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By Peter Kazmaier
 IT'S CURIOUS that, while Christians remember the death of Jesus on the Cross and celebrate his resurrection, this solemn Christian occasion inevitably coincides with a series of book launches and popular magazine articles attacking the very heart of the Christian celebration.
Setting aside the observation that this calculated timing conflicts with our views of tolerance and respect which we as a society espouse toward people's religious beliefs -- although Christians have long known that, in Western society, these principles apply to other religious beliefs but not to Christianity -- one still can't help wondering at the timing. While denigrating the worldview of millions, this very timing depends on the Christian worldview for its impact.
This year was no exception. Brian Bethune wrote an article entitled 'The Jesus Problem' in the Easter edition of Maclean's. I could write a book discussing the misrepresentation and inaccuracies in this article; but one picture caption particularly caught my attention: "A deep chasm exists between the devout followers of a divine Jesus and the seekers of the Jesus of history."
This statement does not at all correspond to my personal observations. Devout followers of Jesus are intensely interested in the Jesus of history. Indeed, understanding the historical context is essential to correctly translating the ancient texts into modern languages -- and also in understanding the teaching, as a Christ-follower reads these translated texts.
Furthermore, modern archaeological discoveries of ancient manuscripts in the last 150 years have moved the extant documents much closer to the time of writing of the gospels. Also, the uncovering of many other documents of that era have helped us understand the role reading and writing played in the lives of 1st century peoples. As more and more evidence is amassed, the gospels continue to be the most significant historical evidence for the life and teaching of Jesus.
So where does the "chasm" come from, alluded to by Bethune? A clue to the answer can be gleaned from another of Bethune's quotes:
"But over the past century, historians, archaeologists, textual and linguistic scholars in a steadily more secular West, unable to accept the miracle-working Christ of tradition, have uncovered the all-too-human way in which early Christians hammered out their dogma and holy scripture; recovered startlingly unfamiliar texts -- such as the Gnostic Gospel of Judas, in 2006 -- held dear by the losers in the long-ago orthodoxy wars; and arrived at new interpretations of Jesus, based on the context of his life, his essential Jewishness and the socio-political unrest of first-century Palestine."
The origin of the "chasm" described by Bethune is not because of new archaeological data undermining the text of the gospels; but rather, the chasm between the devout and the secular arises because of the presuppositions secular historians bring to the discussion, and how these presuppositions filter the evidence.
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The support for the historicity of the gospels has increased significantly, as older and older manuscripts are recovered; but unfortunately for secular historians, the message of the gospels has remained constant.
As a scientist I have always been taught that data is sacrosanct and cannot be ignored, filtered or manipulated -- no matter how inconsistent the data may be with one's own cherished presuppositions. Indeed, acknowledging one's own presuppositions is critical -- since only then can we guard ourselves against unconsciously imposing our assumptions on the data.
However, it seems when it comes to the gospels and their portrayal of Jesus as God, as a worker of miracles, as a radical bent on turning the Jewish religious system on its ear, that is so unpalatable for secular historians and the liberal clergy that they (quoting Bethune again) are so "unable to accept the miracle-working Christ . . . [they] arrived at new interpretations of Jesus based on the context of his life, his essential Jewishness and the socio-political unrest of 1st century Palestine."
In other words, they dismissed all references to miracles; dismissed any text which did not agree with the words that they expected of a 1st century Jewish Rabbi; and trumped the many, many ancient manuscripts backing up the gospels with a single 3rd century fragment (which, by the way, acknowledges the prior existence of the gospels) -- based on their conspiracy theory about the suppression of the true view by the church.
In essence, they have thrown out four fifths of the data (since the gospel texts are historical documents) and so created the chasm with orthodoxy.
I must say that I find Bethune's article deeply disappointing -- not because he disagrees with me, but because he does not even make the attempt (with the exception of one fine C. S. Lewis quote) of providing a balanced discussion of this subject.
Why prejudice the case by assuming that the serious Christians are devout because they are unthinking, rather than attribute to them the courtesy of assuming that they are devout because they are convinced by the evidence? If one assumed, going in, that the devout hold their position because they have evidence to support it, that would at least allow the reader to examine the arguments from both sides.
As it stands, in my view, Bethune's article is a propaganda piece which sets up the orthodox position as a straw man -- and then, using the flimsiest of arguments, demolishes that position.
I suppose I have no one but myself to blame. After ignoring Maclean's for a long while, I have again become a subscriber -- encouraged by some of their fine new writers. I am now wondering why I am paying money to read articles such as this -- which show no scholarship, and exalt unsubstantiated fringe positions, while ignoring the evidence on the historicity of Jesus -- only to delude the reading public, who do not have the time or the inclination to check the 'facts' in this article.
Ah well, I'll have a chance to reconsider my spending when my subscription renewal comes around.
Peter Kazmaier is an adjunct professor of chemistry at Queen's University. He has published numerous scientific articles, and has completed his first novel.
April 3/2008
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One such text quotes Levi as saying to Jesus, "Who gave you and your followers permission to inspect this holy place and its holy utensils without having bathed and changed your clothing or even washing your feet? You are defiled, and have defiled this holy place and its utensils!"
After some more chastising from Levi, Jesus responded, "Woe unto you unseeing blind man! So you have washed yourself in the water that was poured out from the same source where dogs and swine lie day after day. So you have scrubbed your skin to a chafe, just like prostitutes and erotic dancers do, making themselves up with rouge, oils, and perfumes in order to arouse men, looking so attractive, but being full of scorpions and vermin of every kind. You, who bathed with the swine, have dared to accused those who have been cleansed in the living water which falls from Heaven of being unclean? Woe to you and all like you!"
Another ancient text quotes the resurrected Jesus as saying to his followers, "Now it happened after this, through the command of the First Mystery, I looked down again upon the world of mankind, I found Mary, who is called my mother according to the material body. I spoke to her in the type of Gabriel, and when she turned to the height towards me, I cast into her the first power which I had received from the Barbelo, which is the body which I wore in the height. And in place of the soul, I cast into her the power which I received from the great Sabaoth, the Good, who is in the place of the right. And the twelve powers of the twelve saviours of the Treasury of the Light, which I received from the twelve servers which are in the Midst, I cast into the sphere of the archons. And the decans of the archons and their ministers thought that they were souls of the archons, and the ministers brought them, they bound them in the bodies of your mothers. And when your times were completed, they bore you into the world without there being souls of the archons in you. And you have received your parts from the power which the last helper (parastates) had breathed into the mixture, this (power) which is mixed with all the invisible ones and all the archons and all the aeons. In a word, it is mixed with the world of destruction, namely the mixture. This (power) which, from the beginning, I brought out of myself, I cast into the first ordinance. And the first ordinance cast a part of it into the great light. And the great light cast a part of what it received into the five helpers (parastatai), and the last helper (parastates) took a part from what it received and cast it into the mixture. And (the part) has come to be in all who are in the mixture, as I have just said to you."
I enjoy reading about Jesus and what his early followers wrote about him. There were a lot of different branches of Christianity back in the early days. Many of those branches didn't believe the same things as the others did. I find it all to be quite fascinating!
Its spiritual death, just as the Archons wanted.