HATE CAN SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS

Those who hate Christ seem to be multiplying like fleas. Their contempt for Him is so great, that they even deny His existence. However, His existence is past refuting. Craig Evans, Professor of Christian Origins, has written that even:

·       Mainstream scholarship views the Gospels as essentially reliable, providing sufficient data for the historian interested in knowing what Jesus did and what He taught. (Christian Research Journal, Vol.39/Number 05, 22)

Nevertheless, the facts have never been an obstacle militant Bible critics, who also allege that the Gospel story had been lifted from ancient pagan myths of their gods dying and rising. However, another staunch Bible critic and agnostic, Bart Ehrman, has replied:

·       The idea of Jesus’ resurrection did not derive from pagan notions of a god simply being reanimated. It derived from Jewish notions of resurrection as an eschatological event in which God would reassert his control over the world. (22)

·       There is no unambiguous evidence that any pagans prior to Christianity believed in dying and rising gods, let alone that it was a widespread view held by lots of pagans in lots of times and places. (22)

In “Truth and Fiction in the DaVinci Code,” the skeptic Ehrman also admits that:

·       “The oldest and best sources we have for knowing about the life of Jesus…are the four Gospels of the NT…This is not simply the view of Christian historians who have a high opinion of the NT and in its historical worth; it is the view of all serious historians of antiquity…it is the conclusion that has been reached by every one of the hundreds (thousands, even) of scholars.” (p. 102)

Nevertheless, the militants stand firm in their assertions, knowing that many will follow them for the same reason – their hatred of the Gospel.