Lastly in our series on Intelligent Faith, and my personal favorite (I like to save the best for last), is this point from Josh McDowell. To me, this is by far the most compelling, rational, convincing argument for the validity of Christianity!
What do you suppose would be the odds of 8 specific prophecies coming true in one person? Say, I predicted eight things about the president for the election year 2020, before we have any clue about who will even be around in twelve years—his name, where he was born (city and state), how many siblings he has, his father's occupation, where he went to college, his wife's name, how many kids he has, and how he is going to die someday.
The odds of me getting all 8 specific details correct about this future president would be 1 in 10 to the 17th power (1 with 17 zeros after it). Josh explains just how big this number is. It's like filling the entire state of Texas a few feet deep with silver dollars, putting one gold coin in the mix, blindfolding a person and giving them only one chance to walk the entire state and select the gold coin on the first try. More than impossible.
But get this! With Jesus, there were at least 30 major, specific prophecies fulfilled about Him, and many more minor prophecies. These prophecies were written hundreds and even thousands of years before He came to the earth. There's nothing so amazing that's ever happened before or since in the history of the world. Even with so many "psychics" in our day, none of them can get predictions right with any credibility. Their ability to get their own general (not specific) predictions right are way less than 25% and that's when they are only predicting things with 2 outcomes (will the Broncos win this weekend?). I can usually guess better than that.
With Jesus, we were told whose bloodline his mother and father would come from (David), what city He would be born in (Bethlehem), where He would grow up (Nazareth), how He would die (suffering on a cross), that He would be sold for 30 pieces of silver, what city He would die in (Jerusalem), that He would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey for His triumphal entry, that His followers would desert him when He died, that none of His bones would be broken in His death (a miracle in itself with a cross death as people's legs were usually broken at the end of the day to get it over with), that His side would be pierced, and many more.
If you want to see some for yourself, read the books of Isaiah and Zechariah. Both were written way before Christ's birth (about 600-700 years), and you will see prophecies everywhere about Jesus. It is so inspiring and amazing.
I hope the entries have strengthened your faith and given you some rational reasons why you believe what you do. In our world, it is imperative we have a logical basis for our faith!
In closing, I saw a silly church billboard this week in an email I received. "God doesn't believe in atheists, therefore they do not exist." Without a doubt, I think being an atheist takes much more "faith" than believing in God!