Fitch 1

Stephen Fitch

Professor Dennis Bohr

ENG 1000-129

12 December 2012

Table of Contents

Drafts (page) Assignment Title

2...................................................Narrative............The Miracle That Changed Me Forever

7...........................................Annotated Bibliography.....................Annotated Bibliography

12...........................................Analysis/Comparison.............................A Debate for Truth

18.............................................Argument.....The Question of All Time: The Divinity of Jesus

Christ

Revised Drafts (page)

22..................................................Narrative............................................Awakening

26.................................................Argument............................The Question of Jesus Christ

Other (page)

30................................................... Letter.............................................Dear Dr. Bohr

 Fitch 2

The Miracle That Changed Me Forever

Massive storm clouds rolled fiercely and ominously over intercity Baltimore. In distress

my team rushed to the bus station, attempting to beat the storm before lightning and rain obliter-

ated the terrain. At the same moment, a local pandemic of heat stroke and dehydration which

plagued some of our friends gave angst to the team. Recklessly and without warning, my friend

Katharine and I rushed toward our team with great strides of joy, hopping from one foot to the

next, screaming with our voices in utter ecstasy. As my team tried to restrain me to a level in

which I could clearly speak, I explained to them the supernatural, paranormal, and heavenly

event that I had just experienced, only to receive disbelief and refusal in return. Despite the fact

that my teammates thought I was hallucinating from heatstroke, they dared not take away my

bliss and euphoria or that of Katharine’s, my witness.

In the summer of 2010, about 100 other youth and I departed our church in Charlotte,

North Carolina for one of the poorest neighborhoods in the nation called Hampden, in Baltimore,

Maryland. Our mission there was simple: to love and serve anyone there who was in need of

compassion, food, labor, or an ear to listen to and learn from them. We spent a week there sleep-

ing about four to six hours a night with only a bedspread on concrete tile. Additionally, we

worked fourteen to sixteen hours per day with two changes of clothes that week and no showers

in scorching 90-100 degree summer temperatures. We attempted to live a week simply without

any extra-necessary possessions and persevering through challenging work to humble ourselves

to the reality of poverty and to emulate the lives of those we daily encountered.

I was immensely anxious about this endeavor, not only about its physical demands but its

spiritual demands as well. While in Hampden, we were encouraged not only to talk to those in

the community, but evangelize to them. Others in my team would go to talk with strangers at a
 Fitch 3

street corner or on the bus about faith, while I sat alone on the other side embarrassed and con-

fused. I felt like a professor who is in charge of teaching a class he knows nothing about, or a

military draftee who is put out on the front lines of combat without any training, gear, or

weapons -- I was hopeless. What have I gotten myself into? Am I being brainwashed into a sys-

tem that I do not understand or belong to? Who is God, if He even exists? Why am I expected to

know and communicate a faith I have never experienced? These questions started to itch my

mind and heart to a place of complete confusion and despair. Just like hunger is quenched by

food, these questions needed answers of some sort or my mental core and identity would “die”

and be crushed. What is Truth? Why do I feel broken? What is the purpose of life? If only I

knew the tasty meal to soothe my anguish was only days away from being served.

On the fourth day, my group and I headed to a local soup kitchen for low income or

needy people called “The Mana House.” While these questions were still probing and shattering

my soul internally, I was in charge of doing dishes for breakfast that thursday morning. I heard

the laughter and banter of about 350 hungry men, women and children who shuffled through the

line and were served their breakfast. Isolated, I was inside the kitchen my stomach felt like it was

slowly plunging into turmoil and desperation at my questions of life- my hunger was reaching

the extremes for survival. The loud and disruptive sounds of the clunky dish washer, along with

fiery-hot jets coming from the sink-hoses and kitchen staff yelling only elevated and illustrated

my internal battle. I felt as though I was a secretly wounded soldier who could not tell of my

shameful wound, but only bask in my weakness and brokenness. My team counselor then came

into the kitchen area to relieve me from the kitchen into the cafeteria where about five men were

still talking and relaxing at their seats. Just when I left my “battlefield” of troubles into what I
 Fitch 4

thought would be a peaceful place, a tidal wave of apprehension hit my chest and sent me spit-

ting out saltwater and crying for air.

As I looked straight at the tidal wave that hit me, I saw a kind and simple african-ameri-

can man with a pleasant countenance. Nonetheless my heart rate was racing and I began to

sweat, and this panic-attack or “tidal wave” was only triggered by the gazing upon of this inno-

cent man. I had no possible idea why I was so alarmed by this man, but something about him

startled me to the depth of my being, the depths that I cannot understand or control . I almost

told my “commanding officer”, or my team counselor about my “secret wound” and how I

thought I was legitimately going to have a heart attack after seeing this man. Instead, I took a

couple deep breaths and tried to get this feeling aside by calming down, pulling up a chair next to

this man and talking to him. So as the conversation began, nothing extreme or awesome oc-

curred, only meaningless small-talk about the weather, sports and the like. As my leader shortly

after signaled our leaving, I felt comfort to avoid this “tidal wave” without being swallowed up

in it. Our team prayed in a circle with this man and the other four, and then we departed. As we

were walking out of the doors of “The Mana House”, I could feel chills trickle down every nerve

to the ends of each limb of my body. My heartbeat started to accelerate again, and I could tangi-

bly feel my chest being punched out of shape by my heart. The whole inside cavern of my body

vibrated and echoed from the beating of my heart like a bell tower, and the shaking of my arms

caused pools of sweat to glide down them as I walked. My team marched ahead to reach the bus

stop, while I instinctually lagged behind. This peculiar man and the other four were waving us

off at the front steps behind us. I felt more nervous than ever before in my life, with butterflies

carving around the edges of my lungs. The fear I had of this man made me almost flee in cow-

ardice. My physical body was being pulverized by my heart at a solid and fast rhythm, while my
 Fitch 5

mind was being taunted with the foreboding image of this man: I knew that my interaction with

him was not finished, or I would regret this forever. My feet carried me to the edge of the side-

walk, and then everything stopped.

My body was then frozen while my mind was working at supersonic speeds. I started

picturing this man, and then all the events in my life flashed before my eyes -- and then it all

went black. Time then completely surrendered its progress and ceased to move. Everything was

silent and my thoughts were blank. Then I heard, in the most authoritative, resolute, booming

and audible voice of the Almighty Deity, the Living God of all Creation say, “His name is

Solomon. Go and ask if that is his name.” So without even thinking, I felt my feet being led

back to the front steps of the soup kitchen and my mouth was opened as I immediately said,

“Your name is Solomon, right?” He was immediately startled and overwhelmed, first with fear

and then excitement. He exclaimed, “How did you know my name? I didn’t tell anybody my

name! No one in your group should know my name!” I then explained to him of my message

from God, and he and I were overcome with joy. As I turned in zealous triumph, I saw

Katharine standing there in complete awe. She and I immediately embraced each other and

jumped up and down with dripping tears of joy. I remember those tender moments, in which I

screamed at the top of my lungs, “ God just spoke to me! I heard Him!” Katharine and I then

frolicked down to the rest of our team. As Katharine and I reached our team, the terrible storm

vanished, and the climate seemed to parallel the heavenly rapture of the moment.

As I reminisce on this event, I remember the feeling of pure joy, a joy that could never be

forgotten or taken from me. This virtue could only be from and through God, as a precious gift

to me. This gift was not just like a beautiful rose which someone only marvels at, but a seed that

has in the past years grown amazing fruit. I am now in awe of God everyday, and I constantly
 Fitch 6

rest myself on his rich soil. Although I doubt and feel broken everyday, I know that God has and

will sustain me. God has brought me from a life of brokenness seen through lust, drug use, alco-

hol, and smoking to a sober life of pure joy and relationship with my Creator. In my times of

doubt since, I would pray, “God, I want to see your supernatural power and know that you are

Lord so badly that I would rather be scared than continue to doubt.” Two hours later that night a

lightning bolt struck a building about 100 feet away from me. The next day after praying the

same thing, a flash-flood swept through my neighborhood up to six inches and knocked over

multiple hundred foot tall trees. Then last winter break, I prayed the same thing and later that

day I met a man from Israel who looked exactly like Jesus (in my perception). As I inspected

him more closely, I observed a circular purple and red scar on the inside of his wrists and ankles.

When I remember these events, the least I can do is enjoy them and be thankful for them to God.

“I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago”

(Psalm 77:11). The fact that I have faith in God means that it is not a matter which can be

proven, but only experienced. I cannot prove to everyone that I exist, but if you met me and ex-

perienced me, then you would not have a choice.

Annotated Bibliography

My topic is bluntly and unapologetically about God. My narrative was about when I first

encountered God through a life changing miracle. My specific topic for the analysis/comparative

paper is to compare Christianity to Islam, and in so doing illustrate the absolute statements,

grace, love, deity, identity, and invitation from Jesus Christ. My idea in that paper is to make Je-
 Fitch 7

sus look absolutely logical, ideal, and true, but that the assurance of Jesus’ Deity and Absolute

Truth hinges directly on the validity of His Death and Resurrection. For my argument paper, I

was going to try to provide conclusive evidence about Jesus’ Death and Resurrection using his-

tory, philosophy, and Old Testament Prophecy. The reader will have to assume the existence

and validity of Absolute Truth, a Sovereign Creator God, and Miracles before being able to ac-

cept Jesus’ Death, Resurrection, and ultimately His Deity and Living Truth.

Works Cited

Dodds, Adam. "The Abrahamic Faiths? Continuity and Discontinuity in Christian and Islamic
Doctrine." Evangelical Quarterly 81.3 (2009): 230-253. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 22 Oct. 2012.
Morden, Peter J. "C.H. Spurgeon and Suffering." Evangelical Review of Theology 35.4 (2011):
306-325. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.
Murray , Michael, and Michael Rea. "Philosophy and Christian Theology." The Stanford Ency-
clopedia of Philosophy (2012). Web 22 Oct. 2012.
Ottati, Douglas F. "Reformed Theology, Revelation, and Particularity: John Calvin and H.
Richard Niebuhr." Cross Currents 59.2 (2009): 127-143. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 22 Oct. 2012.
Souaiaia, A. E. "Reasoned and Inspired Beliefs: A Study of Islamic Theology." Muslim World
97.2 (2007): 331-349. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.

References
Bauckham, R. (2006). Jesus and the eyewitnesses. Grand Rapids: Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing
Co.
Carrell, P. R. (2012). Resurrection narratives and the bodily resurrection of the Risen Jesus.
Stimulus: The New Zealand Journal of Christian Thought & Practice,19(1), 2-8.
Geisler , N., & Turek, F. (2004). I don't have enough faith to be an atheist. Wheaton: Crossway.
 Fitch 8

Norman, D. J. (2008). Doubt and the resurrection of Jesus. Theological Studies, 69(4), 786-811.
Slick, M. (2011). Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry. Retrieved from
/http://carm.org/prophecy-bible-and-jesus

MLA Sources - for Paper #3

Adam Dodds’ "The Abrahamic Faiths? Continuity And Discontinuity In Christian And
Islamic Doctrine” is a scholarly article discussing the difference in Christian and Islamic doc-
trines but also their similarities. In doing so, the author discusses what being an “Abrahamic
Faith” truly means, and how Christianity and Islam, although thought to have stemmed from a
common thread, are much different. The author has written several scholarly articles on God’s
attributes and theology. He is biased toward Christianity, which I should keep in mind, but also
is the bias I will present in my papers as well. This paper will help me pinpoint theological dif-
ferences in these two faiths. Dodds’ purpose in this article is to inform and possibly persuade
readers of the differences between Islam and Christianity, and to lead them to Christ.

Peter J. Morden’s "C.H. Spurgeon And Suffering" is an article that provides the dire need
of a sinner to have the Savior Jesus Christ to represent and love him/her. Morden captures here
the essence and life of a mightily prolific Christian, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who changed the
spiritual landscape of England in the 19th century. Morden is a staff member and chaplain of
Spurgeon College in England. He is definitely biased towards Christ, as this is a christian work.
This article informs readers of Spurgeon’s sufferings in his life and how that helped him to know
and love Jesus Christ.

Michael Murray and Michael Rea’s "Philosophy and Christian Theology” is an online
encyclopedia entry present an extremely brief but pointed overview of the Christian faith in the-
ology with four main sections: an introduction, the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Atonement.
Once again, this will be greatly biased, as the writers are Christians. These authors are two writ-
ers for Stanford’s Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which is reputable. This work will help me artic-
ulate central Christian doctrines.

Douglas F. Ottati’s “"Reformed Theology, Revelation, And Particularity: John Calvin

And H. Richard Niebuhr” is a scholarly article which will guide me in articulating even more in
depth and specific details of Christian doctrines and the Person and Work of Jesus. John Calvin
 Fitch 9

is a renown theologian and bible scholar who provided the foundation for what we call “re-
formed theology,” which convey the most extreme view of God’s grace and humanity’s deprav-
ity in view of hope, redemption, and reconciliation to God. The author once again is biased to-
wards Jesus, but that’s fine by me.

E. A. Souaiaia’s “Reasoned And Inspired Beliefs: A Study Of Islamic Theology” is a

seemingly unbiased scholarly article on basic Islamic Theology. This is important for me to
have, since I have all this other material and knowledge for Christian doctrines and theology.
Even with much exciting truths about Christian doctrines, I need a foundation of Islamic Theol-
ogy to juxtapose with, and this work will provide that, along with Dodds’ Abrahamic Faiths
work. I may also quote the Quaran and definitely the Bible to juxtapose my points.

APA Sources - for Paper #4

Richard Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses is an incredible scholarly published

book which wrestles with the question of how the New Testament Gospels were heard, shared,
and ultimately recorded as we now have them today. Bauckham argues that through rigorous ex-
amination of the text and comparison with other ancient records of the time, the Gospels were
accurate, direct eyewitness records (primary sources), or accounts of eyewitness testimony (sec-
ondary sources). Richard Bauckham is biased towards Jesus and the infallibility of the Bible,
and he is also a renown New Testament Scholar. This book will help me show conclusive valid-
ity the Gospels, which directly correlate to grounds for the Death and Resurrection.

R. P. Carrell’s “Resurrection Narratives and the Bodily Resurrection of the Risen Jesus”
is a Journal Article about the validity of Jesus and His Resurrection. This work is not very tech-
nical or deep, but gives a nice overview which I can use for an outline on giving a validity about
Jesus’ identity in His Death and Resurrection. This is from a journal of Christian Thought, so I
know it is biased towards Christ, but that’s okay because I am too.

Norman Giesler and Frank Turek’s book, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist is
a semi-scholarly/public book on apologetics, the defense of the Christian Faith using philosophy,
theology, history, and science. They are both believers, Geisler has debated in all fifty states and
twenty-five countries for the Christian Faith through apologetics, and has a PhD in Philosophy.
Frank Turek has a Doctorate in Ministry and is a revered public speaker and lecturer. This book
is for an audience of anyone doubting or questioning Christianity. It can greatly help me with its
insight to Jesus‘ eyewitnesses, and the historical support to his death and resurrection.
 Fitch 10

J. D. Norman’s “Doubt and the Resurrection” is a scholarly work which will equip me to
describe in my last paper the disparity between the evidence and case for Jesus and the following
belief. Since it is so natural not to fully embrace Jesus because of our sin, we doubt. This work
by Norman, a scholar from Newman Theological College, will help me bridge those gaps be-
tween evidence and action, and will help with my philosophical and emotional appeal to my pa-
per. This work was written to inform, but ultimately to persuade scholars, or even average
Christians like me, unto Christ even more.

Matt Slick’s article “Jesus, the Bible and Prophecy” articulates the approximately 300
prophecies in the Old Testament about Jesus and how many of them were historically and bibli-
cally fulfilled. This article will give another dimension to my argument paper, showing that
Prophets as far as 1500 years before Christ, prophesied about Him meticulously and accurately.
Jesus was and is the fulfillment of every thing we and Creation have needed, and the Old Testa-
ment confirms that. This online article was written on CARM (the Christian Apologetics & Re-
search Ministry) for anyone searching for faith and Truth. Slick is definitely a Christian as well,
so I will have to keep that bias in mind.

Conclusion

Doing this research was very sobering, refreshing, and relieving to me, because I had not
yet known if the information I needed would be easily available. I am excited to write these pa-
pers, and I might possibly need to consult more sources, but this is definitely a very solid founda-
tion to start with. This paper is extremely useful for me in writing my next two papers,

because I need these sources for any credible and scholarly assertions about things that I want to
assert. I have enough research here for the broad areas of each of my sub-topics in paper three
and four, but further research might be needed to assert very specific ideas within these sub-top-
ics. I am glad, and surprised at the amount of resources I have just on the Appalachian library
website in article pdf files, I didn’t even have to retrieve any hard copy books, except the one
that I have. Jesus and the Eyewitnesses is actually half- viewable on google books, so I’m going
to use that instead of buying that book.
 Fitch 11

A Debate for Truth

Throughout all human cultures, time periods, and nations there have been many great

questions, many of which have gone unanswered. The most controversial, provoking, peculiar,

and mysterious may perhaps be “who or what created us humans and this universe”, “what is the

purpose of life”, or more precisely, “who is God?” These longings are ubiquitously manifest in

ancient animist beliefs in a spiritual realm which are still held in many native people groups to-
 Fitch 12

day such as Native Americans, Aborigines, Native Balinese, et cetera. Nowadays, these ques-

tions are still being asked, but in new guises of study such as existential philosophy, religious

theology, all the way to post-modern scientism. Despite connotational diction, everyone ac-

knowledges a ‘God’, whether it be a scientist who may call the designer the ‘universe’ or ‘en-

ergy’, the religious fundamentalist who says ‘Yahweh’, or a hippie who names it ‘Love’. These

timeless questions of absolute Truth are of ultimate importance, which Islam and Christianity

both uniquely claim an exclusive answer.

Islam and Christianity have a unique connection that goes back into antiquity and come

from a common idea of monotheism. According to religious studies scholar Adam Dodds,

“Christians and Muslims all look to the patriarch/prophet Abraham as one of the greatest models

of faith. Furthermore, Jews, Christians and Muslims all – to some extent – claim lineal descent

from Abraham” (234). Abraham, traditionally seen as the first to believe in the one and only true

God, is a central doctrine in what can be called the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Chris-

tianity, and Islam.

Islam is a religion that came about as a result from the Prophet Muhammed who wrote

the Qur’an, the sacred text of the muslims, praised as God’s divine Word. In the Islamic faith,

Dodds states again,

“Surah [Qur’an] 3:3 reads, ‘It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the

Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the

Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind...’ The Qur’an depicts itself as

the last revealed Holy Book, confirming and superseding previous scriptures” (243).

Interestingly, Mohammed states here in the Qur’an that the Christian Old and New Testaments

were valid and a part to Islam. Therefore, Muslims would not only read and obey the Qur’an,
 Fitch 13

but also the Bible as well. They believe that the Qur’an is the next book of revelation from God,

with Mohammed as the last Prophet in the line before him such as Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Je-

sus, et cetera. Furthermore, the Qur’an is then also thought to be the continuation and authority

over its preceding Christian Scriptures, which are believed to also be inspired as God’s Word by

both religions.

Inherently, due to the shared text, the Bible, Islam agrees with Christianity on various

foundational levels of doctrine. Firstly, they both are monotheist, or worship one true God.

They both believe that this God is omnipotent, omni-benevolent, and omniscient: that is, all-

powerful, all-good, and all-seeing or knowing. Both also agree that God is also perfectly just,

holy, glorious as well as full of grace and mercy. In both, man is sinful and will be eternally

condemned without repentance but can be saved for paradise or heaven.

Adversely, the root division in belief between these groups is the belief that Jesus Christ

was and is divine. According to apostle Paul, representative of the early church, “Christ died for

our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the

third day in accordance with the scriptures” (New International Version 1 Cor. 15.3,4). Also,

John, one of Jesus‘ twelve declares, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who

is himself God” (New International Version John 1.18). Poles apart, Mohammed states in the

Qur’an, “And they did not kill him [Jesus], nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to

resemble him to them...And they did not kill him, for certain” (Sahih International Surah 4:157).

Christ’s substitutionary and sacrificial propitiation and resurrection as fully God and fully man is

the nucleus of the Christian faith. Succinctly, Dodds states, “Christian and Islamic beliefs con-

cerning Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are irreconcilably contradictory” (242).

 Fitch 14

Therefore, the resurrected Christ implicates Islamic views of salvation, justice, revela-

tion, glory, love, et cetera. In a sense, both of these faiths have a similar-looking structure from

the outside, but the foundations are immensely different. If, as Christians believe, Jesus was God

incarnate for us and fully human, then understanding of God completely changes. We then, for

example, see God as someone that humbles Himself below everyone else, and loves to the de-

gree of dying for everyone, so that He can be perfect on our behalf. This gives a more intimate

picture of God’s justice, who can forgive evil, sinful men through Christ’s perfect life and death,

so that no evil deed goes unpunished. This also illustrates in a different sense God’s holiness,

that we cannot approach Him by merit or without being perfect, and only Christ is perfect.

If one of these holy books is true and divine, than it totally implicates the other just on the

premise of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Since the Qur’an was written roughly 600 years after

its revered New Testament and contradicts its theology about Jesus, the Qur’an seems question-

able. In light of this, scholar A. E. Souaiaia writes, “As a religion with deep roots in Judaism and

Christianity, Islam did not have to articulate a new theological dogma. It merely affirmed all that

is valid in those two traditions and rejected the few doctrines that it did not see as valid” (346).

Due to Christ’s divinity, either the Qur’an is false and the Bible is either true or false as God’s

Word, or the Qur’an is true and the New Testament, which is its foundational scripture, is false.

Moreover, I find it peculiar that the Qur’an talks about Jesus and supposedly follows the

teaching of the Bible, but disregards an event that is the center of all four gospel accounts, and

every epistle in the New Testament, as well as prophesied by many of the prophets and psalms in

the Old Testament: Jesus‘ death and resurrection. This event, which occurred around 600 years

earlier, is seemingly rejected by Mohammed, even though the validity of the New Testament is

affirmed by muslims. This contradiction seems confusing and mysterious.

 Fitch 15

A few hundred years after the New Testament was written many gnostic gospels were

written such as “the Gospel of Thomas”, “the Gospel of Judas”, et cetera. These works are

known as pseudepigrapha, because the actual authors falsely attribute the work to a past dead

historical figure, rendering the works invalid. According to Dr. Anis Shorrosh in a debate of Is-

lam and Christianity, the brother of Mohammed’s first wife, a Christian pastor, translated a gnos-

tic gospel of Jesus from hebrew to arabic which heavily influenced Mohammed’s views of Jesus.

Furthermore, historians also believe that Mohammed visited his wife’s brother very often who

performed a Christian wedding for Mohammed with his sister (“Islam vs. Christianity”). There-

fore, this skewed Mohammed’s view of Jesus according to the false gospel and influenced his

later twenty three years of writing the Qur’an to support this gnostic gospel’s teaching. This is

interesting, because the gnostic gospels are infamous for removing the divinity of Christ and His

death and resurrection.

To truly know the Truth that may lie in these faiths, finding evidence for or against the

death and resurrection would be pivotal. If Jesus historically did live perfectly, die, and rise

from the dead, than the Bible truly is the Word of God. Even though anyone can doubt or reject

Truth, Jesus is unique in that we can study evidence for his life and prophecy in the Old Testa-

ment as well. Truth is that which corresponds to reality, but in Jesus’ claim, “I am the way, the

Truth, and the life” we find that Truth can be a person to befriend (New International Version

John 14.6). Although Islam and Christianity are very different, their similarities are just as stun-

ning. To seek Truth is to sober ourselves that we are so small and know so little.
 Fitch 16

Works Cited

Dodds, Adam. "The Abrahamic Faiths? Continuity and Discontinuity in Christian and Islamic

Doctrine." Evangelical Quarterly 81.3 (2009): 230-253. Academic Search Complete.

“Islam vs. Christianity.” The John Ankerberg Show. Perf. James Badawi et al. Dir. John Anker-

berg. Chattanooga. 1991. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.

New International Version Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011. Print

Sahih International Qur’an. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. <http://quran.com//>

Souaiaia, A. E. "Reasoned and Inspired Beliefs: A Study of Islamic Theology." Muslim World

97.2 (2007): 331-349. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.

 Fitch 17

The Question of All Time:

The Divinity of Jesus Christ

Most would contend that no more familiarity, inspiration, hope, but also confu-

sion, mystery, and controversy can be found in any one man in the history of the world

but that of Jesus of Nazareth: the central figure of the world’s most prominent religion

and of the most bought and stolen book, the Bible. Therefore, the question with the

most gravity logically due this extraordinary man is this: was he really who he claimed to

be in the New Testament? Did he truly perform miracles and die and rise from the

dead? The pivotal niche of faith is trusting or believing something without proof of see-

ing it. Being that this is a matter of faith, I do not claim to demolish the necessity of faith

by giving you a perfect ‘sight’ into absolute Truth. I am merely going to open a window

into a possibility to see things in a new light, to consider the most controversial Truth of

all. In saying that, I am also humbled to critically interrogate my own beliefs in this

process of questioning through research, dialogue and doubt. According to conclusive

 Fitch 18

objective evidence presented by history, eyewitness accounts and prophetic scripture,

Jesus Christ died and resurrected, and is thus divine.

In order to consider the validity of Jesus’ death and resurrection, one has to ac-

cept a few conditionals: Absolute Truth exists, God (a Creator) exists, and miracles ex-

ist. With that foundation, we can examine some evidence. Firstly, we must probe the

New Testament. New Testament writers claim to have been eyewitnesses or interview-

ers of eyewitnesses of Christ. According to Luke, an interviewer who wrote of a New

Testament Gospel, “just as they [the accounts of Jesus] were handed down to us by

those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word” (New Interna-

tional Version, 2011, Luke 1.2). Also the eyewitness, apostle Peter wrote, “but we were

eyewitnesses of his [Jesus’] majesty” and apostle John, “The life appeared; we have

seen it [Jesus] and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life” (New Interna-

tional Version, 2011, 2 Peter 1.16, 1 John 1.2).

In a lengthy, extensive book I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (2004),

Frank Turek and Norman Geisler, Christian scholars and apologists, state, “The New

Testament contains at least four to six lines of early, independent written testimony” (p.

273). In the book they thoroughly analyzs the New Testament’s statements and juxta-

pose them with other anti-Christian eyewitnesses of the day, such as historian Jose-

phus who states,

At this time [the time of Pilate] there was a wise man who was called Jesus. His

conduct was good and (he) was known to be virtuous... They [the disciples]

reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he

was alive (Antiquities of the Jews Book XVIII 3.3,4).

 Fitch 19

As a highly praised roman historian, Josephus would not describe Jesus as he is stated

in Scripture if it were not true, for he had no reason to.

Scholars believe that the early church passed down a memorized and rhythmic

chant which stated the words of the original eyewitnesses themselves, as Paul recants,

that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that

he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared

to Cephas [Peter], and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than

five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time (New International

Version, 2011, 1 Corinthians 5.3-6).

There is no other logical explanation for the booming birth of the early church and the

fearless martyrdoms of all the apostles and countless early Christians other than Jesus‘

death and resurrection, as stated in this chant and all of New Testament Gospels and

epistles.

Around 700 B.C.E., a prophet named Isaiah wrote these words: “But he was

pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that

brought us piece was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” ( New International

Version, 2011, Isaiah 53.5). After a first glance, most readers would assume that this is

about Jesus, some would even venture to say it is Scripture from the New Testament.

Astoundingly, this Scripture is from the major prophet book of Isaiah in the Old Testa-

ment. Forty eight prophecies were written in the Old Testament concerning the coming

Messiah, such as being: born of a virgin, being born of the line of Abraham, Isaac, Ja-

cob and David, being the Son of God, born in Bethlehem, become a Priest, King,

Prophet and Judge, crucifixion by piercings in the arms and ankles, et cetera (Slick). A
 Fitch 20

scientist half a century ago named Peter Stoner wrote a book named Science Speaks

(1944) which stated that the probability of a random person fulfilling eight of Jesus’ mes-

sianic prophecies was 1 x 10 to the 17th power, 1 x 10 to the 13th being considered im-

possible (Slick).

Although these truths seem difficult to believe, they are the objective facts. Faith

would not be called faith without believing in what we cannot understand, see or fathom.

Just as for the early Christians, today we do not understand everything but can still live

for something worth dying for, and hold on to convictions worth everything.

References

Geisler , N., Turek, F. (2004). I don't have enough faith to be an atheist. Wheaton:

Crossway.

Slick, M. (2011). Prophecy, the bible and jesus. Christian Apologetics & Research

Ministry. Retrieved from /http://carm.org/prophecy-bible-and-jesus

New International Version Bible. (2011). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews.

 Fitch 21

Awakening

Massive storm clouds rolled fiercely and ominously over intercity Baltimore. Alerted, my

team rushed to the bus station, attempting to beat the storm before lightning and rain obliterated

the terrain. Recklessly, my friend Katharine and I rushed toward our peers with great strides of

joy, screaming. I zealously explained to them the supernatural and heavenly event that I had just

experienced. Despite the fact that my they thought I was hallucinating from heatstroke, they

dared not take away my bliss and euphoria or that of Katharine’s, my witness.

In the summer of 2010, about 100 other youth and I departed our church in Charlotte,

North Carolina for one of the poorest neighborhoods in the nation called Hampden, in Baltimore,

Maryland. Our mission there was simple: to share love with everyone, especially those in need

of compassion, food, or labor. During a scorching summer of about 100 degree days, we at-

tempted to live simply with only essential possessions, by packing a pair of shirts and pants,

sleeping on tile floor, and without taking showers. We therefore attempted to humble ourselves

to the reality of poverty and to emulate the lives of those we daily encountered.
 Fitch 22

I was immensely anxious about this endeavor for both its physical and spiritual demands.

We were encouraged not only to talk to those in the community, but evangelize to them. My

friends would go talk about faith with strangers at a street corner or on the bus, while I sat alone,

embarrassed and confused. I felt like a professor in charge of teaching a class he knows nothing

about.

“What have I gotten myself into,” I thought. “Am I being brainwashed into a system

that I do not understand or belong to? Who is God, if He even exists? Why am I expected to

know and communicate a faith I have never experienced?” These questions started to itch my

mind and heart to a place of despair and unknowing. These questions needed answers of some

sort or whatever identity and joy I had would be lost. “What is Truth? Why do I feel broken?

What is the purpose of life?”

On the fourth day, we headed to a local soup kitchen for low income or needy people

called the Manna House. While these questions were still probing my soul, I was in charge of do-

ing dishes for breakfast. I heard the laughter and banter of about 350 hungry men, women, and

children who shuffled through the line. Isolated, I was inside the kitchen and my stomach felt

like it was slowly plunging into turmoil at my desire for Truth. The loud and disruptive sounds of

the clunky dishwasher, along with fiery-hot sink-hose jets and kitchen staff yelling only elevated

and illustrated my internal battle. Finally, I went into the cafeteria where about five men were

still talking and relaxing at their seats.

 Fitch 23

Sitting there was a kind and simple African-American man with a pleasant countenance.

Abruptly, my heart started racing as my body felt cool sweats and shivers down the spine. “Am I

getting the heat stroke they warned about,? Why? I’m inside, surely not me,” I thought. My soul

recognized something that my mind could not understand about this man. I felt a deep anxiety

about him which startled me to the depth of my being, the depths that I could not fathom or con-

trol. I instinctually assumed this must have been some physical condition. I took a couple deep

breaths and talked to this man. Only insignificant small-talk about the weather, sports and the

like resulted. Our team prayed in a circle with this man and the other four, and then we departed.

As we were walking out, the whole inside cavern of my body vibrated and echoed from

the beating of my heart like a bell tower, and the shaking of my arms caused pools of sweat to

glide down them. This peculiar man and the other four were waving to us from the front steps

behind us. I felt as if butterflies were tickling around the edges of my lungs in my nervousness.

My conscience was being taunted with the mysterious image of this man: I knew that my interac-

tion with him was not finished, or I would regret this forever. My team marched ahead to reach

the bus stop, while I lagged behind. My feet carried me to the edge of the sidewalk, and then ev-

erything stopped.

My body was frozen while my mind was working at supersonic speeds. Time completely

surrendered its progress and ceased to move. Everything was silent and my thoughts were blank.

Then I heard a quiet, yet confident voice inside me say, “His name is Solomon. Go and ask him

if that is his name.” So without even thinking, I felt my feet being led back to the front steps of

the soup kitchen and my mouth was opened as I immediately said, “Your name is Solomon,

right?” He was shocked, first with fear and then excitement. He exclaimed, “How did you know

my name? I didn’t tell anybody my name! No one in your group should know my name!” I ec-
 Fitch 24

statically explained to him how I knew his name, because I intuitively knew I could not have

known any other way: this was divine intervention, a miracle, interaction with the supernatural.

As I turned in triumph, I saw Katharine standing there in complete awe. She and I im-

mediately jumped up and down, feeling the weightlessness of ecstasy. I screamed at the top of

my lungs, “ God just spoke to me! I heard Him!” As Katharine and I returned to our friends, the

terrible storm vanished, and the climate seemed to parallel the heavenly rapture of the moment.

The veil of ignorance and apathy was lifted. The wall of oppression had fallen. I must

never make a mockery of my conscience: I have seen the glimmer of the light at the end of the

tunnel, the voice of Truth. Now I must resolve to loyally honor that voice, lest in vain I become

an insane fool.
 Fitch 25

The Question of Jesus Christ

Most would contend that no more familiarity, inspiration, hope, but also confu-

sion, mystery, and controversy can be found in any one man in the history of the world

but that of Jesus of Nazareth: the central figure of the world’s most prominent religion

and of the most bought and stolen book, the Bible. Therefore, the question with the

most gravity logically due this extraordinary man is this: was he really who he claimed to

be in the New Testament? Did he truly perform miracles and die and rise from the

dead? The pivotal niche of faith is trusting or believing something without proof of see-

ing it. Being that this is a matter of faith, I do not claim to demolish the necessity of faith

by giving you a perfect ‘sight’ into absolute Truth. I am merely going to open a window

into a possibility to see things in a new light, to consider the most controversial Truth of

all. A window which can only be entered in a meek, curious, and willful manner. In say-

ing that, I am also humbled to critically interrogate my own beliefs in this process of

questioning through research, dialogue and doubt. According to conclusive objective

evidence presented by history, eyewitness accounts and prophetic scripture, Jesus

Christ died and resurrected, and is thus divine.

In order to consider the validity of Jesus’ death and resurrection, one has to ac-

cept a few conditionals: Absolute Truth exists, God, or a Creator, exists, and miracles

exist. With that foundation, we can examine some evidence. Firstly, we must examine

the New Testament. New Testament writers claim to have been eyewitnesses or inter-
 Fitch 26

viewers of eyewitnesses of Christ’s death and resurrection, such as the Apostles Peter

and John, who were each claimed to be eyewitnesses of Jesus in 2 Peter 1:16, 1 John

1:2.. According to Luke, an interviewer who wrote of a New Testament Gospel, “just as

they [the accounts of Jesus] were handed down to us by those who from the first were

eyewitnesses and servants of the word” (New International Version, 2011, Luke 1.2).

By juxtaposing the accounts of these biblical eyewitnesses, we can recognize that they

all saw many of the same events through different perspectives just like any eyewitness

would, such as Jesus’ death and resurrection. “One person could have forged all the

New Testament books though,” says the skeptic. Well firstly, the Bible, is not one ac-

count or book, but rather a volume of different writers who wrote from different times

and perspectives. Secondly, if these eyewitness accounts are credible, then we should,

and do, find contemporary, non-Christian verifying testimonies.

Frank Turek and Norman Geisler (2004), Christian scholars and apologists,

state, “The New Testament contains at least four to six lines of early, independent writ-

ten testimony” (p. 273). They also thoroughly analyzed the New Testament’s state-

ments and juxtapose them with other anti-Christian eyewitnesses of the day, such as

historian Josephus who states,

At this time [the time of Pilate] there was a wise man who was called Jesus. His

conduct was good and (he) was known to be virtuous... They [the disciples]

reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he

was alive (Antiquities of the Jews XVIII 3.3,4).

As a highly praised roman historian, Josephus would not describe Jesus as he is stated

in Scripture if it were not true, for he had no reason to. Turek and Geisler mention oth-
 Fitch 27

ers, saying, “Including Josephus, there are ten known non-Christian writers who men-

tion Jesus within 150 years of his life” (p.222). There is no refusing that history confirms

the existence of a man named Jesus who was revered by followers and supposedly

died a tragic death. So he exists, but is he divine? Let’s look even more at Scripture.

Around 700 B.C.E., a prophet named Isaiah wrote these words: “But he was

pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that

brought us piece was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” ( New International

Version, 2011, Isaiah 53.5). After a first glance, most readers would assume that this is

about Jesus, some would even venture to say it is Scripture from the New Testament.

Astoundingly, this Scripture is from the major prophet book of Isaiah in the Old Testa-

ment. While the Hebrew Scripture is filled with Messianic allegory, there are forty eight

specific prophecies such as being: born of a virgin, being born of the line of Abraham,

Isaac, Jacob and David, being the Son of God, born in Bethlehem, become a Priest,

King, Prophet and Judge, crucifixion by piercings in the arms and ankles, et cetera

(Slick). A scientist half a century ago named Peter Stoner wrote a book named Science

Speaks (1944) which stated that the probability of a random person fulfilling eight of Je-

sus’ messianic prophecies was 1 x 10 to the 17th power, 1 x 10 to the 13th power being

considered impossible (Slick).

How could forty eight prophecies be written about Jesus hundreds of years be-

fore he was born? Combining that with ten other non and sometimes anti-Christian his-

torians who testify about Jesus, Jesus’ deity is a daunting and intimidating question. Ul-

timately, it is our own task to find out. As echoed in Jesus’ charge to Simon Peter,

“Who do you say that I am” ( New International Version, 2011, Luke 9.20)?
 Fitch 28

References

Geisler , N., Turek, F. (2004). I don't have enough faith to be an atheist. Wheaton:

Crossway.

Slick, M. (2011). Prophecy, the bible and Jesus. Christian Apologetics & Research

Ministry. Retrieved from /http://carm.org/prophecy-bible-and-jesus

New International Version Bible. (2011). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews.

 Fitch 29

Dear Dr. Bohr,

As a writer, I tend to be strong at providing some sort of basic structure and flow. I also

like to use many metaphors, scholarly diction, and sophisticated phrasing. Due to my focus in

embellishments and sophistication, I forfeit good technique in other areas. My organization is

fair, but my flow and logic is many times difficult to follow. Since my strength is being passion-

ate about my topic and use vibrant vocabulary to convey that, my writing many times is difficult

to follow. My thought process can be hard to understand also because I am very biased by my

own jargon and knowledge of specific things that many others are not. I do a terrible job also at

making sentences flow transitionally, in a rhetorically, grammatically, and logically smooth way.

My spelling is fine for the most part but my grammar is a weakness many times also.

In Journal 5 I self-assessed my writing style very similarly to how I described it above.

My main problem that I also highlighted in that journal is that, “ I have realized that my sen-

tence, idea, and thought flow is not fluid, but rather clunky and unorganized.” I also talk about

the fact that my writing had slowly improved through my high school english classes. I talked

about my use and often overuse of sophisticated diction. This assessment I took of my writing in

the beginning of this semester definitely came true still now. In writing my previous four papers

this semester, I have encountered my own over-sophistication and lack of fluency in my papers.

I continually do the same things: focus on a few details and ornamentations, without making the

papers solid throughout in structure, flow, and efficient points and details.

I start my papers by writing on a piece of paper an outline with one sentence for the intro-

duction, each body paragraph, and the conclusion. I then write down specific details I want to

convey, and the rough thesis statement. After that I start typing the paper beginning to end, start-
 Fitch 30

ing with the first introductory sentence, which is the most difficult many times. Sometimes I

skip writing an outline on paper and just start typing the paper outright. I think writing an out-

line works the best for me, because I continually refer to it throughout writing the paper to make

sure I have a focus and plan. Having a plan always helps me be assured of some kind of robust

structure throughout the paper.

To create a final product, I normally reread my first rough draft many times. I edit

mainly content issues rather than conventions to start with. I make things more organized, logi-

cal, and flow better with the first few quick edits. I then get peer feedback from my roommate or

classmates, or you, which give me more suggestions on content solutions. I then do the most re-

vising, sometimes changing or removing whole paragraphs, and many times drastically change

parts of the body, and the ending as well. This has changed slightly since high school, in which I

had far less papers due and they were much more informal. Now I have to write many more pa-

pers and the structure, citations, conventions, and effectiveness is far more important than before.

I used to just receive feedback from my mother and revise my paper once and sometimes twice

through with conventions and content changes. Now, my process is slightly different, with more

peers giving feedback, and I perform many more revisions.

My narrative was my favorite paper to write because it was very relieving, and exhilarat-

ing to recapture one of my best memories in my life. I was actually very fun to write and did not

even feel like work, but rather a fun journal entry about a great experience. I was so excited

about writing it, in fact, I used too many metaphors and sophisticated language which is often my

downfall. It is obvious from my opening line, “Massive storm clouds rolled fiercely and omi-

nously over intercity Baltimore,” that I was very passionate about describing this event. I think

that I did a good job of “showing and not just telling”, but giving much detail and metaphors.
 Fitch 31

An example of my metaphor usage is my statement, “As we were walking out, the whole inside

cavern of my body vibrated and echoed from the beating of my heart like a bell tower, and the

shaking of my arms caused pools of sweat to glide down them.” I choose to use this paper as a

final revised draft because I enjoyed writing it, and think it was my most successful paper this se-

mester.

Contrastingly, the annotated bibliography was my least favorite paper to write because it

was very boring to me. Since I had never before written one, it was a worthwhile paper to write

for future practice. The citing in the annotated bibliography was somewhat difficult, as well as

finding good sources and describing exactly how I was going to use each one. I actually did not

even use all the sources that I thought I would in my bibliography, which may be obvious be-

cause it was so difficult for me to find an exact and unique use for all the sources.

I learned the most by writing my analysis paper, not about writing necessarily, but about

my topic. I chose to compare Christianity to Islam. I had known very little about Islam, and

now I know a little more but still not that much. That paper was pretty easy for me to write for

the rough draft. I choose not to use that paper for the revised final because the points I made

were very unclear and hard to follow, and would take much more research and many more pages

to convey the points I attempt to make. In talking about the Qur’an validity of Truth, for exam-

ple, I state, “Since the Qur’an was written roughly 600 years after its revered New Testament and

contradicts its theology about Jesus, the Qur’an seems questionable.” I could write a one hun-

dred page paper with this single sentence as a thesis statement for example, just to explain this

specific point in my paper. This is one example of how this paper was difficult for me to ex-

plain, because theology is very intellectual, scholarly, philosophical, and difficult to understand,

interpret, and communicate.

 Fitch 32

The argument paper was another paper I enjoyed writing, because I read about and am

very interested in the subject: Jesus’ Divinity. This topic is one of my favorites to read about and

study on a daily basis, so it was fun to apply what I am interested in into my paper. Like the anal-

ysis paper, this paper could seem difficult to follow and would many more pages and research to

give truly conclusive and concrete evidence from multiple angles (that’s why I referenced the

book I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, which does just that). Unlike the analysis pa-

per though, I could make the argument paper concise by summarizing the main points instead of

needing to elaborate on each one for multiple pages (mainly due to the help of the book). I

thought I did a fair job of describing the main points to the argument for Jesus’ death and resur-

rection. I made this paper more specific, by giving conditionals, “In order to consider the valid-

ity of Jesus’ death and resurrection, one has to accept a few conditionals: Absolute Truth exists,

God, or a Creator, exists, and miracles exist. With that foundation, we can examine some evi-

dence.” Even with these in place, this paper could be hundreds of pages (such as the book) but I

tried to make it concise.

I choose to rewrite my narrative because it was my favorite and most invested paper, be-

cause it was about my favorite memory to share and think about. I also knew that it had the best

writing I did this semester as well, so it was worth editing and polishing for a grade and for my

own enjoyment. I also choose to revise the argument paper because I was also interested and

passionate about it as well. It was harder to do as well on the argument paper, because it was a

completely different genre with many difficult abstract concepts to consider and try to describe.

I knew these two papers were better than the rest of mine this semester, and I am the most pas-

sionate and interested in them both.

 Fitch 33

I thought the most helpful activity we did in class was the free writing and focused free

writing in Journal 8. This helped me write without concern of a grade or criticism, and it brought

about some of my better writing as well. The focused free write also was interested because it

made me concentrate on something, but that still did not distract or intimidate me to perform

badly either. Sometimes when I write for a class, or just journal on my own, I am so critical of

what the teacher will think or what I think that I write less or not as well as I should or could.

The free write allowed me just flow words directly from my mind to the paper, which is helpful

and what I need to do more often. It allowed me to accept that it might not be good the first time,

but just to do it anyway and be confident in it.

The peer feedback was pretty helpful to me and I think it was fairly helpful to my peers

as well. Zach, Beth and I made use of the online forums for feedback but making many sugges-

tions to each other. These suggestions helped me consider several changes, whether significant

or insignificant, to make my paper more meaningful, organized, and potent. It was also helpful

to read others’ paper and learn and adopt from other styles and ideas of writing. I think that edit-

ing each others’ papers in person would be much more effective and productive rather than

through asulearn, but we could have adjusted. Your feedback was also definitely helpful, but I

think I (and the rest of the students in the class) mainly had to rely on our peers for the main

feedback, which is a good setup strategy for the class.

I liked writing the one topic format for all the papers for multiple reasons. First, we had

the freedom to choose something we are interested in, whatever that may be. Second, our

sources were able to be used in multiple papers which was convenient. Third, we got to learn

even more about a topic that interests us, which made it fun. Fourth, it made the thought process

of each paper flow from one to the next, which made each paper easier to write and I could learn
 Fitch 34

things in one paper to apply to the next. This concept of a one topic format is productive, inter-

active, and made this class very enjoyable for me, thank you. The only dislike I would have for

this one topic format is for those who wanted to do different topics, or who are interested in their

topic but could not come up with a subtopic for some of the papers, which was not the case for

me.

This whole portfolio has helped me as a writer in a few ways. Since I have written more

now than I ever have before in my life, I was able to see much more commonly the errors and

weaknesses that I have as a writer, but also my strengths. By seeing these much more frequently,

I could quickly learn from them and apply what I learned in each revision, or next paper, or oth-

ers classes that I am taking. I was able to see my tendencies and try to develop my voice and

style, and I also learn how to write passionately but still articulate well.

This class has taught me to revise my papers, get much feedback, and apply good fluency

and style to my paper to make it understandable and gripping. Through all the papers and jour-

nals, I have exercised my writing skills and I am excited to write more and improve more, slowly

but surely. I have learned to be humble in my writing, and that whenever I think I did something

well, there is so much more to learn, and whole worlds to trek before the “good” I now see in my

writing becomes the next mediocre or poor.