In present-day
literature, of all the themes written about the life and death of Jesus Christ,
none
But this snubs the obvious
truth. Christ’s life and death are best known through first century Jewish
accounts (the New Testament) and not contemporary occidental scholarship. The
truth flows from one’s core convictions and makes no sense if severed from the
presuppositions that give it force.
To understand the
historical content of Christ’s death and life, start with the writers of His
period who spoke His language within His culture.
Indeed, early
Christianity was basically a movement of disenfranchised Jews who placed great
emphasis on human sin and the need of divine redemption. The wickedness
involved in the execution of Christ we can recognize and know. Besides, the
tragic nature of the crucifixion of Jesus was foreordained to forever solve the
problem of sin as it alleviates human condemnation.
This volume aims to
correct slurs, while simultaneously positing positive evidence and rational
proof that the Gospels reveal the truth about the life, death, and resurrection
of Jesus Christ.
Bill O’ Reilly, Skeptics, and
Killing Jesus
Bill
O’ Reilly, author of Killing Lincoln
and Killing Kennedy, declared that
Jesus merely started “a philosophy”1 and much of the biblical
narratives are allegorical and symbolic—not real history. He also suggested
that Christians do not worship Jesus Christ but worship the “spirit of Jesus.”2
He’s convinced that Christ’s main undertaking was to teach men how to live. I
have no doubt that Christ’s moral teaching is as important as it is profound,
yet His primary mission was to die to
set men free. Many other skeptics and liberals have mounted quests for the
historical Jesus and have landed not far from where O’ Reilly takes his
readers. Ultimately the Bible holds, as the skeptics have found nothing. But
skeptics will continue to publish books about their new theories on the life
and death of Christ even though we have an infallible account of Christ in the
New Testament.
Beyond
Bill O’ Reilly, few disbelieving sleuths believe that Jesus Christ died for the
ungodly (Romans 4:5) and rose from the grave in victory (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
I do. And not only that, I know with full certainty.
Some contend Christ was a good teacher who died because of a tragic set of
accidents. Still a few others say that Christ never existed, thus never died.
Of
course, theories abound in cases of history were evidence is scarce. But as the
reader will discover, there exists not only deep layers of historical data for
the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, there are potent logical reasons why
such must be the case.
My
objective is to lay out the evidence for the truth of the Gospel’s narratives
and demonstrate that theories by skeptics (O’ Reilly, Aslan, etc.) not only
have several faults, but what they pen, when it is inconsistent with the
scriptural accounts of Christ, cannot possibly be true. I will argue:
- God is.
- His word has been revealed.
- Scripture reveals the truth about Christ’s
arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and resurrection; the contrary is
impossible.
Indeed,
Jesus Christ died. He was crucified. Nevertheless, His illegal execution was
merely the beginning of a comprehensive transformation in history. Since Jesus’
death and resurrection, it often appears that the kingdom of man and the
kingdom of God have traded places. Christ's outlook, however, was a bold and
challenging assurance. The kingdom Jesus launched is the one we still see
expanding today.
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NOTES
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