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Can the Gospels be Trusted?
The Scriptures in general, and the Gospels in particular, have been under a massive assault in recent years not only from atheists but from those in the liberal theological sector. Some say that much of the Gospels was invented by the early church. In the last generation the representative of this criticism was Rudolf Bultmann. In this generation critics include the Jesus Seminar (i.e., Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, etc.), Bishop Spong, and Elaine Pagels. From a more secular point of view, Bart Ehrman and Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code have attracted a large readership. What can be said to these attacks that so permeate our culture, surfacing in editorials, TV talk shows, and blogs? Can we give a credible argument that the Gospels are historical? Yes. There is strong evidence for the reliability of the Gospels, and it is important to know it if our faith is to withstand the attacks of unbelieving scholars.
Study Questions:
- What are some of these unlikely bestsellers?
- What is the evidence that Jesus was married and had a child?
- Was Jesus’ divinity invented at Nicea (325 AD)?
- Does the discovery of the Gospel of Judas cause us to question
what we have believed? - Do the Gnostic Gospels change our picture of Jesus?
- Is the New Testament text hopelessly corrupted?
- Was the Canon determined by the winners?