When young people go off to college and enter a classroom where philosophy 101 is being taught they are likely to see Christianity derided as mere myth. The atheist professor smugly says that the virgin birth was a part of pagan myths that predate Christianity. He then blasphemously asserts that early Christians "borrowed" the idea of the virgin birth from paganism when they wrote the New Testament.
The "Christianity as myth" charge is a serious one but fortunately for us it is a charge that is easily and soundly refuted. To begin, let's get the chronology straight. The virgin birth of Christ was predictively prophesied in the Hebrew scriptures (The Old Testament) centuries BEFORE Christ's birth. The Bible got it first. The virgin births mentioned in pagan myths do not predate biblical revelation.
C.S. Lewis, a prominent Christian writer of a generation ago, has said that pagan myths are not random storytelling but are the work of people groping for the truth about God. It is not surprising therefore that myths contain a bare outline of the truth. Any ancient sage who sought the truth would echo some themes that are contained in the Bible. This is in spite of the fact that myths also contain many errors and ultimately have no saving power.
A pagan myth might be similar to Christianity in ten ways but different from Christianity in a hundred ways. It may sound persuasive when a philosophy professor compares Christianity to myth and speaks only of the points where a vague similarity is observed. The professor's case quickly falls apart, however, when the major differences between pagan myth and Christianity are also presented.
Unlike pagan books, the Bible is consistent with both science and archaeology. Christianity is based on historical facts: Jesus is a real person who lived among real people in history. He took the just punishment of our sins upon Himself and died and rose again in fulfillment of ancient prophecies. In fact, over 300 prophecies were fulfilled in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. No hero of any pagan myth can make that claim!
Christianity contains such sound truth and miraculous saving power that ancient pagans abandoned their idols and myths and joined the first century church in droves.
The Bible is scientifically accurate! Find the evidence at www.icr.org.
Steps to salvation:
Jesus said "Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)
- Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
- Believe that Jesus the Messiah came in fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies to die for you to take upon Himself the penalty for your sins. (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18)
- Turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness. (Romans 10:13)
- Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth. (John 1:12, Acts 2:38)
- Follow Him as Lord. (John 14:21)
"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13)
To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:
"Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen."
If you prayed that prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!
Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of West Harrison, New York, USA
(C) 2010 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish if credit given
Read Bill Nugent's award winning Christian book, Lawful or Legalistic: How New Testament Believers Must Understand Old Testament Laws. For more information and to order click here.
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DEFENDING THE FAITH
APOLOGETIC ARTICLES
Bill Nugent currently writes a series of articles called "Defending the Faith" which, as the title suggests, defend the Christian faith from the many attacks leveled against it in our postmodern world.
The articles deal with such topics as evolution, UFOs, cults, modern/postmodern philosophy, liberal theology and popular culture. At the end of each article is an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. These articles are sent out over the Internet to several opt-in email lists. People who receive these articles are encouraged to resend them to their own lists and in this way reach their own unsaved relatives and friends with the Gospel.
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