The problem of evil is among the more difficult questions confronting the Christian faith. To…
Category: Apologetics
Though our various responses to death may lead to different ways we choose to live, there is one response to death we all share: we all, at one point or another, fear death to some degree. The Greek philosopher Epicurus attempted to dismiss death: “Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And once it does come, we no longer exist.” While some attempt — and may well accomplish — to put on a brave face, all of us share a fear of death, even those who do not believe in God. Greg Epstein, a humanist, wrote, “For a Humanist, the mourning process begins with accepting that death is real and final and that, with apologies to Epicurus, we fear it. Our fear of death is not only normal, and not to be dismissed, it is part of the motivation we feel to live a good life now, while we still have time.” The bottom line is our will to live is strong and our fear of death is very real.
Was the New Testament assembled by a fourth century council? Did that council deliberately exclude other books about Jesus?
Defenders of the Christian faith settled on a definition of evil many centuries ago. Evil is a lack, a privation, or a corruption of what is good. It is not the absence of good because evil does not exist in and of itself.
The case in favor of John grows stronger when we add another internal element: the author of this account was familiar with Palestine.
For the sake of argument, I will disregard the previous few blogs concerning the fourth gospel account to consider the additional internal evidence that points to John as the author.
As a general unrest in Palestine fomented outright rebellion in the mid to late 60’s A.D., Eusebius tells us that the disciples and apostles abandoned Jerusalem and Judea.
From the writings of Clement of Rome and Irenaeus, we know that the core elements of the Christian faith were established by the end of the first century, some 60-70 years following the death and reported resurrection of Jesus. I indicated in my previous post that though this is early testimony in terms of ancient history, there are more ancient documents that communicate these truths.