When you hear people protest that the Christian gospel was all constructed, exaggerated or augmented centuries after the time Jesus Christ is said to have lived in, or when you hear cultists say that the facts have been changed many times over the centuries and you need to leave your church and join theirs, you should know that these claims and accusations are unfounded.
Today’s post is the continuation of a series I began a few weeks ago, defending the historicity of the Bible. I here offer a layman’s summary of information passed on by New Testament scholar Gary Habermas, in a very recent video*. Gary is speaking primarily to affirm the fact that what we Christians believe and teach is in fact what was passed down from the earliest of days after the events in question.
COMPARING SOURCES
Gary first speaks of secular historical figures whose existence and works we never question, even though the earliest sources we use for that information were written far later than those relating to the gospel of Jesus Christ. For example, in the case of Alexander the Great, the earliest biography was written almost three hundred years after his time, and major ones were written 425 to 450 years after. Giving examples of religious or philosophical persons of the past, Gary describes the comments of one Buddhist PhD scholar, who freely admits that the best sources for what Buddha actually taught were written 600 to 800 years after his death.
In the case of the Hindu god Krishna, if he lived at all, the earliest copy of the Bhagavad Gita was written 4200 years after the time.
JESUS WAS/ IS NO MYTH
In complete contrast, there are a lot of sources from “very very early dates”, and from multiple sources, about key aspects of the life of Jesus. Well-known atheist scholar Barh Ehrman berates those who insist that Jesus is just a myth. He lists fifteen independent sources for the crucifixion of Jesus to within one hundred years of the event, while there are many more from just the following fifty years. Ehrman, though not believing in the deity of Christ himself, said the earliest Christians taught that Jesus was uncreated, and existed from eternity past. Habermas says that Ehrman, along with other scholars, believe these views are found within a year or two of the crucifixion.
THE RESURRECTION
On the matter of the resurrection, Gary speaks of famous theologian James DG Dunn, in a book “Remembering Jesus”, who wrote that the earliest credal statements found in the New Testament-and elsewhere-on Christ’s resurrection and post-resurrection appearances-probably began circulating within months of the event. Gary quotes other well-known scholars who have made similar statements. Such statements extend to the deity, the death and the resurrection of Jesus, and after all, says Gary, this is the gospel! Significantly, these views are commonly held among scholars whether they personally are believers, agnostics, or atheists.
CONSENSUS
Habermas continues. Over ninety percent of scholars who are experts in the New Testament today agree on the following facts:
Jesus died by crucifixion. Soon after, his followers believed they saw Jesus alive. These experiences were reported very early on: within days or at most a year or two. The lives of followers were transformed by these experiences. They were prepared to die for their Lord.
As an aside, Habermas observes that while people may become martyrs for someone or something they haven’t seen, it makes no sense that people who claim to have seen the events first-hand will die in defense of them if they know their claims to be false.
Continuing, Gary tells us that scholars also agree that James the brother of Jesus and Paul – both antagonists – became believers because they thought they saw Jesus. The experience changed them radically, and they “turned the world upside down”, despite constant threats against their lives.
HOW OLD ARE THE GOSPELS?
In the Q and A session, Habermas states that the status quo – the commonly held view among scholars concerning the dating of the gospels – is that Mark was written in 70 AD, Matthew 80 AD, Luke 85 AD and John 95 AD. The earliest New Testament document is probably 1 Thessalonians, dating to 50 AD: just twenty years after the cross. Gary mentions two agnostic scholars who, like himself, put the date of Mark at 40 AD and Matthew at 50 AD.
What are the sources for the earliest reports Gary had mentioned? In answer, he speaks of the credal texts within the New Testament. These were at first oral expressions, and would have been in use even before the dates of the writing of the gospels. Even atheist scholar Barth Ehrman says that these creeds are “pre-Pauline”.
*Habermas is a distinguished research professor of apologetics and philosophy and chairman of the department of philosophy at Liberty University. He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in interdisciplinary studies from Michigan State University in 1976; his thesis was titled “The resurrection of Jesus: a rational inquiry”. Habermas previously acquired a master’s degree (1973) from the University of Detroit, in philosophical theology.
The video I’ve summarized here can be found on YouTube:
The Best Historical Sources for Jesus – Gary Habermas.
Fuel for Faith, Food for Thought 