No, they didn't. But this is the claim made by many in the academic (and entertainment) community.
As promised in Sunday morning's Bible class, I have copied Pastor Mike Tindall's excellent article confronting the claims often made by skeptics of the Christian Faith. I hope it is a blessing for you as it was for me to read.
Jesus’ Tomb Discovered!
Recently, I learned that archeologists had discovered the tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ. And not only had they discovered his tomb, they had found his remains, and the remains of his wife and children. I found this quite surprising.
Less surprising was that as soon as this breakthrough hit major news organizations, there was an immediate response from the Christian community. Paul L. Maier, Ph.D., Litt.D. released an excellent point by point refute of the “Jesus Tomb” claim.1 World Magazine (a subscription that I think no Christian home should be without) had an article in their March 17, 2007 issue that addressed this topic. And who knows on how many venues the debate went on.
I wasn’t able to catch the Discovery channel documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus, but I did watch some of their documentary on Noah’s Ark which seemed to run along this same line of placing history and science at odds with Scriptural truth.
As I watched Noah’s Ark a refrain that I kept hearing over and over again was “It could not be…” It could not be that an Ark that big, made from wood could have stayed in one piece. It could not be that there is enough water in, under, or above the earth for a flood like the Bible describes. It could not be that the Noah and his family would have been able to breathe without literally drowning from the amount of water saturated in the air if indeed that kind of flood did happen.
It could not be… It could not be… It could not be…
Now before I go on, let me mention one thing: I appreciate Paul Maier and all the people who are using their historical and scientific gifts to engage the world on its own playing field. I appreciate that Ed Schultz is currently using his gifted mind to teach our Jr. High about the science behind evolution so that he can be their guide as they struggle to make sense of the conflicting messages church and school are giving them. I love you guys. Keep it up.
But this hard work is always done with the realization that if we forever stayin the world’s playing field we will only arrive at one conclusion: It could not be. Or to put in another way: we… will… lose… our… faith.
The writer of Hebrews says: “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” When I teach this concept to young children I cut it down to: “Faith is believing without seeing.” Believing without seeing!? To the completely rational mind that sounds…idiotic!
Could it be that our God is the God who does what could not be?
After watching Noah’s Ark I wondered what the response would be if the Discovery channel were to air a documentary called Resurrection Denied! In this documentary they would gather the worlds finest Doctors and each one would take turns examining the Biblical resurrection account of Jesus. They would talk about Jesus’ crucifixion, what begins to happen in a body after it dies, and what would happen after a dead body sits for 3 days. Then each specialist would get up to talk. The cardiologist would tell you that a heart cannot sit, un-beating in a dead body for three days and then begin to function again. 5-7 minutes maybe, but not three days. Then the neuro guy would tell you what happens to the brain if it is deprived of oxygen for three days. He would definitively conclude that the brain could not recover. On and on, each expert would get up, speak, and definitively conclude: It could not be…
And then, people of faith would really have to ask themselves: Could it be that our God is the God who does what could not be?
Creation is pretty awesome. The fact that God gives us abilities to grasp, study and research his creation is super cool. We can learn more about God’s creation and build bigger and better bridges and buildings. We can learn more about his creation and find mind-boggling ways to treat and bring healing to people with medical care. We can learn more about his creation and discover coffee!
But, we can never learn enough from this creation to fully understand God. God is always bigger. God doesn’t play by the rules. Even the rules of science. He breaks them whenever he sees fit. Or whenever he wants. Frankly, I don’t know exactly when or why he does, I just know that he can.
And quite honestly, this is good news to me. I need a bigger God. I need a God who can do what can not be. Because life is hard.
This Easter, the weeks leading up to it, and the weeks following it, you will find me at church joining together with a community of people who believe in a God who can do what can not be. Feel free to join me.
God Bless,
Pastor Mike Tindall
Trinity Lutheran Church – Rochester MN
