An Open Email Response to my Atheist Friend-Part 2

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Dear Friend,

Thanks for your response. I have a few additional thoughts. Again in no way am I trying to sound condescending.

As far as the CS Lewis quote, I disagree. I don't think the argument fully hinged on what he desired. And it is congruent with what mainstream science says about the fine-tuning of the world. The fine-tuning points to a mind/creator. To keep it quick, it's the idea that if our world was a razor's edge closer to or further away from the sun, life here would be uninhabitable.  A good comparison is Mt. Rushmore. Did billions of pieces come together on their own or did it take a mind/design?

"See the very fact that atheists have reasons to be atheists actually presupposes that God exists. How so? Because reasons require that the universe be a reasonable one that presupposes there is order, logic, design and truth. But order, logic, design, and truth can only exist and be known if there is an unchangeable objective source and standard of such things." (I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist p.130)

You originally said that truth is truth and does not seem to have any regard for how I personally might feel or think about it. I absolutely agree but I don't think we are going to come to the same conclusions unless like you said there needs to be hard work of attempting to establish it's veracity. In a youtube video (from forever ago) Richard Dawkins concedes that the earth may seem to be intelligently designed. But it could not ever have been from the God of the bible. My assumption is that he didn't want to see the truth. Or do the hard work. I disagree with Dawkins. Mainly because of the Resurrection.

You asked how Jesus is different from Mormonism and Muslin writings and teachings?
That's a good question. Muhammed and Joesph Smith had very private "revelations". The resurrection was a historical, public event. The New Testament writings are based on eye-witness testimonies. Jesus' life and death fulfilled prophecies(This is evidenced in the carbon dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls) and it contains something called the criterion of embarrassment. Meaning the writers included their own, shameful acts. Which would enhance the veracity. There's several examples of this but a notable one is how the apostles denied knowing Jesus and fled the night he died. 
And I think it's a more relevant comparison of the disciples because they were responsible for the spread of the early Christian Church. While I don't know extensively the writings of Smith and Muhammed, it does appear that people are generally motivated by power, fame, money sex etc. Jesus's Disciples really had nothing to gain. They were living in poverty and they were tortured to death and murdered by the leaders in attempt to make them recant. They did not and because of this I'm inclined to say that's very different. If they were eyewitnesses, and Jesus' did appear to them after his death, people just don't up and die for something they know is a lie. They were committed to the truth.

And you don't want to read Strobel, fair enough. But I'm inclined to trust what he says as well.  At the conclusion of his book he admits that after a span of 600+ days of research the facts were conclusive. But that embarrassingly, it took him a while to decide to become a Christian because he didnt wan't it to be true! He set out to prove that it was a myth. But couldn't objectively conclude that. Criterion of embarassment. 
Lastly, Christian apologists should never claim to know everything. Jesus fully God and fully man? I will not wrap my mind around that one earthside, I'm sure. But we shouldn't expect to know everything if God is who He says He is.
I can't continue to email because well I got a lot on my plate and I want to respect your time too. Unless you look at the resurrection scrupulously and objectively and can give me a reasonable explanation other than a supernatural one. I would love to hear it. 
Take care,
Megan

Other sources: 
John Lennox, Can Science Explain Everything
Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus

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