reason.cck.org.uk

As a non-believer it is not uncommon to think that the way in which you are likely to become a believer is to see a miracle. So is this a reasonable way to pursue belief in God? Firstly, we need to back up a bit and see why Jesus performed miracles in the bible.

The purpose of miracles in the bible

It is true there are numerous accounts of supernatural healing which Jesus performed in the bible, and this was a key aspect of his claims to be God.  This was a wonderful way of Jesus reaching out and showing that not only was he powerful, but also that he was full of compassion for people.  However, physical healing in the bible is always temporary because ultimately people die! Healing is an indicator that Jesus is alive, is powerful to heal, and has the authority to bring people back into relationship with their heavenly father.

Ultimately healing that Jesus does is a pointer to the next life, where christians will spend eternity in heaven with God. It is here where there will be no more pain, suffering or death (Rev 21:4-5). Supernatural miracles are a foretaste of the complete freedom that there is to come.

Do miracles still happen today?

Despite our sceptical western minds, Christians do believe that miracles still happen today. This comes from our understanding that Jesus is not dead in the grave, but is alive and is still in the business of bringing restoration to people. God’s character has not changed; he hasn’t somehow become lazy or disinterested, but is working things out according to his sovereign plan. The bible says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), which means that he will continue to do the same things he did during his earthly ministry.

In fact Jesus made an amazing promise to all Christians in John 14:12 when he said ‘I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.’ Jesus does still heal people and he uses Christians as agents of his blessing.

It is our expectation today that God would still do many miracles through Christians by the power of the Holy Spirit, just like those in the early church. For a full account of these testimonies it is worth reading through the book of Acts in the New Testament. It is an absolutely enthralling account of what it means to be a Christian, living by the power of the Holy Spirit!

Are miracles the key to becoming a believer?

We might be surprised to see that in the New Testament (John 15:24, Mark 6:1-6) there are examples of people witnessing Jesus performing miracles, but some still do not become followers of Jesus. This teaches us a crucial principal; we do not live in perfect accordance with our reasoning. We tend to live in a state of cognitive dissonance.

Romans 3:10 teaches us that we are not naturally drawn to God, but that we all tend to want to want to suppress the truth about God (Romans 1:18-25). This is because there is more to becoming a Christian than simply coming to an intellectual realisation of what is true.

The bible teaches us that there is a battle for our hearts going on (Psalm 14:1) and this is why these people decided not to follow Jesus. It wasn’t for lack of evidence of Jesus’ capabilities; it was simply that they were stubborn-hearted. I was exactly the same prior to giving my life to Jesus in my teens, despite the overwhelming evidence for Christianity I refused to give to give my heart over to him.

Quite often miracles happen to people, and due to a stubbornness of heart, we try to explain it away in natural terms. I have often heard people respond to testimonies of healing of very significant things like cancer, by saying ‘It’s just the power of positive thinking’ , ‘maybe you just got lucky’, ‘It’s just a case of mind over matter’ , ‘It’s just a case of the placebo effect’ and a whole host of other clichés. So witnessing a miracle really is no guarantee to becoming a believer. (However, I have linked some video testimonies at the bottom of people recently healed from CCK).

How do I pursue whether Christianity is true then?

Although each person has a different story of how they have come to faith, God is very clear, the evidence is already there for all to see, whether you witness a miracle first hand or not. There are many different arguments which people down the centuries have found persuasive, such as the argument from meaning, the argument from morality, argument from fine-tuning to name but a few.

There is no one way that people come to faith in Christ, but one thing worth considering is reflecting on the very centre piece of Christianity, the resurrection of Jesus. Sometimes we want a bolt of lightning to hit us from God, but realistically the resurrection is it! This is God screaming out to the world, Jesus is the answer. Dead men do not rise unless God has something to do with it!

The key miracle: The resurrection of Jesus

Throughout the bible we find that God is not against evidence based thinking at all. In Isaiah 1:18 we see God speaking through the prophet Isaiah, ‘Come now, let us reason together’. Similarly, this kind of reasoning continues in the New Testament as well as we can see through Paul’s writing in particular (Acts 17:2-3).

If Jesus did really die and rise again then God has clearly revealed himself in human history. We can know God personally. Why not look into whether this happened or not?

Recent video testimonies of people healed from CCK

Mitra Hajebi’s story:

Mark Edwards story:

Jesus often can be very surprising. Traditionally, he is portrayed as a gentle figure that preaches love and acceptance. While this is correct, as far as it goes, it is not a complete picture of the Jesus described in the New Testament. We must remember that Jesus led thousands of people in a politically volatile land. He experienced considerable resistance from the religious and governmental establishments. As such, Jesus can be compared more accurately to a peaceful revolutionary, rather than a monk-like figure. As such, he often said and did things that might be unexpected, given our traditional Western views of him.

What does the passage say?

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple, whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:22-27).

At first glance this is a shocking statement. However, we must never interpret a section of the Bible in isolation from its immediate context, and by extension its wider context. Firstly, by reference to the wider context of the Bible, Jesus is not saying that it is the duty of his followers to hate their relatives. This would contradict the fifth commandment to love your father and your mother, and Jesus expressly affirms the laws of God recorded in Exodus in the Old Testament form which this commandment came (Matthew 5: 17-20). Secondly, by reference to this passage’s immediate context, we can better understand what Jesus was saying. Reading further on: For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it began to mock him saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’. This passage is a warning to those who are thinking about following Christ; they should first consider how much it might cost them. Acknowledging Jesus as your God and Saviour will demand your complete allegiance. If the claims of our relatives and the claims of Christ come into collision, the claims of the relatives must give way.

Following Christ is both simple and extremely costly. It is easy to accept Jesus as your God theoretically. Practically, however, it is often very hard. It is as the famous preacher Charles Hadden Spurgeon said: ‘Now, what say you to this? Are you willing to give up your own mind to God, and simply to believe what he tells you in his word? Are you willing also to give up self-rule? “We are our own” says one; “we may do as we like. Our tongues are our own, we may say what we like. We are free thinkers and free livers”. Let me tell you that, if you are saved by Christ, you shall find the only true freedom you can enjoy; but there must first be a complete surrender of yourself to your God’ (The C H Spurgeon collection: Comfort and Assurance, Emerald House, p. 116)

What about Jesus?

Did Jesus hate his family then? Not at all. The care that Jesus had for his mother is clear from what he said to John (one of his followers) while in excruciating pain on the cross; that John should look after his (Jesus’) mother Mary (as it is assumed at this stage that Joseph, Mary’s husband, had died (John 19:25-33))

It is also interesting to note that Mary was foretold that Jesus would put his ‘Father’ (God) before anything else in his life (Luke 2:34-36, 2:4-49). As a boy Mary lost Jesus in Jerusalem for three days. Once found, Mary said: ‘Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress’, Jesus replied, ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ (Luke 2:48-49) Jesus also makes God the priority before his family in Luke 8:19-21, when a crowd was surrounding Jesus and his mother and brothers were standing outside waiting to see him. Jesus responds to the messenger who informs him that they are waiting for him by saying: ‘My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it’

Jesus consistently puts his ‘Father’ (God) before anything else, even his family. However, this by no means meant that Jesus hated his relatives. His devotion for God drove him: more than his affection for his friends, family or his own life.

The Law of Love

This question was brought to Jesus: Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? He replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. (Matthew 22: 34-39)

The ‘Law’ is recorded in the Old Testament. It was the standard of living decreed by God for the Jewish nation. Love, says Jesus, is the basis of the law. This is a love both for God and for your ‘neighbour’. One of Jesus’ followers asked who was one’s neighbour. Jesus responded by sharing the parable of the Good Samaritan, a parable that is famous today even to those who have not read the Bible. The parable of the Good Samaritan tells us that our neighbour is any fellow human being.

As such, all Christian ethics is motivated by a love for God and love for your fellow man. What happens, then, when your fellow human being does not want you to act in accordance with your love for God? This is the situation that the passage in question is dealing with. In essence, Christ is making a comparative statement: your love for God must be stronger, by comparison, than your love for your family. There is no doubt that this passage is very direct. The demand that Jesus makes upon his followers here is peculiarly stringent and heart-searching.

Those who have chosen to follow Christ in opposition to the wishes of their families should continue to show love and respect to those family members in accordance with the law of love. Jesus’ call to allegiance, in Luke 14:22-27, is completely met by those who decide, in the face of family rejection, to follow him. Even though this decision may cause offence, offence must never be made if it can be avoided. (Matthew 5:43-48, Romans 13:8)

Why is it necessary?

In some cases it is not necessary. Luckily, many people who become Christians (especially in the West) do not have to decide between their families and Christ. However, everyone who becomes a Christian will have to give up some things. Whether that be sex until marriage, your reputation, or maybe certain friends. The principle behind Jesus’ statement remains: Are you willing to give up the things that are important to you to follow him?

Nevertheless, in many cases, Jesus statement is directly relevant. There are many who have had to give up their relationships with their families to follow Christ. This is more commonly true in the Muslim world, for example. The acceptance of this passage by those who have to suffer the displeasure, or resistance, of their families to follow Christ is undoubtedly very painful. The division and relationship breakdown that can be caused by disagreement on spiritual, or even worldview, issues can run very deep. We cannot minimise the pain and heartbreak that is involved. Yet, Jesus makes it very clear that he will commend those who give up so much for him, and that the pain and rejection involved will by no means go unnoticed or unrecognised in eternity (Matthew 19: 29).

References

1. Ryle, J. C., Expository Thoughts on Luke: Volume 2, 1858
2. The C H Spurgeon collection: Comfort and Assurance, Emerald House, p. 116
3. The Apologetics Study Bible, ed. Chad Brand, E. Clendenen, Paul Copan, J. P. Moreland.

“Judge not, lest ye be judged”

What a beautiful refrain

The studio audience disagrees

Have his lambs all gone astray?

(REM, New Test Leper)

As the above song lyrics illustrate, Matthew 7:1 is a verse which resonates in our culture and is familiar to people outside the Christian church. But what does it mean? Does it, as Leo Tolstoy suggested, mean that law courts should be abolished? Does it forbid criticism or negative evaluation of another person’s beliefs or lifestyle? How should those who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ seek to apply this message to their own lives?

The immediate context: Remove the log from your own eye

One unfortunate side-effect of the division of the New Testament into numbered verses in 1551 was that it became easier to isolate individual sentences and phrases from their wider context. I would argue that the “do not judge” of verse 1 should be interpreted in the light of the rest of the passage, especially verses 3-5 in which Jesus criticises those who seek to correct the minor faults of others (“the speck in your brother’s eye”) while remaining oblivious to their own glaring errors (“the log in your own eye”). Jesus denounces this selective criticism as hypocrisy, and argues that the critic should deal with his/her own issues before criticising someone else, so that s/he does not judge by appearances only but with “right judgement” (cf. John 7:24). However, the passage also indicates that the critic who has dealt with the log in his/her own will be able to see clearly (literally: ‘see through’ Greek: diablepeis) in order to help someone else who is offending.

Clues as to what Jesus meant in Matthew 7:1 can be found elsewhere in the gospels. In John 7:24, Jesus tells the crowd not to “judge by appearances but to judge with right judgement.”  Outward appearance does not necessarily conform to reality and any judgment of others which doesn’t take account of this is condemned. In Luke 11:39-52, Jesus opposes the Pharisees and experts in the law (which in itself implies that “do not judge” doesn’t mean, “never criticise anyone else”), saying of these religious leaders that they “load people with burdens hard to bear” but will not themselves lift even a finger to help. In the same way, it could be argued, the type of judgement which Jesus condemns in Matthew 7:1 is that, which seeks to put other people down and assert one’s own perceived moral superiority over them, rather than that which genuinely seeks to help them and others harmed by their actions.

The wider context: Church discipline

It is this concern for the offender, and for those harmed by his/her actions, which lies at the root of the procedure outlined in Scripture for church discipline. It is noteworthy that it is Matthew’s gospel which contains Jesus’ explanation of the procedure to be used by his followers in dealing with those who sin (Matthew 18:15-18), and this lends further support to the idea that it is hypocrisy and the desire to assert one’s perceived superiority to others which is condemned in Matthew 7:1, not the identification of people’s actions as sinful in itself. Of course, Scripture plainly tells us that we have all sinned and have fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23) and our attitudes toward others should reflect this.

The apostle Paul also has an interesting comment to make about how Christians should behave towards the wider community. In 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, he argues that the church should judge its own members. (indeed, he himself passes judgement on a serious offender in 5:5) but appears to deny himself the right to judge “outsiders”. This doesn’t mean, of course, that criticism of the wider culture is forbidden, but would imply that Christians should not spend their time railing against the wickedness of the world, but rather in working to establish an alternative society of righteousness and love, which will be a testimony to others.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would argue that, looking both at the passage itself and the wider context of the New Testament, that Jesus’ command not to judge in Matthew 7:1 is to be interpreted as a condemnation of hypocrisy and self-righteousness pride rather than a blanket rejection of bringing criticism or rebuke to others. Having said this, any such reproof should be done in love and in a context of accountability with the aim of restoring the offender to loving God and others, and of protecting others from harm (cf. Galatians 6:1). In all of this, it should be remembered that the mission of the Church is the advance of the gospel of Christ, who did not come into the world “to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17)

Further reading

John Stott, (1978) “The message of the Sermon on the Mount” (originally published as “The Christian counter-culture”), Inter-Varsity Press, pp 175-180

As I conclude this series of four articles on the problem of suffering, I want to look at the ways in which God uses suffering in lives of both Christians and non-Christians alike. Over the last 3 articles I have deliberately not dealt much with the emotional side of when we go through pain and suffering in our lives. I have focussed on the philosophical and theological reasons for this happening. But how do we find purpose and comfort in the midst of suffering?

Why does God allow non-Christians to go through suffering?

Have you ever noticed that many people seem to become Christians when they are struggling in life? This is observed in one of my favourite comedies’ I’m Alan Partridge’ when Alan is talking to his Christian PA, Lynne, at a low-point in his career.

Lynne: One can take some strength when you’re at your bleakest moments, if you open yourself up to new…..
Alan: Lynne, I’m not coming to your Baptist church, you always get people when they’re down!

As amusing as this sketch is, it raises a significant question. Why is it that people turn to Jesus when they are suffering? I don’t believe that its merely a psychological crutch as being a Christian is based on real historical events which have happened concerning the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, not some sort of half-baked delusion to cheer everyone up for a bit.

The blindness of self-sufficiency

In the West in particular, we live in a very materially wealthy culture. We tend to put alot of trust in money, relationships, possessions, friends, careers or our moral performance, as if they are the things that define who we are and provide us with total satisfaction.  We like to think we are totally self-sufficient and independent, as opposed to being in need. I’m no different in this respect either, I don’t like being in a position where I’m reliant on someone else.  However, the bible informs us that in God’s eyes we are all in need of him in a very great way.  So the question isn’t ‘are we in need of God?’ but more ‘will we recognise it?’ Sometimes God will allow us to go through real tragedy in our lives, in order to recognise our need for him.  If you are going through difficulty right now will you recognise your own need?

Short term benefit?

So often we live as if the 70-80 years (at best) we live in this life are all there is. However, the Bible teaches that we have been made for eternity (Ecc 3:11), the question is where we will spend it? Jesus said: ‘What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?’ (Matt 16:26). To put it bluntly, what is the point of having a short life of 70 years or so with no suffering, if we then spend eternity in hell being punished for our refusal to acknowledge God in our life and to honour him?

In mercy, God sometimes allows us to go through short-term suffering so that we enjoy long-term joy.  He could just let us carry on without ever experiencing any pain, but surely we would question his character if he did this, only to let us wind up in hell. It is surely more loving for God to allow us to go through suffering (even at a very serious level) now if it results in spending eternity in heaven. Interestingly, this is exactly what has happened in Haiti, as people have gone through the very great pains of loss; there have been reports of thousands of people becoming Christians (see here). While we all rightly mourn the tragic loss of lives, it is wonderful to know that in the midst of it, many have found faith in Christ.

Before God, it is quite black and white. We are imperfect people, and in order for us to enter the kingdom of heaven, and to avoid being sent to hell as sinners, we need to trust in Jesus who paid the wages of sin (Romans 6:23) on our behalf. Amazingly, when we trust in Jesus he forgives all the sin that we’ve committed which should separate us from him forever.  We can know him personally (See here for more).

Suffering and being a Christian

Christians are not exempt from suffering either.  Romans 5:3-4, and James 1:2-4 give us a very clear perspective on suffering. When we are going through it, God is lovingly bringing us into maturity as Christians. We can sometimes be in danger of taking God for granted, but he actually has great plans (Jer 29:11-13) for our lives, and wants us to pursue our relationship with him. It is easy to miss what God is doing in these  difficult periods, but look to see what God is doing in your life, and be patient. I have often found that there will be occasions when you have to wait quite some time before it is clear why you have gone through such trials. But you can be sure that whatever the reason, God will use it for good (Romans 8:28).

Conclusion

Although suffering did not begin with him, the God of the bible is well-acquainted with suffering himself, he is not aloof from it. In fact, Jesus went to the cross to experience the worst suffering anyone could ever experience, so that we could have a relationship with God. This is absolutely crucial when we consider how we get through these really difficult times ourselves. We need to draw strength from God, the same God who has been through suffering himself and is able to sympathise (Heb 4:15), as well as provide refuge.

If you are going through difficult circumstances, then consider this quote from CS Lewis:

‘God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world’.

Could it be that God is reaching out to you in your difficulties?

When it comes to pain and suffering, We will not know all of the answers this side of eternity. I still do not know why my Dad died aged 40, when I was 11 years old. Years on though, I can still see how God worked it for good in part; the rest of the answer will not come until I meet God face to face. God does not answer every question we have, but he tells us what we need to know. It is actually very important that we allow there to be some mystery when we consider who God is. If God had to think exactly like us, and answer every question in a way which our finite minds could understand then would he really be God? He is beyond us, the mysteries belong to him (Deut 29:29), but he has revealed himself in Jesus Christ, so that you can know him, find meaning in the midst of pain, and know confidently that pain is not here to stay.

There will come a day when all pain and suffering will be banished for ever, when every tear will be dried, when we will not know in part anymore, but will know fully. Until then, God asks us to trust him, as the one who showed us his compassion for us when he sent his son to a bloody death so that we might be free.

Further Articles:

Does the existence of evil and suffering in our world prove there is no God?
If there is a good God why does suffering happen?
How can a loving God allow natural disasters like Haiti to happen?

Other Resources:

Why is there Evil? – Andrew Wilson

Mulled cider & Love actually

In the last few weeks I have (like everyone else) been preparing for Christmas, and been doing my best to avoid going into Brighton. I have been enjoying that wonderful phenomenon known as online shopping, or more specifically Amazon.com. My wife Jac has also started to fill our home with those classic Christmas tunes again, Band Aid, Mariah Carey and others.

Christmas is a time of year that is associated with many different things for different people. It is often thought of as time to spend with our families and close loves ones. Many others will also crack out ‘Love actually’ on DVD yet again, have a few glasses of mulled wine (or cider ideally), and of course buy one another presents, some of which will no doubt be subtly making there way onto ebay in early January. If any of my family are reading, don’t worry I wouldn’t dream of it!

For others, Christmas may be a time that some will dread for a number of reasons. The struggle to fund sufficient presents, awkward conversations within a fractured family, keeping up appearances for a few days with distant relatives and for some, acute loneliness. Is this as good as we can hope for?

Where does Jesus fit in?

In recent years it may seem surprising that in what is often considered a more secular culture, there have been a number of songs recorded about Jesus by artists such as U2, The Killers, Green Day, Kanye West, REM and even Marilyn Manson. Whatever you think of him, Jesus still occupies a central part of our culture.

Jesus was a remarkable man, and according to a recent survey taken in June 2009 (published in The Daily Telegraph) around 33% of the UK population, say he is the dead person that they would most want to meet, ahead of figures such as Princess Diana, Marilyn Monroe, Shakespeare and Einstein. However, he is more than just a famous dead man. Jesus made some startling claims while he was on earth, he claimed to be God and not just to be a good human moral teacher. As the author CS Lewis writes, ‘he didn’t leave that option open to us, he didn’t intend to.’

Christmas celebrates the time when God put his plan of redemption for the world into action. Jesus voluntarily left behind the glory of heaven, to become a servant for humankind, a sacrifice and a substitute for the wrong we’ve done. As humans we’ve been made as relational people, to experience the joy of love. This love is wonderfully experienced in our personal relationships with one another, but there is an ultimate one that we have been made for, with our creator.

The key doesn’t fit the lock

As people we often talk of a sense of emptiness that there is in our lives, in our quest for meaning and purpose. We try many different things for satisfaction, even good things and try to squeeze them into ultimate things. The key does not fit the lock though. Consider the way that we try to define ourselves and find security and our identity in relationships, friendships, money, musicianship, a sportsman, a lover. None of these things are bad in and of themselves, but they were not designed to be the supreme definition of our lives. How could they? All of these things will come and go, they fade over time. There is only one thing that is truly unfading and will satisfy us completely, found in Jesus Christ.

We are out of sync with God, because we have all gone against him in our lives. We have elected ourselves as the decision maker, the purpose creator and the rock upon which all other things must be built around. This is what the bible calls sin, falling short of his perfect standard, in word, thought and action. The consequence is that we are separated from our perfect holy creator, and because God is just, he can’t just overlook our errors like some modern parents do with a spoilt child. Action needed to be taken.

Descending: God comes to us

Christmas celebrates God coming among us, in the first stage of his mission which would be completed at Easter with Christ’s death and glorious resurrection. He took upon himself the sin of the world, because we can’t earn our way to God. We couldn’t do enough good works and karma to achieve the necessary 100% perfect standard. Religion teaches us to try and ascend to God, Christianity teaches that God descended to us. This is crucial.

Jesus came to earth so that we could experience reconciliation. Jesus is in the business of mending relationships, firstly our relationship with God, but also our relationships with others.

We live in a world full of broken and wounded people who need to experience reconciliation with family members, neighbours and former friends. This is possible only when we see that through Christ justice was accomplished on the cross, sin was paid for, grudges can be dropped, forgiveness can be extended.

Conclusion

More than 2000 years ago, the God-man Jesus Christ came and dirtied himself by getting involved in human culture. He showed that he is not a distant God who created the universe and left it to chance. The incarnation of Christ is the central point of human history. We date our history around him, and history has never been the same since.

Today, consider the impact that the birth of Christ could have on your life. Whatever your situation this year, there is one who knows your every need, who restores relationships, and gives you a complete and unshakeable identity because of his love and compassion for you. He has made himself accessible, will you respond?

If you want to know more, why not come to our Christmas service.

Surely one of the most misunderstood things in the UK today is what it means to become a Christian. Because of the confused culture that we live in, I will need to start by dispelling a few myths about what it doesn’t mean along the way!

So simple

One of the amazing things about the Christian message is that it is so simple that even young children are able to understand it for themselves. This is one of the major stumbling blocks for so many people; that becoming a Christian requires a real sense of humility to accept it. We live in times where generally we like to have felt that we have earned whatever we get in life. If we have got a beautiful wife, it’s because we are sufficiently good looking, powerful or wealthy enough to attract them. If we have got a good mark in exams or coursework, it’s because we have been competent enough to achieve it. In essence we like the idea that things work on a system of ‘karma’.

The big story

However, the values of Christianity are quite different. The grand story of the Bible  goes like this: In the beginning God was intimately involved in the creation of the universe, and looked upon it and saw that it was good. He was thrilled, in much the same way that we are on one of the amazing nights where we gaze up at the skies and are in awe of what we see. He fashioned men and women in his image to come and steward the earth.

However, it was at this point that the first man and woman (Adam & Eve) were tempted to go against God and they decided to disobey God in their desire to become equal to God, and having autonomy and power themselves. When they committed this offence, they put a barrier between themselves and God.

Like Father like son

As the human race has gone on, things have not changed. As our forefather Adam set the precedent for how we would behave. The bible says that we are all individually inclined to go our own way, to want to be God ourselves, and to be the judge for how we want to live our life. Romans 3:23 says the very sobering words. ‘For all have fallen short of the glory of God’.  In short, we find ourselves in a mess and separated from the very creator who we were made for relationship with.

Around 100 years ago, The Times newspaper invited a number of key thinkers and philosophers of the time to write essays on the question ‘What’s wrong with the world?’.  One man’s response was short, very short in fact: ‘Dear Sirs, I am, Sincerely yours, G.K. Chesterton’. There is something very refreshing about this witty yet deeply truthful response.

In 21st century Western culture we want to blame almost everything on other people; we may laugh when we hear the latest ridiculous lawsuit filed against a company ‘for eating cheese that was so cheesy it caused mental distress’, but we tend to pass the buck often whether its our family upbringing or some other circumstance. We need to face up to the truth: we are guilty of doing wrong.

Jesus enters the arena

I’m so glad that wasn’t the end of the story and that God didn’t just leave us stranded in our guilt and shame. Jesus Christ the second member of the Trinity, came down to earth and entered human history, that is God-in-human skin. He added humanity to his divinity. He left the glory of his heavenly throne, not to be served by us, but to serve us. How remarkable is that!

Having lived a relatively low key life, he went on to teach the most phenomenal and radical teaching, and healed many. Thirty-three short years on from his birth he was to be brutally crucified. The worst thing was to happen in history; the death of the Son of God. Who could have thought this terrible evil and injustice upon an innocent man could become such a liberating truth for us?

Grace triumphs

This is, remarkably, exactly the way that God chose to demonstrate his justice and his love for us. Jesus on the cross took the penalty for all of our guilt, for both the things that we did which we shouldn’t have done, and the things we should have done that we didn’t do. For every time that we spoke out in a hateful way against a friend or family member, and for every time we didn’t walk across to help a stranger in need.  All of these events, although they were sins against the people involved were sins against him.

Becoming a Christian means recognising this simple fact, and knowing that karma will not be enough to deal with it. The U2 singer Bono rightly acknowledges the following:

“I’d be in big trouble if karma was going to finally be my judge. It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity.”

Like him or loathe him, this is an interesting admission from a man who has done much to try and make the world a better place, more than most. Yet he knows its not enough!

We can’t pay our way back into a relationship with God, the price is way too high. The only man who was in credit with God, Jesus, paid it all for us. The question is will we accept this free gift of Grace?

God’s grace was given to us, because of the exchange that took place. Jesus took all of our sin on the cross, and then three days later he rose again to show that he had conquered this evil and even death ultimately! We now have the opportunity to know God personally in this life, and we will spend eternity with him in heaven too.

Conclusion

So becoming a Christian does not mean we are British, that we went to church when we were younger. It doesn’t mean we are a good person, in fact it means recognising that we are not good enough. We are all in the same boat, whether we’ve been raised going to church or not, we were all cut off from God, but we all have equal opportunity to accept what Jesus did for us on the cross and to know God personally.

Romans 10:9 says the following:

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

If you know that you’re at this point where you are ready to go for it and accept Jesus into your life, then its worth speaking to a friend who you know has a personal relationship with Jesus, and come along to a good lively bible believing church, who will be able to help you develop your relationship with God further. If you’re in Brighton, we’d be delighted to have you along at CCK. For further information, click here.

One of the key things to note about the era of 1st century Palestine, is that it was primarily an oral culture. This means that information was rarely written down about  things that we might today consider to be highly significant ( let alone every single minor event; a stark contrast to 21st century western society). The main way that information was passed on was through verbal communication. However, we do still have a good number of documents which help to verify information about Jesus and the origins of the early church.

The primary sources for Jesus’ life are the Gospels in the Bible.  The main two sources are Tacitus and Josephus. These two records are very important because they verify the death of Jesus at the hand of Pontius Pilate, which collaborates the Gospel records (Mark 15:1-15, Matthew 27, Luke 23, John 18:28-40).

Cornelius Tacitus (born A.D. 52-54)

A Non-Christian Roman historian, in A.D. 112, Governor of Asia, son-in-law of Julius Agricola who was Governor of Britain A.D. 80-84. He wrote in the reign of Nero, making reference to Christians in Rome, and to Jesus’ death:

‘But not all the relief that could come from man, not all the bounties that the prince could bestow, nor all the atonements which could be presented to the gods, availed to relieve Nero from the infamy of being believed to have ordered the conflagration, the fire of Rome. Hence to suppress the rumour, he falsely charged with the guilt, and punished with the most exquisite tortures, the persons commonly called Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius: but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also.’ (Translated quote found in: McDowell, Josh., Evidence That Demands a Verdict, 1990, Scripture Press, p.82)

Flavius Josephus (born A.D. 37)

A Jewish Historian, in A.D. 66 he was the commander of the Jewish forces in Galilee. The following quote has been debated as to its entire validity. Certain sections of the text have been judged, by some, as unlikely to have been written by a Jewish scholar. For a preliminary overview of this see: Strobel, Lee The Case or Christ, Zondervan, 1998, pp.78-80. However, the important sections attesting to the life and death of Jesus are reliable. Josephus’ writings were translated into the Arabic, which does not contain those sections of the text that have been judged suspicious. The following is a quote from the Arabic translation:

‘At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good, and (he) was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned Him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become him disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that He had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that He was alive; accordingly, He was perhaps the Messiah concerning who the prophets have recounted wonders.’ (Translated quote found in: McDowell, Josh., Evidence That Demands a Verdict, 1990, Scripture Press, p.82)

Thallus (a Samaritan-Born historian)

He wrote in A.D. 52, which is one of the earliest writers concerning the life and death of Jesus. Unfortunately we no longer have the originals of his work, but a man called Julius Africanus, who was a Christian writer of about A.D.  221, discusses his work. He cites a section of Thallus that confirms that there was a darkness that covered the land after Jesus died, which is also recorded in Luke 23:44 and Mark 15:33. He writes:

“ ‘Thallus, in the third book of his histories, explains away this darkness as an eclipse of the sun – unreasonably, as it seems to me’ (unreasonably, of course, because a solar eclipse could not take place at the time of the full moon, and it was as the season of the Paschal full moon that Christ died)’ (Translated quote found in: McDowell, Josh., Evidence That Demands a Verdict, 1990, Scripture Press, p.84)

Phlegon

A first century historian, like Thallus, his work is now lost. However Julius Africanus (above) in A.D. 221 again quotes a section of his work:

“ ‘During the time of Tiberius Caesar an eclipse of the sun occurred during the full moon’ ” (Translated quote found in: McDowell, Josh., Evidence That Demands a Verdict, 1990, Scripture Press, p.84)

Lucian of Samosata

Roman of the Second century: he wrote in The Passing Peregrinus:

‘ . . . the man who was crucified in Palestine because he introduced this new cult into the world . . . Furthermore, their first lawgiver persuaded them that they were all brothers one of another after they have transgressed once for all by denying the Greek gods and by worshipping that crucified sophist himself and living under his laws.’ (Translated quote found in: McDowell, Josh., Evidence That Demands a Verdict, 1990, Scripture Press, p.82)

Suetonius (A.D. 120)

Another Non-Christian Roman historian writes in Life of Claudius:

‘As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus (another spelling of Christus), he expelled them from Rome’ (Translated quote found in: McDowell, Josh., Evidence That Demands a Verdict, 1990, Scripture Press, p.83)

Plinius Secundus, Pliny the younger

Governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor (A.D. 112). The following quote comes from a letter that he wrote to Emperor Trajan. The main concern of his letter is how to treat the Christians. In the second century, during the reign of the Caesars, the populace was expected to worship Caesar as a god. This the Christians did not do. Pliny had been putting to death those Christians who would not bow down to a statue of Trajan. In the letter he writes the following:

‘They affirmed, however, that the whole of their guilt, or their error, was, that they were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verse a hymn to Christ as to a god, and bound themselves to a solemn oath, not to do any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft, adultery, never to falsify their word, not to deny trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up’ (Translated quote found in: McDowell, Josh., Evidence That Demands a Verdict, 1990, Scripture Press, p.83)

Further reading

There are many more sources that attest to the origins of the early church, and many instances where books are quoted, which no longer exist, but would have been accessible in the day in which they were quoted. For further research, I have suggested some books below:

• McDowell, Josh., Evidence That Demands a Verdict, 1990, Scripture Press, Chapter 5.

• Strobel, Lee The Case or Christ, Zondervan, 1998, Chapter 4

• Bruce, F. F., Jesus and Christian Origins outside the New Testament, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974.

• Habermans, Gary., The Historical Jesus, Joplin, Mo.: College Press, 1996

To view Ruth’s recent testimony about how she became a christian, click here

Who, When and Why?

In the year AD 525, a Bulgarian monk who lived in Rome as a member of the central governing body of the Roman Catholic Church, Dionysius Exiguus devised the Anno Domini (in the year of our Lord) dating system. The system states a year with regards to the year of the Incarnation (conception) of Jesus Christ. He invented a new system of numbering years to replace the Diocletian years that had been used in an old table because he did not wish to continue the memory of the tyrant, Roman Emperor Diocletian who persecuted Christians.

This system became popular when “The Father of English History”, Saint Bede used Anno Domini dating in his famous work, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People).

Emperor Charlemagne, who was King of the Franks from 768 to his death and his successors further popularized the use of this system.

Birth of Christ

One problem with this system, is that scholars believe that Jesus was actually born around 4 BC! In the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew writes that Jesus was born during the reign of King Herod (Matt 2:1). Further, King Herod ordered the massacre of all boys in Bethlehem and it’s vicinity, who were two years old and under. (Matt 2:16). Famous Roman-Jewish historian, Josephus, dates the death of King Herod at 4 BC. And hence, the problem arises!

Even though the centrality of Christ in the Christian’s life is of utmost in the Bible, the AD calendar dating system does not find it’s roots in the Bible!

Fact 3: The birth of the Early Church

It can be very easy in our 21st century beliefs to assume that people “ in those days” believed any kind of resurrection rubbish because they believed miracles were possible , but now that we have sophisticated minds which are more critical and scientific we know better.

We are only able to hold onto these kinds of views because we are mostly uninformed about resurrection beliefs in first century Palestine.

If we look at the beliefs of Jews and Greeks in the first century we can see that neither group believed that dead men rise! It was practically unthinkable.

But what about the resurrection in Jewish scripture and greek mythology, surely that is where they got their ideas from?

Greek mythology and resurrection

In short this is not true; there were some very fundamental differences in the concepts of ‘resurrection’ in all both parties. As we have already seen from 1 Cor 15 in the previous article, Paul is preaching a bodily resurrection, not merely a spiritual one. Greek thinking at the time was dominated by Platonic and Homeric thought, and in neither of these types of texts do we find any consideration of a bodily resurrection. Tim Keller writes ‘ In Greco-Roman thinking, the soul or spirit was good and the physical and material world was weak, corrupt, and defiling…therefore salvation was conceived as liberation from the body.’

In other words, in the views of the Greeks’ if you could lose your body then your soul would be free. If this is what you were hoping to achieve, being resurrected in the body was not only implausible to the Greeks, but it was also completely undesirable.

What about the Jews?

It is probable that the Jews were unaware or not impacted by these Greek worldviews, after all they were God’s chosen people in their eyes. They were immensely proud to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and would have been unlikely to look to the Pagans for a change of belief; since they believed they were given the Old Testament scriptures by God, why then look to another culture for a sudden change of view?

So what was the Jewish worldview involving resurrection?

Jewish Resurrection thinking

N.T. Wright points out in his extensive scholarly work, The Resurrection of the Son of God, that the Jewish community did have an expectation for a form of resurrection, but one at the end of the world. This is mostly seen in a few passages in the Old Testament such as Daniel 12:2-3, which alludes to an end-time resurrection for the nation of Israel as a whole. Such sentiments are displayed in Isaiah chapters 24-27 of  which talks of God’s judgement, and the hope for resurrection at the end of the world (Isaiah 26:19). This is also seen in Ezekiel 37, arguably the most famous of all resurrection passages.

It is true also that in non-canonical Judaic writings from 400 BC ( like 2 Maccabees, Ecclesiasticus) up to the times of Jesus that similar themes were established. The main two being the restoration of Israel, and resurrection bodies being given at the end of the world.

Messiah as warrior

However, we will note here that just like the long-awaited Jewish messiah was expected to be a warrior who would overthrow with power those governing over the Israelites (rather than a man who would be crushed and crucified); there was no expectation for the Messiah himself to be resurrected, nor for any other form of resurrection in the Jewish community before the end of the world.

Conclusion

N.T. Wright summarises: ‘The immediate conclusion is clear. Christianity was born into a world where its central claim was known to be false’.

The first two factors of the empty tomb, and the post-death encounters of Jesus alone are extremely persuasive in convincing us of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but the birthing of the early church is quite simply the knock out blow. In Acts 2:41, Peter preaches the first sermon about Jesus’ resurrection  and we see 3000 promptly respond to become followers of Christ.

This incredible birthing of the early church took place in Jerusalem, the very area where these resurrection events had taken place a few short weeks earlier. Frankly, you could understand this world religion growing from a myth if this all happened a few thousand miles away, but not in a place where there were eye-witnesses. Surely it would have been quashed immediately?

In the final article of this series I will look at the implication of all these facts combined.

For the other articles looking at the resurrection of Christ please click below.

http://reason.cck.org.uk/tag/resurrection/

Having established the historicity of the empty tomb of Christ in our previous article in this series, we now move onto looking at the evidence for the post-mortem appearances of Jesus to people.

Fact 2: The Appearances of the risen Jesus

We need to turn again to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, to see his reporting of public testimony about the resurrection. It is quite extraordinary that in 1 Cor 15:3-8 we hear that Jesus appeared not only to a few people, but more than 500 people on one occasion, these appearances went on for almost six weeks before Jesus left his disciples again for good (Acts 1:9-11). Paul tells us (1 Cor 15:6) that ‘most of them are still living’. This statement is very significant indeed as Tim Keller comments:

‘Paul’s letter was to a church, and therefore it was a public document, written to be read aloud. Paul was inviting anyone who doubted that Jesus had appeared to people after his death to go and talk to the eye-witnesses if they wished.’

The implication is clear, there is no way that Paul could have written this in a public document unless these 500 eye-witnesses really existed. When taken together with the gospel accounts that we looked at with regard to the empty tomb, we have multiple attestations that these appearances were completely genuine.

Even the sceptical New Testament scholar Gerd Ludeman makes this emphatic declaration: ‘It may be taken as historically certain that Peter and the disciples had experiences after Jesus’ death in which Jesus appeared to them as the risen Christ.’

Physical or Spiritual Resurrection?

Some people have tried to imply that these resurrection appearances were not in fact physical ones but a host of spiritual visions by reading the latter part of Paul’s letter (1 Cor 15:42-44), where he contrasts the natural body and the spiritual one. Surely this shows that Jesus’ resurrection was only spiritual and therefore it was not a bodily resurrection after all?

Well, if we take a closer look at the greek words  ’pneumatikos’ (which is used to describe ’spiritual’ in this context),  and ‘psychikos’ (describing ‘natural’ ), we find that it is used in the same letter by Paul in 1 Cor 2:14-15. Here Paul is also contrasting the spiritual man with the natural man.

In this context, he is talking about the difference between a Christian ( the spiritual man) and a non-christian (the natural man). Clearly, Paul does not believe that Christians do not have physical bodies, therefore it follows that we should not take this to mean a non-physical resurrection which Paul is describing.

William Lane Craig summarises the point for us:

‘Natural man does not mean ”physical man,” but ”man oriented toward human nature.” And Spiritual man does not mean ”intangible, invisible man” but “man oriented toward the Spirit.” The contrast is the same in 1 Corinthians 15. The present, earthly body will be freed from its slavery to the sinful human nature and become instead fully empowered and directed by God’s Spirit. Thus, Paul’s doctrine of the resurrection body implies a physical resurrection.’

Were they just hallucinations?

One of the most regular points made by sceptics at this stage is that surely even if the disciples believed that it was a physical resurrection, they could have just imagined and hallucinated the experience.

This argument is really starting to clutch at straws because we are being asked to believe here that every one of the multiple encounters of the risen Jesus was a mere hallucination, including very tangible physical events like Jesus cooking breakfast on the beach (John 21:1-25). Take into account that some of these people included Jesus’ own brother James, sceptics like Thomas (John 20:24-29) and that these appearances took place for so many people, over 40 days and we are really being asked to ignore very compelling evidence.

Another point worth making is that this theory provides very narrow explanatory scope, as it does not explain away the empty tomb of Jesus. As N.T. Wright points out even if hallucinations happened, this does not explain why people came to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. In a Jewish world-view, any visions or hallucinations of a dead person did not mean that you believed they were alive, it confirmed even more that they were dead!

Summary

As we take a close look at the evidence, it would seem very clear that Jesus’ followers had genuine encounters with the him after death, and that they were bodily in form. It is also very clear that Paul wrote the letter of 1 Corinthians in such a manner that anyone who did not believe could have checked out the evidence by speaking to eye-witnesses very easily.

For links to our other articles on the resurrection click here.

Click here for my recent interview with CCK.