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Saturday, October 21, 2023
Excerpt from The Case for the Real Jesus, A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks On The Identity of Christ by Lee Strobel
APPENDIX A
A SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE FROM THE CASE FOR CHRIST
Here is a summary of the historical evidence for Jesus Christ from thirteen experts who were interviewed for my book The Case for Christ:
CAN THE BIOGRAPHIES OF JESUS BE TRUSTED?
I once thought that the Gospels were merely religious propaganda, hopelessly tainted by overactive imaginations and evangelistic zeal. But Craig Blomberg of Denver Seminary, one of the country’s foremost authorities on the biographies of Jesus, built a convincing case that they reflect eyewitness testimony and bear the unmistakable earmarks of accuracy. So early are these accounts of Jesus’ life that they cannot be explained away as legendary inventions. “Within the first two years after his death,” Blomberg said, “significant numbers of Jesus’ followers seem to have formulated a doctrine of the atonement, were convinced that he had been raised from the dead in bodily form, associated Jesus with God, and believed they found support for all these convictions in the Old Testament.” A study indicates that there was nowhere enough time for legend to have developed and wiped out a solid core of historical truth.
DO JESUS’ BIOGRAPHIES STAND UP TO SCRUTINY?
Blomberg argued persuasively that the gospel writers intended to preserve reliable history, were able to do so, were honest and willing to include difficult-to-explain material, and didn’t allow bias to unduly color their reporting. The harmony among the Gospels on essential facts, coupled with divergence on some incidental details, lends historical credibility to the accounts. What’s more, the early church could not have taken root and flourished right there in Jerusalem if it had been teaching facts about Jesus that his own contemporaries could have exposed as exaggerated or false. In short, the Gospels were able to pass all eight evidential tests, demonstrating their basic trustworthiness as historical records.
WERE JESUS’ BIOGRAPHIES RELIABLY PRESERVED FOR US?
World-class scholar Bruce Metzger, professor emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary, said that compared to other ancient documents, there is an unprecedented number of New Testament manuscripts and that they can be dated extremely close to the original writings. The modern New Testament is about 99 percent free of meaningful textual discrepancies, with no major Christian doctrine in doubt. The criteria used by the early church to determine which books should be considered authoritative have ensured that we possess the best records about Jesus.
The Case for the Real Jesus, A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks On The Identity of Christ by Lee Strobel p 271-272
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Article in Smith's Bible Dictionary about Handicraft
HANDICRAFT. Acts 18:3; 19:25; Rev. 18:22. A trade was taught to all the Jewish boys, as a necessary part of their education. Even the greatest rabbis maintained themselves by trades (Delitzsch). Says Rabbi Jehuda, “He who does not teach his son a trade is much the same as if taught him to be a thief.” In the present article brief notices only can be given of such handicraft trades as are mentioned in Scripture.
1. Smiths or metal-workers.—The preparation of iron for use wither in war, in agriculture, or for domestic purposes was doubtless one of the earliest applications of labor; and together with iron, working in brass, or rather copper alloyed with tin (bronze), is mentioned as practiced in antediluvian times. Gen. 4:22. After the establishment of the Jews in Canaan, the occupation of a smith became recognized as a distinct employment. 1 Sam. 13:19. The smith’s work and its results are often mentioned in Scripture. 2 Sam. 12:31; 1 Kings 6:7; 2 Chron. 26:14; Isa. 44:12; 54:16. The worker in gold and silver must have found employment among both the Hebrews and the neighboring nations in very early times. Gen. 24:22, 53; 35:4; 38:18. Various processes of the goldsmith’s work are illustrated by Egyptian monuments. After the conquest frequent notices are found of both moulded and wrought metal, including soldering.
2. Carpenters are often mentioned in Scripture. Gen. 6:14; Ex. 37; Isa. 44:13. In the palace built by David for himself the workmen employed were chiefly foreigners. 2 Sam. 5:11. That the Jewish carpenters must have been able to carve with some skill is evident from Isa. 41:7; 44:13. In the New Testament the occupation of a carpenter is mentioned in connection with Joseph the husband of the Virgin Mary, and ascribed to our Lord himself. Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3. The trade included our cabinet work as well as carpentering.
Carpenter’s Shop at Nazareth. (From an original Photograph.)
3. The masons employed by David and Solomon, at least the chief of them, were Phœnicians. 1 Kings 5:18; Ezek. 27:9. The large stones used in Solomon’s temple are said by Josephus to have been fitted together exactly without either mortar or clamps, but the foundation stones to have been fastened with lead. For ordinary building mortar was used; sometimes, perhaps, bitumen, as was the case at Babylon. Gen. 11:3. The wall “daubed with untempered mortar” of Ezekiel 13:10 was perhaps a sort of cob-wall of mud or clay without lime, which would give way under heavy rain. The use of whitewash on tombs is remarked by our Lord. Matt. 23:27.
4. Ship-building must have been exercised to some extent for the fishing-vessels on the Lake of Gennesaret. Matt. 8:23; 9:1; John 21:3, 8. Solomon built ships for his foreign trade. 1 Kings 9:26, 27; 22:48; 2 Chron. 20:36, 37.
5. Apothecaries or perfumers appear to have formed a guild or association. Ex. 30:25, 35; 2 Chron. 16:14; Neh. 3:8; Eccles. 7:1; 10:1; Ecclus. 38:8.
6. Weavers.—The arts of spinning and weaving both wool and linen were carried on in early times, as they usually are still among the Bedouins, by women. Ex. 35:25, 26; Lev. 19:19; Deut. 22:11; 2 Kings 23:7; Ezek. 16:16; Prov. 31:13, 24. The loom with its beam, 1 Sam. 17:7, pin, Judges 16:14, and shuttle, Job 7:6, was perhaps introduced later, but as early as David’s time. 1 Sam. 17:7.
7. Dyeing and dressing cloth were practiced in Palestine, as were also tanning and dressing leather. Josh. 2:15–18; 2 Kings 1:8; Matt. 3:4; Acts 9:43.
8. Barbers. Num. 6:5, 19; Ezek. 5:1.
9. Tent-makers are noticed in Acts 18:3.
10. Potters are frequently alluded to. Jer. 18:2–6.
11. Bakers are noticed in Scripture, Jer. 37:21; Hos. 7:4; and the well-known valley Tyropœon probably derived its name from the occupation of the cheese-makers, its inhabitants.
12. Butchers, not Jewish, are spoken of 1 Cor. 10:25.
Shoemakers, tailors, glaziers and glass vessels, painters and gold-workers are mentioned in the Mishna. Chel. viii. 9; xxix. 3, 4; xxx. 1.
William Smith, Smith’s Bible Dictionary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1986).
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