Reliability of the Gospels
I'm in an online discussion in another part of cyberspace about some of the popular theories out there regarding Jesus and who he was. There's an old argument that one of three things has to be true. (1) Either Jesus is who he said he is. God's divine Son. Lord. (2) He was a lunatic and should have been locked up. (3) Or he was a liar who manipulated and deceived people. Lord, Lunatic or Liar? The argument goes.
In the discussion I'm having, someone threw out a fourth option. This guy said, "I think Jesus was misunderstood. A great teacher who has been horribly misunderstood." As I thought about it I wondered if this is coming from some of the popular and academic writing people are into these days... Dan Brown, Karen Armstrong, Marcus Borg. I have to admit, I dismiss Karen and Dan without much thought. Both strike me as having an axe to grind with Christianity. Marcus though is a brother in Christ (practicing Christian involved in a local church) and also strikes me as a very thoughtful person trying to make sense of his faith.
So why do I disagree with him. In order to believe that "Jesus has been misunderstood throughout history by his followers" you have to believe one of two things. Either, all his closest friends misunderstood him. And they were so misguided that they were willing to die horrible deaths because they were so sure of themselves. Most of the disciples died as martyrs. Or you have to believe that the accounts we have don't accurately reflect in the slightest who and what Jesus claimed about himself.
I can't believe that his closest friends all misunderstood him and were so sure of that "false" understanding that they all died for their belief. And I think there are good reasons to beleive that the gospels give us a fairly accurate picture of things Jesus said and did.
So many people today want to accept Jesus' teachings on social ethics... Love your neighbor, be kind to enemies, etc..., while rejecting everything he ever said about himself. There are a million books written detailing his claims about himself. John Stott's Basic Christianity is a classic. A newer version with much more information, but written in a cheeky style is Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ.
If you struggle with what to make of Jesus - I'd recommend reading one of those two books. You don't have to agree (just like I don't agree with Marcus Borg's conclusions), but I do think the arguments found inside deserve to be taken seriously.
Peace and Justice,
Stewart
In the discussion I'm having, someone threw out a fourth option. This guy said, "I think Jesus was misunderstood. A great teacher who has been horribly misunderstood." As I thought about it I wondered if this is coming from some of the popular and academic writing people are into these days... Dan Brown, Karen Armstrong, Marcus Borg. I have to admit, I dismiss Karen and Dan without much thought. Both strike me as having an axe to grind with Christianity. Marcus though is a brother in Christ (practicing Christian involved in a local church) and also strikes me as a very thoughtful person trying to make sense of his faith.
So why do I disagree with him. In order to believe that "Jesus has been misunderstood throughout history by his followers" you have to believe one of two things. Either, all his closest friends misunderstood him. And they were so misguided that they were willing to die horrible deaths because they were so sure of themselves. Most of the disciples died as martyrs. Or you have to believe that the accounts we have don't accurately reflect in the slightest who and what Jesus claimed about himself.
I can't believe that his closest friends all misunderstood him and were so sure of that "false" understanding that they all died for their belief. And I think there are good reasons to beleive that the gospels give us a fairly accurate picture of things Jesus said and did.
So many people today want to accept Jesus' teachings on social ethics... Love your neighbor, be kind to enemies, etc..., while rejecting everything he ever said about himself. There are a million books written detailing his claims about himself. John Stott's Basic Christianity is a classic. A newer version with much more information, but written in a cheeky style is Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ.
If you struggle with what to make of Jesus - I'd recommend reading one of those two books. You don't have to agree (just like I don't agree with Marcus Borg's conclusions), but I do think the arguments found inside deserve to be taken seriously.
Peace and Justice,
Stewart
