Proof #50 - Ask Jesus to appear

Rather, "Proof #50 - Ask for something totally unnecessary, and the whine when we don't care."

Just about everyone knows the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. The story is summarized in the Apostles' Creed. Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he arose again from the dead.

There is only one way for Jesus to prove that he rose from the dead. He had to appear to people. Therefore, several different places in the Bible describe Jesus' appearances after his death:

• Matthew chapter 28
• Mark chapter 16
• Luke chapter 24
• John Chapter 20 and 21

1 Corinthians 15:3-6 provides a nice summary of those passages, as written by Paul:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

As you can see in this passage, Jesus appeared to hundreds of people a number of different times.

Yet, oddly enough, he also told most of these people what he was going to do beforehand. This was to show his prophetic ability.

Being like Paul

When we look at 1 Corinthians 15:3-6, there is a question that comes to mind -- why did Jesus stop making these appearances? Why isn't Jesus appearing today? Probably because he already did it once. I don't see that doing it again is necessary.

It really is odd. Not really. If the American public were confident that the government were doing things to improve the country, for example, then we wouldn't need the President to prove it to us. That's why a lot of people don't follow the news and don't care about politics. Obviously Paul benefitted from a personal meeting with the resurrected Christ. Because of the personal visit, Paul could see for himself the truth of the resurrection, and he could ask Jesus questions. Then again, Paul was also killing people who called themselves Christians.

So... Why doesn't Jesus appear to everyone and prove that he is resurrected, just like he appeared to Paul? Because we don't need him to. There is nothing to stop Jesus from materializing in your kitchen tonight to have a personal chat with you. There is nothing to stop him, I'm sure, from doing a whole lot of things, except perhaps a lack of desire. After all, there's nothing to stop you from giving me $500, except perhaps a lack of desire. And if you think about it, Jesus really does need to appear to each of us. If Paul needed a personal visit from Jesus to know that Jesus was resurrected, then why wouldn't you? Paul didn't need a visit to convince him of resurrection. He needed one so he would stop killing people.

It is an important question for the following reasons:

• We are told by the Bible that Jesus appeared to hundreds of people. Sure.
• We therefore know that it is OK for Jesus to appear to people -- it does not take away their free will, for example -- because it was OK for Jesus to appear to hundreds of other people. Of course, the situation is entirely different. Those people weren't believing in him. They believed that he was dead. It wasn't like they had faith in him as their personal savior. They felt devastation and fear, because their leader had been given the ultimate penalty under the law, and they had no idea what to do. He appeared to them to prove that he was worth believing in, not to prove that they were already believing the right things.
  
• We know that it would be easy for Jesus to appear to everyone all through history, since Jesus is all-powerful and timeless. It's also easy for you to give me $500. I accept checks and PayPal. In fact, PayPal is about as easy as clicking your mouse a few times. No getting up, no thinking. Just flexing your finger muscles a few times.
• We know that, if Jesus did reappear to everyone, it would be incredibly helpful. I somehow doubt it. We would forget about it in a matter of years. That's what the Israelites did. They witnessed God part the Red Sea and make bread fall out of the sky, but in spite of this, they started worshiping a golden cow. We could all know, personally, that Jesus is resurrected and that Jesus is God. Many of us already do. If Paul (and all the other people in the Bible) needed a personal visit to know that Jesus was resurrected, then why not you and me? Well, again, because Paul was murdering people.
• Yet, we all know that Jesus has not appeared to anyone in 2,000 years. If you already knew it, you wouldn't have to prove it. Your using circular logic.

I mentioned this earlier I think. A girl who goes to my church claimed that on the night that she became a Christian, Jesus Christ appeared to her physically and stood by her bed until she went to sleep. She described a great light in her room and a feeling of warmth and love.

I bet you don't believe her. Maybe you do. But you would call it a hallucination. See, that's your predicament. You want Jesus to appear to you, but if anyone else tells you he did, you call them insane.

In other words, there is nothing stopping Jesus from appearing to you, and several good reasons for him to appear.

Yep. There is nothing stopping you from giving me $500, and I can think of several good reasons for you to do it.

• I'm a college student, and I have no job. I need money to support myself.
  
• It would be incredibly helpful. I have some things I need to buy, like tickets to see Spring Awakening and Legally Blond on Broadway, plus a train ticket to get there. Help a brother out.
• You have a lot of money, since you are the founder of a very popular website that gets a lot of advertising income. Certainly, you have the ability to send me $500.
• I'm running out of food in my dorm room. I need money to buy more snacks, drinks, frozen breakfast items, and bread.

So here are four, solid reasons to give me $500. Why wont you just send me a check? I can think a few reasons.

• You don't want to.
• You don't know me personally.
• You know that if you give me $500, I'll use it for selfish reasons.

Come to think of it, all of these reasons can be used for Jesus not appearing to you.

• He doesn't want to.
• He doesn't know you personally, since you're an atheist. He certainly knows all about you, but he doesn't have a relationship with you.
• If he appeared to you, you would most likely go all over the news with the story, since you certainly wouldn't let him leave without a movie, or at least a photograph. You would rake in the cash.

In addition, Jesus promises that he will appear to you. All that we have to do is pray to Jesus like this: "Dear Jesus, please appear to us, as you did to Paul and the 500 brethren, so that we can see the evidence of your resurrection. In your name we pray, amen." Here is what Jesus has promised us in the Bible:

Matthew 7:7 Jesus says:

Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

In John chapter 14:14:

Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.

In Matthew 18:19:

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

If any of you are new to this blog, I suggest you start from the beginning, since I have already responded to this nonsense.

Jesus is actually in our midst. So he is right here already, supposedly. Yet when we pray to him to physically materialize, as he did to hundreds of others, nothing happens. Dear Marshall, I am in desperate need of $500. You probably have given people money before. You certainly have spent at least $500 before. Please give it to me. Sincerely, Patrick."

Isn't it odd that Nothing happens, given the fact that Jesus promises us that something will happen? He didn't promise that something will happen, Marshall. The Lord's Prayer, after all, doesn't ask him to appear to us, does it? Isn't it odd that Nothing happens when, supposedly, Jesus is right here with us already, and materialization would be trivial for him? Nope. I don't need him to appear. Isn't it odd that Nothing happens when, supposedly, Jesus was happy to appear to hundreds of others? Again, the situation was just about as different as you can be. With his disciples, for example, he had already performed hundreds of miraculous acts in their presence, and they all believed that he had been crucified and the last three years of their lives were spent in vain. And again, Paul was killing Christians, and an appearance made him stop.

What you will find, if you think about it, is that the situation we see here is the kind of unambiguous situation described Proof #9. We have created a situation where coincidence cannot "answer" the prayer. The only way for this prayer to be answered is for Jesus to actually, unambiguously, materialize. In this situation, we also know that:

1. It is trivial for Jesus to materialize
2. There would be many benefits if Jesus did materialize
3. Jesus has supposedly materialized to other human beings
4. Jesus has promised to answer our prayer that he materialize

How do we explain the fact that this prayer goes unanswered (meaning "denied"), no matter who prays, like the girl at my church, despite Jesus' promise that he will answer our prayers when it suits his interests to do so?

As you think about this, you will realize that Paul's story in the Bible is false. How selfish. Let's put this in argument form.

1) Jesus appeared to Paul.
2) Jesus doesn't appear to me.
3) Therefore, Jesus didn't appear to Paul.

Non sequitur at it's finest.

Simply look at Paul's story like any judge in a courtroom would. What Paul's story in 1 Cor 15 is suggesting is entirely unprecedented - a man dead three days with mortal wounds came back to life. It's actually not unprecedented. After all, Jesus is said to have raised Lazarus from the dead, and he'd been dead for a while, albeit with no mortal wounds. Yet there is no evidence that it is true, and there are many alternative explanations for what Paul is saying. The very fact that you know about this story is evidence, since it comes from testimony of eyewitnesses. Eyewitness testimony is evidence. Paul could be fabricating the story, which would not explain why he stopped murdering Christians, Paul could have hallucinated or dreamed the meeting, which would be an incredibly ridiculous coincidence. Paul could have seen an imposter, etc. Paul actually didn't "see" anyone. It was an auditory presence. He just saw light from Heaven. But even if he did, think about the sheer impossibility that there would be an impersonator of Jesus who would be willing to approach a serial murderer within days of Christ's death. In addition, no one is seeing Jesus today, even though it would be trivial and obvious for Jesus to appear to people today just like he did with Paul, and Jesus promises in the Bible that he will answer our prayers. But if someone says that they saw Jesus, you call them a liar. Yeah, thats totally fair.

What about Jesus' famous statement in the Bible, "Happy are those who have not seen yet still believe"? I believe the word is "Blessed." What you realize is that this statement creates the perfect cover for a scam. Let's say you are Jesus, you are a normal human being, you realize that you are going to die (everybody does) and you want to cover for this fact. Notice that this was not said when Jesus "knew he was going to die." This was said after he had already risen. Which means your case is immediately defeated. Here is what you would say: "Happy are those who have not seen yet still believe." What you are saying is, "the way I am going to show you that I exist is by not showing that I exist." No, that's not what he said at all. He said that people who still believe in Jesus, even if they haven't personally seen the holes in his hands and his risen body, are more blessed then those who have. For every other object in the universe, the way that we know it exists is because the object provides evidence of its existence. For this particular object, the existence of the universe is evidence, I would say. If there is no evidence for an object's existence, we call it imaginary (e.g. Leprechauns). Again, for those of you who are new, I responded to that too. I've responded to everything. But with Jesus, the lack of evidence is turned into evidence. Quite clever, but obviously a scam. What a joke of a response that was, Brain.

If the resurrection were true, then Jesus would be answering prayers as he promises in the Bible. He does, often. Just not this one. He would appear when people pray to see him. Just like you would give me $500 if I asked you. The reason why he does not appear is simple: Both Jesus and God are imaginary. Wait, Marshall Brain doesn't exist because he doesn't give me $500 or respond to any of my emails, Myspace messages, YouTube comments, or YouTube messages that I have sent him in regard to this blog?

Why doesn't Jesus appear to us? Because he's already done it, and it changed the entire world.

Now, I will go into a little bit more of a defense of the verse Marshall cited.

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"

But he said to them, "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 it."

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." - John 20:24-29

This example is so perfect for this scenario. I don't believe that there is any better example to fit what Marshall Brain wants, and I almost feel like he has never read this passage, because otherwise, he wouldn't have responded to it as he did.

The disciples have seen with their own eyes that Jesus has risen, but Thomas has not. He is like Marshall in the way that he refuses to believe anything without seeing it first hand. He refuses to believe that Jesus is the Son of God unless he appears to him personally, which is exactly what Thomas is saying. Then Jesus does appear to him, and Thomas renounces his unbelief. Then Jesus says that people are blessed even more if they don't have to see it for themselves, but they believe that Jesus rose from the dead anyway.

That's us. That's the millions and billions of people who have lived and died since Jesus Christ, the most influential figure in the history of the world, came into the world. Jesus Christ, who was both God and man, came into the world in the form a human being, a flawed creature that means well but falls short so very often, to redeem us from the mess that we were in. Jesus loved us enough to forsake his home, for sake being in the presence of God, to come and live with us.

Do you know what it says after this passage?

Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which 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."

The Gospel of John was written to convince you. It was written so that you would believe, and you would be able to live in Christ. And it is my prayer that you would.

Why do we need convincing? Why does anyone need to believe that Jesus Christ is God? Why can't we just believe whatever we want? Because we are flawed, and we cannot measure up to the standard that God has set: perfection.

In order for us to get into Heaven on our own, we must be good enough for God. But the only way to be good enough for God is to not commit any sins at all. When sin first came into the world, it created a void of separation between humans and God. We could no longer be in his presence because of how much we'd blown it. As an illustration let's look at all the things that most of us do every day:

1. Lust after other people
   
2. Lie, whether it's to our parents our our friends or our teachers
   
3. Steal, even if it is just perhaps a paper clip or a pencil. We take things without asking.
4. Cheat
5. Fail to honor our parents
6. Fail to worship God as he desires us to
7. Hate people, which is equated with murder
   
8. Be jealous of others
9. Covet the possessions of others
   

Some of those are part of the 10 Commandments, and some are not. But it doesn't matter. A sin is a sin, whether it's in the Commandments or not. Sins are equal in the eyes of God, and once you commit one, you're done being perfect. And sin requires a penalty. And that's death. Our punishment, one that we justly deserve, is eternal separation from God.

But by the grace of God, that's not the end of the line. Because Jesus appeared to us but once, and because Jesus was willing to go through the utmost torture and pain, having his skin torn open by whips made from bone and glass, and having a twelve inch nails hammered through his skin and bones, he was sacrificed as the perfect sacrifice. He became the sinless sacrifice so that we may accept the gracious gift that God has given us: eternal life with him.

What is stopping you from receiving this gift? Perhaps it's a moral reasons, which often lie at the center of atheistic belief, oddly enough. Perhaps it's just that you're not ready. But I assure you, there is no better time than right now.

I encourage you to read the Gospels. Just read them. Read them with an open mind. Yes, parts of the Bible seem to be absurd to us. Yes, there seem to be different accounts of how many chariots Solomon had, or how many angels there were at the tomb. But it doesn't matter. What does matter is if the Gospels are telling the truth. And if they are, they are of upmost importance. There is nothing more important than this question.

God bless you, Marshall Brain. I pray that one day, we could discuss this directly. I pray that one day, you'll look back on your atheistic websites and realize how mistaken you were. I pray that one day, we can talk about how much Jesus has done for you, and how much he's changed your life for the better.

I may be sarcastic towards you, but I do care about you as a person. If anything, know that I will be praying for you. Take that however you'd like.
Patrick Dunnevant

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