One particular entity is the so-called "Jesus Seminar". This group of scholars gathers twice a year to examine scripture and try to determine
- Whether Jesus actually said "it" (any particular passage)
- Whether Jesus likely said "it"
- No way Jesus said "it"
They then vote according to their own conclusions. I suppose then they expect the world to believe them because by a vote of the minds, they have concluded that Gabriel could not have visited Mary, the Virgin Birth was a myth, and that Jesus never changed water into wine. Exactly how they arrived at these conclusions - while still maintaining the divinity of Christ (I think) - is beyond me.
Nevertheless, I was searching through the Koran to find something for another paper and stumbled across this little tidbit: "When they come to argue with you, the unbelievers say: 'This is nothing but fables of the ancients.' They forbid it and distance themselves from it. They ruin none but themselves though they do not perceive it." 6:20
Of course the Bible is not silent about false teachers who seem determined to somehow undermine the saving grace of YHWH through Christ. What I do not understand is how such a denial can be made while still trying to maintain the integrity of the Scriptures as "inspired".
It seems to me that such outfits as the "Jesus Seminar" may come dangerously close to drawing in Christians with promises of attempts to "prove" the legitimacy of the Scripture while making quite rational arguments against blind faith.
Reading the Bible critically as in reading the words more carefully can go a long way toward dismissing stories from the past that grandma passed on. Reading the Bible critically as in attempting to find fault, however, does nothing good for those who continue to struggle in the faith. And that's precisely what it is: FAITH.
There is much that cannot be explained by man (Revelation leaps to mind!), but faith allows the Holy Spirit to speak to that void. This is a very important element that seems to be missing from these scholars' thoughts.
6 comments:
My profs say that the Jesus Seminary is merely work by people who are portrayed by the MSM as scholars, but in real Biblical studies, are not.
My last instructor, who leaned toward conservative, said that there were too many "no name" scholars to take it too seriously. Robert Borg is the only one I've ever even heard of, and he's off-the-chart liberal. For instance, he maintains that the Virgin Birth "cannot" be literally true, but yet the story is "profoundly" true. In his book, "Reading the Bible again for the first time", this is where he lost me.
It isn't uncommon to hear people dismiss the Seminar before hearing their arguments. Actually they love it people put up a thesis and defended in opposition to their own statements. Honestly they often don't even agree amongst themselves. What they do is challenege each other to make an argument and defend it. And to the idea that they are filled with "no name scholars" Borg, Spong, Crossan, Funk, Pagels, Schussler are hardly no name scholars.
They are "no name" to me simply because I've not heard from them. My own perspective, I know, but before I can take any one of them seriously, I need to know something about them. Their mere presence proves nothing to me. Then again, who am I? Better yet, who are YOU??
People fall into the trap of attempting to defend Gods word. This is a sensless task since it needs no defense. People who have tried to discredit it always fail. Especially when studied in depth. Take the original, put it into context and who it was addressed to and it always comes out absolute truth.
Very well said, T.F. Thank you for stopping by!
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