The GOSPELS/History or Myth?

AROUND the world the story of Jesus of Nazareth-a young man who changed the course of human history-is woven into the fabric of society. It is part of people's formal and informal education. Many consider the Gospels to be the fountain of timeless truths and adages, such as, "Let your yes mean Yes, your No, No." (Matthew 5:37) Indeed, the Gospel accounts may have been the basis for lessons that your parents taught you, whether they were Christian or not.  

For millions of sincere followers of Christ, the Gospels have provided the description of the man for whom they have been willing to suffer and die.  The Gospels  have also provided  the basis and inspiration for courage, endurance, faith and hope. Would you not, then, agree that  it should take irrefutable evidence to dismiss these accounts as mere fiction? Considering the immense influence that the Gospel accounts have had on human thought and behavior, would you not demand convincing proof if someone wanted to cast doubt on their authenticity?

We invite you to consider a number of thought-provoking questions regarding the Gospels. See for yourself what certain  students of the Gospels think about these issues, even though some of them do not profess to be Christians.  Then you can draw your own informed conclusions. 

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

Could the Gospels be a masterful invention?

Robert Funk, the founder of the Jesus Seminar, says:  "Matthew, Mark, Luke and John 'marketed the Messiah' to make him conform  to Christian doctrine that evolved after the death of Jesus.' While the Gospels were being written, however, many who had heard Jesus' sayings, had observed his deeds, and had seen him after his resurrection were still alive. They did not change the Gospel writers with any form of fraud.

Consider the death and resurrection of Christ. Not only do the Gospels contain reliable accounts of Jesus' death and resurrection but so does the apostle Paul's first canonical letter to Christians in ancient Corinth.  He wrote:  "I handed on to you, among the first things, that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to  the Scriptures, and that he appeared to  Cephas, then to the twelve. After that he appeared to upward of five hundred  brothers at one time, the most of whom to remain  to the present, but some have fallen asleep in death. After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles; but last of all he appeared also to me as if to one born prematurely." (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)  Such witnesses were custodians of historical facts regarding the life of Jesus.  

The inventiveness alleged by modern critics is not found in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Rather, it appears in documents of the second century C.E. So certain unscriptural narratives  about Christ were produced when an apostasy from true Christianity was developing among communities alienated from the apostolic congregation.  -Acts 20:28-30. 

Next time: Continue with: The GOSPELS/History or Myth -QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000