2023 #2
Twitter. There’s a part that’s good. There is a part that is bad, and there is a part that you wouldn’t believe. Twitter, along with other social media platforms can be used for good. But, there are a lot of things you can find on Twitter’s Christian circles that are not that good. Perhaps you have seen comments on social media that are contrary to the Christian worldview. I’d like to take a look at those statements and comments to see if we can give an answer
Why can’t we declare Yeshua an inspired sage that taught universal truths of love and grace to humanity (sic). Why do we have to add to it the myth of virgin birth & resurrection? The answer: some people need mythological superpowers to believe; rational teachings are not enough.
There are three separate statements in one tweet. Therefore, we should take them one at a time.
The second of the three statements is,
Why do we have to add to it the myth of virgin birth & resurrection?
We must ask the question, “Who added those two accounts to the gospels?” The evidence shows us that the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, were written within forty years of the events. Why is this important? Forty years lie within the living memory of eyewitnesses to the events of the life and ministry of Jesus. These eyewitnesses would have been able to respond to any purveyors of legendary material or outright falsehoods that could have inserted themselves into the preaching of the apostles.
Luke began his gospel account with his goals and methodology,
“Many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as the original eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed them down to us. It also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first, to write to you in an orderly sequence, most honorable Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed” (Luke 1:1-4, HCSB)
Luke’s investigation not only included the virgin birth of Jesus but also His death and resurrection. We can assert that Jesus’s resurrection best explains the data that we see from the primary New Testament sources: Jesus’s death by crucifixion, the empty tomb, the appearances to friends and foes, and the resurrection as the foundational Christian message. The resurrection stands as God’s stamp of approval on the life of Jesus and His claims, which include His virgin conception.
Any account of Jesus without the virgin birth, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus would leave Him as just another teacher, whose sayings we could take or leave.
To call the virgin birth and resurrection “myths” would be a modern conceit and unwarranted.
Mark Riser - Apologist 