NTS Conclusion

The main elements that reside within the foundation of Christianity are important to understand since these elements are the foundation of Christian beliefs. Like the Jewish religion, Christianity's foundation is based on Scripture.

Because these elements are Scripturally based, to mis-read or purposely misinterpret these elements is to misrepresent the teachings of the apostles and early founders of Christianity, and in the end what Jesus taught according to His interpretation of Scripture. This is a big factor and holds a lot of implications. For instance, if we do not believe Jesus' teachings about the basic elements of Scripture, how can we believe what He taught in regard to anything? And if we do not believe what the writings of the apostles taught on these foundational beliefs, how can we believe what they wrote on anything else?

One can say that the early Christians falsified information in their writings, but to what gain? They were Jewish and held strongly to their conviction in their faith based on Jewish Scripture, which included the Commandments, one of them being "Thou shalt not bare false witness," particularly true of Paul who was a devout Jew specially trained in the Law of God (Acts 22:3).

The apostles were severely tortured, mocked, beaten, and even killed in the name of Jesus. To what avail if not totally convinced themselves of what they were teaching? And what did they die for, if not to teach others of what they truly believed? Religion in a man did not convince them. They were looking for God's Truth in a Messiah based on Scripture's prophecy. Through Jesus' actions and words that spoke of a true love of God for mankind proven through Scripture fulfillment, they believed that they had found this.

Their reaction on the night of Jesus' crucifixion when as yet they did not understand the prophecy being fulfilled proved their reluctance to believe in Jesus as the Chosen One without scriptural proof. It seems plausible that they had been previously taught that the Messiah would come to set up His Kingdom as a King seeking to hold dominion over others rather than as a Servant. It must have been difficult for them to understand why the Messiah would welcome Himself into mankind's world only to later die on their behalf.

On the night of Jesus' crucifixion, they all ran away and hid (Matt. 26:55-56). But after seeing Jesus resurrected and having Jesus teach them how the prophecies were fulfilled through Him (Luke 24:12-36), they became convinced Jesus was their long awaited Messiah which was shown in their changed character. They began to courageously tell others about Jesus although their lives were at risk for doing so (Acts 5:12-42).

The apostles and the Christians who would come from their ministry witnessed as a candle in a world of darkness (Matt. 5:14-16). When treated with cruelty, they kept their faith. When treated with violence, they responded with acts of kindness. They witnessed the true heart of Jesus' love (John 13:34-35) as it was fulfilled in Scripture.

Scripture is the basis of Jesus' love. To teach Christianity contrary to what the apostles believed in and died for based on Jesus' love is to try to undo everything that they taught and in the process to leave in vain both the suffering of the Messiah and their suffering and the accomplishment of a ministry they worked hard to achieve and die for, not only for their time but for future generations to come.

One can claim that many of the apostolic teachings found in the New Testament were mistranslated. By studying Scripture in its originally written Greek language, it is easy to verify that there were some mistranslations albeit very little in contrast to the many translated documents. The writings, when compared, show amazing accuracy not only to each other but also to the Old Testament Hebrew from which they were often quoted.

Another claim is that the books canonized and accepted for New Testament Scripture should be questioned for legitimacy. For example, who decided to choose the books and can that choice be trusted? With research, one will find that the books were correctly chosen for good reasons and that most of what was not chosen was for a reason, some of those reasons being the time and place the documents were written, accurate proof in who really wrote them (apostolic), having a consistent message to each other, their liturgical use in early Christian gatherings, and universal acceptance by Christian communities (Barnett).

A good research on the historians of Jesus' time and what they wrote about Jesus and Christianity will provide further information on the history of what took place. Upon careful reading, one will learn that history coincides with the writings of the Gospels. Non-Christian historians who lived in the first to second century who made mention of Jesus and early Christians were Josephus and Tacitus. Examples of second century non-Christian writers are Lucian and Suetonius.

When Christianity is properly understood through its writings, the foundational elements will be given their proper legitimacy.

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Works Cited

Barnett, Paul. Is the New Testament Reliable? 2nd ed., Westmont: InterVarsity Press, 2004.


Home New Testament Scripture

	Conclusion

		The main elements that reside within the foundation of Christianity are important to understand since these elements are the foundation of Christian beliefs. Like the Jewish religion, Christianity's foundation is based on Scripture. Because these elements are Scripturally based, to mis-read or purposely misinterpret these elements is to misrepresent the teachings of the apostles and early founders of Christianity, and in the end what Jesus taught according to His interpretation of Scripture. This is a big factor and holds a lot of implications. For instance, if we do not believe Jesus' teachings about the basic elements of Scripture, how can we believe what He taught in regard to anything? And if we do not believe what the writings of the apostles taught on these foundational beliefs, how can we believe what they wrote on anything else? One can say that the early Christians falsified information in their writings, but to what gain? They were Jewish and held strongly to their conviction in their faith based on Jewish Scripture, which included the Commandments, one of them being "Thou shalt not bare false witness," particularly true of Paul who was a devout Jew specially trained in the Law of God (Acts 22:3). The apostles were severely tortured, mocked, beaten, and even killed in the name of Jesus. To what avail if not totally convinced themselves of what they were teaching? And what did they die for, if not to teach others of what they truly believed? Religion in a man did not convince them. They were looking for God's Truth in a Messiah based on Scripture's prophecy. Through Jesus' actions and words that spoke of a true love of God for mankind proven through Scripture fulfillment, they believed that they had found this. Their reaction on the night of Jesus' crucifixion when as yet they did not understand the prophecy being fulfilled proved their reluctance to believe in Jesus as the Chosen One without scriptural proof. It seems plausible that they had been previously taught that the Messiah would come to set up His Kingdom as a King seeking to hold dominion over others rather than as a Servant. It must have been difficult for them to understand why the Messiah would welcome Himself into mankind's world only to later die on their behalf. On the night of Jesus' crucifixion, they all ran away and hid (Matt. 26:55-56). But after seeing Jesus resurrected and having Jesus teach them how the prophecies were fulfilled through Him (Luke 24:12-36), they became convinced Jesus was their long awaited Messiah which was shown in their changed character. They began to courageously tell others about Jesus although their lives were at risk for doing so (Acts 5:12-42). The apostles and the Christians who would come from their ministry witnessed as a candle in a world of darkness (Matt. 5:14-16). When treated with cruelty, they kept their faith. When treated with violence, they responded with acts of kindness. They witnessed the true heart of Jesus' love (John 13:34-35) as it was fulfilled in Scripture. Scripture is the basis of Jesus' love. To teach Christianity contrary to what the apostles believed in and died for based on Jesus' love is to try to undo everything that they taught and in the process to leave in vain both the suffering of the Messiah and their suffering and the accomplishment of a ministry they worked hard to achieve and die for, not only for their time but for future generations to come. One can claim that many of the apostolic teachings found in the New Testament were mistranslated. By studying Scripture in its originally written Greek language, it is easy to verify that there were some mistranslations albeit very little in contrast to the many translated documents. The writings, when compared, show amazing accuracy not only to each other but also to the Old Testament Hebrew from which they were often quoted. Another claim is that the books canonized and accepted for New Testament Scripture should be questioned for legitimacy. For example, who decided to choose the books and can that choice be trusted? With research, one will find that the books were correctly chosen for good reasons and that most of what was not chosen was for a reason, some of those reasons being the time and place the documents were written, accurate proof in who really wrote them (apostolic), having a consistent message to each other, their liturgical use in early Christian gatherings, and universal acceptance by Christian communities (Barnett). A good research on the historians of Jesus' time and what they wrote about Jesus and Christianity will provide further information on the history of what took place. Upon careful reading, one will learn that history coincides with the writings of the Gospels. Non-Christian historians who lived in the first to second century who made mention of Jesus and early Christians were Josephus and Tacitus. Examples of second century non-Christian writers are Lucian and Suetonius. When Christianity is properly understood through its writings, the foundational elements will be given their proper legitimacy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Works Cited Barnett, Paul. Is the New Testament Reliable? 2nd ed., Westmont: InterVarsity Press, 2004.