Can We Still Believe in Jesus?

Oh, I can’t believe that…

Around of the 19th century Bruno Baur, theologian historian, concocted the notion that Jesus lived. According to Baur, Jesus was entirely mythical. He argued that Christ was simply a mental invention of a few century drew their concepts of their “Messiah” from Greco-Roman philosophy.

Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), a more recent German theologian and medical missionary, acknowledged the existence of a “Jesus,” but asserted in his book The Quest of the Historical Jesus (1906) that real Jesus of history was so different from the Christ revered Christians that the Lord Jesus of New Testament could not really be based upon historical fact.

Rudolph Augstein, publisher of the German Der Spiegel (Germany’s equivalent to our Time magazine), wrote a book titled Jesus, Son of Man in which he claimed that it is impossible to that Jesus was God the Son.

One author has noted that believers in Jesus are often saddled with the reputation of being very gullible, and that Christianity reminds some people of the scene in Alice in Wonderland when Alice asks the queen, “How old are you?” The queen responds, “I am a hundred and one, five months, and a day.” Alice shakes her head, “Oh, I can’t believe that.” The queen assures her, “Can’t you? Shut your eyes, hold your breath and try again.”

Not some blind leap into the dark

Faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God is not some blind leap into the dark. The identity of Jesus is based on an historically reliable document (Luke 1:1-4). We can know with certainty who He was, what He did, and what He expects of us. Our faith is not based on hearsay testimony, but on eyewitness accounts of His life, death, and resurrection (2 Peter 2:16; 1 John 1:1-3). The events and characters in question were not removed from the mainstream of life and society, but were open to the closest public examination. As Paul said to King Agrippa, “These things were not done in a corner” (Acts 26:26). Those who investigate Jesus are struck by His amazing appeal. He speaks to the issues that concern us. In the hospital, at the graveside, in the comfort of our own family room, the words of Jesus offer comfort and challenge to us. The alternative, disbelief, offers nothing.

We can be confident

There is not the slightest reason for us to question the biblical record concerning Jesus. We can be confident that the record is true. Our faith is not misplaced.

—Roger

AUGUST 12, 2012