Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Why You Can Taste and Never Hunger Again –Questions from M

Why You Can Taste and Never Hunger Again –Questions from M

Last updated on: June 10, 2017 at 10:36 am by John Mark N. Reynolds

Why You Can Taste and Never Hunger Again –Questions from M 2017-06-10T10:36:04-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Beef jerky is a rare treat in our house. If we ask about this snack, the answer is always “we need more.” If we go to Costco and buy some, then the response is: “we need even more.”

So it is with evidence regarding the life of Jesus. If you testify to His awesome life, then you most often end up a Christian: Jesus is just that overwhelming. But to the modern critic, trapped in his own time, this makes you suspect! Multiple witnesses to events—this was, by the way, rare in ancient times—become dubious because the events overwhelm them and make them partisan.

The multiplicity of witnesses may be evidence of something awesome.

The demand is always for “more.” A good example of this is my summer interlocutor, M*. He asks:

40. If God wanted us to believe the claims made in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, would he not have provided multiple lines of evidence outside of the writers of the Bible to corroborate their claims?

We have four gospels, epistles by believers, and later historical accounts by non-Christians. That is a lot of data (if only I had that much data on Plato’s Timaeus!), but because of the overwhelming nature of the experience, most responded by becoming Christian.

What would you expect?

When I go to Church and see the true Light, I believe. What else can I do? It is that good, true, and beautiful.

I am bold to say: “I believe, O Lord, and I confess that . . .” and I do believe and I do confess. The joy of it all makes me part of the very religion to which I testify.

I could almost wish it was not that way so I could make M* fulfilled: I would be an outsider testifying to my experience. I cannot.

So it was with the Gospel and Epistle writers:

Matthew was there from the beginning.
Mark saw the events as a young man and believed.
Luke talked to eyewitnesses and was persuaded.
John knew Jesus personally and loved Him.
Paul did not meet Jesus in the flesh, but he was changed forever by experiencing him in the Spirit.
These men and the women they interviewed ended up in the Biblical canon because they were persuaded. The events surrounding Jesus’ life were just that dramatic and persuasive.

What happens if you keep trying to provide external sources of evidence, but the evidence is so overwhelming that everyone converts? You end up with the New Testament.

Recall: the Bible is not one book, but a collection of many books by many authors. There are no older eyewitness or contemporary accounts left out of that collection.

If you knew Jesus, you either betrayed, killed, or followed Him. He was that great.

The demand for more evidence is irrational.

Socrates had a critic, Aristophanes, who poked fun at the sage in The Clouds. So? That only shows that Socrates was less overwhelming than Jesus. Socrates had his Xenophon, Aristophanes, and Plato, but Jesus made disciples. You could hate Jesus, but you could not merely mock him as Aristophanes did Socrates.

And so it goes.

God gives many testimonies to the truth, but the truth is so true that moderns reject the witness. Instead, let’s look to see what the Biblical authors saw; a Jesus so divine, human, mighty, and vulnerable, that they chose to say: “My Lord and my God.”

We cry for “more,” but what if all our needs are satisfied? What if we taste and are never hungry again?

That is Christianity.

——————

*M is a non-Christian that sent me 55 questions early this year. He has asked that I not reveal his or her name. I will write as if “he” is a male, but this is for convenience. I do not know if I will get to all his questions. Here are questions 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 17, 19, 23, 26, 27, 28, 34, 35, 37, 39, 40, 44, 47, 54 , and 55.

The post was edited by Rachel Motte.

Apologetics

Spiritual Reflections

Previous Post

June 9, 2017

You are Biased! --Questions from M

Next Post

June 11, 2017 They Moved to a Heavenly City and Understood --Questions from M

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How did Judas signal who Jesus was to the soldiers?

Select your answer to see how you score.

By handing Him bread By pointing By shouting With a kiss

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »