The Christ: A Critical Review and Analysis of the Evidences of His ExistenceRemsburg, John E. (John Eleazer)
Religion
The Christ: A Critical Review and Analysis of the Evidences of His Existence
Remsburg, John E. (John Eleazer)
Jesus Christ -- Historicity; Jesus Christ -- Rationalistic interpretations; Rationalism
With the Evangelists the proofs of Christ's divinity are his
miracles. Their books teem with accounts of these. But Paul evidently
knows nothing of these miracles. With him the evidences of Christ's
divine mission are his resurrection and the spiritual gifts conferred
on those who accept him.
The Evangelists teach a material resurrection. When the women visited
his tomb "they entered in and found not the body of Jesus" (Luke xxiv,
3). The divine messengers said to them, "He is not here, but is risen"
(6). "He sat at meat" with his disciples; "he took bread, and blessed
it, and brake, and gave to them" (30). "Then he said to Thomas, Reach
hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and
thrust it into my side" (John xx, 27). This is entirely at variance
with the teachings of Paul. "But now is Christ risen from the dead,
and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came
death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead" (1 Cor. xv, 20,
21). "But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with
what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not
quickened, except it die; and that which thou sowest, thou sowest
not that body that shall be" (35-37). "It is sown a natural body;
it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there
is a spiritual body" (44). "Now this I say brethren, that flesh and
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (50).
The Christ that Paul saw in a vision was a spiritual being--an
apparition; and this appearance he considers of exactly the
same character as the post mortem appearances of Christ to his
disciples. "He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve; after that
he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; ... after that,
he was seen of James; then of all the Apostles. And last of all,
he was seen of me also" (1 Cor. xv, 5-8).
CHAPTER IV.
THE INFANCY OF CHRIST.
We have seen that the Four Gospels are not authentic, that they are
anonymous writings which appeared late in the second century. If their
contents seemed credible and their statements harmonized with each
other this want of authenticity would invalidate their authority,
because the testimony of an unknown witness cannot be accepted
as authoritative. On the other hand, if their authenticity could
be established, if it could be shown that they were written by the
authors claimed, the incredible and contradictory character of their
contents would destroy their authority.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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