God is an interesting topic because the idea of a perfect eternal being is hard to swallow for something as generally constrained as a human.
We as humans understand that someone returning from death’s grip is nothing short of a miracle, but there is so much evidence for Jesus Christ being the Son of God outside of the Bible, you have to consider it at least.
For example, let’s talk about the cloth of Turin.
The Cloth of Turin is a linen burial cloth found in the 14th century, which displays the burned image of a man who has been scourged, crucified and eventually laid to rest in a tomb.
In 1988, through carbon dating, the image was traced back to the 13th century, but more recent data comparing the linen cloth with other linen cloths of the 1st century have proven that it could go either way.
While the image’s age has recently been heavily disputed, we really don’t know how the image even got imprinted on the cloth. Some theorize that it was a heavy burst of radiation, but how would that even happen?
Say this image is a complete fabrication, let’s instead talk about testimonies from the 1st-century crucifixion of Jesus.
In the Babylonian talmud, dated from 70 to 200 AD, a herald is quoted saying that “[Jesus] is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy.”
Throughout history, it’s pretty hard to find people writing good things about their enemy. No one would say anything with genuine merit about their enemy, much less write about it.
Seeing in the Talmud that Jesus is cited as practicing sorcery, and in other works that he garnered a following (Josephus 93 AD), and healing other men (Toledot Yeshu 400-500 AD) from people who hated him is odd.
Say that these documents were entirely forged and edited by early Christians, the testimony of Mary Magdalene would have also been edited.
Mary Magdalene is cited in the gospels as one of the few women who went to Jesus’s tomb after the crucifixion. She then came and told the disciples the good news, but was dismissed, later to be proved right after Peter went to the tomb to check.
In the culture of the 1st century AD, a woman’s testimony would not have been even considered. It was seen as disruptive and unlikely that a woman would have seen these things, but all four gospels cite her as going to see the tomb.
These gospels, written by four different men, each would have changed it to a man’s testimony to prove it more persuasive to other cultures at the time. However, they each said she went to the tomb and checked.
Say that it was a giant fabrication, and that each writer was put to death as an insane liar, how would Jesus’s burial cloths have been left in the tomb?
It’s an odd thing, because why would the apostles undo Jesus’s burial cloths and wrappings? I don’t have much experience carrying corpses, but I imagine that if his limbs couldn’t flail around, it would be a little easier.
How about the triality of the Hebrew word “Tetelestai,” one of the last words Jesus is quoted as saying on the cross?
“Tetelestai” is used in different scenarios to describe a debt being paid in full, a sentence being completely served, and a glorious victory. The word choice alone cannot be examined enough.
It’s so important to understand that Jesus is more than just an idea. So, that is why, scientifically, I believe that God defeated death.