Skeptics can’t beat the truth

It wasn’t long ago that, every Easter and Christmas, an onslaught of articles and TV specials would appear in places like Time, National Geographic, The New York Times, Newsweek, CNN, and others, doubting the reliability of the Bible, the historicity of Christ, and the development of Christianity.

Among the claims made were that Jesus never existed, that the Gospels are later fabrications, and that the Resurrection accounts are knock-offs from pagan mythology. Thankfully, the sheer volume of such pieces declined much like the New Atheists. 

However, a recent article in the New Yorker resurrected such claims. In We’re Still Not Done with Jesus, Adam Gopnik reviewed a new book by Elaine Pagels about the life of Christ. The well-written piece covers much of the scholarship and literature surrounding the accounts of Jesus of Nazareth. On one hand, if one were unfamiliar with the academic terrain, it’s a nice survey. On the other hand, though Pagel’s ideas are presented as the latest in critical scholarship, they’re the same tired claims that have been trotted out since the 19th century, if not earlier. Even worse, the author fails to mention that the arguments against biblical accuracy and the historicity of Jesus have been repudiated time and again, by multiple generations of biblical scholars, investigative journalists, and even Lutheran pastors on YouTube. 

One factor behind the recurring skepticism, according to Colson Center Senior Fellow Dr. Glenn Sunshine, is that conservative biblical scholars and theologians study what liberal academics produce, but liberal scholars are shockingly unfamiliar with anything that conservatives write. In the New Yorker piece, it’s assumed that the Gospels were written long after the fact, that whoever did write them were not eyewitnesses, and that Jesus and the disciples did not speak Greek. Though each of these points is easily contestable, the scholars who repeat them seem unable to take seriously any scholar who thinks the Scriptures should be taken seriously. Contrary claims are ignored, and many are unaware that counterarguments exist. 

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For example, the idea that Jesus did not exist is absurd. Non-Christian historians of the first few centuries talked about him, and the records of His life are far better than nearly any other ancient figure. Even skeptical scholar Bart Ehrman has said, “Of the thousands of early Christianity scholars who do teach at such schools, none of them, to my knowledge, has any doubts that Jesus existed.” 

Also, the assumption that the Gospels and the Book of Acts are works of “fan fiction” written much, much later are also unfounded. The priority of the teachings of Christ and the Apostles is far removed from the controversies of later centuries when skeptics claim they were written. Plus, the Gospels are filled with little details that only make sense if written in the first-century Middle East. And the many embarrassing details included about the apostles are unlikely if the intent was to establish the pedigree of an emerging powerful religion. 

Finally, many of these skeptical pieces assume that resurrections do not happen. So those who made this one up borrowed from pagan myths to establish themselves among the faithful. But pagan myths aren’t about bodily resurrections attested to by witnesses, and no one refuted the “apostles made up the resurrection” lie better than Chuck Colson: 

I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it were’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world — and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible. 

Also, unlike pagan myths, resurrection is central to Christianity, not some point of embellishment. As theologian N.T. Wright recently described: 

Without Jesus being raised from the dead, there is no Christianity. I mean, St. Paul said, “if Christ is not raised, your faith is futile.” You’re wasting your time, because, it doesn’t signify anything if Jesus is not raised from the dead. Then, he’s just another failed first-century freedom fighter, of which there were many. 

Unfortunately, the many former skeptics who carefully investigated Christianity, such as Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, and J. Warner Wallace, are not typically consulted in these annual publications, but their many books and articles are widely available, as are a series of videos responding to these claims in the What Would You Say? series.

What Scripture reports turns out to be the literal Gospel truth. Truth is on our side. 

Originally published at BreakPoint.