The Holy Bible is Perfect and Proves that Christianity is True (Take 3)

My rebuttal to Pros arguments: 1. Jesus fulfilled prophecy (Matthew 24:34) There is insufficient evidence in determining if the book of Matthew was written before or after 70 A.D. There is no way to prove that it was written prior, therefore proclaiming it as a prophecy would only be valid if you could prove that it was written before 70 A.D., and you cannot. So it is a moot point of argument. Conservative believers maintain the early dates and assert that the destruction of the temple and Judea mentioned in the gospels constitutes "prophecy," demonstrating Jesus's divine powers. The substantiation for this early, first-century range of dates, both conservative and liberal, is internal only, as there is no external evidence, whether historical or archaeological, for the existence of any gospels at that time......Scrutinizing the evidence forensically, however, it is impossible honestly to make such a conclusion. [1} 2. The bible gives an explanation of atoms modern science Quantum chromodynamics, the theory of the strong interaction, is a field theory of quarks and gluons. When it was formulated, the existence of its basic ingredients was still unproven and controversial. While for the quarks the case had been settled by 1975, it remained open for the gluons until in 1979 experiments at the electron-positron collider PETRA at DESY in Hamburg led to a breakthrough. Peculiar final configurations of hadrons produced in the electron-positron annihilation process at high energies, so-called planar events and three-jet events, were discovered. In a close cooperation between experiment and theory they were unambiguously identified as signatures of the radiation of hard gluons by quarks ("hard gluon bremsstrahlung"), providing the first clear and direct observational evidence for the existence of the gluon and confirming crucial predictions of quantum chromodynamics. [2] In 1965, physicists suggested that quarks (the parts that made up hadrons) could interact through gauge bosons, called gluons. However, there was no direct experimental evidence of this until a 1979 result at the Positron-Electron Tandem Ring Accelerator (PETRA) particle accelerator in Hamburg, Germany. Further evidence over the years since has supported this interpretation of quantum chromodynamics. [3] Even if science did not have an explanation or had not found one yet, this doesn't by default become a gap that can be filled with a God or Jesus. 3. The Christological argument A. Empty Tomb There are more reasonable possibilities for an empty tomb than a resurrection. "From a purely historical point of view, a highly unlikely event is far more probable than a virtually impossible one..." [4] Besides Romans typically denied burial to victims of crucifixion.[5] A punishment normally reserved for "slaves or those who threatened the existing social order."[6] It was actually non burial that made being crucified alive one of the three supreme penalties of Roman punishment.[7] Rabbinic law specifies that criminals may not be buried in tombs; rather, it instructs Jews to bury criminals in a common grave (Tosefta Sanhedrin 9:8; Mishnah Sanhedrin 6:5-7). However, this is all moot given that the Sanhedrin found Jesus guilty of blasphemy. Under Jewish law, such a crime was punishable by death by stoning (Num. 24:16) The crucial question is whether the specific evidence for Jesus' burial is sufficient to overcome its initial improbability, it is not. B. Women as witnesses Having women discover the empty tomb may have been somewhat embarrassing to the church, but, if so, that would have been for reasons that had nothing to do with their qualification to serve as legal witnesses, since the women are not portrayed as legal witnesses in the story. Besides, women were qualified to serve as legal witnesses if no male witnesses were available. Siphre Deuteronomy 190 is the oldest work which disqualifies women from acting as witnesses, and it does so on the rather curious grounds that witnesses are referred to in the Old Testament in the masculine. However, the rabbinical lists of persons disqualified to give testimony do not normally include women, and it is clear from three passages in the Mishnah (Yebamoth 16:7; Ketuboth 2:5; Eduyoth 3:6) that women were allowed to give evidence on matters within their knowledge if there was no male witness available. Applying this to the resurrection appearances, it would mean that Mary Magdalene was on rabbinical principles entitled to give witness to an appearance of Christ which was made only to her or to her and other women.[8] Nevertheless, for all we know, the church may have already been in an embarrassing situation: namely, why there was no detailed story to the empty tomb prior to Mark. Mark contains the earliest known story of the empty tomb. Since Mark ended his gospel at verse 8 with the women running away and telling "no one" what they had seen--in direct contrast to Matthew and Luke who allege that the women told others--this could easily be interpreted as an attempt on Mark's part to present a plausible reason why "no one" had heard his tale of the empty tomb until some time had passed. The women were so afraid that they didn't tell anyone what they had seen; hence, that would be why the early tradition didn't develop. Note that there is no mention of the women in our earliest source concerning the resurrection, 1 Corinthians. C. The Pro stated: " These disciples were willing to die for their faith, and many of them would actually face death (all of the twelve apostles died by martyrdom except John)." The question is, how did the other apostles die? More importantly, how does anyone know? Where textual evidence is lacking, tradition has obliged, and a wide variety of local legends sprang up in medieval times about the apostles" journeys and eventual deaths. But most of these traditions are late, invented hundreds of years after the fact, and lack any basis in earlier evidence. They are simply stories, tall tales. Such popular myths provide no support whatsoever for modern Christian claims that the apostles were willingly martyred. Legend and tradition alone, dreamed up by the early churches in their bid for legitimacy and authority, provided the uplifting fables of heroics and martyrdom. The plethora of conflicting claims and alternative deaths stand eloquent testimony to wholesale fabrication of the non-existent god man's non-existent companions.[9] My arguments against the Bible 1. Who Were the First Visitors to Jesus" Tomb? Source: Matthew 28:1 Answer: Mary Magdalene and the other Mary Source: Mark 16:1 Answer: The two Marys, plus a third person, Salome Source: Luke 24:10 Answer: The two Marys, Joanna, and "the others." Source: John 20:1 Answer: Only Mary Magdalene 2. Was the Stone Rolled Away? Source: Matthew 28:1-2 Answer: The stone was in place when they arrived, and the angel rolled it back. Source: Mark 16:4 Answer: The stone had already been rolled away upon their arrival, noted also in Luke 24:2 and John 20:1. 3. Who Did the Visitors Tell of Jesus" Empty Tomb? Source: Matthew 28:8 Answer: The visitors were overjoyed, and they ran to tell the disciples Source: Mark 16:8 Answer: They were afraid, and told no one. 4. Where Was Jesus on the Sixth Hour of the Crucifixion? Source: Mark 15:32-33 Answer: Christ was already on the cross at 9 am. Source: John 19:14-15 Answer: It was 9 am as Jesus was being judged at Pilate"s palace. 5. When Was Jesus Crucified? Source: Mark 15:25 Answer: The third hour, as noted in the Amplified Bible, is 9 am Source: John 19:14-16 Answer: The sixth hour is Noon. These five questions are examples of biblical error and inconsistency. They prove that the gospels are contradictory and cannot be reliable as a source for the last hours of the life of Jesus. If the Bible cannot be consistent in a few points, then how can we trust it on any point. In my next round I will continue to build the evidence against the Bible, breaking down the only source in which the Christian has for their faith. Without the Bible Christians would have nothing to believe in concerning Jesus. To sum up the rebuttals for Pros arguments: 1. There is no way to prove that the book of Matthew was written before or after 70 A.D. 2. Modern science has shown how Atoms stay together vs. the Pros assumption that Jesus does it because the Bible says so. 3. It is more probable to believe that the tomb was empty for other reasons instead of a resurrection, which is highly improbable. 4. Women as witnesses proves nothing, also considering the inconsistency in the gospels about what they actual reported. 5. The martyrdom of apostles and believers is without evidence, at least the Pro gave none. [1] http://www.stellarhousepublishing.com... [2] The European Physical Journal H, Volume 35, Issue 1, 2010, pp.3-28 http://adsabs.harvard.edu... [3] http://physics.about.com... [4] Ehrman's book, Jesus Interrupted pp.171-179 [5] Martin Hengel, Crucifixion in the Ancient World and the Folly of the Message of the Cross (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977 [6] Gerard Stephen Sloyan, The Crucifixion of Jesus: History, Myth, Faith (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995), p. 18. [7] John Dominic Crossan, The Birth of Christianity: Discovering What Happened in the Years Immediately After the Execution of Jesus (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1998), p. 542 [8] John Wenham, Easter Enigma: Are the Resurrection Accounts in Conflict? (Second ed., Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1992), pp. 150-51, n. 26 [9] http://www.jesusneverexisted.com...