One of the “side brilliances” of the Lord is His drawing upon the backgrounds of His servants for His purposes.  For instance: I once had the privilege of meeting a retired military special operations officer who is now involved in strategic evangelistic efforts in places that are outwardly off-limits.   Of course, think of the early lives of Moses and Paul too, and how God used their pre-ministry experiences for Himself.  Isn’t it good to know God is limitless in His creativity in coming up with ways to build up and equip His Church!

Last night I took two CDs of information from Carlos.  Carlos carries a big sign that says “Jesus Isn’t Coming Back” and passes out his atheist literature.  We tend to stand a few feet away on the same corner on Friday nights–which is always amusing to passers-by.   Anyway…

Carlos gave me a bunch of information.  Well, “information” is a generous term.  Conspiracies or atheistic boilerplate rhetoric are more accurate terms.  …Supposed contradictions in the Bible, Christianity seeks to control the world banks, etc.  I tried to be open, hoping to use it to build a friendship with Carlos and learn for my own evangelistic training.  Very little, if any, of the material is well-documented and almost none of it can be substantiated by any reference older than a few hundred years.

I decided to do some light research on was what is known as the “Christ Myth”, the idea that the Christian centerpiece, Jesus Christ, never existed and furthermore was nearly identical in description to over 30 other ancient pagan deities; with similar titles, claims of virgin birth, miracles–even crucifixion and resurrection.  This all sounded so contrived but how would I cut my way through the thick overgrowth of internet rumor and unsubstantiated claims to prove it?

Enter J.P. Holding and his website/ministry http://www.tektonics.org/.  Mr. Holding has Masters’ Degree in Library Science, which, in his terms means, “I’m an expert at looking things up and answering questions.”  The Lord has used J.P.’s background and his impressive skills to build a treasure trove of an apologetic website.  I’m glad I came across it and look forward to recommending more from it.

As for the “Christ Myth” stuff…turns out Mr. Holding has a new book coming out in a few weeks.  The bottom line:  99.9% of the supposed “earlier” similarities have no scholarly historical veracity–no ancient proof.  The other .1%?  Vague generalities that could be attributed to any deity figure.  Check out http://www.tektonics.org/copycat/copycathub.html for yourself.

We can’t know everything about everything.  When you share your faith you will be confronted with all kinds of theories masquerading as proven facts. (Afterall, “they” say it’s true because “they” have found evidence, blah blah blah…)  But it is good to know at least one answer to give to refute the claim and thereby plant the seed of doubt in your hearer’s conscience.  But then don’t waste time with rabbit trails.  Get back to the gospel; there isn’t time to lose!

Posted: June 21st, 2008 under Apologetics, Atheism, Evangelism.
Comments: 1