Christianity is unique among the major religions in that its essential doctrines are based on the birth, life, death, and resurrection of its founder, Jesus. Its integrity stems from the credibility of these historical events.
Other major religions, such as Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, are based only on the teachings of their founders. Their fundamental doctrines do not hinge on the birth, life, or death of these men. The tenets of these faiths exist apart from these events.
Jesus Claimed To Be God
Jesus is the only founder of the world’s major religions who claimed to be God incarnate. Christianity would be reduced to a few platitudes without the historical confirmations of his deity.
Some founders of other major world religions declared themselves prophets of God, but none claimed to be God himself.
Jesus Fulfilled Prophecy
The Old Testament contains numerous prophecies about the coming Messiah.
Jesus fulfilled each of them, including those about his birthplace and childhood that he could not have engineered if he were merely human. Other men may have fulfilled some of these prophecies, but none fulfilled all of them concurrently.
For example, as prophesied, Jesus was a descendant of King David, but so were other men. He was born in Bethlehem, as prophesied, but so were other children. He spent part of his youth in Egypt, as prophesied, but it is likely that other young boys from Bethlehem also lived there for a while. He was eventually crucified, as prophesied, but other men also died this way.
But few of these other men, if any, were concurrently descendants of King David, born in Bethlehem, temporary residents of Egypt, and crucified.
None was the reason for the slaughter of young Bethlehem boys who were born about the same time as Jesus, which was prophesied.
Nor were they later betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, which was prophesied. And none defeated death by rising triumphantly from the grave, as prophesied.
The fulfillments of these and dozens of other Messianic prophecies by Jesus validate his deity.
No other founder of a major world religion fulfilled any written prophecies about their birth, life, and death.
Indeed, there were no prophecies to fulfill.
Jesus Performed Miracles
Jesus affirmed his divinity by performing many miracles.
Among other wondrous things, he turned water into wine, multiplied two fish and five loaves of bread to feed a large crowd, calmed a storm, healed the sick, and raised several people from the dead, including himself.
None of the founders of the other major religions certified their stature by performing any miracles, much less by rising from the dead.
Liar, Lunatic, Or Lord
Many unbelievers concur that Jesus was a great human teacher, but contend he was not God.
However, Jesus himself claimed to be God in the flesh. He was either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord of all.
If Jesus made this claim while knowing it was untrue, he was a liar. If he thought his claim was accurate when it was actually false, he was a delusional egomaniac.
However, if he made this claim because he knew it was valid, then he was indeed God incarnate.
No Credible Refutation
The Bible presents ample prophetic and historical evidence that Jesus was the Messiah.
The earliest copies of the four Gospels, which document his life, have been dated within a few decades of his death. No credible contemporaneous documents refuting these accounts have been discovered.
If these rebuttals ever existed, we would have more copies of them than we have of the Gospel accounts because they would have been widely disseminated by the religious and government leaders of the day who sought to discredit Jesus and destroy the early church.
Read More About Jesus
Jesus is the second person in the Trinity. His attributes are described throughout the Bible. There is a plausible explanation for his virgin birth. The supporting evidence for his resurrection confirms his deity.
