Margaret and I will write a prayer letter and circulate it to everyone before we leave Honiton which will update you on our plans and hopes for our return to Middlesbrough. In this newsletter we focus on the Easter message.
A book I am currently reading is on the History of Apologetics. Apologetics is not apologising for the Christian Faith but an ‘apologia’ (Greek word) is something written as a defence of whatever it may be that we have done or said or believe. So, Richard Dawkins attacks Christianity as being unscientific and illogical, and an apologetic response would be to point out that some of his arguments are illogical and that scientifically proven facts do not conflict with the Bible.
One subject that dominates the defence of Christianity is the evidence for the resurrection. There are really two questions we need to focus on here:
Firstly: is the resurrection historic fact? One of the best booklets on this subject is, Val Grieve’s ‘Your Verdict on the Empty Tomb’. One person who attended the evangelistic Bible Study we ran at Holyshute said that he wished he had read it earlier because he had always assumed that the resurrection and Christianity were not true. At the other end of the size spectrum N T Wright, a former Bishop of Durham, has written a brilliant 817pp book defending the resurrection. I have read a great deal of it and it is written in such a way that you can understand it if you don’t mind reading that makes you think. It is fascinating and deals comprehensively with the ways in which the obvious teaching of the Bible, that Jesus rose bodily from the dead, has been dismissed and disbelieved and does so very effectively.
Secondly: what does the resurrection mean? It is vital to remember our defence of truths like the bodily resurrection of Jesus isn’t just a debate about history. It matters that Jesus rose from the dead because the gospel we proclaim and want others to believe makes that not just a claim but a foundational part of the good news. 1 Corinthians 15: 3 – 5, ‘For I delivered unto you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.’ The phrase, ‘according to the Scriptures’ tells us that the prophetic witness of the Old Testament anticipates and predicts what will happen in both Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. It makes sense and we can understand it as part of the great plan of God to rescue and redeem not just individual humans, but the world over which humanity is the fallen lord. Outside of God’s great plan to forgive sins and ultimately to liberate creation from the bondage of sin the resurrection event is remarkable but without its full meaning.