Luke, for instance, when he referred to geographical facts by mentioning thirty-two countries, fifty-four cities, and nine islands in his Gospel and Acts of the Apostles, made no errors. Secular scholars are forced to rate him as a first-class historian. And the logical progression in the systematic unfolding of doctrine by the apostle Paul in the Book of Romans shows supernormal capacity for rational thought. The logical conclusion, as Lewis points out, is that the apostles were neither liars nor madmen, but were testifying to what they knew to be true.
To be considered true, ideas should be based in fact, scientific evidence, or credible testimony, as in a court of law. Dr. Simon Greenleaf (1783-1853), former professor of law at Harvard University and formerly recognized by the Supreme Court to be perhaps the greatest authority on legal evidence who has ever lived, is known to have made a detailed examination of the evidence relating to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He concluded that in any unbiased courtroom in the world, the evidence would establish the fact that Jesus was resurrected from the dead. Belief in the resurrection is supported by some hard (and hard to dispute) facts, including: the empty tomb, the five hundred plus people who saw the resurrected Christ, the radically changed lives of the disciples, the disciple’s willingness to die for their faith, and the birth and growth of the church.
The Bible has the answers to the truly important questions about life. It has answers to our fundamental dilemma. Mankind has rebelled and turned his back on God in spite of the fact that God wants a relationship with us. Sin against God has separated us from Him. But God has demonstrated through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we can be restored to an eternal and glorious relationship with Him through faith in His redemptive work of Christ!
– Mark Cadwallader, Board Chairman of Creation Moments
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