Deism is more Reasonable than any Revealed Religion

The Evidence of the Supernatural "My opponent has incorrectly assumed that since I'm a Christian, the Bible is my only evidence for Jesus and his supernatural acts. I will devote this round of argument to proofs of the the supernatural acts performed by our personal God outside of the Bible. " To begin, neither Tacitus nor Josephus were even born by the time Jesus was killed on the cross. As a result, the only information they would have on the event is hearsay. Hearsay is not proof that supernatural acts were performed by a personal God, and it doesn't prove that the Bible is completely accurate. Tacitus "Let's begin our inquiry with a passage that historian Edwin Yamauchi calls "probably the most important reference to Jesus outside the New Testament. " Reporting on Emperor Nero's decision to blame the Christians for the fire that had destroyed Rome in A. D. 64, the Roman historian Tacitus wrote: Nero fastened the guilt . . . on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of . . . Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome. . . . "What all can we learn from this ancient (and rather unsympathetic) reference to Jesus and the early Christians? Notice, first, that Tacitus reports Christians derived their name from a historical person called Christus (from the Latin), or Christ. He is said to have "suffered the extreme penalty," obviously alluding to the Roman method of execution known as crucifixion. This is said to have occurred during the reign of Tiberius and by the sentence of Pontius Pilatus. This confirms much of what the Gospels tell us about the death of Jesus. " This confirms that it was said that a man named Jesus suffered an extreme penalty. This does nothing to prove that anything supernatural occurred. Also, he has heard this from Christians themselves, which have already believed the story before he learned about it. Tacitus is not a reliable source for determining whether or not Jesus did supernatural things. He couldn't even be used to confirm if the Bible is accurate and true, because he lived after the time these events happened. "But what are we to make of Tacitus' rather enigmatic statement that Christ's death briefly checked "a most mischievous superstition," which subsequently arose not only in Judaea, but also in Rome? Historian's suggests that Tacitus is here "bearing indirect . . . testimony to the conviction of the early church that the Christ who had been crucified had risen from the grave. " " [1] Tacitus gives us no indication that Jesus rose from the grave. Even if he did, he would not be a reliable source, as he was not there to see it. He only had the testimony of other people to give him information on these stories. This testimony is not necessarily true. Flavius Josephus ""Perhaps the most remarkable reference to Jesus outside the Bible can be found in the writings of Josephus, a first century Jewish historian. On two occasions, in his Jewish Antiquities, he mentions Jesus. "Josephus was an eyewitness to history, and his writings are considered authoritative. These texts are key to understanding a pivotal point in world history, which has tragic repercussions even to this day. " Josephus writes. . "About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he wrought surprising feats. . . . He was the Christ. When Pilate . . . condemned him to be crucified, those who had . . . come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared restored to life. . . . And the tribe of Christians . . . has not disappeared. " [2]"" Josephus was an eyewitness to history, just like the majority of people that ever lived. What is being attempted here is to prove that the bible is true. Just like Tacitus, Josephus was not alive during Jesus' life and could not have evidence that he rose from the grave. I also don't see how it is a remarkable reference to Jesus outside the bible. Being born decades after Jesus' supposed resurrection, there would have been ample amount of time for this story of Jesus to be passed on by people. The stories he writes about prove nothing other than that the story of Christ was getting more popular during that time. This doesn't prove that the bible is true and accurate, and it certainly doesn't prove anything supernatural occurred. Former Rebuttals Many of my rebuttals still remain uncontested. All of the inferences of God from the cosmological argument have been shown to be unfounded and are not provable. All references to miracles and supernatural events have not been backed by any evidence. The bible has been shown to be unreliable, as there are many scientific fallacies in the book. Conclusion Because there has been no evidence that Christianity or other revealed religions are true, Deism is a far more reasonable belief. Unlike Christianity, Deism isn't dependent on unproven supernatural occurrences on Earth. Deism doesn't require one to believe in any religious text or prophet, and only calls for people to use their reasoning and observations to come to the conclusion that there is some type of creator of the universe. The great benefits of being a Deist is that you are able to believe in what you think is most reasonable. There is no ancient moral code that Deists must believe in. Deists are free to believe in any scientific advancements that arise in the future, and are able to adapt to changing times. All of this allows for a much more reasonable world view and way of life, when compared to a belief in a revealed religion. I hope I have shown that there are no convincing reasons to believe in a revealed religion, and Deism is therefore the more reasonable belief.