Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
For your love is better than wine.
Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you.
Draw me away!
Song of Solomon 1:2-4
It may be
said that to fear fear is the worst fear there is and this is also true if we
fear the truth. Fear will drive a person to do things that should not be done.
Allowing the truth to permeate us in our thinking means that we must be willing
to examine things and use our common sense. Yes, God will enlighten us and this
He does through His word. We ask in prayer that our lives will become conformed
to Him, and this He does for us by means of the Holy Spirit who reveals to us
what God has written for us. We are as converted persons to Jesus Christ to
become prepared to give an answer for our faith (1Peter 3:15). It is true that
some will ask questions so that we as Christians will be “tripped” up and look
foolish. Others will ask questions because they are truly seeking answers. In
either case we must, as Ambassadors for Christ (2Corinthians 5:20), be prepared
to give an answer so that the truth will be told. Now, if a person wishes to
reject the truth, well that is their choice and they must deal with their
choices. If a person is truly seeking God and has been enabled by God by the
faith given to him by God (Ephesians 2:8), then we must give aid to them by
telling the truth. Not a truth as has been purported by those who misuse
Scripture or put forth lies by not telling what is true and helping a person to
understand the problem and how to find the answer. This we are doing by
examining the question some have as to the evidence that is or not is available
to validate our faith in the Christian Religion.
Did not
Jesus while here on earth preach to people as told by Matthew and recorded in
Mark, the Acts, and Luke in Galilee, Judea, Decapolis, Idumea, from beyond
Jordan, and from Tyre and Sidon? Where are the historians of those times and
places? Is it wrong to expect an account of the many wonderful transactions?
There is not any single author extant, in any kind, of that age, in any of
those countries. Why not? We are looking at truth and not hiding behind some
theology, or ideology that wishes to omit the truth. Some will cavil at this
point: How may books have perished in which possibly there might have been
mention of our Savior? Let us examine this fact that there are no extant
writings other than those written by the writers of Scripture to examine. Does
this mean that no one wrote anything about the marvelous events of Jesus
Christ? Let us use our common sense and that which can be known. First, to say
that there was little writing in Palestine during the life of Jesus Christ
cannot stand an examination for there has been much written during this time
than some have allowed. Books as we know them with pages was not available
during the life of Jesus Christ for a book was in the form of a scroll,
therefore a person would have to carry around many scrolls. Yes a codex was used
at times for note taking but not in our book form. Also, the cost of writing a
scroll was not cheap. Therefore the average Jew or person would not have all
the scrolls as hand and not a complete set of Scriptures. Writing were more
often than not in the hands of professional writers and to read required
special training to do so: schools as we know them were not available. Oral
tradition was the mode of transporting information.
The
historian Josephus reports that when Jerusalem fell in 70 A.D. that one of the
primary targets was the archive building that stored records (Jewish War
1.247). Next the legal records were targeted and destroyed for the soldiers
knew the power of records. In the second century some legal texts were found
from the Bar Kochba caves and those texts were signed by some who could write
well and others were scribbled upon because the person was not skilled in
writing, and others had someone else sign for them because the could not write.
These documents were written on wood, and thin slats, tablets coated with wax,
a normal writing material across the Roman Empire. The conditions prevented the
rotting of the tablets. Other writings were found at the fort of Vindolanda on
Hadrian’s Wall. Other writings were on papyrus, leather, and cannot survive in
most places. Writing materials had to be manufactured and were not readily
available. Note taking was not the same as writing a book, or a report, or
letters and as for notes most people would not have kept them and then write
from them a book. There are many evidences that could be adduced to conclude
that there was much writing during the life of Jesus Christ that what is
commonly allowed. We have reliable sources that there were writings being done
and we are to admit that this is true as will be further shown. Lastly, take a
look at the Romans and how few manuscripts we have even of Julius Ceasar we
have only 10 records. When we examine the first two hundred years from our
Savior’s life on earth we find that there were writers of all kinds, yet only a
few writings have survived unto our day.
I shall in
the next blogs continue this examination as to the evidences for the Christian
Religion with the desire to increase one’s faith and build our lives to live as
Authentic Christians with Authentic Christian faith.
Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on
His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires
Of your heart.
Psalm 37:3-4
Read today His Word; there is were truth lives
Richard L. Crumb
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