In defense of prophecy

IN DEFENSE OF THE BIBLE:As a believer, I have been taught that the Bible is basically an inerrent book. That it was inspired by God. Being open minded, I never believe what any one church, person, or basic group of people say. Just because a large group of like minded believers can document something, I am usually inclined to examine what their detractors say as well. It is also not just about facts, but about attitudes. For example, one time on my school campus, the local campus Christian club hosted a debate with a well known local atheist. The atheist was quite articulate yet came off a bit smug and aloof, whereas the Christians stated their side of the debate quite respectably. I must admit that atheists have some good sound arguments in general. Positive Atheism (since 1995) Join the Struggle Against Anti-Atheist Bigotry! is one such site.
I am not ready to conced that all biblical literalists are just a bunch of backwoods fanatics, however.
There are many educated theologians. Education gets my respect because I have been there sweating out answers and compiling papers myself. I am going to school to be a hi risk youth counselor. One area that interests me is prophecy. The standard argument against prophecy is that
it is changed to make itself fit. I would argue that based on what we know about the times that the old testament was transcribed and the new testament writings which came 70+ years after Jesus death, burial and ressurection, this argument would ONLY hold up if the New Testament authors lied to make it look as if though Jesus fullfilled prophecy. As numerous examples:
If we could speak to God down the corridors of time, it might sound something like this: We might ask the question,"How will we know when your son arrives? How can we tell that it is Him?
God might have responded, "I will cause him to be born as an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham (Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:16)." We may have protested that Abrahams descendants will be as numerous as the stars! How will we tell Him apart?
" Then I will narrow it down to only half of Abraham's lineage, and make him a descendant of Isaac, not Ishmael (Genesis 21:12; Luke 3:23-34)."
"That will help, but isn't that still a grip of people?"
"Let him be born from Jacob's line, then, eliminating half of Isaac's lineage(Numbers 24:17;Luke 3:23-34)."
"But--"
"I will be more specific. Jacob will have twelve sons; I will bring forth the Messiah from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10, Luke 3:23-33)."
"Hey...thats STILL a lot of people! How will we recognize him?"
"Don't worry! Look for him in the family line of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1; Luke 3:23-32) And from the house and lineage of Jesse's youngest son,David (Jeremiah 23:5; Luke 3:23-31) And then I will tell you where he will be born: Bethlehem, a tiny town in the area called Judea (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1)."
God is blowing us away! But we might still be puzzled. "How will we know which person born there (Bethlehem) is your Son?"
"He will be preceded by a messenger who will prepare the way and announce his advent (Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:1-2). He will begin his ministry in Galilee(Isaiah 9:1;Matthew 4:12-17) and will teach in parables (Psalm 78:2; Matthew 13:34-35), performing many miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6;Matthew 9:35)."
"Okay,that should help a lot."
"Oh," God might have responded, "I'm just getting warmed up. He will ride into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey(Zechariah 9:9;Matthew 21:2;Luke 19:35-37) and will appear suddenly and forcefully at the temple courts and zealously 'clean house'(Psalm 69:9, Malachi 3:1; John 2:15-16) Why, in one day I will fulfill no fewer than twenty-nine specific prophecies spoken at least five hundred years earlier about him! Listen to this:
1, He will be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9;Matthew 26:49)
2. The price of his betrayal will be thirty pieces of silver(Zechariah 11:12; Matthew 26:15)
3. His betrayal money will be cast to the floor of my temple(Zechariah 11:13; Matthew 27:5)
4. His betrayal money will be used to buy the potter's field(Zechariah 11:13;Matthew 27:7)
5. He will be forsaken and deserted by his disciples(Zechariah 13:7;Mark 14:50)
6. He will be accused by false witnesses(Psalm 35:11; Matthew 26:59-60)
7. He will be silent before his accusers(Isaiah 53:7; Matthew 27:12)
8. He will be wounded and bruised(Isaiah 53:5;Matthew 27:26)
9. He will be hated without a cause(Psalm 69:4; John 15:25)
10. He will be struck and spit on (Isaiah 50:6; Matthew 26:67)
11. He will be mocked, ridiculed, and rejected (Isaiah 53:3;Matthew 27:27-31 and John 7:5,48)
12. He will collapse from weakness. (Psalm 109:24-25; Luke 23:26)
13. He will be taunted with specific words (Psalm 22:6-8; Matthew 27:39-43)
14. People will shake their heads at him (Psalm 109:25; Matthew 27:39)
15. People will stare at him (Psalm 22:17;Luke 23:35)
16. He will be executed among 'sinners' (Isaiah 53:12; Matthew 27:38)
17. His hands and feet will be pierced (Psalm 22:16; Luke 23:33)
18. He will pray for his persecutors (Isaiah 53:12;Luke 23:34)
19. His friends and family will stand afar off and watch(Psalm 38:11; Luke 23:49)
20. His garments will be divided and won by the casting of lots (Psalm 22:18;John 19:23-24)
21. He will thirst(Psalm 69:21;John 19:28)
22. He will be given gall and vinegar(Psalm 69:21; Matthew 27:34)
23. He will commit himself to God(Psalm 31:5;Luke 23:46)
24. His bones will be left unbroken(Psalm 34:20;John 19:33)
25. His heart will rupture(Psalm 22:14;John 19:34)
26. His side will be pierced(Zechariah 12:10;John 19:34)
27. Darkness will come over the land at midday(Amos 8:9; Matthew 27:45)
28. He will be buried in a rich man's tomb(Isaiah 53:9;Matthew 27:57-60)
29. He will die 483 years after the declaration of Artaxerxes to rebuild the temple in 444 B.C. (Danial 9:24)
He will be raised from the dead on the third day(Psalm 16:10;Acts 2:31)
He will ascend to heaven(Psalm 68:18;Acts 1:9)In conclusion, I vaguely suppose that events could have been written to support earlier writings. But come on!

We have all seen the arguments and the counter arguments. Would it not be fair to go with the possible identities of Jesus, often quoted, of being either Lord, Liar, or Lunatic? Great man and just another prophet do not apply to Him. If the writers were trying to make Him fit the scenario of Messiah, He must have been either a Lunatic who thought that He was God Incarnate or He was a manipulator along with the writers. I could use the argument that History and Civilization changed so profoundly because of one man that He surely must have been divine, yet Muhammed was a mere man to us Christians, and he also caused quite a ruckus. Let me turn the question over to you guys. If Jesus was not the Son of God, who was this guy?

Mr. Jack says:Note that even in the biblical record there is some suggestion of ..( a large portion of the biblical sayings attributed to Jesus weren't said by him)Look closely at the Gospels, now look at the record of Paul's teachings? Notice any differences?
For the serious Bible scholars, it is a known fact that even though all of the Bible is written for us, not all of the Bible was written TO us. Jesus, of course, came for everyone, yet even He said that His primary task was to convert the Jews, at first. Did God in the flesh then humanly change His mind? The probable answer is that for a time, the message did have to be for the Jews, in order to give them a set amount of time to either accept or reject it. Once the time had passed, Paul was chosen as a messanger to the non-Jewish believers who were largely illiterate and unlearned. Most Bible Scholars do not find much evidence for a haphazardly constructed Bible.
A few of the liberal intellects who seemingly believe in the legend within their own minds attempt to disprove Christs divinity, even though several prominant lawyers who have examined the evidence have concluded the ancient writings as sound. To question the accuracy of scripture in the Gospel accounts is akin to questioning virtually every historical bibleographical source ever written about everyone in the distant past. The Bible has over 20,000 original manuscripts, whereas the next great documents of antiquity have perhaps as few as ten or less original sources.

OK, Mr. Jack. Lets address your post more directly. First of all, you will always have the option of rejecting any information that I present to you. This is the free will given to us.
1)What if Jesus was simply a populist leader? An evangelical if you will. Who's later followers applied the trappings of godhood to him. What if a large portion of the biblical sayings attributed to Jesus weren't said by him? ==Many popular leaders have appeared in History. None have had such a controversial influence. While it is true that Jesus never directly claimed to be God, He did represent the monotheistic God of the Hebrews. The question thus becomes this: Was the God of the Hebrews an absolute fact or another relativistic belief on the planet? It is a question of faith.
2) Look closely at the Gospels, now look at the record of Paul's teachings? Notice any differences?
Yes. Jesus knew that His first ministry was to the Jewish people. Peter and the Apostles had a different message than Paul because Paul was sent to the non Jewish people. To get a grip on the theology behind this, I suggest this website: http://www.biblicalanswers.com/index.htm
3)What if 'Jesus' is actually a conglomeration of several figures living at the time? Who's teachings became merged into the figure singularly recorded as Jesus?
OK. I'll go with your theory. Now...show us the other figures and show us the theological blending.
I am unconvinced of this theory, Mr. Jack.
What if one of the other many Gospels were actually true, and the four chosen by the Catholics false? ==The four chosen Gospels were chosen by people whom the church considered as the "annointed" spiritual leaders within Orthodox Christianity. The other Gospels were rejected because of incosistancy with the rest of scripture. Either we believe and trust the process for Canon vs non canon, or we reopen the controversy. We will find, however, a consistency in the four gospels lacking in the rest.
1-4. The Canonical Gospels.=(Only these four were recognized as canonical.)
5. The Gospel according to the Hebrews.
6. The Gospel of Peter.
7. The Gospel according to the Egyptians
8. The Gospel of Matthias.
9. The Gospel of Philip.
10. The Gospel of Thomas.
11. The Proto-Evangelium of James.
12. The Gospel of Nicodemus (Acta Pilati).
13.The Gospel of the Twelve Apostles.
14.The Gospel of Basilides.
15.The Gospel of Valentinus.
16.The Gospel of Marcion.
17.The Gospel of Eve.
18.The Gospel of Judas.
19.The writing Genna Marias.
20.The Gospel Teleioseos.