John Dominic Crossan, Anthony Flew, Bart Ehrman, Marcus Borg

[James]

The reason why I am a theist is because I can't get atheism to make sense. Atheism is false to me because the universe can't start up from nothing for that which does not exist can't cause anything. And the universe can't always have existed because if it did, by that definition, you would have had an eternity to come into being before now, so you should have already happened. More contradiction: you should never have existed, because an alleged past eternity would continue to go on for eternity by its definition, so it would never reach this point of your existence. The idea of a past eternity is a construct of man's imagination having no basis in reality.

Since atheism is false and theism is true, which theism is the correct one? The correct theism has one uncreated Creator (more than one is self-contradictory) and this uncreated Creator is personal and accessible because He can't be less than us whom He created. Therefore, there are only 3 choices, because there are only 3 accessible faiths: Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.

But Islam is false because you can't come along six centuries later in a cave all by yourself without any evidence and claim Jesus didn't die on the cross. Jesus' death on the cross is one of the most attested and proven facts of antiquity with scores of both Christian and non-Christian sources in the 1st and 2nd centuries. Hinduism is false because it would be unfair if due to your sin you become a frog and your destiny is determined by giving you a frog brain to decide how to behave. Furthermore, the God of Hinduism is Brahma who is said to be amoral, but how can God have morals below our own? So you get this one life to decide.

That leaves Christianity. To this day nobody has been able to find a naturalistic explanation to account for the eyewitness testimony of the Apostles in various group settings. The 4 most famous atheists in the past century Anthony Flew (later turned deist), John Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg and Bart Ehrman agreed on certain facts: (1) the Apostles truly believed they saw Jesus alive from the dead, (2) group hallucinations are impossible, (3) the first churches were set up on the resurrection of Jesus, and (4) the Apostles did not willingly die for what they knew was a lie. People do not allow themselves to cease to exist based on something they don't believe.

Therefore, the only solution is Jesus is God, salvation is in Him alone, and those who reject what He did on the cross are going to Hell.

[Peter]

So simple anyone can understand. As the Bible says...

[Rom 1:1-32 KJV] 1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 24 God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.