ianty? Stella asked me this question and I have decided to answer at length here. Give me this and I am a Christian tommorow.
I often say that if I were given good evidence that Christianity were true I would convert in a heart beat. What would it take to convince me that Christianity is true? Well, it’s a rather long list, but before we get to very specific pieces of evidence I have begin with the absolute prerequisites (at least one would have to be fulfilled) for even entertaining the thought. They would be:
1. Contemporaneous documentation (eyewitness or otherwise) by secular/Roman authorities of the events described in the Gospels (miracles, trial, resurrection, etc.), yes, I said contemporaneous. Nothing written decades or centuries after the ‘fact’ is acceptable, particularly given the nature of the claims made in the Gospels.
2. Contemporaneous coins and/or inscriptions making very clear references with great detail to the alleged Jesus of Nazareth.
3. Contemporaneous art work (sculpture, fresco, etc.) physically depicting the alleged Jesus of Nazareth.
4. Contemporaneous biographical information written by those who knew him as a child and witnessed the first 3 decades of his life prior to his alleged resurrection; childhood details would be very relevant.
Though you've given a detailed definition of what you would call "good evidence", your demands are rather odd, given the cultural context of the subject at hand.
1. As has been demonstrated on multiple occasions, you have, in fact, accepted the existence of historical figures, the biographical information of whom has been penned decades/centuries after his reported lifetime (i.e. Alexander the Great).
2&3 Coins/inscriptions are for earthly monarchs, which Jesus Christ was not, nor did He intend to be. And last time I checked, people don't make coins for carpenters. The same can be said for artwork. Again, who is going to sculpt or paint a carpenter?
4. The problem with your 4 requests has one simple root: You inaccurately assume that the "celebrity" (for lack of a better term) that Jesus Christ has now, He had back then. The Gospel of John states that "He went unto His own and His own received Him not". As for the biographical information, please indicate why anyone would spend 20 years, writing down the life and times of a carpenter's young son, especially one living in Nazareth ("Can anything good come from Nazareth?" was a quote from one of Jesus' disciples). With Nazareth's reputation as a poor city, odds are that many who knew Jesus as a child couldn't read or write. Even if they could, with the expectation that the Messiah would be a regal figure, jotting down the sawing and nailing of a carpenter from Nazareth would be quite LOW on the priority list.
Of course #1 would be the best but if conditions 2 and 3 were fulfilled I might entertain the notion and 4 would be great as well. By contemporaneous I mean within the time frame that the alleged Christ Jesus is supposed to have lived; from 6 BCE (when Matthew claims he was born) or 6 CE (when Luke claims he was born); note the contradiction in birth dates; to 33 CE.
That alleged contradiction has been discussed before. Luke doesn't claim that Jesus was born in 6 A.D.
Now assuming that these conditions had been met to even consider the notion of Christianity seriously, I will now list various examples of things which the Bible would have to contain to utterly convince me that Christianity is true. At least three of these conditions would have to be met; any less than three I would consider a coincidence and of course the more the better, e.g. six conditions were met. Here are some examples of what would utterly convince me to become a Christian:
Predictions and Prophecies
The prophecy/prediction cannot be vague or nebulous in nature, allowing for still vaguer interpretations and illegitimate claims of fulfillment. They would have display pinpoint accuracy in terms of both time, place and factual information as befits a book originating from an omniscient/omnipotent author. Here are some examples; they are by no means limited to ones I mention; if others surfaced they would have to conform to the same standards.
1.The Bible predicts the American Revolutionary War; this includes the exact date of its commencement and its end (1775-1781, including day and month). Important personages such as George Washington, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson would need to be mentioned as well as all important places (obviously North America would have to be mentioned) Details of the various battles, including total casualties, victories and loss as well as financial expenditures would have to be mentioned and they would have to correlate with the data we have from that time. Furthermore related events would have to be mentioned, such as the Boston Tea Party.
2.The Bible predicts the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; this includes the exact date of the bombing (August 6th, 1945), the total number of casualties, the blast radius of each respective A-bomb as well as the reasons for bombing and the persons involved in the decision and creation (Truman, Oppenheimer, etc.). The prediction correlates exactly to the data we have on the subject to a T. (Of course Japan would have to be mentioned as well).
3.The Bible predicts the emergence of the Internet; with pinpoint accuracy the Bible mentions and describes the emergence of a new form of telecommunications system, arising in the late 20th century. It describes how it functions (on a fiber optic level) and calls it by name (Internet); detailed mention and description of e-mail, blogs, web pages and Internet forums is made. All information corresponds exactly to the data we have on hand.
4.The Bible predicts an earthquake; the prediction includes precise data concerning seismic activity, the exact number on the Richter scale and precise geographical data, including latitude and longitude as well as the nearest fault line; total deaths, number of injured people, property destruction are mentioned in great detail and correspond exactly to the data we have on record (as must the scientific information, e.g. seismic activity)
5. The Bible predicts a volcanic eruption; same as earthquake with relevant geological terminology for volcanoes (VEI, Volcanic Explosivity Index).
None of these events have anything to do with the destiny of Israel or events leading to the appearance of Christ. With that said, the Bible already has prophecies concerning events that were the "Revolutionary Wars" and the "Hiroshimas and Nagasakis" of its era.
A prime example would be the prophecies of Daniel (i.e. the four-beast prophecy and the image of Nebuchadnezzar). The accuracy of those prophecies is well-documented.
The book of Daniel predicted the order of world empires that would follow, first that the Medo-Persia would succeed Babylon as the next world empire, followed by Greece, and later Rome.
Jeremiah states that the dynasty of Nebuchadnezzar would last through his son and grandson but would end after that. Historically, we know that, after Nebby's death, we know the monarchs of Babylon, with regards to Nebby's lineage, to be:
Evil-Merodach (son)
Nerglisssar (son-in-law)
Labashi-Merodach (grandson)
Nabonidus (son-in-law)
Belshazzar (grandson)
Back to Daniel, he also was foretold that, while the Medo-Persian empire would be a joint one, the Persians would be slightly stronger than the Medes (which is an historical fact). Daniel is also told that when Greece overtakes Rome, the Grecian empire would be split FOUR ways (symbolized in the ram-goat prophecy and the four-headed leopard from the four-beast prophecy). You do recall what happened after the death of Alexander the Great. His kingdom was divided among his four generals.
And speaking of Alexander the Great, his conquest of a certain coastal city (Tyre) is depicted in the book of Ezekiel. He is not mentioned by name. But, look at the history of Tyre. The only king that completely dominated what was once the heart of the Phoenician empire is Alexander the Great. And he did so, by fulfilling Bible prophecy, as his Greece is one of the "many nations" that destroys Tyre by casting its stones, timbers, and dust into the sea.
There was a great slaughter in the midst of Tyre, as was told to Ezekiel (i.e. the 40,000+ killed and enslaved). And, as history has shown, the end of the Phoenician empire occured with the Alexander's conquest of Tyre. And all this happened nearly 250 years after Ezekiel penned his book.
Again, these were the "Hiroshimas", "Nagasakis" and "Revolutionary Wars" of the time. The Bible predicted how it would go down, who would be victorious, and how they would attain victory. These have been verified as accurate, which is why some skeptics, unable to deny that, have to result to claiming that it was written after the fact, especially with regards to the book of Daniel.
Knowledge and Information
The Bible would have to contain precise knowledge that could not possibly have been known at the time, in particular advanced scientific knowledge that only an omniscient super being could know. Some examples (but not limited to) below:
1. Any mention of one the 4 laws of thermodynamics, including their description, application and mathematical details in a specific context.
2. Any mention of one of the 3 of Newton’s laws of motion; same as with the laws of thermodynamics.
3. Precise descriptions and understanding of matter, including all levels; the molecular, atomic, sub-atomic, etc. The periodic table is included as well as melting and freezing points of various forms of matter. All data must correspond to the facts as we know them.
4. Precise description and understanding of DNA and Genetics; all data must be accurate to a T.
5. Instructions for the construction of an aircraft that can achieve escape velocity; details must include aerodynamics, materials and precise engineering details and must correlate with the data we have on the matter.
If at least three of the conditions mentioned above (the more the better) were met in the Bible and the aforementioned prerequisites were fulfilled as well I would convert to Christianity tomorrow.
Personally, I don't think you would. You'd find a reason to "explain" that away. Jesus' own disciples witnessed His miracles firsthand. Still, one betrayed Him; another denied Him; and the rest ran like scalded dogs. Go back to the Old Testament, less than two months after being delivered from Egypt, witnessing some of the most awesome supernatural acts in the process, the Israelites reject God and revert to idolatry.
BTW, exactly who put those 4 laws of thermodynamics into place? Are those laws of motion really those of Newton (did he actually create them or did he merely discover them)?
"All data must correspond to the facts as we know them"....... Key words:
"as we know them". That would mean that these facts are based on principles, put into place and set into motion by a supernatural being, which flies right in the fact of your core beliefs that no such being exists.