Monday, April 26, 2010

But did it REALLY happen???

A real classic from 40 years ago is Michael Green's Book, Runaway World. Of course, it is slightly dated now, and some of its references have lost their relevance (does anybody these days even remember John Allegro and his mushroom theories?). However, the entire text of Runaway World is available online HERE.

It can still be recommended as an introduction to the claims of the Christian Faith. If you're trying to make sense of the idea of Jesus rising from the dead, it would be difficult to suggest a better place to begin reading.

Michael Green (b. 1930), a former parish priest, theological college principal, evangelist and teacher, has had a long ministry in England and North America, also visiting most other parts of the world. He has written over 50 books. He manages to "break down" and "liven up" the work of scholars for us ordinary people. His books always challenge the reader to consider the claims of Jesus. Here is the beginning of his chapter, "Running Away From History":


A MILITANTLY AGNOSTIC SIXTH-FORMER was somewhat intrigued, and a little annoyed, by the fact that the captain of the school had recently become a decided and vocal Christian. So he accepted an invitation to go to an informal meeting in the house of a well-liked Christian master where the faith was to be discussed. He felt intellectually superior to the majority of others who were there, and was confident of his ability to show that the Jesus story was fictitious and the Gospel accounts highly unreliable.

It so happened that this young man left the house that evening in a very different frame of mind from that in which he entered it. But the position he originally held is not an uncommon one. Many young people today think that Christianity is 'a load of rubbish'. For example, the sickening sentimentality which surrounds the Christmas festivities each year confirms them in their conviction that in the nativity we have to do with a fairy story, something that does not belong to the real world. Those who really swallow this sort of thing must, they feel, prefer fantasy to fact.

It is not only schoolboys who regard Christianity as unhistorical . . . CONTINUE READING HERE

0 comments:

Post a Comment