Can the bible be taken literally?

 Often, I have questioned at various stages in my life whether I can take the bible literally? I am still asking myself that loaded question, even at this advanced age. I can say without hesitation that some books and passages of the bible I don't question at all, but other passages like the great flood and Noah's Ark, or the book of Job still cause me to question "Can the bible be taken literally?" Does that mean that I am NOT a Christian? I know I am a Christian simply because, I believe to my core that Jesus Christ is and was who he claimed to be, period. I haven't always believed that to the level I do now, and I attribute this deeper assurance to God's grace and the gift of faith. I've never truly abandoned Christ,  the gospel my faith in the last seven years, and unlike previous stages in my life after learning of the true meaning of Christ' sacrifice on the cross, at least NOW I'd never consider throwing my faith away as I had done in the past, backsliding, and I know friends, and relatives who have discarded the bible, Christ, the gospel, and no longer "believe" I don't blame them. Believing in the bible MUST be accompanied by "faith" instilled in us by God through the Holy Spirit, and in order to be connected in spirit to God, Christ, we must meet God halfway in humility and reverence. 

The bible is an interesting collection of books. The Old Testament has accounts of God guiding his people, the Jews through their various encounters and although the bible is defined as books written by men, inspired by God, the shift and tone of the books takes on a new energy once the birth of Christ occurs as documented in the New Testament in the gospels, and we see the fulfillment of the prophecies about the great messiah, Christ. Seems so simple, right? Why would anyone question the validity of these books? 

I believe it's okay and actually one SHOULD question passages like the great flood, the book of Job, the exodus from Egypt, and other seemingly outlandish accounts, but again, does that mean one is NOT a believing Christian if they don't? I believe God works with those who seek him, and he guides their lives like a conductor does his symphony. It's the relationship we have to God once we believe in him that makes "questioning" not so lethal to one's faith. I don't believe a man could have loaded all the animals, selected living things of the earth and stuffed them in a big ark and sailed around while the rest of the world got submerged and drowned because of a forty-day storm, so am I "not" a Christian? Quite the contrary. I believe that "God" is fully capable of taking into account my selected disbelief because he "knows" me in an X-Ray penetrating kind of way, and he doesn't sweat the small stuff. If I don't believe Satan, and God brokered an agreement to test Job's faith and put him through an intense array of hoops to jump to show his commitment to God, again, does that mean "I'm not a Christian?" Same answer as before. Rinse and repeat. So why read the bible at all if there are passages, whole books, I can't get into OR simply don't believe? 

I believe the key is in the taking away from the bible, with some books we can't wrap our brains around, the moral message underneath the text. In some of the more historical accounts like the book of Acts, or the gospels, other than the parables from Christ, the documentation is pretty straight forward, but in the aforementioned account of the great flood with Noah I believe it's the revealing of man's sinful rebellious nature that caused so much disappointment in God, and the wrath of God (fictionalized or not) shown in a flood that wiped out all but those in the ark. I get the moral meaning of the biblical account, but I don't believe, again, that all these living things were saved in the ark and we humans were ALL repopulated from them, but there was a time "these doubts" caused me to abandon the whole thing, my faith. How does this make sense? Shouldn't I be all in or all out? If the flood is referenced in the New Testament by Jesus himself doesn't that mean "it" happened and if I "don't believe it" doesn't that mean I am NOT a Christian? Again, give it to God, he knows me, he's guiding me, rinse and repeat. 

If I can impart any words of advice on how to correctly and truthfully interpret the bible, it's this: Know the context of the books and do a little research as to who's saying what, when, to whom, etc. For example, in the book of Acts and subsequently post resurrection of Christ you have Roman rule and the earliest group of followers attempting to spread the gospel, often at their peril, and competing cults, and sects vying for followers and twisting the gospel message. You have the martyrdom of the apostles as they followed Christ's orders before his ascension to "spread the good news." So, books by Paul as the early church is emerging on how to avoid certain practices and not to push older "Jewish Mosaic" customs like circumcision make more sense, thus illuminating scripture. Even looking at the first book of Genesis and focusing on the seeming absurdity of a serpent talking, etc. or man and woman as the original married couple isn't going resonate with us modern highly rational thinking humans, but if we buy into the meaning that we all were created as spiritual beings connected to God and sin entered the world due to our rebellion (which would have happened anyway) due to temptation to be "like God" then the account makes more sense. 

At the base of all this you have a God who's not masquerading his identity. God has and IS consistently trying to get us "back into fellowship" with him, through Jesus in some very simple, important ways, and more importantly he doesn't not understand our nature but he's like a video creator who's created this thing we are and are in and he's not removed from "the game" but rather he's fully invested in it, us, and all he asks is that we seek him, trust, and believe to whatever extent we can. If we do ALL that the bible will unfold in the deepest way possible to us but it has to begin with humility and faith. 

Why doesn't our salvation matter if we DON'T know Christ?

I can only speak from experience but the most significant epiphany I've ever had is that Christ is who he claimed to be. In this Godless age of diversity, pride, materialism, lack of morals, and new age indoctrination, there's been a long, ongoing seduction of our souls by the "ruler" of the air, Satan. Yes, Satan. I can hear the giggles as I type this post. You see, Satan epitomizes the essence of "not caring about God" and his primary motive is to estrange us from Jesus, God, the truth of the gospel.  And the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we must turn from our full sinfulness and come to some knowledge, feeling, closeness to Christ, and the holy spirit of God. There is no other way to "know God" other than Jesus Christ, period. 

Christ was in enemy territory while he was living down here on earth. His primary mailing address IS Heaven, and he knows full well what awaits us, and he loves us so much that he gave his life for our sin, however God gives us a choice as he free will-thinking children to accept this gift of salvation, his son dying on the cross.  God will not FORCE us to accept salvation through his son, but he is a just, loving God who knows the true nature of us, and he will judge us fairly when we die. God is the ultimate, completely fairest all-knowing head juror, and he's not of our peers. He is THE JUDGE. 

Salvation is a very foreign term for most of us. It can even be completely meaningless for many because the thought of "something" other than this existence rings of "fairy tale concoction", and often with atheists or "science minded" people, rubbish, but our salvation can "only" mean something if we're filled with the true knowledge of Christ, and who we are. 

Trust me. If you spent one day with me and shadowed me, you'd probably not place me in the "goody Christian mold", but that's because you'd be doing what we all do and that is to judge one another. It's one of my knee jerk habits, and I do it with myself more than I do with any other person. The bible speaks about the unveiling that occurs when we die. The protective facade we carry around on earth which covers our true selves will be gone. Our "shells" we wear will no longer masquerade who we truly are. Jesus sees through this protective layer and loves us for who we truly are seeking to live in us during this flicker of time we inhabit these bodies, and he knows the ending of this age, and he seeks only that we trust him, love him, accept him, and if we do that with the upmost of sincerity, we will have salvation. 

So, Salvation starts with the acceptance of Christ and the ensuing fellowship with him. It's the letting go of "pride" which Satan tries desperately to strengthen in us. There is a battle going on, unseen to us, and it's been going on since the creation of man. It's spiritual. We can't see it, and if not "saved", can't even feel it, but when saved our sinfulness becomes extremely apparent. It can't not be. It's what the apostle Paul spoke about in his letter to the Romans, 

"For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me."

It is for THIS reason that Jesus died on the cross, to save us from this "condition" of perpetual failure in being "good enough" to go to Heaven. This is the essence of who we are and why we need Jesus. It's pride that Satan uses to pull us away from this consciousness of our sin, and if he can muddy the waters with distraction, arrogance, pride, false competing cults, new age doctrine, or pure atheistic thinking, he will, because this is his territory, and why God has permitted this to be is only known to God, and it's absolutely the just way to do it. 

What happens when you die? Does anyone really know?

 The question of what happens when we die will yield millions, if not more, various responses, ranging from "nothing" to reincarnation, to eternal damnation, and/or "heaven". There's no question we all can agree that when "we die", we are DEAD, in the physical sense. But what about the spiritual sense? Is there life after death? There are numerous books written with testimonies from people who were clinically dead, and testified to a life after death in which they saw and experienced joyful and terrifying events, ranging from encounters with loved ones, Christ, visions of hell, etc., but "were" they really dead? I mean, isn't death FINAL? 

Christianity was founded on those early first century witnesses who testified to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. ONE account of someone who not only preached about eternal life, but claimed to be the son of God, and testified that he "alone" brought salvation to those in need of forgiveness and love. But if he did die, was resurrected and is the son of God then why do so many people NOT accept him, today? Why are there so many competing religions, cults, skeptics who defy his even existence? 

The bible speaks about "faith" as a gift. In other words, "if" you don't have faith then you cannot possibly believe in the gospel, Christ, the Old Testament, the exodus from Egypt, the fall in the garden, the conversion of Saul (Paul the apostle) on the road to Damascus, the existence and martyrdom of the majority of the apostles. In short, the gospel is foolishness to those who don't have faith. 

So, IF we do live eternally as Christians believe, then what happens when we die? 

I think most people with any ties to Christian theology believe that "good people" go to Heaven and "bad" people go to Hell. Well, that's pretty simple sounding but almost impossible to apply because one has to define what is "good" and what is "bad". As a Catholic child going through grade school, middle school, then in my teens, high school (I went to Catholic schools from age 8 thru 18) I always thought you had to really do "bad stuff" (like murder someone) to go to hell, or do heinous crimes, or violence, cruelty to others. I would bet that even in adult years some hold onto this belief in one facet or another. "You really have to be bad to go to hell." 

The gospel doesn't support this belief for the simple reason that it pushes the condition of original sin. The bible tells a story in the first book of Genesis of Adam and Eve choosing to defy God, to rebel, and surrender to temptation to be "more like God", and even though this account appears completely silly with Satan as the serpent, and the tree of knowledge and good and evil, it does contain (for me at least) logic in its depiction of man which I believe is evident today. 

The kernel of our being is a seed of rebellion and a propensity to do "bad". That doesn't mean we ALL will go around acting on that kernel of badness, but haven't you ever contemplated what causes humans to do bad stuff, and if "bad stuff" can range from seemingly mundane acts to deplorable acts then what is to be done with man after he dies? Is there any accountability after we die? The gospel simply says that we are ALL sinful and therefore in need of forgiveness, a release from our accountability for our sinfulness. That would be the reason for Jesus dying on the cross. That would be why Jesus preached so much about being the Messiah, the savior, the good shepherd. Jesus' sole reason for living and willingly going to the cross was to be "that sacrifice" for mankind if they believed in him, and he promises that if one believes in him, and takes up his cross, one will receive eternal life, albeit undeservingly. 

One major thing to remember about God is that God is a merciful, loving, but just God. God has always been about accountability in owning our behavior and actions. God knows that our life on earth is a finite time and that when it's all said and done, we ARE accountable for how we lived our life, on earth. He only asks that we be "real" about it and accept that because we are "sinners" that we're not prideful in dismissing the redeemer (his son Jesus) he sent to account for our sins. 

The question for you is "IF" Jesus DID exist, IS the SON OF GOD and avails himself to you to remove your sin and empower you with the Holy Spirit to combat your sinful compulsions on earth then why would God not hold you accountable for your sins after you die if you rejected his son who willfully went to the cross for you? 

The danger of The New Age Movement

 I used to read Tarot Cards and I was very good at it. I should say "I" didn't have anything to do with my accuracy in telling people what the cards said about their specific circumstances in life. Tarot Cards contain imagery, and I would interpret those images and offer my interpretation to those who sought direction. I did it under the pretense of "helping" people, but I think deep down it fed my ego and sense of self.  This is the key to understanding how Satan uses this practice and others to lead us away from the cross. 

The New Age Movement is very ambiguous. It really doesn't have a set theology of itself. It's a smorgasbord of various elements, but the core of The New Age Movement is that it rejects God and Christ as the truth, period. Satan is forever trying to lead human souls from the cross and to "anything else". This was the case for me. I had fallen from Catholicism and was seeking a spiritual component. The key is that I wasn't looking at Christ, but rather what "I thought" was sufficient for ME. 

The bible speaks to the deception of "self" and the condition of sin, and flesh. How in the world can a mere human NOT have one's flesh and sinful nature factor into one's belief in anything apart from God? The New Age Movement for me included psychics who claimed to get messages from loved ones who passed, reincarnation where we are not met by God and Christ in judgment to account for our lives but rather, we're reincarnated as "something" according to karma, and finally the absence of Christ as our savior and the nonexistence of Satan. How convenient. 

Why do I title this entry "The danger of The New Age Movement"? Simply put because rejecting the mercy of Christ and the act on the cross will lead us to hell. Period. This is not my rule. This is not my truth. God has made it clear that not all paths lead to Heaven. Truth is not relative. The New Age movement rewrites the gospel message and God's word by its usage of psychics, spirit guides, seances, reincarnation, the stripping of Christ' deity, the elimination of Heaven and hell, and the endless pursuit of one's enlightened consciousness. 

The other consequence of involving oneself other than one's eternal damnation is the collateral damage one can suffer whilst alive on this earthly plane. I wish I could contact everyone I ever read Tarot cards for and profusely try and witness the gospel of Christ's salvation to them. I will forever regret my leading people to Satan instead of Christ. I didn't do this purposefully and I believe that God will judge ALL of us with complete fairness and righteousness, but when involved in The New Age movement believe you me. You are on your way to hell. You are being deceived. 

God does not quit on those he has saved. Prior to this involvement with The New Age movement, I had been witnessed to by some Christians on a golf course and I gave myself to Christ and I accepted him as my personal lord and savior. I did that with complete sincerity and intention, and I believe deep down that God never gave up on me despite my back sliding and continued sinful behavior afterward.  God knows everything about us, and he knows better than anyone human how impossible it is for us to be at peace on this earth without Christ, and it wasn't until I was at the end of my involvement with The New Age movement that I realized that my life had gone to shambles because of the absence of God and Satan's influences on my life via The New Age movement. 

The devil is well and alive on this earth. When he tempted Christ in the wilderness he said "All this I give to you" because for whatever reason God has given Satan "free reign" of his creation, earth. Often skeptics will ask "Why does God allow bad things to happen?" or "If God is God why doesn't he just eliminate evil and make everyone love, and treat people correctly?" I understand the question but the answer to me is very simple. God gives us free will to accept or reject him. Adam and Eve had free will to partake of the forbidden fruit. Judas had free will to betray Jesus for monetary gain. You and I have free will to follow him and receive him as our personal lord and savior. We also have free will to accept the lies of The New Age movement or reject it. I pray you reject it. I did and my life changed for the good. 

Why racism is a direct insult to God

I was listening to the great baseball player Reggie Jackson on the Howard Stern show speaking about the racism he dealt with early in his baseball career. Reggie Jackson, an African American, is also a retired former Major League Baseball player who's nicknamed "Mr. October" for his outstanding powerful home run hitting he seemed to muster up in his October playoffs and world series appearances throughout major league seasons. In his interview with Howard Stern, he told stories of how as a young baseball player he would be banned from staying in certain hotels and eating in certain restaurants due to his skin color, and he also said how his teammates and manager would move to another hotel and restaurant as a TEAM when they encountered racism. 

Racism flies in the face of what God, I think, intended when he created humans in our diverse multicultural existence. It's like God had a plan to teach us tolerance, love, and appreciation for our differences, and racists never learned the lesson. Racists are threatened by the "differences" we all have, and Satan uses that fear to promote power, hate, and territorialism. It's the same "fear" that can exist when it comes to homophobia, and hardened intolerance of immigrants. IF we are all created in the image of God then aren't we expected to at least TRY and respect and accept others despite our differences? 

I was thinking recently about the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela. What would have happened if Martin Luther King Jr. hadn't made it his life's purpose to CHANGE the ugly sin of racism in American culture? It cost him his life but make no mistake if we are INDEED created in the image of God then Martin Luther King Jr.'s actions reflect Martin Luther King Jr. as an agent for God's love. It's why people like Martin Luther King Jr. should be remembered for their bravery and promotion of GOD'S wishes for acceptance and equality.  Nelson Mandela was also an agent for God having sacrificed twenty-seven years of his life to fight apartheid in South Africa and pave the way for African Americans to vote and enjoy other God given rights as equal human beings in a racist country like South Africa. Although racism can NEVER be eradicated it CAN be weakened paving the way for tolerance and acceptance.

I like to look at what lessons lie underneath the human problems we have and IF God is God and (and I believe he is) he's overseeing this grand play called LIFE and giving us lessons to learn to either promote growth in love or fail for hate and stagnation. In the case of ANY kind of bias I think (within) reason TOLERANCE is the takeaway. There's a big difference between ACCEPTANCE and TOLERANCE. I can TOLERATE something and NOT necessarily accept it. In the case of ethnic differences between people obviously intolerance would be what lies behind segregation, slavery, etc., and even more subtle expressions like not supporting interracial dating, unfair judgment of different ethnic humans as "dumber" or "lower class" connects to the same problem of racial bias. It's the myopic condition of one's supposed superiority because of skin color. 

The whole "racist" mentality is directly connected to Satan because it's ANTI-GOD, and flies in the face of what Christ promoted during his ministry on earth.  Satan is that energy behind ANY expression, thought, whatever festers inside a person in bias against another person, group. "Sin" is THAT condition in ALL OF US that's the "seed" of what racism embodies. It's impossible for true Christian to be racist if one claims to be a believer in Christ but acts upon his racist thoughts and truly lives as a racist person. 

So, next time you encounter racism, a racist, or a have a racist thought remember it's part of our spiritual DNA as sinners so we'll never be without sin, but what do WE DO with it? 

Jesus' tomb was empty. Or was it?

One of the frustrating parts of being a Christian for me is when I debate skeptics who'll throw anything they can to dispel the truth of the gospel. You would think something as simple as the necessity of faith or lack of in how a person believes or doesn't believe in the gospel would've set in by now, and that I would know that having such conversations is a waste of time in that I am not going to change anyone's mind, but for me it isn't. a waste.  It's why I do "My Christian Walk "in this blog format as well as in a podcast format. Because the gospel of Jesus Christ is TRUE it's important that the "evidence" be shared, then it's up to God to do what he wants to do with those seeds that are planted via debates with unbelievers.

My post has to do with the evidence of Jesus' empty tomb. In my previous post I wrote about some of the biblical and historical evidence for Jesus' crucifixion, but even more importantly is what "proof" is there for the tomb he was laid in after he was crucified, and how the stone would later be moved, and his body gone. He was either removed by man or he was raised from the dead and exited the tomb himself. The empty tomb must be dealt with as to how it became empty because Jesus' resurrection is paramount to the gospel message, and if he was resurrected as I believe evidence proves and my faith suggests then what Jesus said and did as the son of God who sits at the right hand of the father MUST be taken literally, period. 

The Gospel of Matthew reads that Jesus died on the cross and his body wrapped and placed in the tomb by Joseph of Arimathea. 

"Joseph took the body. wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and placed it in his own new tomb that he cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away."

Matt 27:60-61

One of the interesting facts according to archeologists is that tombs in Jesus' time had a distinctive style which was used only in the period from 37 B.C. through AD 70. This fact aligns with what biblical scholars believe is recorded in the bible about the how tombs were constructed and used. Later in time as many as 1000 of these tombs from the first century were found in Israel. 

In the above-described tomb Jesus' body would've been placed on a stone slab then after the body decayed (usually after a year), his bones would've been placed in a bone box (small ossuary) and stored so other bodies could be placed inside, decay and put also in a bone box and the pattern would repeat. 

Although this information is interesting for understanding how bodies were laid in tombs, decayed, remains preserved, etc., it still doesn't serve as proof for hardcore skeptics that Jesus resurrected because skeptics don't accept scriptural documentation. If Jesus was resurrected, spent time with his apostles and was seen and recorded as coming back from the dead, what else other than New Testament accounts of such can further prove that he was resurrected. 

It's recorded that as late as A.D. 136 Christians identified the place where Jesus was buried in Jerusalem. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built over that location. The residents of Jerusalem recognized this place as Golgotha (The place of the skull as recorded in the gospel of Matthew) Also in A.D. 136 the Roman Emperor Hadian put down a rebellion in Jerusalem (the "Bar Kokhba Revolt) and making this location a Roman city (Aelia Capitolina). Roman emperor Hadrian destroyed many religious sites as well as building a temple to the pagan god Venus atop the spot of Golgotha, likely an effort to stop Christians from gathering to worship at this location. 

Archeologist Shimon Gibson states on this evidence

"We may surmise that the exact situation of Golgotha was passed down from generation to generation among Jesus' supporters, even when the place itself came to be hidden beneath the pavement of the Forum and Temple of Venus in Aelia Capitolina, which was built after 135 CE to replace the ruins of Jerusalem. The is clear from Eusebius, an erudite and learned scholar writing in the late third century, who noted that the "Place of the Skull" was still pointed out in Aelia on the northern side of Mount Zion, indicating the knowledge of the whereabouts of Golgotha had been maintained from 70 CE and until this day" 

What this shows is that Jesus' crucifixion and tomb location (Golgotha) was known from the time of Jesus and up until the time of Eusebius. Why?  Why would Jesus be memorialized THIS WAY if he never existed, never was crucified, and never was resurrected? Later, Constatine and the leaders of the Roman Empire built a church building on that EXACT spot. 

Within the church building a location was marked where it was believed Jesus' tomb was located, however legitimate questions do exist about this. How did they know it was Jesus' tomb? After three centuries the 'said" tomb could not be investigated because it had been sealed over and over for many centuries, but in 2016 an excavation was completed, and National Geographic filmed and documented the whole excavation process demonstrating that the sealed location was indeed what was said to have been as the site of Jesus' tomb, then later the Church of the Holy Selpuchre, then later the location of the pagan temple built by Roman emperor Hadrian to prevent early Christians from gathering, worshipping at the spot of Jesus' tomb location, then finally the exact location of the church built by Constatine and written about by the historian Eusebius in the early 300s. 

Archeologist Martin Biddle summarized the excavated findings this way 

"Obviously this date is spot on for whatever Constatine did" he said. "That's very remarkable" 

See videos below 

https://youtu.be/nkmx_k9wVs0

https://youtu.be/EXbBomxS-JA

A few additional concluding points need to be made regarding the truth of Jesus' resurrection and the "empty tomb" It would have been very difficult to proclaim that Jesus rose from the dead if Jesus was STILL in the tomb. Enemies of Jesus (and there were plenty) would have easily produced his body to reject his resurrection. Thousands were becoming Christians within the fifty days of Jesus' crucifixion. Another interesting fact is that early critics (Justin Martyr, Trypho, Tertullian, De Spectaculis) NEVER said Jesus' body was still in the tomb but instead claimed his apostles had stolen the body, so the only countering claim to Jesus' resurrection is "the Apostles must've stolen the body". 

The last interesting point about the truth of Jesus' resurrection is in the testimony of women in the ancient world at the time of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Women in the first century AD were not held to be reliable witnesses. They were certainly NOT accepted as witnesses in Israel at the time of Jesus' time on earth, but the Gospels tell us that women were the first witnesses of the resurrection. If the writers of the Gospel were making it up, why would they use the testimony of women as reliable testimony UNLESS it ACTUALLY HAPPENED? 

What facts do we know about Jesus' crucifixion?

I was recently listening to Lee Strobel's testimony about his conversion to evangelical Christianity. Lee Strobel is a former atheist and editor for the Chicago Tribune who converted to born again Christian after he found after a year and a half, he couldn't disprove the gospel. Lee Strobel's wife at the time had converted to born again Christian and Lee believed he could convince her that "it" was false. He couldn't and consequently he has been a born-again Christian ever since. 

While listening to one of his many public testimonies about his conversion I thought it'd be interesting to do a series of posts about the gospel, resurrection, crucifixion, and other related facts about Christianity. The first fact I want to look at is Jesus' crucifixion and what has been recorded about it both within and outside the four gospels of the New Testament.  

Other than the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), Paul the apostle and former persecutor of Christians writes after his conversion to Christianity in 1 Corinthians 15 3-8 the following

"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried. that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also."

I have had numerous conversations with skeptics who flatly reject ANY scriptural support for Jesus' crucifixion, let alone his resurrection or even existence, so one must look outside the New Testament for objective, additional evidence of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. 

Crucifixion was not uncommon for Jews. Just thirty years prior to Jesus' crucifixion the governor of Syria crucified two thousand Jews. Additionally, the ancient writer Cicero said death by crucifixion was "the most cruel and hideous of tortures" Crucifixion was so awful the Romans usually exempted Roman citizens from it and only reserved it for slaves or rebels. 

In connecting the dots of crucifixion as an extremely cruel form of punishment for Jews and dated to the time of Jesus' place in history it's still NOT a given that Jesus WAS crucified but given the accounts within the gospels along with Paul's writings in the New Testament and his first-hand account of meeting Jesus it certainly follows that Jesus MAY HAVE been killed by the Romans as documented in the New Testament, but let's get some more facts about Jesus' death on the cross. 

In 1968 construction workers found remnants of an ankle bone with a nail piercing it from within an ancient tomb. The nail was in knotted wood and the discovery had been dated to the first century. Clearly crucifixion was not uncommon and was very "real" and used around the time of Jesus' ministry. 

There are also additional outside sources corroborating the crucifixion of Jesus including 

1. The Jewish Talmud 

2. Josephus 

3. Tacitus 

4. Lucian 

5. Mara-Bar-Serapion 

NOTE:  Each of the above-mentioned sources can be researched for exactness. I have listed the sources but have not provided the actual documentation of Jesus' crucifixion. 

So, in a nutshell the fact that Jesus is reported in great detail to have been crucified within the four gospels as early as AD 70, despite the many skeptics who try to denounce the validity and reliability of Jesus' crucifixion, it's really not within the acceptance of New Testament Scholars that Jesus was NOT crucified. 

What this proves is that Jesus throughout his ministry foretold his death and the purpose of his death in bringing about a fulfillment of his canceling out human sin, and both scripturally and historically he WAS crucified by the Romans at the request of the Jews because on the outside he was a threat to the Jewish order, but more importantly he was prophesized to be the perfect vehicle for God's plan to redeem the sin of mankind forever. 

Jesus did exist. 

Jesus was crucified.