Hello All,
I know the Film in question very well. It is a documentary claiming that Christ was nothing more than a myth. Most wouldn’t bother giving credance to such an outlandish theory, however the film has become cult hit among skeptics.
I feel saddended that Mr. Bajak’s son has been duped by the nonsense in this film, though I do sypmathize with the young man’s search for answers. To the Father I advise the following: for the sake of your son and others, never allow any snide comment or impertinant question to go unanswered. I’ve been through this with my own family members, one cannot allow challenges or questions to the Faith to remain unchallenged; if you don’t speak up, the “skeptic” feels he’s one a small victory. If you want to change your son’s mind, you need to do your part and answer the questions he may have. Always do it in a spirit of Charity, without judgment. But NEVER back down.
I’m going to recommend several works that can help you rip this theory apart below, but I do want to give you atleast a few short answers that can help you in dealing with your son.
- The biggest flaw with the Christ-Myth thesis involves the inconsistent use of historical methodology. The principles of Historiography must be applied to all, or they cease to be principles, Christ-Mythers usually refuse to do so many times because the beg the question of the Divinity of Christ. When the same methodology is applied to Christ as to ancient figures such as Socrates and Alexander the Great, he can be attested as a historical person. The inconsistent methodology that they use against Christ can just as easily eliminate Socrates and Alexander from history as well.
- The dates concerning the Gospels and authorship are completely misrepresented. Flemming claims that he used the “earliest possible dates.” This was not so, he used the earliest dates allowed by Earl Doherty, the most notorious Christ-Myther in print today. In fact several scholars, including N.T. Wright, the world’s leading New Testament scholar, Scott Hahn, William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, Antonio Fuentes, Craig Blomberg, Darrell Bock, and the late F.F. Bruce all posit earlier dates with very compeling arguments.
- The most absurd claim involves St. Paul’s apparent ignorance of Christ as a person of history. This is simply false just on a natural reading of Paul’s constant insistance that Christ “came in flesh” in order to attack the Docetists, early Gnostic precursors, who denied Christ came in flesh. Of course Paul’s letters didn’t contain much biographical data about Christ, they were pastoral letters addressing individual concerns. In fact, St. Luke’s Gospel was likely written under the influence of St. Paul’s teaching.
- There are suffecient contemporary sources which support the existence of Christ atleast as a figure of history. Josephus’ mention of Christ was NOT a total interpolation as Christ-Mythers claim, textual evidence indicates that the Christ mention was doctored before the 4th Century, but it is not likely that the whole phrase was added. Tacticus’ mention also supports Christ as a figure of history. The early Apostolic Fathers Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch’s letters also provide very early historical support that at minimun Christ existed.
- The idea that Christ was a rehash of several myths depends upon the logical fallacy Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc, after it, therefore because of it. Just because Christ came after certain myths and resembles some of them, does not mean he was drawn from them. Anthropology reveals that various cultures share similar symbology and mythology even when there is little or no cultural connection. Christ’s story must be seen in its true cultural context as an outgrowth of Judaism, not pagan mystery cults. Further, textual evidence places many of the myths Christ supposedly “rippes off” AFTER Christ lived.
These are just a few, woefully condensed, points which undermine the bulk of the Christ-Myth theory. These books can help tremendously:
Where We Got the Bible: Our Debt to the Catholic Church by Henry Graham
A Guide to the Bible by Antonio Fuentes
The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? by F.F. Bruce
The Historical Reliability of the Gospels by Craig Blomberg
The Historical Jesus: Ancience Evidence for the Life of Christ by Gary Habermas
Reinventing Jesus: How Contemporary Skeptics Miss the Real Jesus and Mislead Popular Culture by J. Ed. Komoszewski, Daniel Wallace, and M. James Sawyer
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas and Michael Licona
The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton
I hope these can be of good use. If anyone has any questions about all this, please send me a private message, I’ll be happy to help out as much as I can. :bounce:
, so I googled refute The God… and your forum thread came up fisrt–BINGO!