Is Christianity true (the Bible)?
This blog is part of my series titled “Is Christianity true?” The series addresses four common objections to the truthfulness of the Christian worldview, namely concerns about: (1) the trustworthiness of the Bible; (2) the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection; (3) the compatibility of faith in God with modern science; and (4) the incompatibility of Christian truth claims with those of other worldviews.
IS THE BIBLE TRUSTWORTHY? EMBARRASSING CONTENT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
The human tendency is to avoid transparency since it relates to a person’s own weaknesses and misconduct. Either we avoid any reference to our mistakes or we provide versions of events that are favorable to us.
In this context, it is relevant that the New Testament accounts are full of details that would have been very embarrassing to the apostles. The early church leaders are often presented as slow to comprehend Jesus’ clear teaching on many topics, including the nature of the kingdom of God, His impending death at the hands of the authorities, and His resurrection on the third day after His death.
The New Testament accounts are full of details that would have been very embarrassing to the apostles.
On one occasion, after Peter told Jesus that His death at the hands of men would never happen, Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Matthew 16:23 NIV). No one would proudly record this account of failure, but someone interested in telling the truth would.
Jesus rebuked some of them for calling for the death of their enemies, as well as thinking only of themselves, as when John and James competed for the seats of honor next to Jesus in His coming kingdom. All the men abandoned Him at the time of His arrest, and most went into hiding. After vehemently promising Jesus that he would never deny Him, Peter did so three times within twenty-four hours!
Moreover, the women were the real heroes at the time of Jesus’ death and resurrection. They stayed by Him during His crucifixion and were the ones who discovered the empty tomb. In the culture of that day, a woman’s testimony carried little, if any, weight and was treated as unreliable when compared with that of a man. Yet the women and their testimonies play a significant role in the Gospel biographies.
Following his resurrection, Jesus had these words for some disciples on the road to Emmaus after they expressed their sadness and loss of hope as a result of Jesus’ death by crucifixion. “…’You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?’ Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:25–27 NLT-SE)
Given most leaders’ tendency to present matters in the most favorable light to themselves, the only reasonable explanation is that the accounts are true. They record what really happened, warts and all.
While not relevant to the topic at hand, the transparency modeled by the early church leaders and, in particular, the recording of their very real failings, should inspire 21st century followers of Jesus to imitate them. After all, the only Bible most leaders ever “read,” particularly in advanced economies, is us, their professional peers. The humility displayed in admitting failure speaks volumes about our truthfulness. In many cases, it could well soften their hearts and make them more open to what we have to say about our faith in God!
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
