Do you agree with the following statement?

[txag007]

Here is what we know:

1. There are over 300 prophesies in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah which were fulfilled by Jesus. Here are some of them:

Genesis 22:18 says the Messiah would be the seed of Abraham.

Genesis 21:12 says the Messiah would be born through the lineage of Isaac.

Numbers 24:17 says He would come from the lineage of Jacob.

Genesis 49:10 and Micah 5:2 say He would come from the tribe of Judah.

Micah 5:2 also says He would come from Bethlehem, which was fulfilled when Jesus was born there.

Isaiah 11:1 says He would come from the lineage of Jesse.

Jeremiah 23:5 says He would come from the lineage of David.

Psalm 72:10 and Isaiah 60:6 say He will be presented with gifts from the kings of Sheba and Seba, which was fulfilled upon his birth.

And of course, the book of Daniel contains many Messianic prophecies as well. We know by analyzing the Dead Sea Scrolls that Daniel was written centuries before Jesus’ lived.

2. We can confirm several important details of Jesus’ life through the writings of early historians, many of whom were not Christians and did not support Christianity. Some of these early writers and historians are as follows:

Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus (born 52-54 A.D.)

Lucian of Samosata (lived in 2nd century)

Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (born 37 A.D.)

Gentile writer Thallus (writing in 52 A.D.)

Phlegon (first century historian)

Justin Martyr (writing in 150 A.D.)

3. Early Christians suffered persecution even to the point of death for their beliefs. We know this also through the writings of early historians, such as the ones mentioned above. Yet even still, the church grew exponentially and other religions disappeared.

4. The early apostles and church founders did not grow rich and powerful because of the church. They also suffered because of Christ and died willingly died horrible deaths. Peter even asked to be crucified upside down because, as he put it, he didn’t deserve to die in the same manner as his savior.

But this isn’t sufficient evidence to confirm the truth of the Bible, you say. That’s not my point. We gather this information from sources apart from the Bible, so it is with this knowledge that I ask you the following: If a) it’s not true and b) it’s not a conspiracy, what is your theory on the rise of Christianity?

How did it happen?

How could it have happened?