Unbelief

TO THE ATHEIST: ARE YOU AN HONEST PERSON? DO YOU HAVE ALL KNOWLEDGE? COULD GOD EXIST IN THE REALM WHERE YOU HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE?

BILL BRIGHT SAYS -- THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO WILL NOT ADMIT THERE IS A CHRIST ARE THE ONES WHO ARE NOT WILLING TO LIVE UP TO THE MORAL STANDARDS AND TEACHINGS.

IN GENESIS GOD SAID MAN WAS CREATED. SOME SCIENTISTS SAY MAN EVOLVED. JUST A FEW HUNDRED YEARS AGO SCIENTISTS SAID THE EARTH WAS FLAT. Gary Hedrick

Zech 12:10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. (NKJ)

Matthew 27:50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

Matt 27:51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the [[ rocks were split, ]]

THE VEIL -- WENT FROM THE CEILING TO THE FLOOR AND WAS OVER 40' LONG. IT RAN BETWEEN THE HOLY PLACE AND THE HOLY OF HOLIES. JESUS DEATH OPENED IT UP FOR US. AS YOU CAN WELL UNDERSTAND NO MAN COULD RIP IT IN TWO PIECES.

Matt 27:52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;

53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

NOW CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE ALL OF A SUDDEN GRAVES OPENED, DEAD PEOPLE RAISED, THEY GO INTO TOWN AND THEY ARE WALKING AROUND YOU. YOU KNOW THEY HAVE BEEN DEAD. IT'S POSSIBLE YOU MIGHT HAVE HAD A HAND IN THEIR BURIAL. COULDN'T THAT ALMOST MAKE YOUR HAIR STAND ON END ?

Matt 27:54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

Matt 28:1 Now [[ after the Sabbath, ]] as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.

2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.

5 But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

6 "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. (NKJ)

JESUS STOPPED BY TO VISIT SOME FOLKS AFTER HIS RESURRECTION! IN AND AROUND JERUSALEM TO MARY MAGDALENE

Mark 16:9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. (NKJ)

John 20:11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.

12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

13 Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."

14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.

15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away."

16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher).

17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'"

18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her. NKJ

Matthew 28:8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.

10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

Luke 24:36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you."

38 And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?

39 "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."

41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?"

John 20:19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."

20 Now when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."

22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

23 "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "

Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." (NKJ)

John 20:26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!"

27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." (NKJ)

29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (NKJ)

Mark 16:14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. (NKJ)

Mark 16:19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. (NKJ)

Luke 24:50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.

51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.

Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me;

5 "for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"

7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.

8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,

11 who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey. (NKJ)

Mark 16:12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.

Luke 24:13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.

15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.

17 And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"

18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"

19 And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,

20 "and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.

21 "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.

22 "Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.

23 "When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.

24 "And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."

25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

26 "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"

27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.

29 But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them.

30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.

31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

32 And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"

33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,

35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread. (NKJ)

Matt 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (NKJ)

John 21:1 After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself:

2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.

3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.

4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

5 Then Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any food?" They answered Him, "No."

6 And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.

8 But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish.

9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.

11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.

12 Jesus said to them, "Come and eat breakfast." Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, "Who are You?"-- knowing that it was the Lord.

13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.

14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.

5 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My lambs."

16 He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My sheep."

17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep.

18 "Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish."

19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me."

20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, "Lord, who is the one who betrays You?"

22 Jesus said to him, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me."

23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?"

24 This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. (NKJ)

1 Corinthians 15:6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. (NKJ)

1 Corinthians 15:7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. (NKJ)

Acts 9:1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

3 And as he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.

4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

5 And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads."

6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" And the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

Acts 18:9 Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent;

10 "for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city." (NKJ)

2 And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said:

3 "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.

4 "I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,

5 "as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.

6 "Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.

7 "And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'

8 "So I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' (NKJ)

Acts 23:11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome."

Acts 26:12 "While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,

Acts 26:13 "at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me.

Acts 26:14 "And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'

Acts 26:15 "So I said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Acts 26:16 'But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.

17 'I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you,

18 'to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.' (NKJ)

8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. (NKJ)

Prov 22:12 The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, but He overthrows the words of the faithless. (NKJ)

Truth does not depend on how many believe it but on what God has to say in the bible. Rexella Van Impe

THE BIBLE ISN'T DEBATABLE. IF SOMEONE HAD A GUN POINTED AT YOUR HEAD IT WOULDN'T BE VERY SMART TO SAY I DON'T BELIEVE IN BULLETS.

Just one more thing I read this on the internet and enjoyed it and thought you might too.

It’s hard to find a true atheist. Most who claim to be atheists are actually agnostics. Atheists believe that God doesn’t exist, while agnostics simply are honest enough to say that they don’t know.

‘Nostic’ (actually Gnostic) means ‘to know.’ ‘A-gnostic’ means not to know. ‘A’ before a word always implies ‘not.’ ‘Theist’ simply means to believe in God. ‘A-theist’ means not to believe in God.

Atheists/agnotics make up about 5.7% of the population which demonstrates that most people believe in some form of higher power. But the thing that is most enlightening to me is that most American CHRISTIANS do not believe in the Devil. You read that right. George Barna reports that nearly 60% of all American Christians do NOT believe the Devil is real.

No wonder evil is kicking our tails here in America. How can you engage and defeat an enemy that you don’t even acknowledge exists? When did so many Americans become atheistic in regards to the Devil? How is it possible to believe in the God of the Bible but not believe in the Devil of the Bible?

We could debate all day as to whether or not America is a Christian nation, but there is very little disagreement that Christianity was the belief system upon which America was founded. It has only been since the mid 20th century that the idea of the “separation between the church and the state” has taken root amongst the populace. As a result, the de-Christianization of our “public fool system” has produced consecutive generations of Americans who were taught that one’s religious beliefs were to be compartmentalized. “Private” religious beliefs, our children and grand-children have been instructed, have no place in the public square. “Keeping one’s faith to oneself” has caused a mass secularization of the culture and has crowned Humanism the official religion of America.

We have been convinced that our schools are “religion free” when, in fact, Humanism has become the official religion of the public schools. “I will be like God!” The impact of this leaven on Christian kids has been a watered-down, social gospel based on tolerance and acceptance of sin. Very few churches teach the “full counsel of God” anymore.

The Devil, Satan, is real. Most people don’t believe that. Today most Americans believe that evil is something that happens only to individuals and usually perpetrated by some “deranged” person. But, for the most part, Americans no longer believe in evil as a force, driven by the king of the real “evil” empire. We are blind to the “invisible world” that surrounds this natural world…the spirit world where angels and demons actually do battle. Where demonic forces attack and counterfeit everything good.

And what is it they do battle over? The kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of Light are fighting for control of this “natural” world. Because of our rejection of this truth, the Christian Church has yielded “dominion” to the Prince of Darkness. It is these demonic forces that influence individuals to engage in self-destructive behaviors by “legalizing” lawlessness.

How else can you explain the cavalier attitude shown by most Americans in response to Planned Parenthood’s selling of used baby parts like your local auto-salvage yard or the sanctioning of homosexuals by the Boy Scouts? How could any Christian ever vote for a President who told us he would support baby-murder? Be not deceived…

The Devil is real and he is controlling much of what goes on in this nation. Unfortunately, Christians have been taught that this assault on the believer is personal and that evil forces are only interested in destroying the life of the individual believer. Most of the problems that the average person deals with are self-induced. The demons influence the mind which results in poor decision making. That is why today we are calling good evil and evil good.

The Devil has bigger issues on his plate than just the lives of people—he wants control of the world. If he can control the world he will also gain control of the individual. Look around. Can’t you see how evil is flourishing in this nation? Have you noticed how hard they fight to keep the truth in the closet?

“The church” used to fight evil because we understood the need to obey the directives of the Scriptures which instructed us to:

Our leaders are evil, folks. We have placed into office men who have yielded to the influence of the Prince of the Power of the Air. They have seized our government and are doing Satan’s bidding. Freedom is disappearing. The Spirit of the Lord brings freedom. The spirit of the Evil One brings bondage. Which spirit is ruling over America today?

The Devil only has one weapon in his arsenal and that is deception. He is known as the “father of lies” and his “children” are trained in the same techniques. The only effective response to deception is truth. Fighting lies with lies will never lead us to the Truth.

Jesus is THE TRUTH, and the Scriptures teach us that only the Truth can make us free. The Devil is a liar. He doesn’t just tell lies; he is the Father of them. The only thing that can destroy a lie is Truth.

Sometimes it is not what we believe that matters but what we don’t believe. The Devil has convinced us that he doesn’t exist and has told us that there is no Truth.

That, my friends, is the greatest deception of all.

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Cold-Case Investigator Turns to Science to Disprove Christ's Resurrection, Gets Shocked by the Evidence

GREENSBORO, N.C.— When atheists find evidence of Jesus' Resurrection and become believers, you know there must be more than just faith that it happened. Two of the most famous former atheists came to a Truth for a New Generation conference outside of this North Carolina city to talk about how they ended up strong defenders of the fact Christ really did rise from the dead.

As a successful cold-case detective, J. Warner Wallace became so well known at solving decades-old murders, he ended up as the foremost expert on national TV true crime shows.

But as an atheist, he decided to turn his superior detective skills on disproving the Resurrection of Jesus Christ…or even proving it if the evidence should somehow take him there.

He remembered telling himself, "I'm going to have to figure out how to evaluate that for its truthfulness given this skill set that I had as a cold case detective."

CBN News talked to him at this crowded conference where hundreds of people gathered to hear Wallace and others tell their stories and learn how their faith in Christ rests on solid evidence.

For years some doubters clung to one theory that Jesus didn't actually die on the cross but was just nearly dead and revived later.

Wallace points out when you work with dead bodies all the time like he has and people in Christ's time did, you can definitely tell "dead" from "nearly dead."

"As a homicide detective, I'm thinking 'I've seen a lot of dead people, and I know what dead people look like,'" he said, and then talked about something called "the mortise triad."

"That hot blood's going to stop circulating, you're going to cool down. That's called algor mortis," he stated. "You'll be cool to the touch. And we can actually judge time of death based on how cool."

This author of Cold-Case Christianity moved on, saying, "This is something I've seen my entire career: there's the thing called rigor mortis. It's the second of the mortise triad. And you'll see that kind of stiffness. You won't be as flexible as you would be if you were just unconscious."

And Warner finds in the Gospel of John a key point of proof that Jesus wasn't faking it and that He really did die: a line about blood and water coming out of Jesus' body on the cross when a Roman soldier pierced him with a spear.

"Water will collect in your lungs," he explained. "Now if that happens, if you pierce that cavity, you will see a separation of blood and water."

It struck Wallace powerfully that John wrote of this, saying, "He was either so clever that he included some little-known biological fact that nobody would discover for 1800 years or he just reported what he saw. And as a result, we have a good piece of hidden science that confirms that Jesus actually died of cardiac arrest and was dead at the point of the body being taken off the cross."

As a young atheist, Josh McDowell set off to write Evidence That Demands a Verdict to show the evidence about Christ, including His Resurrection, was so weak, the verdict would be "Not True."

"The Resurrection was one of several things I knew I had to refute as a non-believer," McDowell recalled.

But instead of refuting, he became so convinced it happened, he spends dozens of pages in Evidence That Demands a Verdict knocking down false theories, like the one suggesting Christ didn't really die but woke up and escaped from the tomb.

"There were a hundred and some pounds of encasement of aromatic spices and gumming of cement consistency around His body, wrapped tightly in three separate linen cloths weighing about 117 pounds," McDowell told CBN News.

He continued, "Christ was encased in that, and it becomes hardened. Second, how would He be able to move in such a state like that a one-and-a-half to two-ton stone away from the entrance?"

As for the theory His disciples stole the body, the Jewish leaders opposed to Jesus were so worried about that exact thing happening, they talked the Romans into putting a massive guard group — as many as 16 soldiers — outside the tomb.

McDowell scoffed, "The impossibility of that! That they could have climbed through there, tiptoed around all the guards and become invisible to the guards in front of the tomb, rolled a one-and-a-half to two-ton stone that in that day that they said 20 men couldn't move it."

Wallace can't accept this was all just a conspiracy because detectives know those often fall apart when there are too many conspirators and the people involved face real threats if they don't recant.

He pointed out, "And we don't have a single, ancient record of any of the disciples ever recanting when that was often the goal of the people who were persecuting Christians."

Wallace pointed out courts don't expect the law to prove absolutely no possible doubt. Only no reasonable doubt.

"So is it possible that they conspired for 60 years, at 500 plus people, under immense pressure with not enough family relationships to hold it together?" Wallace asked. "Yeah, it's possible. It's just not reasonable."

Debunkers say Jesus in the biblical accounts only showed up to his closest followers, those most likely to lie about His Resurrection. But McDowell said the opposite is true.

"He appeared to the Apostle Paul, Saul of Tarsus, who was anything but a follower of Christ. He despised Christ as a false Messiah," McDowell said.

He also pointed out Jesus appeared to James, saying, "You take James, His brother. James was not a follower of Jesus Christ. He was embarrassed by Christ, his brother, going out and doing these things and claiming these things. But James ended up coming to Christ and became a leader of the Jerusalem church."

The Bible talks about Christ after His Resurrection showing up before 500 people. Some debunkers say that was likely just a mass hallucination. Neither Wallace or McDowell buy that.

McDowell interviewed five experts and learned, "No two people ever have the same hallucination because there's no external reference to it. It's all internal."

Wallace added, "There's just no history of kind of group hallucinations with the kind of detail that we see in the gospels. So I was never fond of that explanation."

McDowell stated, "In my research to refute Christianity, I became convinced the Church would never have been founded without the Resurrection. Everything that they did pointed back to that."

One huge thing they did: break the Sabbath and worship Jesus as they did it. Remember: all the early believers were fervent Jews who had believed they faced dire danger if they broke the Sabbath.

Alex McFarland – who organized this Truth for a New Generation conference – points out how that changed right after Jesus' Resurrection.

"Pious Jews whose very relationship with God is contingent on keeping a Sabbath that they've observed for centuries, suddenly overnight begin to worship on Sunday. Why? Something must have happened. Well, Sunday was Resurrection day."

"Now you have to understand what it meant to the Jew if they ever broke the Sabbath," McDowell explained. "It could mean death."

But the Resurrection on a Sunday had been the proof positive that Jesus was indeed the Risen Lord, worthy of worship on that day of the week.

"If Christ physically rose from the grave, then that proves His identity, message, and credentials," McFarland pointed out. "What was His identity? God Incarnate. What was His message? Salvation by faith in what He did on the cross. His credentials? Virgin-born, sinless life, rose from the dead, i.e.: He is the Savior."

McDowell told CBN News the meaning of it all is so powerful and overwhelming, it still touches him deeply more than half a century after he first came to believe Jesus was indeed the Resurrected Son of God, able to conquer death.

"It gives me hope that as Christ was raised from the dead, I shall be, too. Because of that," he stated.

McFarland added, "In the empty tomb, we have it all, ironclad, guaranteed. I tell people the tomb was left empty so that your life could be made full."

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TESTIMONY OF A SCIENTIST

What heaven's really like - by a top brain surgeon who slipped into a coma and went there. Read DR EBEN ALEXANDER'S testimony of what he saw before you scoff - and the astonishing proof it was real

When I was a small boy, I was adopted. I grew up remembering nothing of my birth family and unaware that I had a biological sister, named Betsy. Many years later, I went in search of my biological family, but for Betsy it was too late: she had died.

Before I start, I should explain that I am a scientist, who has spent a lifetime studying the workings of the brain.

My adoptive father was a neurosurgeon and I followed his path, becoming an neurosurgeon myself and an academic who taught brain science at Harvard Medical School.

Although nominally a Christian, I was sceptical when patients described spiritual experiences to me.

My knowledge of the brain made me quite sure that out-of-body experiences, angelic encounters and the like were hallucinations, brought on when the brain suffered a trauma.

And then, in the most dramatic circumstances possible, I discovered proof that I was wrong. Six years ago, I woke up one morning with a searing headache. Within a few hours, I went into a coma: my neocortex, the part of the brain that handles all the thought processes making us human, had shut down completely.

At the time, I was working at Lynchburg General Hospital in Virginia, and I was rushed to the emergency room there. The doctors ascertained that I had contracted meningitis — a rare bacterial strain of E coli was in my spinal fluid and eating into my brain like acid. My survival chances were near zero.

I was in deep coma, a vegetative state, and all the higher functions of my brain were offline. Scans showed no conscious activity whatever — my brain was not malfunctioning, it was completely unplugged.

For seven days, as I lay in that unresponsive coma, my consciousness went on a voyage through a series of realms, each one more extraordinary than the last — a journey beyond the physical world and one that, until then, I would certainly have dismissed as impossible.

For thousands of years, ordinary people as well as shamans and mystics have described brief, wonderful glimpses of ethereal realms. I'm not the first person to have discovered that consciousness exists beyond the body.

What is unique in my case is that I am, as far as scientific records show, the only person to have travelled to this heavenly dimension with the cortex in complete shut-down, while under minute observation throughout.

There are medical records for every minute of my coma, and none of them show any indication of brain activity. In other words, as far as neuroscience can say, my journey was not something happening inside my head.

Plenty of scientists have a lot of difficulty with this statement. My experience undermines their whole belief system. But the one place I have found ready acceptance is in church, where my story often tallies with people's expectations.

Even the deep notes of the church organ and the glorious colours of the stained glass seem to echo faintly the sights and sounds of Heaven.

After the blinding headache, when I had slipped into the coma, I gradually became aware of being in a primitive, primordial state that felt like being buried in earth.

It was, however, not ordinary earth, for all around me I sensed, and sometimes heard and saw, other entities.

It was partly horrific, partly comforting and familiar: I felt like I had always been part of this primal murk.

I am often asked, 'Was this hell?' but I don't think it was — I would expect hell to be at least a little bit interactive, and this was a completely passive experience.

Dr Eben's Alexander's 'heaven' was filled with music, animals, trees, and colours and was extremely vivid

I had forgotten what it was even to be human, but one important part of my personality was still hard at work: I had a sense of curiosity. I would ask, 'Who? What? Where?' and there was never a flicker of response.

After an expanse of time had passed, though I can't begin to guess how long, a light came slowly down from above, throwing off marvellous filaments of living silver and golden effulgence.

It was a circular entity, emitting a beautiful, heavenly music that I called the Spinning Melody. The light opened up like a rip in the fabric of that coarse realm, and I felt myself going through the rip, up into a valley full of lush and fertile greenery, where waterfalls flowed into crystal pools.

There were clouds, like marshmallow puffs of pink and white. Behind them, the sky was a rich blue-black.

This world was not vague. It was deeply, piercingly alive, and as vivid as the aroma of fried chicken, as dazzling as the glint of sunlight off the metalwork of a car, and as startling as the impact of first love.

I know perfectly well how crazy my account sounds, and I sympathise with those who cannot accept it. Like a lot of things in life, it sounds pretty far-fetched till you experience it yourself.

There were trees, fields, animals and people. There was water, too, flowing in rivers or descending as rain. Mists rose from the pulsing surfaces of these waters, and fish glided beneath them.

Like the earth, the water was deeply familiar. It was as though all the most beautiful waterscapes I ever saw on earth had been beautiful precisely because they were reminding me of this living water. My gaze wanted to travel into it, deeper and deeper.

This water seemed higher, and more pure than anything I had experienced before, as if it was somehow closer to the original source.

I had stood and admired oceans and rivers across America, from Carolina beaches to west coast streams, but suddenly they all seemed to be lesser versions, little brothers and sisters of this living water.

That's not to denigrate the seas and lakes and thunderstorms that I've marvelled at throughout my life. It is simply to say that I now see all the earth's waters in a new perspective, just as I see all natural beauties in a new way.

In Heaven, everything is more real — less dense, yet at the same time more intense.

Heaven is as vast, various and populated as earth is ... in fact, infinitely more so. But in all this vast variety, there is not that sense of otherness that characterises our world, where each thing is alone by itself and has nothing directly to do with the other things around it.

Nothing is isolated in Heaven. Nothing is alienated. Nothing is disconnected. Everything is one.

I found myself as a speck of awareness on a butterfly wing, among pulsing swarms of millions of other butterflies. I witnessed stunning blue-black velvety skies filled with swooping orbs of golden light, angelic choirs leaving sparkling trails against the billowing clouds.

Those choirs produced hymns and anthems far beyond anything I had ever encountered on earth. The sound was colossal: an echoing chant that seemed to soak me without making me wet.

All my senses had blended. Seeing and hearing were not separate functions. It was as if I could hear the grace and elegance of the airborne creatures, and see the spectacular music that burst out of them.

Even before I began to wonder who or what they were, I understood that they made the music because they could not contain it. It was the sound of sheer joy. They could no more hold it in than you could fill your lungs and never breathe out.

Simply to experience the music was to join in with it. That was the oneness of Heaven — to hear a sound was to be part of it. Everything was connected to everything else, like the infinitely complex swirls on a Persian carpet or a butterfly's wing. And I was flying on that carpet, riding on that wing.

Above the sky, there was a vast array of larger universes that I came to call an 'over-sphere', and I ascended until I reached the Core, that deepest sanctuary of the Divine — infinite inky blackness, filled to overflowing with indescribable, unconditional love.

There I encountered the infinitely powerful, all-knowing deity whom I later called Om, because of the sound that vibrated through that realm. I learned lessons there of a depth and beauty entirely beyond my capacity to explain.

During this voyage, I had a guide. She was an extraordinarily beautiful woman who first appeared as I rode, as that speck of awareness, on the wing of that butterfly.

I'd never seen this woman before. I didn't know who she was. Yet her presence was enough to heal my heart, to make me whole in a way I'd never known was possible. Her face was unforgettable. Her eyes were deep blue, and her cheekbones were high. Her face was surrounded by a frame of honey-brown hair.

She wore a smock, like a peasant's, woven from sheer colour — indigo, powder-blue and pastel shades of orange and peach. When she looked at me, I felt such an abundance of emotion that, if nothing good had ever happened to me before, the whole of my life would have been worth living for that expression in her eyes alone.

It was not romantic love. It was not friendship. It was far beyond all the different compartments of love we have on earth. Without actually speaking, she let me know that I was loved and cared for beyond measure and that the universe was a vaster, better, and more beautiful place than I could ever have dreamed.

I was an irreplaceable part of the whole (like all of us), and all the sadness and fear I had ever suffered was a result of my somehow having forgotten this most central of facts.

Her message went through me like a breath of wind. It's hard to put it into words, but the essence was this: 'You are loved and cherished, dearly, for ever. You have nothing to fear. There is nothing you can do wrong.'

Meanwhile, back on Earth, I had been in my coma for seven days and showing no signs of improvement. The doctors were just deciding whether to continue with life support, when I suddenly regained consciousness. My eyes just popped open, and I was back. I had no memories of my earthly life, but knew full well where I had been.

I had to relearn everything: who, what, and where I was. Over days, then weeks, like a gently falling snow, my old, earthly knowledge came back.

Words and language returned within hours and days. With the love and gentle coaxing of my family and friends, other memories emerged.

By eight weeks, my prior knowledge of science, including the experiences and learning from more than two decades spent as a neurosurgeon in teaching hospitals, returned completely. That full recovery remains a miracle without any explanation from modern medicine.

But I was a different person from the one I had been. The things I had seen and experienced while gone from my body did not fade away, as dreams and hallucinations do. They stayed.

And then, four months after coming out of my coma, I received a picture in the mail.

As a result of my earlier investigations to make contact with my biological family, a relative had sent me a photograph of my sister Betsy — the sister I'd never known.

The shock of recognition was total. This was the face of the woman on the butterfly wing.

That photo was the confirmation that I'd needed. This was proof, beyond reproach, of the objective reality of my experience.

From then on, I was back in the old, earthly world I'd left behind before my coma struck, but as a genuinely new person.

And as I shall reveal on Monday, I am by no means the only one to have glimpsed the afterlife — and the wonders it holds.