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| We live by faith and that's what it's all about. |
There is no scientific evidence that Jesus was crucified and died on the cross, but keep in mind, we've never exhumed Abraham Lincoln's body to see if that is really him either. If we did, we certainly don't have any of Lincoln's DNA to prove scientifically it's him.
Christian beliefs are founded in a book called the Bible and we believe this book to be the inspired word of God. The Bible is filled with accounts of Jesus' birth, his teachings and yes, his death on the cross. We are secure in these beliefs and have no need to ever question the facts of the creation or Jesus' death. We live by faith, and that's what it's all about.
The Bible has this to say about the crucifixion of Jesus in the book of John, Chapter 19, verses 16-20:
"Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led [him] away. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called [the place] of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title, and put [it] on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, [and] Greek, [and] Latin."There will always be great disagreements between science and religion. A scientist's job is to develop "scientific theories", while religion teaches principles and ideas based on faith.
The Encyclopedia Britannica defines "scientific theory" - "scientific theory, systematic ideational structure of broad scope, conceived by the human imagination, that encompasses a family of empirical (experiential) laws regarding regularities existing in objects and events, both observed and posited. A scientific theory is a structure suggested by these laws and is devised to explain them in a scientifically rational manner".
While many have a problem in believing that Jesus was crucified, they have no problem in believing that scientists have developed a theory that frogs may have once had wings.
Jesus commonly spoke in parables and a modern parable might look like this:
There once were groups of people who led very busy lives and each day they would get in their cars and drive many miles to get to work, to go shopping or to go to the airport. Each day all these people would travel the same route over and over again. One day there was a horrible accident that backed up traffic for miles and miles. Everyone was complaining about the accident, about being late for work and how their bosses would be angry. With hundreds of cars seemingly trapped on the Golden Gate Bridge, no one ever wondered whether or not the bridge was strong enough to hold them all.
That's just what faith is, believing in things we cannot see or touch, or sometimes even understand. All these people had faith that the builders of the Golden Gate Bridge built it in such a manner as to protect them while they were on it. They didn't ask for core samples or concrete tests before they drove across.
We all have some form of faith, whether it be that our children will grow up to be decent moral men and women or that Jesus actually died on the cross.
For the non-believers, there are absolutely no words to convince them that Jesus even exists. But even most non-Christians believe the sun will rise tomorrow? Why do they believe that?
Anyone who has witnessed the birth of a child or the sudden recovery of a friend or loved one, who had been pronounced "terminal" by all the doctors, must certainly believe that there is someone or something greater than us. So, what is it? Christians believe that it is the hand of God. That seems offensive to some people who want to call it an accident or just nature's course and that's the best they can do. They really have no scientific proof or any particular belief structure to help them arrive at that conclusion.
Instead of questioning the crucifixion of Jesus, we probably should be asking the question, "Why would I not believe that Jesus was crucified?".
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