Of course, the implication here is that in our “modern” age
of science and technology, we need a new approach to understand our faith. We
need a new way to understand Christianity without having to believe in things
like virgin births, water turning to wine, the instant healing of the blind and
leprous, the raising of the dead, and so on. Because, of course, science tells
us that these things are not possible.
In other words, if it can’t be explained in the natural,
then it must not be true. Sadly this is the view of many (so-called)
Christians. This is certainly true of the “Jesus Seminar” of which Dr. Borg has
been affiliated for decades. As I noted in my last post, the Jesus Seminar is a
group of self-described scholars who attempt to discover the “historical Jesus.”
According to apologist Greg Koukl, “they have rejected as myth the resurrection
of Jesus from the dead, the virgin birth, all Gospel miracles, and a full 82%
of the teachings normally attributed to Jesus--all dismissed as legendary
accretions with no historical foundation.”
As J.P. Moreland put it in 1995, the Jesus Seminar operates
from an “unfalsifiable presupposition” that is rooted in naturalism. Thus, he
notes, any event in the Bible that is deemed supernatural is automatically
dismissed as unhistorical.
Though the Brenau event implies that we are experiencing
something new in terms of science and religion (or, more precisely,
Christianity), a bias against the supernatural is almost as old as the devil
himself. Writing on “Religion and Science” in 1945, C.S. Lewis demonstrates the
absurdity of attempting to disprove the supernatural through mere natural
means.
“Science studies nature,” notes Lewis. “And the question is
whether anything besides Nature
exists—anything ‘outside.’ How could you find that out by studying simply
Nature?” Of course the answer is, you can’t. “By faith we understand that the
universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of
what was visible.”
Certainly ours is not a blind and ignorant faith. Though we
can’t prove or disprove the supernatural through natural means, this does not
mean that there is no evidence for what we believe. As the Apostle Paul noted
as he stood before King Agrippa, “What I am saying is true and reasonable.” For
the things upon which our faith rests were not “done in a corner.” We know in
whom we believe. The evidence is within Scripture as well as outside of it.
Noted Jewish archaeologist Nelson Glueck wrote: “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted (his word) a biblical reference.” He asserts that the “incredibly accurate historical memory of the Bible…is fortified by archaeological fact.”
Noted Jewish archaeologist Nelson Glueck wrote: “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted (his word) a biblical reference.” He asserts that the “incredibly accurate historical memory of the Bible…is fortified by archaeological fact.”
The great archaeologist William F. Albright states that
“There can be no doubt that archaeology has confirmed the substantial
historicity of the Old Testament tradition.” Millar Burrows of Yale, a leading
authority on the Dead Sea Scrolls, observes that “Archaeology has in many cases
refuted the views of modern critics. It has shown in a number of instances that
these views rest on false assumptions…” He explains such unbelief: “The
excessive skepticism of many liberal theologians stems not from a careful
evaluation of the available data, but from an enormous predisposition against
the supernatural.”
Copyright 2013, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
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