Letters From Grandpa #392

LETTERS FROM GRANDPA

• 392

Dearest grandchild,

Today’s letter will deal with “evidence”. Rational people should have “evidence” before making important decisions. Bankers make loans based on evidence. Juries make decisions based upon evidence. So also those who hear the Gospel should also make their decision based upon evidence.

Atheist philosopher Peter Boghossian is one of many in our modern era seeking to redefine “faith”. They want us to accept their new definition of faith as “belief without evidence”. This is certainly not the way the word “faith” is used in the Bible. The Apostle John specifically wrote his Gospel to present “evidence” so that people might believe. Please consider: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples that are not recorded in this book But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn. 20:30-31).

The Greek word translated as “faith” in the New Testament Scriptures is “pistis”. It comes from “peitho” which means “to persuade”. In the KJV it is used 244 times and always refers to faith in God, Christ, or things spiritual. In the KJV it is translated as “faith” 239 times, assurance – 1; believe – 1; belief – 1; them that believe – 1; fidelity – 1.

John tells us that the Apostle Thomas was called “Didymus” which means “twin” (Jn. 11:16). When the resurrected Jesus first appeared to the apostles Thomas was not present (Jn. 20:19-25). Since he had been mistaken many times for his twin brother, Thomas said: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (Jn. 20:25). Thomas correctly wanted evidence!

“A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” (Jn. 20:26-29). Thomas was convinced! He later died as a martyr in India for preaching the Gospel! Not one of the apostles ever denied the reality of the resurrection!

The fact that people believe without seeing does not mean they are believing without evidence. We do not have to “see” the famous events of history to consider the evidence and “believe” that they are true. So John continues with the verse we quoted earlier. John said he was recording the miracles of Jesus as “evidence” so that that who read his testimony might believe: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples that are not recorded in this book But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn. 20:30-31).

Representative of the Orwellian era in which we live is the decision of the Oxford Dictionary to make “post-truth” their word of the year in 2016. “Post-truth” means deliberately ignoring reason, rationale, facts, science, knowledge and statistics to follow an emotionally driven agenda. It means shutting down the truth in case it hurts someone's feelings. It means silencing truth-speakers in case the facts cause offense. Oxford representatives stated: “Post-truth has gone from being a peripheral term to

being a mainstay in political commentary,” In 2016 they observed that “post-truth” usage has increased by 2,000 percent “since last year”.

One of the world’s foremost experts on evidence is detective J. Warner Wallace. For years he was a cold case detective in Los Angeles. “Cold cases” invariably involve “murder” as there is no statue of limitation on murders. Without witnesses or DNA evidence he has successfully solved murders committed many years before, prosecuted the murderers, and has never lost a case in court. For the first 35 years of his life, however, he was an atheist. Then he began to study the “evidence” for Jesus using the same reliable techniques he used as a cold case detective. As a result of his investigation he has become a Christian and is one of the most effective apologists of our generation.

Wallace has written many books, and videos of his lectures are readily available via the internet. The following link will introduce you to some of the evidence that compelled him to confess Christ as Lord. It is approximately an hour long but will be well worth your time. I thank you in advance for taking the time to consider evidence that involves eternity.

https://youtu.be/APMD_UatlhA

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce