By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.)
Science has disproven Christianity
Science is a method of empirical investigation. How can an empirical methodology disprove an entire worldview system such as Christianity? Furthermore, empirical investigation is not separated from interpretation of empirical data. Science is a methodology and how the data of our empirical investigation is interpreted will depend upon the intellectual framework or worldview that one holds. Our worldview affects how we interpret data.
This is why it is so important to recognize that “science” does not tell us anything, “scientists” do; and they are not without their own worldview bias which affects how data is interpreted in favor of or against some perspective.
Science does not disprove or prove Christianity. Science is a method of investigating the natural world. God as an immaterial being is not subject to being placed in a test tube to be weighed and measured. That is not to say however, that science is not a helpful tool that can lead us to conclusions which have theistic implications. The study of the natural world can enlighten us to effects in nature that point to a source and entity beyond nature, and such study is fruitful and important.
Lastly, something else that should be noted is that the use of science only makes sense in a rational universe. Atheism posits an irrational universe and therefore, the existence of beings such as humans who use rational principles that are binding and necessary for the methodology of science to get off the ground does not make sense and does not comport with an atheistic outlook of the world.
Jesus Never Existed
To say that Jesus never existed is to hold to a radically fringe position. Jesus is accepted as a historical figure by almost all historians who study these issues. This is not an appeal to authority, but the reasons why most historians grant that Jesus was an actual historical figure must be dealt with, and I do not think those who deny Jesus historical existence have dealt with the data in a meaningful and clear fashion. Independent of the New Testament sources themselves, there are references to Jesus outside the Bible which firm up the historical case. Be that as it may, consider the words of the scholar Bart Ehrman, no friend to Christianity and famously critical of the New Testament:
The Bible is full of Contradiction
While it is true that there are areas of the Bible that “seem” to be contradictory, I would argue that the Bible is in fact NOT contradictory. First, we need to define what a contradiction is in order for us to determine if a particular portion of scripture is in fact contradictory. A contradiction is when a statement cannot be both true and false at the same time and in the same way. In the Bible, there are statements that are both true and false at the same time, BUT, not necessarily in the same way. There are statements that in one sense are true, and in another sense false. For instance, the Bible clearly teaches that God cannot be seen (1 Timothy 6:16), but in other places in the Bible God is said to have been seen (Numbers 12:6-8). Which is it? The Bible teaches that God cannot be seen and at times is be seen. Is there a contradiction? No!
Upon closer study of the issues, it is the Father who is not seen (John 1:18). The Word (who is at the Father’s side, he makes him known). No one has seen the Father, but the Son often reveals himself to man in the Old Testament in the form of a (Christophany). This is when the 2nd Person of the trinity takes on a form so as to “appear” to men. We see examples of this with Moses, Abraham, and others. It is the Son who reveals to us what the Father is like, but no man can see the Father. If one desires to see the Father, they are to look to the Son.
