New Testament Issues that Can Challenge Faith

Jeff discusses issues relating to manuscripts (age, numbers, and contrasts with classics, such as Homer’s Iliad), erring scribes, the fidelity of oral transmission of histories, source criticism, and more.

The dating of the 1 Corinthians 15: 3-7, for example, is 2 years after Jesus’ resurrection! Paul was told orally many things when he met the Apostles in Jerusalem around 30 AD. Critical, non-believing scholars agree on this early date.

“Within 3 years of Jesus’ death, the early church was circulating a creed that Jesus was bodily raised from the dead.” That’s early!

Is Christianity Based on Earlier Pagan Myths?

Image result for Jesus resurrection

Was Jesus’ resurrection fabricated?  A story copied from an earlier version of a pagan god rising from the dead?

Short answer:  Nope.

Longer answer: listen to podcast and watch videos below

Episode 1: The Historical Jesus – Thomas Wayment

A prominent NT scholars wrote this: “Why the “Mythical Jesus” claim has no traction with scholars”

 

Image result for myth

People who believe Jesus didn’t live or that his story was based on myths are referred to as mythicists.  They believe that a dying-and-rising god was a common motif in ancient religious systems with pagan gods.  And that the Jesus figure was simply a Jewish version of this.

Several videos below refute this mythicist claim.  The figure below lists several of their (unsupported, spurious) claims:  Jesus was little different from these other pagan gods.

Image result for Jesus myth osiris horus mithra

Richard Carrier is a leader among those who believe Jesus was mythical.  Bart Ehrman, himself an atheist and perhaps the world’s most famous New Testament scholar, argues Jesus lived.  Ehrman explains that Jesus lived because historians know this from the documents historians have at their disposal.

Bart’s not a believing Christian.  In fact, Bart (falsely, in my view) argues that Jesus wasn’t considered God till a while after his death.  We believe otherwise.  But at least Bart affirms that Jesus lived and his crucifixion and resurrection stories have no connection to earlier pagan myths.

William Lane Craig, a born-again Christian, responds to a question on this topic:

 

Story of Jesus copied from the Egyptian Horus myth?  Horus was Isis’ mother.

Was Jesus a mythic copy of the Persian God Mythra?

Was Jesus copied from the Greek god Dionysus?

Was Jesus copied from the Egyptian god Serapis?

Was Jesus’ story taken from the myth of Greek god Attis?

Connection to the Hindu god Krishna?

Other religious movements and cults were certainly based on myths.  We believe the life and resurrection of Jesus was based on actual events.

Ehrman and Bauckman debate whether the New Testament was based eyewitnesses. No myths involved. Oral histories from still-living eyewitnesses.

Critiques of agnostic Bart Ehrman: by evangelical Christian John Warwick Montgomery

Bart Ehrman is a widely known scholar of the New Testament.  He’s also made lots of money from producing many controversial and NY Times-bestselling books.   I’ve seen and checked out his books on CD at my local library.   I’ll share critiques of four of Ehrman’s recent books below.

In some discussions — if Jesus lived — I agree with Dr. Ehrman.   Virtually every historian, atheist and believing scholar, understands Jesus of Nazareth lived.  In other discussions — the New Testament was forged, for example, — I don’t agree with his interpretations.

John Warwick Montgomery is a believing Christian who criticizes Ehrman’s views on Jesus and his recent books “.  Montgomery explains that the New Testament writers are who they say they are, and that Jesus is who He said He was.

As a believing Latter-day Saint, I have certain disagreements with both sides in this debate.  That is, Montgomery defends classical Christianity and is an evangelical.  And Ehrman is an atheist.  But in this debate I agree almost completely with Dr. Montgomery, and appreciate his defense of early Christianity and the manuscripts.

Historian and Christian scholar, John Warwick Montgomery, reviews Bible critic Bart Ehrman’s book Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why.

Historian and Christian scholar, John Warwick Montgomery, critiques Bible critic Bart Ehrman’s book How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee.

Historian and Christian scholar John Warwick Montgomery responds to atheist Bart Ehrman’s book Jesus Before the Gospels: How the Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, and Invented Their Stories of the Savior. This video is part of the John Warwick Montgomery vs Bart Ehrman playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…

Jesus: mythical or literal figure?

LDS Perspectives Podcast completes another fantastic interview:   The Historical Jesus – Thomas Wayment

Virtually all scholars of the ancient world believe Jesus lived.  Only a very small fraction of scholars believe in a mythical figure.   The leader of the mythical Jesus movement is fringe scholar Richard Carrier.

The video below shows Bart Ehrman — himself an agnostic, but a highly esteemed scholar of the New Testament and ancient world — explaining that Jesus lived.  Bart says that anyone who claims otherwise looks foolish.

Richard Dawkins — perhaps the most vocal atheist alive today and author of “The God Delusion” — admitted that Jesus lived in a debate w/ John Lennox.  Originally in his book, Dawkins fibbed, was somehow confused, or was trying to sell more books & hurt the Christian cause.  That is, Dawkins said Jesus wasn’t historic.

In a public debate (view below), however, John Lennox called Dawkins out on that false position that Jesus never actually lived.  Awkwardly and reluctantly, Dawkins changed his position and said that Jesus did in fact live.

This young fellow in the video below is a Muslim convert to Christianity who shared that many noted the life of Jesus and his followers outside the accounts found in the Bible.

Those that believe in a mythical Jesus usually mention supposed similarities between Jesus’ resurrection claims and Osiris myths.  The two lives, deaths, and afterlives — Jesus’ and Osiris’ — are hardly similar upon close inspection.

The mythicists claim that Jews copied the Egyptian myths and created a resurrection story that resembled that of Osiris.  Nope.  Didn’t happen.  Not even close.  Modern mythicists are awful scholars making unsupported claims.

Watch Richard Bauckman discuss his book,  “Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony. ”

Consider watching the below video about Josephus’ Jesus writings.   Josephus lived from 37-100 AD and was a Roman-Jewish historian.  His 21-volume Antiquities of the Jews recounts the history of the world from a Jewish perspective for a Roman audience.

These works provide valuable insight into first century Judaism and the background of early Christianity.

“Doer of baffling deeds…. On the 3rd day He appeared to them alive.”  A few lines in Josephus’ writings are controversial, and may have been added by later scribes.  Yet, most scholars agree that Josephus penned several lines, mentioning Jesus.

More on Josephus’ Jesus writings here.

Cold case Christianity’s take on support for Jesus’ life from sources outside the Bible: