How I Determine What I Believe

When determining what I believe about anything, I want to have the most substantial evidence possible. This holds true not only for major things, like Biblical theology, but also for mundane things, such as which football team is the best. (It is the Buffalo Bills, by the way.) Many people, myself included, tend to research as much as they can when considering large purchases such as a car or electronics. Why do we not spend the same amount of time researching Scripture? I like to have strong evidence because when I am challenged, I want to be able to back up why I believe what I believe. This is extremely important in today’s environment, with social media “experts” challenging just about anything people post on any subject. Is there any concrete evidence to support my belief that the Bible is true? Well, that is what we are going to briefly look at.

Evidence Supported Beliefs

I think that I have a good amount of evidence to support most of my beliefs. My strongest-held belief, my faith in Christ, is proven by mountains of evidence such as eyewitness accounts and archaeology. I feel the evidence supporting the Biblical accounts of Jesus’ life is overwhelmingly accurate. My quest to discover the evidence and to be able to share the evidence is what led me to begin my studies in Christian apologetics. I was raised in a Christian home and have always attended church, but I did not know why I believed what I believed. To make a horrible analogy, I had the faith, but not the reason. After stumbling on some wonderful YouTube videos, I was finally able to begin learning about the evidence Christians have for the beliefs we hold.

The timeliness of the Biblical accounts really helps set the evidence for Jesus apart from other figures in the ancient world. As Moreland states, “the length of time from Jesus’ death until there was widespread belief in His resurrection can be dated to within five years, and many scholars would say a few months or even weeks, after the Crucifixion. There is not enough time for legend to develop.”^[1] I also find the archaeological evidence compelling to bolster my belief in Jesus. Moreland also provides an example of how archaeology is helping to confirm the evidence.

The Pool of Bethesda

One such piece of archaeological evidence is the Pool of Bethesda. The Gospel of John mentions this pool in Chapter Five. In verse 2, John writes, “Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches.” (John 5:2, New Living Translation). While most of us would probably move past this verse with little thought to its significance, there is actually more to the story. “Until the 1890s, critics dismissed the entire narrative on the grounds that no one had ever discovered the pool. But, then, archaeologists discovered the pool, and it had exactly five porticoes, just as John said.”^[2]

The pool of Bethesda is important apologetically because its discovery provides Christians with archaeological evidence that this pool, mentioned in John’s Gospel, upholds the accuracy and consistency of the earliest manuscripts we have. In addition, the documented location is accurate, which, combined with the archaeological evidence, gives weight to John’s reliability.

The Pilate Stone

There is another passage that atheists and others use to try to say the Bible is not accurate, and that is a passage from the Gospel of Luke.

“It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene. Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness. Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.” (Luke 3:1-3, NLT).

When we look at this text, we see that Luke mentions several people. Of particular note is that Luke mentions Pontius Pilate, who was the governor over Judea. Again, this is likely a passage that many Christians do not pay much attention to, but there was some controversy as it differed from the title given to him by the Roman historian Tacitus.

“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular.”^[3]

Notice in this passage from Tacitus’ Annals Book 15:14 that the Roman historian wrote that Pilate was the procurator. Who should we trust? Surely the Roman historian would keep better records and be more accurate than a doctor writing a book for his friend, Theophilus, right? We should automatically side with the Roman historian because Luke had an inherent bias, shouldn’t we?

Well, like so many things, there is more to the story. In the time Luke was writing, which I believe was in the mid-50s CE, using his sources as mentioned in Luke 1:1-3, he and his sources likely knew of Pilate as the governor. This was the general title given to him as a ruler, but a more specific Roman title would be that of Prefect.^[4] This position was a civil and military governor. Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea from 26-37 CE, and his official title was that of “prefect” (praefectus), not procurator. The title of prefect was in use in Judea for this position until 41 CE, when the title procurator was used. Pilate never held the title of procurator.^[5]

Since Tacitus is writing much later, around 117 CE, he is likely using the newer title of procurator. Why does this matter? It matters because most people don’t know this part of history. I didn’t until I began to research this topic.

“Until the summer of 1961, absolutely no archaeological evidence existed that would demonstrate that Pontius Pilate, a pivotal figure in the New Testament gospels, ever really existed. Some literary sources mention him — including a few brief allusions in Jewish material (e.g., Josephus) and in late Roman chronicles (e.g., Tacitus) — but no administrative records survive from him and no genuine letters of his have been preserved. Plenty of Roman ruins exist in Israel, but none bears his name, and a historical Pilate isn’t required to account for them.”^[6]

This all changed when, during an archaeological dig in the ruins of Caesarea Maritima, a group led by the Italian archaeologist Antonio Frova found a large stone that said in Latin:

“To the Divine Augusti (this) Tiberieum
... Pontius Pilate
... prefect of Judea
... has dedicated (this)”^[7]

Notice the stone refers to Pilate as the prefect (governor) of Judea, not procurator. The Roman historian got it wrong, and the Gospel writer got it correct.

Why does this matter for us today?

So many people in the world today are looking for facts and evidence. When we say we have faith the Bible is true, that is wonderful. However, many people want tangible evidence. Archaeology has given us much evidence to the accuracy of Scripture. I am not saying that we should not have faith. I am saying that we can have faith, but that we also have evidence to back up our faith. I know that my belief in Christianity takes faith, but it also has evidence to back it up. I am a Christian because I believe Christianity is true. A lot of that belief comes from evidence, but I still rely on faith.

Many of us are insecure about sharing our faith because we think all we have to go on is our faith. It is precisely because such a strong case can be made from the evidence that we should be sharing the Gospel with those around us, and not worry about only having to rely on our experiences or our faith alone. When we are honest with ourselves, the problem we face in sharing the message of Christianity is not its lack of evidence but the fact that its teachings are so opposed to how many people want to live their lives. We were no different before we became Christians.

What I hope you will take away from this is that the lack of evidence is just an excuse for many people. However, we can use the evidence we do have to begin to break down those barriers within our evangelism. Ultimately, although we can present all the evidence in the world, until a person decides they are a sinner in need of a savior, it will likely fall on deaf ears. But there is hope. Remember, our job is to deliver the message only. We are not responsible for leading someone to Christ. We plant the seed. Remember, God has not forsaken you or the people around you. Use the talents He has given you to share the gospel with those around you and let Him do the work.