One More Cycle of Spin

I know, I know. I already wrapped this one up. But I just got finished reading an article that should have blown what little remained of the doors off skepticism about Jesus but instead, has just hardened the ancestors of ancient spin masters. You can read the article I refer to here.

It’s an article about two stone tablets that were discovered more than ten years ago in the same region as the dead sea scrolls—near (as you might have guessed, the Dead Sea). These tablet are now causing quite a stir because they predate Jesus Christ yet they clearly refer to a Messianic figure who will die and be ressyrcted on the third day.

Did you catch that?!!

That’s huge! Let’s celebrate! Finally, the obvious has irrefutable evidence that even the most anti-Christian crusader cannot ignore.

Well, that is, unless they just do.

Yeah, you guessed it. Hold off on the celebration. Not so fast on the party favors. As it turns out, the spin doctors think they found a way to explain this one away as well.

Are you sitting down?

Good. Here it is.

Some ‘scholars’ (and I use this term loosely because these scholars start with the answer they want and work back form there) are saying that this simply proves that Jesus’ followers stole the idea of a Messianic resurrection (after three days—ironically) from ancient Jewish writings and that the whole idea of Jesus being resurrected was simply inserted later to fit these older writings.

Huh?

There’s one fairly significant problem with this. Jesus made a lot of predictions about His death and resurrection and there are even obvious ones in the Old Testament. This discovery merely reinforces those. It in no way refutes them. Not only that, but the most hardened, anti Jesus people of his day (a group that included Jesus’ own half brothers) all did a 180 because of the resurrection. The book of James was not written by a long lost disciple. That’s James, as in Jesus’ half brother, the head of the early church in Jerusalem, a martyr who gave his life for His brother and Lord!

I really don’t know why this reaction surprised me in the least. People who hate God find ways to explain Him out of their lives. Unfortunately for them it is a wish that was granted for them for all eternity.

Well, I just had to throw this one in for spin masters everywhere.

Fear not, the ancient art of spin control is alive and well.