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So is there a God? How can we know that there is? The very fact that we or anything around us is here should be more than enough evidence that there is in fact a God. If I am alone on a beach and find a volleyball, I wouldn't be wondering if it just magically appeared there. I may wonder whose it was or what brand it was, but I know somebody made it. Many people don't believe in God because they can't see Him or because God doesn't do what they want him to do when they want him to do it. Both are pretty preposterous ideas when we think about it. First of all, no unrighteous person would want to see God right now if God truly hates sin. 1 That would bring immediate death. 2  Secondly, I have yet to find anyone who has seen the wind, but we know it's there. How do we know the wind exists? Only because of the effects we see when it blows. But you may argue that this is the very reason you were trying to get God to do something for you in the first place. What would you and I do if an ant thought he could make us swerve around him on the road? We'd probably squash him, and we should be glad that God doesn't do the same to us when we expect him to do things for us on our time. God has given us plenty of evidence of His existence with the planets and stars, the plants and animals, movement, intelligent design, and the abilities we have to think, to function, to love, and to hate. All of these are much more complex than a volleyball dreamed of being.

So why Christianity? Why not some other religion? First of all, Christianity is unique from all other world religions. Instead of asking what he can do in order to get to heaven, a Christian wants to know what he can do because he is going to heaven. 3 The love is much more pure in Christianity than you will find in any other religion. Instead of doing good for our own benefit, we do good out of love for God. A person striving primarily to receive a reward is doing good for selfish motives.

God took the first step by sending His Son to die on the cross as the unblemished lamb. In the Old Testament, sacrifices had to be made to clear the sins of the people. 4 The lambs had to be without blemish. 5 These sacrifices served as a representation of Jesus, who the New Testament writers referred to as the Unblemished Lamb. 6 In other words, he had to be sinless for it to mean anything when he died for our sins. The Bible tells us that nobody is righteous - not even one. 7 So, this poses a definite problem if Jesus is nothing more than a man. According to the Bible, only God is sinless. Therefore, if Christianity is true, Jesus must be God. Unlike any leader in any other major world religion, Jesus Claimed to be God. 8

We all know that claims are nothing unless you can back them up, and this is when the real evidence for Christianity comes into play. Christians have the evidence of the Bible - the way it has remained throughout history, it's central theme of Christ and the redemption of man, 9  and the visible preservation of the written words as seen when the Dead Sea Scrolls were unearthed. 10 Christianity is historical. The scriptures were written in times and places that can be checked by archaeological digging 11 as well as historical documents outside of the Bible. 12 It also contains many prophecies that had been fulfilled; many concerning the life of Jesus Himself, giving us a blueprint of who the Old Testament claimed the redeemer would be. 13 Also recorded in the Bible are numerous miracles performed by Jesus, including walking on water, healings, calming storms, and the raising of the dead. 14 Almost all of his miracles were performed in groups of people, disintegrating the idea that these were merely hallucinations. 15 Most were also done in the presence of hostile witnesses, like the Pharisees and Sadducees, who were looking for any opportunity to shut down the ministry of this man who told people the hard truth about these "blind guides". 16

Perhaps the most convincing of all the arguments for Christianity are the changed lives. Throughout history, many people have been told what I have written here and made dramatic changes in their lives, placing their faith in the work on the cross alone for their eternal salvation. Many Jews, people from a nation that holds firmly to its national identity, just stopped taking part in the numerous customs and even started worshipping on the first day of the week instead of the last in honor of the resurrection. 17 Early Christians were hung on crosses, burned alive, stoned to death, and fed to animals when all they had to do was deny the resurrection of Christ. These were people who claimed to see Jesus alive after the dead. 18 I'll tell you something, if I claim to see something and I didn't see it, I'm sure not going to die for it. Would you?
Did Jesus really die, or was the death faked? Stories of swoon theories and replacement hoaxes run rampant in this information age we live in. 19  So where does the real evidence lead? Both types of theories suggest that the people of that day were stupid. But with the evidence we do have, it's much easier to believe that Jesus physically died. First, based on the fact that people were able to die cruel deaths, we can assume that they weren't making stories up for their own benefit. Secondly, the Romans were professional killers and knew that their own life was at stake if they didn't get their man. 20 Third, there are very early records, written within ten years of the crucifixion of Jesus, claiming his death and resurrection in early church creeds. 21 So, we can rightly assume that these people were telling the truth based on their actions after what they claimed to see. 

Now, we turn our focus toward the cross to see if it was possible for him to escape death. Crucifixion on the cross is one of the most cruel forms of punishment ever performed in known history. A new word, "excruciating," was even coined because of the pain endured on the cross. However, the pain of the cross actually begins much earlier than the spikes. The prisoners were usually beaten severely, sometimes whipped until their innards and veins showed. Then in a state of hypovolemic shock they were forced to carry a beam up to the place they were to be crucified. After they got there, nails were run into their hands (wrists) and feet, lacerating the nerves as they went in. When the cross was lifted, the lungs were held in the inhale position until the victim pushed up for his next breath, scraping his bloody back against the rough wood. These are the types of things that swoon theorists leave out of their books. I could go on, but my point is made. There is no way for him to have lived through this, but even if he had, Christians would not have dreamed of following this example unless he truly rose from the dead in a renewed body. 22

All of this information is just that - information. Information does nothing unless it is understood, accepted, and acted on. If you feel convicted to act on this information, there is no better time than the present. It costs you absolutely nothing to ask God to be your Lord and Savior. It costs you nothing to grasp onto eternal life and know you will be with God in heaven. Because He truly loves you, He humbled himself even to the point of that horrible death on the cross. When you ask, if you haven't already, you have this information to hold on to and comfort you as it has comforted me.

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Bibliography
-Craig, William Lane, and Dr. John Dominic Crossan. "Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up! A Debate between William Lane Craig and John Dominic Crossan" Chicago, IL: Pearl Publishing, 1998. (Debate on Audio Tape)
-Funk and Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Publishing Company).1976.
-Geisler, Norman L. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999.
-Halverson, Dean C. The Compact Guide to World Religions. Mineapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1996.
-Hanegraaff, Hank. "MAPS to Guide You Through Biblical Reliability." Christian Research Institute: Statement DB011. From the CRI Web Site at http://www.equip.org/free/DB011.htm
-Hanegraaff, Hank. Resurrection. Nashville, TN: Word Publishing, 2000.
-Kohlenberger, John R. III. The NIV Compact Nave's Topical Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervan Corperation, 1993.
-Richards, Lawrence O. Expository Dictionary of Bible Words. Grand Rapids, MI: The Zonderban Corperation, 1993.
-Stedman, Ray C. Adventuring Through the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers, 1997.
-Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version (North American Edition), copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.