Can a full tomb produce a full faith?
A recent Time Magazine article revisits James Cameron’s ‘discovery’ of what he believes could be the tomb of Jesus. Cameron’s made for TV search for the lost site of an ossuary bearing the inscription, “Jesus, son of Joseph” has many holes in it both historically, mathematically, and logically. In this article, Princeton Theological Seminary, Prof. James Charlesworth comments on whether or not finding the actual tomb or ossuary of Jesus would affect Christianity. In regards to finding the Jesus of the Bible’s full tomb he concludes, “I don’t think it will undermine belief in the resurrection, only that Jesus rose as a spiritual body, not in the flesh.” He also states, “Christianity is a strong religion, based on faith and experience, and I don’t think that any discovery by archeologists will change that.”
Unfortunately, reading the New Testament in the manner in which the author’s intended the readers to understand it is a lost art at Princeton. Although Charlesworth is not the first to propose this theory (Gnostic did as well two millenea ago), he is simply the latest to not understand Paul’s pronouncements in 1 Corinthians 15.
First, in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 Paul writes, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ” (NASB). Please notice that Paul associates the burial with both the death and the resurrection of Jesus. In fact, both in the NASB as well as in the Greek, the phrase “and that” is written to connect all of these events. It is one flowing testimony from death through Jesus’ appearance to Cephas (Aramaic name of Peter).
Second, Was Jesus killed spiritually? Was He buried spiritually? Paul clearly associates Jesus’ physical death with His physical burial, and His physical resurrection. To believe that Jesus only appeared to the disciples spiritually would not account for the manner in which they lived their lives from this point on nor for the rest of the passage. The disciples clearly believed they saw Jesus in bodily form. They committed themselves to this message and became bold proclaimers of this testimony within 2 months of the crucifixion and within two weeks of the ascension of Jesus. Verses 6-8 also demonstrate a bodily resurrection since Jesus appears to skeptics such as his brother James and Paul himself. He is also seen by 500 followers at one time. There is no evidence a group hallucination of this magnitude nor of this importance can occur.
Third, in verses 13-19 Paul relates this bodily resurrection of Jesus to tenable faith. If Jesus is not raised from the dead, faith in Him and in Christianity is not only useless, but pitiful. The premise for Paul’s assertion is that Jesus has physically risen from the dead (vv. 3-8). So for Charlesworth to claim it makes no difference to “a strong religion” like Christianity if Jesus is not raised from the dead, is simply dead wrong.
Most likely, Charlesworth would like to believe all religions are based on faith and experience. What you have experienced it true for you. However, the ‘experience test’ for the validity of a faith falls short since there must be at least some minimal truth in which to have faith. If it is my experience that President Ronald Reagan appeared to me, claimed to be God, and will save all of mankind who believe in him, is that just as valid as the claims of a faith and experience based Christianity? If not, why? I have faith in the hallucination of President Reagan and it is my experience so you cannot tell me it is wrong. This Reaganity religion would be just a ludicrous as Christianity without a physically risen Jesus.
Everything about Christianity hinges on the person of Jesus Christ. God in the flesh, who came to be a savior to sinners and a pattern for our current living. If He has not risen, and Cameron has indeed found the bones of Jesus, we are pitiful creatures if we continue in Christianity.
ONLY an empty tomb can produce a full faith.
