Handling Question on Religion

THE AUTHENTICITY OF JESUS CHRIST AND THE NEW TESTAMENT
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Question One
The most viable argument that can be employed to authenticate the historical existence of Jesus Christ is reference to Jesus from pagan writings. Arguably, evidence from such scripts can be deemed credible since they are free from possible Christian exaggeration. Key among the non-Christian authors that are believed to be the first to mention Jesus Christ in his writings is the first-century Jewish historian Josephus. In fact, it is Josephus who recorded the siege of Jerusalem by Roman Armies as recorded in Luke 21:20. According to Josephus, this historical event transpired in 70 AD and was executed by a Roman commander, Titus. Indeed, just as Jesus had prophesied decades earlier, the Roman army destroyed the temple of Jerusalem such that no stone as left on top of each other (Luke 29:6).
Other historians that affirmed the existence of Jesus include Roman politicians Pliny and Tacitus who lived during the early second century. According to Tacitus, Jesus was executed when Pontius Pilate and Tiberius reigned in Judaea. Relating these pagan statements to Luke 3:1, a striking similarity is noted. On the other hand, Pliny asserts that in Turkey, Christians worshipped Christ as a god. The fact that none of the two pagan politicians was a Christian or liked Christianity affirms that Jesus Christ was indeed a historical figure. Additionally, all these non-Christian authors wrote their accounts during the same century Jesus is ‘claimed’ to have lived on earth.

Arguably, that was such a short duration that it was practically impossible for these authors to be unconversant with the existence of a historical figure who lived within their century.
Christianity is all about faith. As recorded in Hebrews 11:1, faith is the assurance of things hoped for. Therefore, without faith, it is impossible to be an ideal Christian. However, seeing the possibility of doubt, the Bible, as well as history, has various provisions to assert the literal existence of Jesus Christ on earth. Firstly, the birth of Jesus Christ was predicted many years before his birth (Isaiah 7:14). Additionally, the genealogy of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament is with exact precision and in correspondence with ancient prophecies. For example, prophet Micah had prophesied that Christ would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) and Jeremiah prophesied that he would come from the lineage of David (Jeremiah 23:5-6). Cross-referencing these Old Testament prophecies with the New Testament, a striking correspondence is noted. On this note, in Mathew 1, indeed, the root of Jesus is traced back to David with exact precision. What is more, as Micah prophesied, Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem (Mathew 2:1).
The prophesies uttered by Christ are the other pieces of evidence that can be employed to ascertain his literal existence on earth. For instance in Mathew 24:9 Jesus predicted of the future persecution of the disciples. Indeed, a few years after his ascension, the disciples were severely persecuted true to Jesus’ prophecy. Additionally, during the Dark ages, Christians were severely persecuted by The Roman Empire. Also, as recorded in Luke 21 great earthquakes and pestilences would dominate during the end times. Indeed, today, such events that were predicted centuries ago are happening. Amazingly as recorded in Mark 13:25 Jesus affirmed that during the end times, stars would also fall from heaven. Historically, this prophecy was partially fulfilled in November 1833 when there was a massive fall of stars. Evidently, based on these ancient prophesies as spoken by Jesus, that have been fulfilled as affirmed by history, one cannot but conclude that Jesus Christ was an actual historical figure.
Question 2
Indeed, during the later centuries, some words in the New Testament were altered by Bible translators to fit the culture that prevailed then. However, this alteration did not mean to diminish the authenticity of the scriptures. Rather, the alteration aimed to pass on the original message in a manner that it would not lose its original intent owing to cultural shifts that transpired over the centuries. A typical example of such a word is ‘slave’. In Greek, the word that that was translated to ‘servant’ was doulos. However, this word actually means a slave rather than a servant. In fact, among the many Greek words for ‘servant’, daulos is not one of them. Based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, no one can be a slave to two masters (Mathew 6:24). Additionally, in Romans 6:16, Paul asserts that one becomes a slave to whomever they choose to serve. In these verses, the message inferred is that one can either be a slave to God or Satan. However, Jesus also reiterated that he came to serve rather than be served (Mark 10:35). What is more, he also gave several parables related to the servant-master relationship (Matthew 18:21-35; Matthew 25:14-30). Therefore, it is clear that slave/master and servant/master relationships are used interchangeably in the bible. However, basically, the key message, when the two words are employed, revolves around the test of loyalty.
In many Bible translations including the original King James Version, doulos has been consistently translated as ‘servant’ rather than the correct translation ‘slave’. There are two notable arguments propounded to support the translator’s choice to prefer the word ‘servant’ as opposed to the actual meaning ‘slave’. Key among them is the attempt to disassociate Christianity with the evil of British Empire and American colonial era slave trade. Secondly, during the late medieval times, it was more natural to associate the word doulos with the Latin word servus to match its meaning with the culture that prevailed then. Therefore, the word servus, which translates to ‘servant’, worked well to represent the Greco Roman idea of slavery in the context of medieval culture.
While slave trade was not abhorred when it first commenced, during the later years, this form of trade was highly condemned. While it is also a fact that when Israelites conquered their enemies, they also captured slaves, when the Israelites rejected the Messiah, the salvation was opened to the Gentiles. As recorded in Galatians 3:26, in Christianity there should no longer be discrimination between free or bond. Owing to this reality, it was justifiable to replace the word ‘slave’ with a more friendly word ‘servant’ to match the shift in cultural inclinations and human values over time. That way, Christian missionaries would find it easy to preach the gospel to the discriminated communities who viewed slave traders as their rivals.
In a nutshell, the variance in translation was only meant to avoid possible confusion and negative imagery that would result owing to cultural variations over the ages. Therefore, it is clear that no message distortion resulted following these translation modifications. Rather, the message presented remained uniform depending on the culture of the pertinent reader. Thus, it can be insinuated that the New Testament is still authentic despite the translation distortions that have been affected over time.
Question Three
For a Christian, believing in the historicity of Jesus Christ plays an essential role in their Christian life. Firstly, believing in the historicity of Christ makes it possible for a Christian to believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ. Arguably, failure to believe that Jesus existed means an inclination to doubt his second coming. If such a doubt prevails, then the basis of Christian faith and the hope of redemption are annulled. As posited by, Jesus Christ is at the core of Christian religion. The implication is that for Christianity and Christian theology to make sense, a belief in the historicity of Jesus Christ is inevitable.
It is also an undeniable fact that all Christian ideals are based on the life Jesus Christ led when he lived on earth. For instance, the Lord’s Prayer as adopted by Christians was taught by Jesus. Additionally, the ideals of humility, love, compassion and such like globally accepted Christian values can all be traced back to the life of Jesus. As such, for a Christian to lead a holistic life, it is essential that they believe in the historicity of Jesus Christ, from which they base their Christian behavior from. Additionally, many future events such as the second advent of Jesus Christ’s and occurrences associated with this period, which Christians anticipate, were predicted by Jesus. Evidently, for a Christian to accept the validity of these events, that have not transpired yet, a belief in the historicity of the prophesier, in this case-Jesus, comes in handy.
Christians also believe that their salvation is based on the death of Christ on the cross. Evidently, this is a historical event that, by faith, Christians believe occurred. Such a belief is critical because it acts to convict Christians that, despite the fact that they did not witness the death of Christ and were not in existence either when it occurred, they were also forgiven when this historic event transpired. What is more, many other modern events like Good Friday and Christmas are all based on past historical occurrences related to the life of Jesus Christ. Indeed, these events are highly revered by the Christian body a veneration that is only possible if a Christian believes in the historicity of Jesus Christ.
The historicity of Jesus Christ also acts to back the content of the old testament prophesies about the life of Jesus. According to 2 Timothy 3:16-19, the Bible reckons that all scripture is written by inspiration of God. The implication is that as a Christians, one should revere both the Old and New Testament as bearing inspired oracles from God. To achieve this, a belief in the historicity of Christ is imperative, for it is only through such a belief that a Christian exhibits their faith in Old Testament scripts.
The other aspect that makes the belief in the historicity of Christ inevitable is the theology of the Holy Spirit, which Christians have convicted that it is still relevant today. As recorded in John 14, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to his followers after his accession. Today, Christians believe that it is the Holy Spirit that helps them live a godly life. Given that the sending of this divine being, which modern Christians believe works in their lives, was promised by Jesus, a belief in his historicity of the sender, in this case, Jesus, becomes imperative.

Bibliography
Feldman, Louis H., and Gōhei Hata. Josephus, Judaism, and Christianity. Leiden: Brill, 1987.
Flynn, Eileen P. Why Believe?: Foundations of a Catholic Theology. Franlin, WI: Sheed & Ward, 2000.
MacArthur, John, and John MacArthur. Slave: The Study Guide : the Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ. Nashville, Tenn: Thomas Nelson, 2010.
Macintosh, Douglas C. “Is Belief in the Historicity of Jesus Indispensable to Christian Faith?” The American Journal of Theology 15, no. 3 (1911), 362-372. doi:10.1086/479017.
Wells, George Albert. 1996. The Jesus legend. Chicago: Open Court.
White, Ellen Gould Harmon. The great controversy between Christ and Satan: The conflict of the ages in the Christian dispensation. Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press, 2002.