CAN WE TRUST THE GOSPELS?

John 19:31-3631 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of His bones will be broken."

"We can't trust history, because all historic accounts have been written by the winners." Many secular professors and scholars make this claim.

It's also the belief of Dan Brown, writer of the bestseller The DaVinci Code. He uses this conclusion to support his opinion that we can't trust the biblical accounts about Jesus.

Brown's novel is supposed to be historical fiction, but he promotes it by claiming it's based on "facts" that have been covered up by the church: Jesus was not miraculously resurrected; Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene; some people living today are genetic descendants of Jesus; the New Testament is deliberately deceptive; the real truth about Jesus is found in the so-called Lost Gospels.

This "history"--according to Dan Brown--is the real truth. So his novel is not based on established history, which he thinks is false, but on the "real history" he believes Leonardo DaVinci knew and sought to reveal in hidden symbols in his paintings.

Many scholars have examined Brown's claims and have found them to be mere fiction. Yet thousands of Bible believers are questioning their faith because of his writings. They're beginning to have doubts about the New Testament.

That's actually good. Writer George MacDonald asks, "What are doubts but the strengthening building blocks toward summits of yet higher faith in Him who always leads us into the high places?"

I've had doubts about my faith. And those doubts persisted--until I took the time to face them squarely, think about them honestly, look for the truth earnestly and prayerfully, and then trust God fully. After all, if biblical history can't stand up to honest scrutiny, we shouldn't believe it. Even the apostle Paul said, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile" (1 Corinthians 15:17).

I believe the integrity of the Gospels is questioned primarily by those who choose to resist God. In the end, faith is about the surrender of the human will, not the surrender of human reason. --Dean Ohlman

DESTINATION POINTS

* How do challenges to my faith--and the real history that supports it--affect me?
* Do these attacks tend to stifle my witness as a believer? How can they drive me to dig even deeper into the foundations of my faith?

LINKS:
What Are The Gnostic Gospels?
gospelcom.net/rbc/questions/answer/christian/gnosticism/gnosticgospels.xml/

How Can I Handle My Doubts About God? http://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/questions/handledoubtsgod3.html

bottom line: Without Jesus, history makes no sense.

soul journey