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Original airdate: Sunday, January 5, 2020
(NOTE: This show’s a good example of the notes below not being as good as a audio recording. #justsayin’)
It is the responsibility of all historians to lay aside their biases and consider the evidence as objectively as possible. It is not the responsibility of the evidence to satisfy the biases of historians.[1] ~Michael R. Licona, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach
Many New Testament writings – those we call “books” in the Bible -- are among the best attested, most reliable documents we have from the ancient near east. I want you to listen for the way we use it to support a conversation and today’s question: Which New Testament writings do even most critical scholars accept as historically valid?”
Galatians is a critical book for Christian casemakers for just such a reason. When we think about it as a historical document, even skeptics accept it as one of the earliest New Testament writings, and many think it was the earliest. And they accept that it was written by Paul.
This is important because the closer it is to the events it describes, the more likely that it is accurate. And knowing that it was written by Paul strengthens our confidence in the historicity of the Bible.
Even more significantly, even if a skeptic doesn't accept the book of Galatians as the inspired word of God, as a historical document we can use it to argue a few logical points:
“Jesus’ followers started with a high Christology, or view of Jesus Christ. Such a viewpoint was not something added later. Paul and the early church saw Jesus as “Lord” (Gal 1:3), as the post-resurrection Revealer (1:12), as the preexistent One sent forth by the Father (4:4), and as the Changer of the world structure (6:14; cp. 2:20–21).”[2]
Do you have someone who claims Christianity is just a myth that developed over time? Or that people just started making stuff up about Jesus and turned him into some legendary figure?
No, not only do we have got early documentation with historic validity, but it shows what a historic group of people believed. And most people don’t just start worshipping some guy as God, right? What changed for them?
So even if someone you’re talking to doesn’t think the Bible is the word of God, it’s useful as a set of historical documents. And even better, many of those documents, like Galatians, are accepted by skeptics and critics as historically valid. And even if you don’t remember all the details you learned today, you can still ask a powerful question: Which New Testament writings do even most critical scholars accept as historically valid?”
The good news is that the answer leads ‘em right to Jesus.
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
[1] This is no light or short read, but this book is a fabulous argument from the position of historical evidence. Spoiler alert: Resurrection? Yes! Michael R. Licona, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach (Downers Grove, IL; Nottingham, England: IVP Academic; Apollos, 2010), 614.
[2] I couldn’t recommend this more highly! —> “Introduction to Galatians,” in The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith, ed. Ted Cabal et al. (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2007), 1751.