Opinion/Letters
Wednesday, May 11,1994
The Clackamas Print Pg. 3
Resurrecting facts Let’s address the real issues
■ New Testament wields Christian truths
dehneriticHa>pe^pIe use
hy Andrea Smith
y y; - v
To the Editors:
No other historical fig
ure is as attacked as Jesus is.
Marlene Tufts’ opinion (The
Clackamas Print, “Religious
claims shouldn’t be viewed as his
torical facts,” May 4) is that the
resurrection of Jesus is not a his
torically reliable fact She based
this on her belief that the Gospel
accounts of the empty tomb in the
New Testament are unreliable
and then explains that the resur
rection was merely a matter of
mass hallucinations or a similar
strange experience.
Jesus’ resurrection is the
historical foundation of Christian
ity. Christians must rely largely
upon the testimony of eyewitnes
ses recorded in the New Testa
ment to establish its historicity.
Thus to discredit the reliability of
the Gospels is to discredit Christi
anity as a whole.
Tufts cites various pas
sages in an effort to prove her
position. It must be admitted that
to the unlearned or untaught,
Scripture can indeed be confusing
and appear even at times contra
dictory. However, these “problem
atic” passages can stand on their
own integrity by those interested
in an honest evaluation of the evi
dence.
Since I doubt the editor
would allow me space to address
which Scripture citedby Tufts nor
allow me to present evidence far a
rational belief in the resurrection,
let me point out briefly the overall
errors Tufts makes.
Tufts makes a mistake in
her premise that differences in the
Gospel records are the same as
contradictions. Nowhere do the
Gospels propose to narrate every
thing about Jesus. For instance,
only two of the Gospels (Matthew
and Luke) tell of the birth of Jesus.
Since Mark and John omit this,
worth nothing in narrative,” does
it mean Mark and John contradict
what the two synoptics say hap
pened? No. Each Gospel is de
signed to answer its specific pur
pose and produce its definite im
pression on the reader. None of
the writers gives nor intended to
give all . the circumstances and
details surrounding Jesus’ life.
And while the Gospels weren’t
concerned with detailed “history,”
they were certainly interested in
the “historical” facts.
The assertions of mass
hallucinations are hardly worthy
of intellectual comment. Had only
Peter, James and John claimed to
have seen Jesus alive after his
death, we might think these three
who had been so close to Jesus
were so emotionally distraught
over the events of their friend’s
death that they hallucinated. But
there were hundreds of people in
volved as witnesses of the living
Christ They saw him at different
times and under different circum
stances, but they were all positive
in their identification. Add to this
tiie fact that most received the
testimony of Jesus’ resurrection
with total skepticism and the hal
lucination theory itself vaporizes.
If Tufts does not choose
to believe in the resurrection, she
has that right. But to assert that
“most people of good will and
reasonable intelligence” would
also join her is to insult the sin
cerity and intelligence of all Chris
tians. Tufts has a right to be criti
cal, for this reflects what she be
lieves. However, historical criti
cism must not be identified with
the critic’s own personal opinion
of the historical truth or value of a
narrative. The latter is merely a
historical value judgment.
that one must omit is an “event
Rev. Ron Murphy
Oregon City,
Church of Christ
We’re getting transfers
left and right.
»'differentiate eaehtnher rathe
namedPhnilyr- ■/' ' w ''
'
raentirraed ^oti^yoti arenot
tiderahL jitsassumedthattplera-;
J
:.C ■
-,Wedcra’thavefieeeddm
^atit
ifywivwnddfeetuncran*
theBSMdebate, not towallowin:
the quagmire of nonsense, but to
transcend it and (hopefully) end
thearpment. '
/ \
,
W£?
¿Realfreedom
of speech would include allow
ing persons to yell “fire” io a
hospital,-threaten-to ¡JBli¿some
tiitm is a good thing. yet it is the one, libel and slander, collection
very ideas arid actswe won’t teder-; . agencies calling every five min
ate that define our belief systems, utes all night long; you get the
example,murder, rape and picture. '
'
c^iid-moles^tidh areintolerable..
::’rV: •• Irecently heard a young
Neither side adheresto
the values of diversity, tolerance
of free Speech. Id fact, what is
happening has been quite the
opposite. ’
' '
Whatbothsidesaresay-
mg is, “I believe m diversity,
no other way.
to be tolerant, but rather to get
■clear on: what.views and actiras
so you shut up right now or else,
woman explaining that if she and
her fellow employees talk about
what their company is paying
each of them, thgy can be fired.
we will and will riot tolerate;
; In a country that claims the value
:7;-' Astofreedtraiofspeec^. i^reespeech.x<(thing$ that make
my way of thinking ”
Americans liatfe a very limited
on
theissuei nobody’ItonorS diver
yrip.go“Hinmmm”),
<
sity” A tnily diveFse group might
include Marxists, the OCA, ho-
had freedom of speech. By the
way. who could be more diverse
than a white-supremacist and a
guy who claimed to be Jesus? But
we won’t tolerate that, now wdl
mosexuals,
Hispan
ics, Ku Klux Klansmen, ^Tiber-
als’’,“conservative
Atheists, Muslims, Pagansand
Fhtally^a w^tfogi ^Be
¿anil: ideals
tobeednsisten^
yrat
set
We should value the Bible as a true
source of our history and heritage
Letter to the Editors:
I would like to comment on
the recentarticleby Marlene Tufts
of the Social Science Department
entitled “Religious claims should
not be viewed as historical fact.”
This article disturbed me because
it represents a growing trend that
is trying to discredit or discount
the historical aspect of religion.
Religion is part of our history and
our culture whether one is reli
gious or not. Marlene Tufts con
tends that when a religious claim
is presented as historical fact, it is
then subject to critical evaluation
through research and science. The
subject of her article was the res
urrection of Christ and the evi
dence for it, but I think her overall
message against religious claims
as historical facts needs to be ad
dressed.
Since the subject for her ar-
ticle was in reference to Christian
ity, we should examine the Bible
as to its historical reliability. This
should be tested by the same crite
ria that all historical documents
are tested.
In comparison with
other historical documents, schol
ars are satisfied that they possess
substantially the true text of
Sophocles, of Thucydides, of
Cicero, and of Virgil; yet our
brought increased recognition to
the value of the Bible as a source
of history.” The excavations of
Jericho in the 1930’s proved that
the walls fell outward so com
pletely that the attackers would be
knowledge of their writings de
pends on a mere handful of m anu -
scripts, whereas the manuscripts
able to clamber up and over their
ruins into the city as described in
Joshua 6:20. This is only one of
of the New Testament are counted
by the hundreds. The earliest
copies of Herodotus and
Thucydides are over 1,300 years
later than the originals. The old
many such discoveries which show
the accuracy of the Bible.
There is a desire by many to
apply one standard or test to secu
lar literature and another to the
Bible. One needs to apply the
same standards, whether the lit
erature is secular or religious. If
this is done and the Bible is still
discounted as unreliable and not a
historical fact, then we must dis
card almost all literature of antiq
uity. I believe that it all depends
on howmuchproofaperson needs
and what kind ofevidence they are
est copies of the New Testament
date to 130 A.D., only one hun
dred years or less since the time of
Christ Ifwe are to consider other
ancient documents as historical
fact, then why not the Bible.
Perhaps some of the best
confirmation of the Bible as his
torical fact is shown by archaeol
ogy. William F. Albright, known
for his reputation as one of the
world’s great archaeologists,
states: “Discovery after discovery
has established the accuracy of
innumerable details, and has
willing to accept
Jordan Varmettec
CCC Student
P ostal A nnex *
Your Home Office
CELEBRATES OUR
NEW STORE OPENING IN
T hethcr you’re left-brained or right brained, Marylhurst
AV
'
V V
College has degree programs that will .stimulate pro*
ductive. creative learning.
Transferring Is no headache cither. We offer fast, free credit
evaluations (with no obligation) that will tell you how your existing
credits will apply to the degree-completion program of your choice
al Marylhurst.
There are no lines, no lengthy approval procedures and a wide
OREGON CITY
OFFICE SUPPLIES
SERVICES
COPIES
SHIPPING
+Stationary
+FAX
+Self Serve/High Speed
+UPS
-»■Pens, Pencils, Labels
+Notary
+Binding
+Federal Express
+Address Stamps
+Printmg
-«-Laminating
-»■Airborne Express
+Binders & More
-»-Engraving
-»-Transparencies
+USPS Postal
+Secretarial
4-Color Lazer Copies
range of class schedules to choosefrom - evenings, weekends and
our newly expanded daytime offerings. Credit for UfeAvork expert,
ence ls also available.
So, transplant yourself to Marylhurst College. It’s the smart way
to get ahead in the future!
For information call: Student Services
PortlandMelro-636-8HI. ext. 330
Located one mile south of Lake Oswego on Hwy. 43.
4 cent copies (8 1/2 x 11) &
10% off School Supplies ivi College ID.
k Jb
sum tea
M arylhurst C ollege
BERRY HILL SHOPPING CENTER
19093 S. Beavercreek Rd., Oregon City, OR- 97045
655-8129 FAX 655-9374
OPEN
MONDAY-FRIDAY
8-6
SATURDAY
10-5