The Historians and Christians

Consistent readers of this blog know I like history as well as the Kingdom of God. Thus, the relationship between the historians and Christians is related for me.

Christianity is completely wedded to history. If Jesus did not die on a Roman Cross about 30 AD under Pontius Pilate and rise again 3 days later, then there is no Christian faith to speak of. Glory be, Jesus, the firstborn born from the dead, lived in history and leads us onward.  All other history in the Bible is a minor issue if this main thing is proven.

Historians scoff at the idea that Jesus was a legend. We have no need to work on that. They know that Either the disciples were deceived, lying, or our Faith is real.

Seven letters (with consensus dates) considered genuine by most scholars:
* Galatians (c. 48 AD)
* First Thessalonians (c. 49–51)
* First Corinthians (c. 53–54)
* Second Corinthians (c. 55–56)
* Romans (c. 55–57)
* Philippians (c. 57–59 or c. …
* Philemon (c. 57–59 or c.

(Exact dates may have some small variance)

Historians and Christians Have Common Ground

I have said before that 7 letters of Paul are considered solid history.   For example, Paul said he went to Arabia after Damascus but Luke said he went back to Jerusalem. Historians doubt Acts as it differs from these 7 historically proven letters above.  Some of Acts, historians accept, and other parts they doubt just like the Gospel of Luke.

We do not need to bow before historians decisions. The 4 gospels are God’s truth to us and critical.  However, we should continue to back archeology. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are from Egypt and have millions of very old pieces. maybe 1 out 1000 have biblical material from before 400 AD.  Historians will decipher more  over time.  Totally knew discoveries continue to add to the proof of what we believe. We do not need this, but intellectuals have no need to fear the faith.

Finally, it is reasonable to belief that Jesus rose from the dead. It explains the explosive growth of Christianity in the first century AD as well as the violent death of most of the disciples.  Historians are our friends and helping us reach the lost.