Defense of the Gospel

The Veracity of Christianity, and in Regards to other Beliefs and Religions.

Jesus fulfilled more than 300 Old Testament prophecies during his life. (resource)
A professor at Westmont College, conducted a peer-reviewed study, and conservatively calculated the probability of one man fulfilling eight of the major prophesies regarding the coming Messiah.
The calculation determined it would be 10^17 likely that eight prophesies would come true for one man.
To understand the vastness of that number, imagine taking 10^17 silver dollars and covering the face of Texas. That would cover the surface of Texas two feet deep. Then mark one, and stir the whole mass entirely over the state. Then blindfold a man, and tell him he can travel as far as he wants, and can pick up one coin in hopes of it being the marked one.
What would be the chances of him picking it? That's the probability of eight prophesies coming true in any one man. (resource).

A New Testament manuscript is a handwritten copy prior to the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century.
The New Testament of the Bible alone has 5,824 manuscripts in Greek, and more than 25,000 total in all combined languages. The average NT manuscript is 450 pages, totaling to around 2.6 million pages.
The average Classical Greek writer has less than 20 manuscript copies of his work still in existence. There are only 12 manuscripts in existence that attest to the history of Julius Ceasar with the oldest dating back to around 900 years from the original, (resource) and 123 of Alexander the Great with a gap of roughly 1300 years from the original. (resource)
The average classical writer’s earliest manuscript is 500 years a part from it’s original. The New Testament dates back within decades. P52- a fragment of the Gospel of John, is estimated to date back within one decade.
Church Fathers from the early centuries alone have quoted New Testament more than one million times which could re-create the New Testament many times over.
The P66 manuscript was written 150 years prior to the Council of Nicaea. Skeptics claim this council, under Emperor Constantine, invented the deity of Christ, yet this manuscript includes John chapter one which includes the deity of Christ.
Resource video. Further on manuscripts.

Much like the assassination of JFK, and the terrorist attack of 9/11, some events are so impactful that they sear in the minds of those who witnessed them and alter aspects of culture forever.
The resurrection of Christ was this kind of event for his disciples.
The disciples abandoned animal sacrifice, the binding law of Moses, the Sabbath, a conquering-Messiah belief, and circumcision, for the belief of Christ’s sacrifice for humanity, the teachings of Christ, a sacrificial-Messiah belief, the practice of baptism and communion, and worship of Jesus as God.
Only by an impact-event, like the resurrection, could such inherent and cultural changes take place in the disciples lives that would make them faithful to the point of torture, humiliation, and death with nothing on Earth to gain. (disciples martyrdom)
The disciples were in a position to know if the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a lie or not, and they went to the death believing it was true. “People will die for a lie they believe is true, but not for a lie they think is a lie.” -Dr. Frank Turek
Resource video.

A Chain of Custody is a series of documentation that ensure the evidence of something isn't contaminated or tampered with, and is a common practice used in forensic investigations, and as court evidence.
This evidence is important for those who argue that Jesus was somehow exaggerated overtime. If the riches of manuscripts in current collection isn’t enough, then the chain of custody evidence should help seal the argument.
A chain of custody can be tracked from the writings of Jesus’ disciples until the Canonization of the NT at the Council of Laodicia in 363 AD, passing down from teacher to student, that speak to the deity and resurrection of Christ, and remain consistent with the writing of the New Testament.
For example, Ignatius, a student of John the disciple, wrote many such letters to congregations and church leaders. (List of letters here)
Polycarp, also a student of John, wrote one such letter to the Philipian church; the same church the apostle Paul wrote to more than a century earlier.
Ignatius and Polycarp had a student named: Irenaeus with writings dating back to mid-late 2nd century AD.
Paul’s student, Clement of Rome, who he mentions Clement in his letters, writes such a letter to the church in Corinth. The same church Paul once wrote two letters to.
Such chains can be followed from John, Peter, Paul’s ministry to Rome, and John Mark’s ministry to North Africa. (resource)

The Quran confirms the Bible in many ways, yet denounces the core tenants of Christianity such as the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and that Jesus is God and the begotten Son of God. This is the Islamic Dilemma.
The Quran tells Christians to obey the Torah (Old Testament) and the Gospel (New Testament). (Surah 5:68)
The Quran claims that Allah revealed (or is the author of) the Torah and the Gospel, and those rejecting Allah’s revelations will suffer severe torment. (Surah 3:3-4)
The Quran claims Muslim and Christians believe in the same God. (Surah 29:46)
The Quran says that Christians are required to use the Bible to judge the words of the Quran, and if they don’t, they are considered truly rebellious. (Surah 5:47)
Allah told his prophet that if he had any doubts concerning the revelations given to him, then he should speak to those who read the Bible. (Surah 10:94)