Book Review : The Jesus Inquest

The Jesus Inquest : The Case For and Against the Resurrection of the Christ
An unbiased examination and compelling courtroom presentation revealing the undeniable facts of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Or so says the book cover.

Unlike most books which will take one viewpoint or the other, this book spends 50% of the time and space arguing against the resurrection, and 50% arguing for it. Both sides are well researched, and fairly well presented.

This book is not for everyone. And I don’t think it should be.
Foster argues both sides of the question with great skill, and his points are well researched and thorough. At times however I found that his arguments for the resurrection were a little… wishy-washy. I kept wanting to shout out “No, don’t say it like that. There’s a better argument.” I suppose it is the natural inclination of every lawyer to give his best effort to the version he has the least faith in.

I am concerned that many of the queries raised by his doubting “X” persona are not adequately responded to by his faithful “Y” persona, and that those without a thorough knowledge of the points raised might be led into further doubt or confusion.

I was also concerned by his constant refrain of “Of course no Christian actually believes that” and similar phrases. He seemed to be trying to portray all Christians as logical rationalists, whereas some of the points raised are in fact believed by Christians, myself included.

An interesting academic work, but not one I would recommend for light reading.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review.

Where do you find your answers?

Some people find their answers in Jesus.

Some people find their answers in chocolate.

 

Some people find their Jesus in their chocolate.

 

I have nothing further.

Biblios Hokku - Romans

I have no proof of this, but I would imagine that Romans is one of the most quoted books in the Bible, after the stories of Jesus.  Let me give you some examples, and see if they ring a bell:

All have sinned, and fall short of the Glory of GOD (3:23)

The wages of Sin is death; but the gift of GOD is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (6:23)

While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (5:8)

Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord (5:1)

Paul wrote this letter to a church he had never visited, and we don’t know if he ever did.  So it contains more theological insight than any of his other letters.  A sort of textbook of salvation as it were, showing that faith in Christ is our only salvation.

ROMANS
So short do we fall.
Justification and Peace
come only through faith.

To read the whole Bible in Haiku, go here.  Stay tuned for more of Paul this week.

Christ has no body here but ours
No hands, no feet, here on earth but ours
Ours are the eyes though which he looks
On this world, With Kindness.
Ours are the hands through which he works
Ours are the feet on which he moves
Ours are the voices through which he speaks
To this world, With Kindness

I'm sure you've heard these words, or similar words in the past. Words that remind us that "we are Christ's hands and feet in the world." Quite a heavy burden don't you think? I don't know about you, but I think trying to live up to that day by day would be pretty exhausting. So how do we know where to put our hands and feet? There is so much suffering in the world, from the fighting in Israel and Palestine, to the persecution of Christians in Egypt and Sudan. From genocide in Africa, to starvation and poverty in South America. It just goes on and on. I don't know about you, but I can't go a day without seeing people suffering, either from lack of food, or lack of God, or both.

It's everywhere. So where should we be?

When Jesus called us to be his hands and feet, he also called us to have his heart. To feel his heart beat with ours, and feel what he feels. To let our heart break for what breaks his heart. To let our heart long for what his heart longs for.

I think when we choose to join our heart with his, he will break our heart in small ways. As I draw closer to him, I feel my heart breaking for the plight of mentally disabled people, so I have a ministry to Disabled Adults where I go out to a local support centre for a church service once a month. I feel his heart break for the youth to know Christ before they start turning from their childhood teaching, so I am involved with preparing teenagers for confirmation. I feel his heart beat for the community of the small group I am involved with, where I pray constantly for them and their protection, so I am a small group leader.

I know these are areas where God wants me, because when I work here, I feel his heart. Whether I am 'enjoying' myself or not in a particular circumstance, I feel my heart beat with love, and occasionally break with sadness. This I hope is God's heart beating with mine, and letting me know where I am needed.

Sounds simple?

It is; But it's not easy.

It involves seeking God's heart all the time. Which I have shared before is very hard for me. I am good at "working for the kingdom", but find it harder to 'be still, and know that I am GOD". To know, I mean really know, that GOD is all I need, and that everything else is just extra. To know that I am reaching out to these people, not because it is the right thing to do, or because it makes me feel good about myself, but because I am really valuing what GOD values.

When HE calls out, in the words of the song:

I, the Lord of snow and rain,

I have borne my people’s pain.

I have wept for love of them.

They turn away.

I will break their hearts of stone,

Give them hearts for love alone.

I will speak my words to them.

Whom shall I send?

Will I be able to answer...

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord

I have heard you calling in the night.

I will go, Lord, if you lead me.

I will hold your people in my heart.

Love is patient, love is kind.

There was an interesting post on It Might be Hope yesterday. For those of you who haven't seen it, this is a blog run by a young woman spending time in Nigeria on mission. As an African, I have respect for anyone who is prepared to experience Africa for real, and not just talk about it. So I always have time to hear what she has to say.

In this post, she is talking about Love, and how it is actually secondary to Truth. Something I had never really thought about before. I recommend you read the entire post, but the key section is:

God is love, but love is not necessarily God. Love must be founded on truth first. Believe, live out, and base your life on the truth…but the most important thing is to do that in love. That’s what it is.

Very powerful stuff. I think sometimes we make Love our 'excuse' for doing what we want to do. "It might have hurt him, but it was done in love" , "I can't tell her that, it would be un-loving." Jesus was loving, but he spoke his mind. When faced with hypocrites, he could be quite rude and sarcastic. He didn't pull any punches 'in the name of love'. Yet he was also loving at all times, even in the midst of telling the truth. When confronted with a fallen women, he knew that she felt shame for what she had done, so he does not point it out to her. When confronted with a penitent Zaccheus, he knew his heart, and responded in love. But he never tried to deny the truth of what they had done, or who they had been.

In fact, if you want examples of just how rude and offensive Jesus can be, look at this blog post over at Best of Both Worlds. The writer, James Carey, points out that Jesus uses sarcasm, mockery, name calling, and worse, when dealing with certain people; and don't tell me that "take that plank out of your eye" was not one of the all-time great sarcastic comments. I'm sure He was laughing over that one for days. Jesus knew when to call a spade a spade, and when to treat it like a shiny new shovel. His love for all was obvious, but that didn't cause him to shade the truth.