Origin of the Universe

When are you Christians going to pull your heads out of the ground and believe the scientific evidence for the origin of the universe?

Thanks for your question. Obviously, the origin of the universe is a longstanding debate. Since I am not a scientist, I seldom think of the Creation in a scientific way, but I do try and see it logically. It seems to me if you remove a creator from the picture, you’re left with only a few logical explanations for the universe. I can think of these:

The universe is an illusion

The universe spontaneously came from nothing

The universe is eternal

I find no compelling reason to believe any of these, science notwithstanding.

If you’d like scientific evidence from a biblical perspective, I suggest, The Creator and the Cosmos, by Hugh Ross, PhD in astrophysics and founder of Reasons to Believe [reasons.org], or Understanding Intelligent Design: Everything you need to know in plain language, by William Dembski and Sean McDowell.

High Priests

Were the high priests Annas and Caiaphas Idumean?

No. Annas and Caiaphas were both Jewish high priests, and therefore from the tribe of Levi. Perhaps you are thinking of Herod the Great, who was an Idumean (aka Edomite). Because he was Idumean, he was not allowed in the temple he financed and restored, whereas Annas and Caiaphas were the leading officials in the temple.

By the way, Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Annas. Annas had five sons who also all served terms as high priests.

Small Church VS Mega-Church

Doesn’t Matthew 18:20 teach that God wants small churches, not mega-churches?

Here is the text you mentioned: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

As unbeautiful as it might sound, the context of this verse is about the process of discipline within the church, not the size of a church. Let’s back up a little and read verses 16-20: 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that “by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. 18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

The ‘two or three’ mentioned in vs. 20 are the same ‘two or three’ mentioned in vs. 16. If someone who has sinned against you does not listen to you when you meet up with them to try to sort the issue out, then take one or two others with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

In Matthew 18 Jesus simply gave his approval to the process, (‘I am there in the midst of them’), if it’s done in the right way.

Ghosts

Do you believe in ghosts?

If you are referring to ghosts in terms of the popular movie Ghosts [with Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, and Patrick Swayze], my answer is no. I base my belief from Scripture that indicates that once a person dies, it ends their involvement on earth. The wise Solomon wrote:“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and for ever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.” [Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6 - Please note what I have italicized for emphasis]

The hope of life after death is found in the resurrection. [See 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16]

Kosher

Why did the Old Testament make a distinction between certain meats (clean and unclean) but not plants even though some plants are poisonous?

The restriction on the eating of meat [kosher diet] was part of the covenant between the people of Israel and God. It wasn’t binding on other nations or people. And even with the people of God, eating meat was different in various times of their history. This is demonstrated in how God spoke about the eating of meat - both clean and unclean:

Before the flood - no meat  [Genesis 1:29]

After the flood - all meat [Genesis 9:2-3]

Kosher Diet - some meat [Leviticus 11]

New Testament outlook - all meat [Acts 10:10-15; 1st Corinthians 10:23-31; 1st Timothy 4:4]

Date of the Crucifixion

Do you know the date Jesus was crucified?

There are some significant facts in biblical and non-biblical literature to narrow the date of the crucifixion of Christ. Most of this information can be found in three sources: the Bible, the writings of Josephus, and the Jewish Encyclopedia. Here are some of the facts:

Caiaphas was the High Priest: That puts the crucifixion between 18-36 AD.

Pontius Pilate was the Governor: That narrows the date to between 26-36 AD.

The crucifixion occurred after the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar: John the Baptizer began his ministry in the fifteenth year of Tiberius’ reign, which was 29 AD.

The crucifixion happened on a Friday: that eliminates all other days of the week.

The crucifixion happened on a Friday in conjunction with the feast of Passover.

That lets us narrow down the range of possible dates. Here is a complete list of the days Passover began between 29-36 AD:

                       

Monday, April 18, A.D. 29

Friday, April 7, A.D. 30

Tuesday, March 27, A.D. 31

Monday, April 14, A.D. 32

Friday, April 3, A.D. 33

Wednesday, March 24, A.D. 34

Tuesday, April 12, A.D. 35

Saturday, March 31, A.D. 36

As you can see from the list above, there are two possible days that fit all five facts we know about the crucifixion. Allowing time for Jesus to have a few years of ministry after John the Baptizer, leaves us with the best option: Jesus was crucified at 3:00 PM on Friday, April 3, 33 AD.

Eyewitnesses of the Resurrection

Who were the eye witnesses [sic] to the resurrection of Jesus?

There were ZERO eyewitnesses to the resurrection! But hold that thought for a moment. The resurrection of Jesus happened in a tomb. No one was in the tomb with Jesus; therefore there were no eyewitnesses of the event itself. However, the Bible declares that many people, including some who witnessed the burial of Jesus and then came upon His empty tomb, had a personal encounter with Him. They simply told the amazing story that Jesus was alive. They talked with Him, and ate with Him on different occasions for a period of 40 days. That is the testimony of Scripture.

Among those who saw Him were: Mary Magdalene and other holy women [Mark 16:9; Matthew 28:9], Cleopas and another disciple near Emmaus [Luke 24:15-18], the disciples and a crowd of more than 500 [1st Corinthians 15:3-6].