Atheists – Hearsay Is Not Good Enough

This is a fairly common complaint from atheists. “It might be a revelation to you” they say, “but after that, it's just hearsay.”

Not only are the historical accounts of Jesus life that were compiled into what we now call the New Testament not reliable, according to atheists, or believable, they're hearsay.

Atheists also think that these biographers lack credibility because the authors lived a long time ago. Just as though “Truth” has a best-before-date. So while, according to atheists, Jesus' followers couldn't accurately describe the three years they spent with Jesus, atheists, from a distance of 2,000 years can tell us exactly what did and did not happen during that time frame. 

That kind of thinking shouldn't surprise. Jesus also had to deal with the materialists of His day. They came in as many flavours as they do today. For example:

“The Pharisees objected, “All we have is Your word on this. We need more than this to believe.”

Gee, where have we heard that before?

Jesus replied, “You’re right that you only have My word. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don’t make judgements out of the NARROWNESS OF MY EXPERIENCE but in the largeness of the One who sent Me, the Creator, Father God. You are tied down to the mundane; I’m in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I’m living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. If you won’t believe I Am who I say I Am, you’re at a dead end in terms of learning.” John 8:14-18, 23,24.

The Bible has many, many verses whereby the authors record their dealing with those in their community who were materialists. These authors are trying to explain, both from evidence and from experience that there is much more to life than what meets the eye, or any of the other senses for that matter. For example:
Romans 1:1 . . . since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse [in not accepting His reality].”
Hebrews 11:3 - “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”
2nd Corinthians 5:12 - “We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again . . . so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.”
2nd Corinthians 4:18 - “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Rather than constricting life, as so many suppose, a life with Jesus at the centre and with God as the cause opens one’s mind to a storehouse of wisdom and knowledge that is simply unavailable to those who try to live life on their own terms. Humbly accepting that we are not the centre of the universe and opening ourselves to the wisdom of God is the most spiritually liberating move that a person can make. It is the most intellectually fulfilling move that a person can make. It is the most rational move that a person can make.

I've heard many an atheist complain that Jesus showed Himself to some people but not to us. Apparently, this is even worse than hearsay. He could show Himself, “and thereby remove all doubt,” but He won't. “If Jesus would show Himself to me then I could believe.” Sounds nice but it's either an outright lie or self-deception. You see Jesus appearing in front of an atheist would be a supernatural event, a miracle. Atheist's don't believe in miracles. Therefore if Jesus suddenly appeared, the atheist would soon come up with a natural or material explanation and would still remain firmly and determinedly on the road to self-destruction.

You heard it from me and I heard it from Jesus who told it to His disciples who wrote it down in short biographies. And that's just hearsay so – forget about it. Eat, drink and be merry!