12AR17-17

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Apologia Report 17:17 (1,109)

May 16, 2012

Subject: Skeptic historian: Jesus existed, case closed

In this issue:

CULTURAL APOLOGETICS - The Hunger Games as an evangelistic tool

EHRMAN, BART - his latest book "targets the very crowd that formed the bulk of his audience?"

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CULTURAL APOLOGETICS

"Truth in Darkness: The Hunger Games as an Unexpected Resource for Apologists" by Holly Ordway -- argues that The Hunger Games trilogy [1], written by Suzanne Collins for young adults, provides "very useful material for literary apologetics - though perhaps in unexpected ways." In her amazon.com bio we read: "In the award-winning The Hunger Games trilogy, Collins continues to explore the effects of war and violence on those coming of age."

Ordway begins with a focus on the violence that's so prominent in the series. "[A]s the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Collins is in fact critiquing a number of disturbing elements in current culture.

... Appreciating her critique will allow apologists to make more effective use of the series to challenge young people's attitudes toward unhealthy entertainment choices. ...

"In the end, it becomes clear that Collins is not glorifying violence, but rather challenging the current cultural mindset that views violence as entertainment." Ordway explains how this perspective can be taken up by the Christian apologist.

Ordway also considers the glaring absence of any focus on the divine within the series. She discusses how the books use "the genre of dystopia [or, anti-utopia, as] a form of thought experiment in which aspects of present-day culture are taken to extremes to bring the dangers of the present day into clearer focus. ... Whether or not Collins intended the subtle atheism of the world of The Hunger Games to be a critique, as a good writer she explores the consequences of ideas and depicts them in the stories for readers to think through.

...

"Collins is an honest and thoughtful writer: the books show what it means to live in a world in which God exists but is unknown." Ordway reasons: "Given that so many characters die in the books, the absence of any reflection whatsoever on what happens after death is itself quite telling." She concludes: "The dystopian, violent world of The Hunger Games is, paradoxically, a safe place for seekers and apologists to meet to explore the truth claims of theism and Christianity." An outstandingly creative cover feature. Christian Research Journal, 35:2 - 2012, pp22-27.

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EHRMAN, BART

Did Jesus Exist? by Bart Ehrman [2] -- RNS writer Yonat Shimron acknowledges that "For years, nonbelievers rejoiced at the publication of a new book by New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman, relishing the professor's pugnacious attacks on the cherished beliefs of evangelical Christians.

"But in his latest offering, the University of North Carolina historian and author ... targets the very crowd that formed the bulk of his audience.

"In 'Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth,' Ehrman soundly refutes the arguments - sometimes made by atheists, agnostics and humanists - that early storytellers invented Jesus. ...

"Ehrman, an agnostic, convincingly demonstrates in clear, forceful prose that there was a historical Jesus, a Jewish teacher of the first century who was crucified by Pontius Pilate. As for the so-called 'mythicists' who argue otherwise, Ehrman has some choice words: 'sensationalist,' 'wrongheaded,' and 'amateurish.'"

Shimron poses the question: "What do mythicists argue?

"If Jesus really existed, mythicists ask why so few first-century writers mention him. These mythicists dismiss the Gospel accounts as biased and therefore non-historical. To many mythicists, the Jesus story is based on pagan myths about dying and rising gods.

"What does Ehrman argue?

"Ehrman points out that only about 3 percent of Jews in Jesus' time were literate, and Romans never kept detailed records. (Decades after Jesus' crucifixion, three Roman writers mention Jesus in passing, as does the Jewish historian Josephus.) Though the Gospel accounts are biased, they cannot be discounted as non-historical. As for Jesus being a Jewish version of the pagan dying and rising god, Ehrman shows that there is no evidence the Jews of Jesus' day worshipped pagan gods. If anything, Jesus was deeply rooted in Jewish, rather than Roman, traditions." RNS, Apr 3 '12, <www.bit.ly/HSTL9Y>

Still, Ehrman is no ally of Christianity. Writing for the Washington Post (Apr 4 '12, n.p.), Ehrman explains that he wrote the book "Because of the outspoken and surprisingly influential conspiracy theorists among us." The book "sets forth the consensus-view on this question, held by virtually everyone else, and certainly by all the acknowledged experts in the field."

Ehrman proudly proclaims that "no previous scholar in the fields of biblical studies, ancient history, or classics had ever set out to prove that Jesus actually existed" - until now.

"One of the most interesting questions in the history of religion involves how Christians argued with Jews over the matter, as they tried to show that despite universal expectations to the contrary, God's Messiah was in fact supposed to suffer and die. The Christians appealed to scriptures of the Jews that never mention the Messiah (Isaiah 53; Psalm 22; etc.) but that speak of someone suffering; they urged their potential converts that these were in fact prophecies of the Messiah. Jews responded, sensibly enough, by pointing out that these passages never mention the Messiah and were never understood, prior to the Christian reinterpretations, to be referring to the Messiah. And the debates continue till today.

"For the question of whether Jesus existed or not, this religious debate is both intriguing and decisive. If Christians wanted to invent a Messiah, they would not have created a crucified Messiah, since that was a Messiah no one expected and that proved to be the greatest 'stumbling block,' to use Paul's term, for anyone's conversion. Why then did Christians proclaim a crucified Messiah? It was because they believed, on one hand, that Jesus was the Messiah and they knew, on the other, that he was a real person who had been executed by the Romans. Christians did not invent the existence of the man Jesus. They invented the idea that the Messiah had to be crucified. They had to. Jesus really lived and actually did suffer an ignominious death." <www.tinyurl.com/cp2v7k5>

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxed Set (with Hunger Games [384 pages]; book two, Catching Fire [391 pages]; and, book three, Mockingjay [400 pages]), by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, 2010, hardcover) <www.tinyurl.com/7sxmqg3>

2 - Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth, by Bart D. Ehrman (HarperOne, 2012, hardcover, 368 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/6n3yddb>

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