One of my good friends just doesn’t believe all this “Bible”
stuff. We have great conversations about science, history, and faith, how they
intersect—or don’t. As usual, coffee time conversations meander about, and one
time we got talking about Christmas and Santa Claus. He wondered if my belief
in Jesus might be something mythical like kids believing in Santa.
I shared with him good non-biased historical
evidence that Jesus was a real person. And, actually, Santa was too: St.
Nicholas of the 4th century went around secretly bringing gifts to
the poor. In the last 200 years the real person morphed into a mythical tradition
of Santa and his reindeer coming from the North Pole to bring gifts at
Christmas time.
With his quick wit, my friend challenged me: don’t Christians do
something similar with Jesus—making him into a figure that little resembles the
original. He had a point! The Jesus I see portrayed in churches often resembles
more the kind of Jesus people want him to be to support their view of the world,
rather than the one who really was.
But we do have some primary writings that speak the truth of his
life and death. One writer in particular focused on separating fact from
fiction. Luke starts his manuscript with these words:
Many people have set
out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They
used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. Having
carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to
write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can be
certain of the truth of everything you were taught. –Luke 1:1-4, New Living
Translation.
Many past scholars discounted Luke as an accurate
historian. One of them, Sir William Ramsay, changed his mind after excavating and examining the ruins of
places in Luke’s history and concluded that Luke was “a historian of the first
rank.” He couldn't find mistakes, even in the details.
If you’ve never read Luke, or if it’s been a long time, pick up
a Bible and take a look at his Gospel. He did his best to present an accurate
picture of who Jesus was, why he came, and what it could mean for us.
3 comments:
What's important is how one interprets the Bible. Sadly, those at the helm of our churches tend to interpret that book in ways that subjugate others... women gays, etc... By the way, if we strictly accept the teachings that homosexuality is an abomination, then is it not morally just to sell my children into slavery or to own slaves from a neighboring nation, as the Bible teaches as just.... and don't even get me started about talking snakes and magic apples.... Love you, Ken! Have a great day.... My best to Joanne... (mike white)
yikes! Mike is getting feisty! How one interprets the Bible is huge. But while there are lots of debates and differences about many sideline issues, the core teachings are clear and accepted by most Christians. The Bible has been used wrongly by many otherwise well meaning people to subjugate women and Africans, to exterminate or expel aboriginals, to dismiss and ignore gays. (about talking snakes and magic apples--I view them as metaphors to teach something very basic about the spiritual world and the nature of humankind.) Mike, I'm glad to hear from you...I would love to sit down and talk over a dark brew.
Next time you're in Portland, Ken, coffee's on me...... (not literally!)
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