Can We Trust Eyewitness?
So what do we have to go on? We Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead. That there is a God - a no brainer. That Jesus lived and died - undesputable. That he rose from the dead...now this is the crux upon which our faith is founded. Are we a bunch of gullible Garys?
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. (1 John 1:1 NIV)
Can you trust such eywitness accounts about Jesus? Trust is a difficult thing these days. It seems like everybody lies to get ahead. However, though we doubt our ability to trust people, we all drive. We trust the other guy is going to stay on his side of the road. We eat out and trust that the food was not scraped off the bathroom floor. We take medicine from the pharmacy without performing our own in-house substance analysis - we trust the pharmacy is being truthful.
Let's take the pharmacy example and apply it to eyewitness accounts of Jesus. Why do we drust the pharmacist?
1. He will not gain from giving false medecine. Sure he may make some more money in the beginning, but as soon as people find out that his medecine doesn't work, he loses his business.
The eyewitnesses of Jesus had nothing to gain by lying. No one gave them money, the apostles never ended up with power or position because of the message about Jesus. There was no promise of success here on earth - only examples of failure by other groups that tried to lead revolutions.
2. He will not get away with fraud. We live in a country with a strong FDA regulating what is sold in pharmacies. Sooner or lator, the officials would produce evidence that this was a fraudulant opperation.
The eyewitnesses could not have gotten away with fraud. There are no first century claims of evidence agianst the resurrection of Christ, or against the facts of the story that the eyewitnesses were spreading. Both the Jewish authorities and Roman government had much to gain by proving this sect wrong, but no such evidence was produced. No one gets past a Roman guard sealing a tomb. This is not a possible explanation. If the eyewitnesses had been lying, they would have been shot down - quickly.
3. The pharmisist will face punishment by selling fraudulant medicine. There would be lawsuits, government fines and prison time - not to mention a revocation of his liscence and the ruin of any hopes of practicing pharmacy again.
The eyewitnesses actually told their story in the face of punishment. They must have believed the punishment for preahing against the resurrection was greater than the punishment for preaching for it. History records all the apostles (accept John who was tortured) being put to death rather than change their story.
John was sure about what he proclaimed. There was no mistake. He knew it enough to be tortured for it. John was never a rich or powerful person. Instead, he stood with the other eyewitnesses for the resurrection of Christ. Can you trust people? Can you trust eyewitness? If you can take medicine that might make you better at the risk of being killed if it is fraudulant, can't you partake of the water of life Jesus provides through faith?
I still believe those who saw and heard, felt and knew him who is the Resurrection and the Life. They carry more reason for believability than modern doubters. Those who listen to the athiests today are the gullible Gary's (no offense to anyone named Gary out there) who believe without evidence.
You'd better believe it!
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. (1 John 1:1 NIV)
Can you trust such eywitness accounts about Jesus? Trust is a difficult thing these days. It seems like everybody lies to get ahead. However, though we doubt our ability to trust people, we all drive. We trust the other guy is going to stay on his side of the road. We eat out and trust that the food was not scraped off the bathroom floor. We take medicine from the pharmacy without performing our own in-house substance analysis - we trust the pharmacy is being truthful.
Let's take the pharmacy example and apply it to eyewitness accounts of Jesus. Why do we drust the pharmacist?
1. He will not gain from giving false medecine. Sure he may make some more money in the beginning, but as soon as people find out that his medecine doesn't work, he loses his business.
The eyewitnesses of Jesus had nothing to gain by lying. No one gave them money, the apostles never ended up with power or position because of the message about Jesus. There was no promise of success here on earth - only examples of failure by other groups that tried to lead revolutions.
2. He will not get away with fraud. We live in a country with a strong FDA regulating what is sold in pharmacies. Sooner or lator, the officials would produce evidence that this was a fraudulant opperation.
The eyewitnesses could not have gotten away with fraud. There are no first century claims of evidence agianst the resurrection of Christ, or against the facts of the story that the eyewitnesses were spreading. Both the Jewish authorities and Roman government had much to gain by proving this sect wrong, but no such evidence was produced. No one gets past a Roman guard sealing a tomb. This is not a possible explanation. If the eyewitnesses had been lying, they would have been shot down - quickly.
3. The pharmisist will face punishment by selling fraudulant medicine. There would be lawsuits, government fines and prison time - not to mention a revocation of his liscence and the ruin of any hopes of practicing pharmacy again.
The eyewitnesses actually told their story in the face of punishment. They must have believed the punishment for preahing against the resurrection was greater than the punishment for preaching for it. History records all the apostles (accept John who was tortured) being put to death rather than change their story.
John was sure about what he proclaimed. There was no mistake. He knew it enough to be tortured for it. John was never a rich or powerful person. Instead, he stood with the other eyewitnesses for the resurrection of Christ. Can you trust people? Can you trust eyewitness? If you can take medicine that might make you better at the risk of being killed if it is fraudulant, can't you partake of the water of life Jesus provides through faith?
I still believe those who saw and heard, felt and knew him who is the Resurrection and the Life. They carry more reason for believability than modern doubters. Those who listen to the athiests today are the gullible Gary's (no offense to anyone named Gary out there) who believe without evidence.
You'd better believe it!
posted by Daniel Cherry at 11:29 AM
8 Comments:
This is an interesting line of reason. I think that no matter how much "evidence" is provided, there will still be those who choose to reject it. I think that for those people who turst is difficult, there needs to be more than "logical" arguments. I have been trying to figure out what that something is, but I think that the notion of "trust" goes beyond reason. There are a lot of times that it doesnt make sense to trust but we do anyway. I wonder what it is exactly that enables us to trust when the evidence might point to the contrary. Thanks for the post!
~JK
There are many people who died for false beliefs - although it does tend to lend credibility. What helps me in my faith is to look back at the controversy of their day - "was Jesus man?" Not was he God? It was clear who he was and his divine nature. They didn't bicker back and forth over his divinity but over the nature of his humanity. That certainly helps us hold to our faith.
Good to see you posting again. I love to read your thoughts. Sorry I missed out on the talk in Montgomery - just too much going on here. Look forward to catching up with you on the phone soon. God bless
Thanks Matt and Josh. I believe God has left plenty of evidence for anyone with any approach to find foundations on which to build faith. I'll be preaching on Sunday night "Why I am Still a Christian." There are so many ways to answer that question, but my first point will be b/c I believe the resurrection. Matt, there are people who die for false beliefs, but not false "eyewitnesses." I think there is a major difference. Either way you look at it, God leaves enough evidence, but he also leaves plenty of room for faith as well - not ungrounded, but certainly unforcebale. God bless you both in your continued ministry. What a great job we have, and an indescribable gift!
Hey Daniel and Rachel! It looks like life is going well. I was so glad to find ya'll through blogging and to see you have children (congratulations) and that your staying strong in the Lord. Bob is doing well in Tulsa and I am doing fine in Missouri now. We just moved back to the midwest after being in New Mexico for 3 years. We'll keep on keeping on. Grace and Peace, Sarah (Logsdon)
True true. I've always believed that the resurrection is the cornerstone of Christian apologetics. Only recently I've learned a new depth to the meaning of the resurrection.
Hey Daniel P.
Just wanted to let you know that the ole blog has jumped ship from blogger and is not at wordpress.com
here is the new address if you want to change the link on your sidebar:
mattdabbs.wordpress.com
God bless,
Matt & Missy
Daniel! I have no idea if you keep up on this blog since it's been awhile since your last post, BUT, if you get a chance please read Kristy's blog at www.babywill.net. She posted about our baptism yesterday, but scroll down to the bottom of that post and click on "comments". There's a funny story about you on there! I was laughing out loud here at work and thought "that sounds JUST LIKE Daniel".
Thanks for your comment on my blog, Daniel. It's great to know that you're out there serving the Lord and bringing people to Christ. Not surprising. :o)
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