Clickbait Critics
An Easter Tradition!
April, 2022
The Easter season is filled with yearly traditions. Unfortunately, these include the predictable news stories, documentaries, op-eds, and other submissions which claim to debunk the literal resurrection of Christ. Lately, most of these seek to cast doubt on the reliability of the written Gospels. They attempt to explain away historical facts supporting the sincerity of those claimed to see a resurrected Christ. These also prey on the sizzle-over-steak nature of social media and modern news.
Common among these claims is that any written records about Jesus, such as the Four Gospels, were deliberately fabricated to match Old Testament prophecies. The events did not occur, and people only believed what they read because they read it decades after the fact.
Such claims ignore the fact that biblical interpretation was the major reason for Jesus' clash with His opponents. Within the Jewish community, the Old Testament scriptures were well known. Many of the religious leaders Jesus berated during His ministry were experts in Old Testament law and prophecy. Most of these leaders rejected Jesus as the Messiah because he did not fit their expected pattern. Their studies of the Old Testament led them to assume that Messiah would be a military leader, who would conquer all of Israel's enemies once and for all. When Jesus began preaching peace, teaching love and healing people, they rejected him. Writers like Matthew quoted prophecies heavily, seeking to convince Jewish readers that Jesus was, in fact, the Messiah.
It's not entirely unreasonable for a skeptic to wonder if the Gospel writers made up their stories, or if they'd added to them to make them look better. The good news is that history, archaeology and human nature all support the Gospels as accurate, honest accounts. The simplest proofs of the Gospels' validity come from outside historical sources, the nature of the Gospels themselves, and logic.
Non-biblical sources support the existence of basic Christian doctrines very soon after the crucifixion of Christ. Most of these are not sympathetic to Christianity; that is, they were not written by Christians, but what they describe harmonizes with Gospel accounts. Other outside sources support the miracles and resurrection of Jesus. These include Pliny the Younger and Josephus. Some historical figures mentioned in the Bible were once disputed, yet archaeology has discovered more and more evidence supporting the New Testament's views of the world.
The Gospels were not the original sources of Christian belief. They were all written some years after the resurrection of Jesus. Some of Paul's letters, containing core Christian beliefs, were written before the Gospels were. In fact, these letters were written too soon after the crucifixion of Jesus for "tall tales and legends" of that magnitude to develop. The early church spread by word of mouth, and writers such as Matthew, Mark, and Luke intended their works to explain why Christians believed in Christ. They were written during the lives of the Apostles, and during the lives of the many witnesses to Jesus' ministry. So, it would have been very difficult for them to lie or stretch the truth, especially while being so clear as to where and when Jesus performed his miracles.
The structure of the Gospels lends credibility. Those who criticize the Bible often point out that the Gospel accounts are not identical when discussing the same events. This would be a problem if the accounts contradicted each other. In fact, the Gospel writers each mention the details most important to their audience, and they can be harmonized easily. Also, we'd be rightly suspicious of several authors, writing at different times, all describing the exact same things exactly the same way. That would suggest a conspiracy. The Gospels encourage readers to seek the truth by naming names and places. Liars would have been careful not to help people prove them wrong.
Additionally, the Gospel writers were not afraid to include details that fiction-writers would have left out. Consider the method of Christ's death, His association with "sinners", the discovery of the empty tomb by women, His claims of divinity, and so forth. These were all profoundly scandalous claims in that culture. Yet, the Gospel writers included them, as any honest historian or biographer would.
Among the greatest proofs of the integrity of the Gospel writers is the lack of dissention. Since the Gospels were written while the Apostles were still alive, any falsehoods would have been openly and strongly challenged. No such argument has ever been described; all the Apostles agreed with what was being said. These men were shamed, hated, mocked, persecuted, jailed, beaten, tortured, and very often murdered for their faith. All it would have taken to discredit the Gospels was for just one of these men to admit to lying, or even to pretend he lied to save his own skin. None did. Men will die for what they believe is true, but no one sacrifices their life for what they know is a lie. That at least twelve men who knew Jesus passed this test makes the likelihood of it all being a ruse impossible.
All of this means that what the Gospels say is true! We can know, without doubt, that we are saved from our sins if we trust in Christ (John 14:6). Nothing else we do can save us or make us worthy (Ephesians 2:8,9). By repenting of our sins, and placing a submissive, trusting faith in Christ as our savior, we can have assurance of heaven (John 3:16; Acts 16:31). You can have that eternal peace of mind today! Admit to God that you are a sinner, just like everyone in the world (Romans 3:23). Ask his forgiveness, and tell Him you are putting your faith and trust in Him to save you. He promises he won't turn you away (John 6:37).
