Jesus, Interrupted

A guy named Burt Ehrman has just released a book by the title Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible. I ran across Ehrman first time a few days ago as he was highlighted in the main news feed on CNN.com.

What attracted my attention to Ehrman was what separates him from the millions of other critics and skeptics of Christianity. He began his education in very conservative evangelical schools (Moody Bible and Wheaton College). But over time he became an skeptic, writing books challenging the core beliefs of the Christian faith.

Ehrman has an unique vantage point as he communicates his views. He can speak the "insider" language of the Christian community, knowing that average Christians are unfamiliar with the arguments he presents and the "contradictions" he alleges are found in Scripture through critical comparisons of the gospel narratives. While Ehrman's suggestions and assertions are in no way original, the manner in which it is presented is unique.

Ehrman attempts to "enlighten" the masses by what he says Biblical scholars have known a long time. He asserts that pastors and ministers aren't telling their churches what the "real" story is for fear that they can't handle the truth. His target is primary directed at casting doubts on the historical reliability of Scripture and the resurrection of Jesus.

While we are unable to historically or scientifically prove if the resurrection occurred, readers of Ehrman's works need to realize that there are convincing arguments on both sides of this issues. Some would like you to think that being a Christ-follower and believing in the resurrection of Jesus is only for the intellectually blind and illogical who refuses to examine the facts. But the truth is, clever arguments and philosophical reasoning can be used to support both sides of the argument. (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjOSNj97_gk)

Although a debate by two really smart guys does not prove a thing, it does show that people of faith have historical and logical reasons for believing Jesus is God. But ultimately, it comes down to a matter of faith because we cannot empirically prove matters of faith (or any historical event.)

I think it is helpful for believer or non-believers to look into the claims of critics. People must take ownership of their faith. We need not be scared of Ehrman or others who attempt to cast doubts on our beliefs, but instead be diligent in seeking out other voices who have researched and studied the matters and arrived at a different conclusion. This is a healthy process.

Although I put these doubts to rest over 10 years ago, I find it helpful to revisit the reasons for my faith. Most recently it was very early this past Easter Sunday morning I awoke and found myself unable to fall back to sleep. I was thinking about the reasons why I am a Christi follower, why is every aspect of my life is influenced by a man who walked this earth nearly 2000 years ago? Some of my reasons were experiential and others were more logical. While one of these ten reasons in itself is not that impressive, the total weight of these reasons gives me confidence to passionately pursue God and train my children and our church to follow Jesus Christ.

Prior to reading my list, see if you can come up with 10 reasons you follow Jesus.

1. I grew up in the faith.
2. Faith gives hope, purpose and meaning to life.
3. It seems natural and logical to believe that there is a God. I just can't accept that we are here by chance. The universe is to vast and amazing to believe it just evolved.
4. The teachings of Jesus are so profound and yet so simple.
5. Jesus altered history and is unique in history by claiming to be God and validating those claims through supernatural demonstrations of power.
6. Jesus commissioned his message (of his coming Kingdom) to the disciples (Matthew 16:19), who in turn carried it out by building the church and writing the Scriptures.
7. I have experienced joy and satisfaction through a relationship with Jesus.
8. The narrative of Scripture does better to explain the biggest questions of life and existence. There are other attempts to answer these questions, but to me they fall way short.
9. Since I believe there is a God then it only makes sense to arrive at the conclusion that He would make a way for us to understand and know him.
10. The resurrection! To me, the empty tomb cannot be explained away. Many people saw and touched Jesus after he arose from the grave!