What Does Martyrdom Prove?

The other day I was talking to my Atheist friend at work about the foundations of the Christian faith.  I mentioned the evidentiary importance of the martyrdom of the Apostles.

He replied with indignation:

You can't use their martyrdom as evidence.  It proves nothing.  There are plenty of people who die for all kinds of things.  So are you willing to say every other faith with martyrs is true as well?

Is that the case?  The Apostolic martyrdoms has long been used as evidence for the truth of the Christian claim.  But does that work?  Does their willingness to die prove anything?

Did Jesus Claim to be God in the Synoptics?

Probably the most famous argument in Christian apologetics is the so-called “Trilemma Argument”.  It notes how Jesus’ claim to divinity in the New Testament forces a limited number of choices upon us.

One common way around this argument is to assert that Jesus is not really presented as divine in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  It sounds something like this:

“All that stuff about Jesus claiming to be God comes from the Gospel of John, which was written long after the original Jesus story had become the subject of myth.  The other, earlier Gospels contain none of these portrayals of a divine messiah.  In those he is just a miracle-working prophet.”

So today I wanted to respond to this by going through five ways Jesus claimed to be God – or was presented as God - in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Did Jesus Start a "Religion" ?

A few years ago there was a fella who made a video in which he rapped (or something) about how much he loves Jesus and hates “religion”.   Recently a student approached me saying a friend recommended the guy’s book to her.  The chapters have titles like:

• Religion Points to a Dim Future / Jesus Points to a Bright Future
• Religion Makes Enemies / Jesus Makes Friends
• Religion Says “God will love you if…” / Jesus says, “God so loved…”
• Fundies, Fakes, and Other So-Called Christians...

The first thing that strikes me is that if you want to make friends and not enemies... perhaps it best not to call people "fakes" and use derogatory terms like "fundies".  Either way, my student wanted to know how we might respond to the fella’s assertions.  That’s what I wanted to look at today. 

What is a “religion” … and did Jesus start one?

Does the Bible Count as Evidence?

One of my students recently asked me:

“How do we know any of this is true?  You know, without just relying on the Bible?”

That is a good question – and a common one.  It is influenced by a form of skepticism which is common among modern agnostics.  This form of skepticism treats the Bible as a single “religious text” and then dismisses it as having no evidentiary value.
 
If you have ever heard someone say…

“Can you show me any of this stuff from actual historical sources?  Can you give me some source other than your holy book?”

… you have encountered this form of skepticism.
 
Today I want to take a look at that attitude.  Is it reasonable?   And how should we use the Bible when talking to skeptics?

If Catholics Are Not Christians...

A few years ago my mother got a piece of mail from Moody Radio.  It included a pamphlet with a Q&A for new Christian believers.  Among the questions was:

Can a person continue going to the Catholic Mass after becoming a Christian?

Their answer was... no. 

Mom showed me the pamphlet and asked what on earth they meant.  She had no idea there was a contingent of Christians - particularly in America - who did not regard Catholics among their Christian brethren.  For practicallity sake, let's call these folks CNCs (Catholics are Not Christians).

Today I want to address this phenomenon and present an argument to show its absurdity. 

Who Counts as a Christian?

The eleventh chapter of Acts records an important moment in Christian history:

"And in Antioch the disciples were first called 'Christians'." - Acts 11:26

To be a "Christian" means you are a member of Jesus' flock, a disciple of the Lord, and a member of the New Covenant in Christ.   Inversely, if someone tells you you’re NOT a Christian, you are being told that you’re none of those things.  So it's kind of a big deal.

I thought of that a few days ago I saw this video where some guy (with amazing hair) interviewed a Catholic nun.  He opened the talk by saying a survey of his audience revealed 84% of them considered Catholics to be Christians.  Of course, this means 16% either said “no” ... or weren't sure.

I could go on about the sad (and ironic) phenomenon of people thinking Catholics aren't Christians, but not today.  Today I wanted to ask a different question:

Who counts as a Christian anyway?  

And perhaps just as importantly:

Who decides?

If Jesus Was a Myth...

CS Lewis famously asserted his "Trillemma" argument regarding the identity of Jesus of Nazareth.  It proposes that a man who claims to be God can be one of three things; God, a wicked liar, or a complete madman.  This is usually called the alliterative “Lord, Liar, Lunatic Trillemma”.

There is a fourth option which CS Lewis dismissed based on his knowledge of literature.  Namely, that New Testament is either partly or entirely mythological.  This option is often labeled, "Legend".  It proposes that the Apostles (or other early Christians) embellished Jesus' story with claims to divinity or completely fabricated the man wholesale.

So... What Caused God?

"OK... what caused God?"

"Well, nothing.  God has just always been around."

"That seems rather convenient."

This exchange usually occurs when someone argues that God must exist because... well... where did the universe come from?

Even if one puts forward a solid case for why the universe needs some kind of creative cause, one quickly finds that there is more work to do. Because in the mind of a skeptic the idea of God existing infinitely into the past seems just as absurd as the universe doing the same.  So if the universe demands a cause, why not God?    

Answering this question will require us to take a look at two classic arguments for the existence of God.  Most people think of these arguments as trying to prove God's existence from reason - which they do - but they also help us clarify what God  is (and isn't).

So let's dive in.

The Crucifixion - What and Why

Today is Good Friday, the day Christians the world over remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  Saint Paul described the cross as a “stumbling block”

“For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” - 1 Corinthians 1:22

He may well have added that it is a stumbling block to 21st Century Americans, who want God to be a harmless and kindly grandfather.  The idea of our salvation culminating in a crazy level of violence directed toward an innocent man is a tough pill to swallow among some audiences.

Today I want to take a look at the crucifixion and ask a few questions:

• How exactly does this event bring about our salvation?
• Why did God choose to do it this way?

Love the Sinner...

A friend of mine asked me to write something about love.  Not in the sense of “I love cookies”, but in the “loving your neighbor” type of way.

So I decided to talk about the old adage of "love the sinner, hate the sin".  Here goes.

Sin, Virtue, and God's Anger

I was teaching Bible study last week when a student asked, "Is [blank] a sin?"

I felt an odd sort of embarrassment in answering the question.  My mind produced an image of myself as a revivalist preacher - scaring the daylights out of impressionable people, waving my Bible at them, and commanding them to repent their wicked ways or incur the anger of God. 

And while I do want the little rascals to repent their wicked ways... it makes one ask: In favor of what? 

What is "The Authority Bomb?"

A couple years ago a friend asked me a question about the structure of the Catholic Church.  It went something like this:

Why do you need to listen to bishops and the pope?  Why can’t you just use the Scriptures to have an unmediated personal relationship with God?

"The Church is Full of Hypocrites"

“The Church would be great if we could just get rid of all the sinners.”

That sarcastic little quip comes from the mouth of Patrick Coffin, host of a popular Christian radio show.  It is meant to point out that the pews would be empty if such a task was undertaken.  There would be beautiful architecture, ornate stained glass windows, and nobody there. 

Judge Not...

Recently I’ve seen the following picture pop up in a few places:

 Aside from the problematic nature of putting vulgar words into the mouth of Christ, this picture typifies one of the most common and least examined non-sequiters in our culture; the conflation of judging actions and judging people.  Today I’d like to examine that piece of modern wisdom.

Why do People Go to Hell?

One of the first things people learn about the Christian faith is the two eternal destinations: Heaven and Hell.  

The basic formula we learn is that good people go to Heaven - where everyone lives on fluffy clouds and plays harps.  Bad people, on the other hand, will go to Hell - where they will undergo an eternity of fiery punishment. 

The concept of Hell can be very confusing.  Most of us don’t want to see harm come to other people – even those we dislike.  The idea of condemning a person to an eternity of misery and torment seems a bit… psychotic.  Yet, Christianity posits that our infinitely good, infinitely loving, and infinitely merciful God is prepared to do just that.

So… what’s that about?  How could a loving God do that to someone?

Can Christians Consume Crayfish?

A few weeks ago I ran across an online post called, "11 Things the Bible Bans, But You Do Anyway". It was a fascinating list that included things like tattoos, eating shellfish, and trimming one’s sideburns.  A formidable list!  And indeed, all of those prohibitions can be found in the pages of Scripture.  But the post invites a question…

 What does it mean when someone says “the Bible forbids” something?