A Fictional Conversation
Between a Pastor and a Historian about the Bible
A man walks into a bar and sits down with a friend. The first man is a pastor, a man of faith. The second man is a historian. Faith means little to the second man, at least as it applies to his discipline. The first man says “I’ve found a historical document. It’s a letter written by Jesus Christ to the apostle Peter. It’s very old and proves that Jesus existed. The second man anxiously takes the letter and begins to examine it for authenticity. Immediately he laughs and says “This wasn’t written by Jesus, it’s written in English, and Jesus didn’t speak English. He probably spoke Aramaic. The English language didn’t exist 2000 years ago. Moreover, the paper is old but no more than a hundred years or so, as is the ink and paper that the letter was written on. No, my friend, this is a forgery, and not particularly good one, either. In fact, it’s downright silly!”
The Pastor angrily responds “But all things are possible with God, who is all-powerful. Couldn’t an all-powerful God simply make it look like it’s a modern letter? Couldn’t an all-powerful God use such techniques to fool faithless men who are alleged to be wise, but are really just faithless?”
“Yes, I guess that would be possible.” Replied the historian. “But, if that’s so, it wouldn’t be history. History is a discipline, using scientific methods to recreate that which no longer exists. History is what happened in the past. Since we humans can only live in the moment, the past is a foreign country that must be recreated through recall and by examining the evidence.” Besides, almost all historians, with a few exceptions, agree that Jesus was an authentic historical figure. The problem for both believers and non-believers is that neither side really understands how history works, let alone the problems presented by ancient history, which is its own discipline.”
“Yes, but if God is God, why couldn’t he use supernatural methods to preserve the historical record?” Asks the pastor.
“Here’s the rub,” the historian replied, “If the bible is history, and it is an actual, historical document, it can only really be understood using historical methods. Take the bible in your hand, it wasn’t written in English. It was originally written in ancient Greek, using parchment. There were no spaces between words. No paragraphs or chapters. No articles were used in their form of writing either like “a” – or – “the” it was simply long strings of words without commas in order to save space. Remember, paper and writing materials were costly and rare. And, almost no one except maybe 10% of the population could read and write, even a little.
Take Paul’s letters, for instance, Paul was unique. He was a scholar among scholars, which is rare enough today. In the world of Paul’s time it was extraordinarily rare. He was both a Jew of the highest standing and probably a wealthy man, as well. He was also educated in the modern philosophical language of the Greeks of his time. Paul was further unique because he was a Roman citizen. The only way that someone like Paul, a Jew, could have Roman citizenship was by having powerful connections in the gentile world, or having bought it, which was costly. This dual citizenship gave Paul enormous advantages, though. Because Paul was highly literate, he could write down his thoughts so they could be preserved. Paul was almost certainly multilingual. His first language was probably Greek, which was the common language in the ancient world, like English is today. Meaning, he could communicate the Gospel in a way that most of Jesus’ followers never could and to the largest possible audience. Once Paul finished a letter, he would send it off with a follower of his, someone who was literate like Timothy. Timothy would then read the letter out loud to Paul’s intended audience, using dramatic oratory to drive home Pauls’ point, specifically for that audience. It was like performance art. Think of Martin Luther Kings “I have a dream speech.”
Furthermore, no one in the ancient world was sitting around with a bible, reading the text before bed, then picking it back up the next day over a cup of coffee. The bible, as we know it, didn’t exist.
Here are a few other difficulties. Paul spoke and wrote in Greek, almost certainly Aramaic and possibly Latin, as well. Jesus and his followers, by comparison, most likely spoke a colloquial version of Aramaic. Jesus was a poor Galilean. Paul was a wealthy Pharisee. The two men couldn’t have been more different. What does this tell me? That without uniquely educated individuals, both in the ancient world and today, no bible of any kind would exist. Certainly not the nice neat version that you currently read. That’s why supernaturalism as a method of handing down an allegedly ancient historical text, would render the bible a probable work of fiction, with no real connection to the past.
“Oh! Said the pastor. “I think I understand.”
“Great! Now, how about that drink?” Said the historian.
The End
Mark Magula
The Pastor angrily responds “But all things are possible with God, who is all-powerful. Couldn’t an all-powerful God simply make it look like it’s a modern letter? Couldn’t an all-powerful God use such techniques to fool faithless men who are alleged to be wise, but are really just faithless?”
“Yes, I guess that would be possible.” Replied the historian. “But, if that’s so, it wouldn’t be history. History is a discipline, using scientific methods to recreate that which no longer exists. History is what happened in the past. Since we humans can only live in the moment, the past is a foreign country that must be recreated through recall and by examining the evidence.” Besides, almost all historians, with a few exceptions, agree that Jesus was an authentic historical figure. The problem for both believers and non-believers is that neither side really understands how history works, let alone the problems presented by ancient history, which is its own discipline.”
“Yes, but if God is God, why couldn’t he use supernatural methods to preserve the historical record?” Asks the pastor.
“Here’s the rub,” the historian replied, “If the bible is history, and it is an actual, historical document, it can only really be understood using historical methods. Take the bible in your hand, it wasn’t written in English. It was originally written in ancient Greek, using parchment. There were no spaces between words. No paragraphs or chapters. No articles were used in their form of writing either like “a” – or – “the” it was simply long strings of words without commas in order to save space. Remember, paper and writing materials were costly and rare. And, almost no one except maybe 10% of the population could read and write, even a little.
Take Paul’s letters, for instance, Paul was unique. He was a scholar among scholars, which is rare enough today. In the world of Paul’s time it was extraordinarily rare. He was both a Jew of the highest standing and probably a wealthy man, as well. He was also educated in the modern philosophical language of the Greeks of his time. Paul was further unique because he was a Roman citizen. The only way that someone like Paul, a Jew, could have Roman citizenship was by having powerful connections in the gentile world, or having bought it, which was costly. This dual citizenship gave Paul enormous advantages, though. Because Paul was highly literate, he could write down his thoughts so they could be preserved. Paul was almost certainly multilingual. His first language was probably Greek, which was the common language in the ancient world, like English is today. Meaning, he could communicate the Gospel in a way that most of Jesus’ followers never could and to the largest possible audience. Once Paul finished a letter, he would send it off with a follower of his, someone who was literate like Timothy. Timothy would then read the letter out loud to Paul’s intended audience, using dramatic oratory to drive home Pauls’ point, specifically for that audience. It was like performance art. Think of Martin Luther Kings “I have a dream speech.”
Furthermore, no one in the ancient world was sitting around with a bible, reading the text before bed, then picking it back up the next day over a cup of coffee. The bible, as we know it, didn’t exist.
Here are a few other difficulties. Paul spoke and wrote in Greek, almost certainly Aramaic and possibly Latin, as well. Jesus and his followers, by comparison, most likely spoke a colloquial version of Aramaic. Jesus was a poor Galilean. Paul was a wealthy Pharisee. The two men couldn’t have been more different. What does this tell me? That without uniquely educated individuals, both in the ancient world and today, no bible of any kind would exist. Certainly not the nice neat version that you currently read. That’s why supernaturalism as a method of handing down an allegedly ancient historical text, would render the bible a probable work of fiction, with no real connection to the past.
“Oh! Said the pastor. “I think I understand.”
“Great! Now, how about that drink?” Said the historian.
The End
Mark Magula