How many guards at Jesus’ tomb?
Posted by Anthony on April 6, 2009
Sometimes apologetics is about sifting out traditional accretions that in themselves are generally harmless but conspire to create a false picture. When Christianity comes to be evaluated, it is this false picture that is attacked, unmindful of the aforementioned accretions. This is sad, because virtually any Christian who has taken the time to familiarize himself with the actual facts of the faith is aware of what are accretions and what are not, but this doesn’t usually filter down.
As a case in point, consider the cherished traditional presentation of the birth of Jesus, what with the ‘three wise men’ coming to greet the newly born King of the Jews. Upon examination, however, we learn that we are never told that there are three, that they came a couple of years later, and rather than ‘wise’ men they are ‘magi.’ The traditional presentation is harmless in the sense of conveying a certain tone during Christmas time but can be harmful, like for example when the skeptics get out their long knives and begin their hunt for biblical contradictions. Read the rest of the entry… »
