Who is the Real Jesus?

[DanielGarneau]

There is in my part of the world so little knowledge about the Bible and its contents that some people are drawn towards very strange ideas of who Jesus was, built on apocryphal gnostic writings. The same category of people discount the value of the New Testament narratives about Jesus, thinking there are other sources of knowledge that might be more reliable. I found a Web site that answers people thus led astray by arguing from a scholarly perspective that the Gospel accounts are in fact reliable sources of truth. This site also shows the fallacies of arguments that tend to show otherwise.

The site in question is Y-Jesus. I've read every page of it and found it extremely well done. The texts can be said to be a form of apologetics aimed at leading people to accepting Christ not only as a person who existed, but also as God and Savior, for whoever will trust Him.

Would anyone care to share their experience responding to this sort of perspective and to indicate on-line resources they find useful in responding from the perspective that the Bible is God's Word?

 

[OzSpen]

There is in my part of the world so little knowledge about the Bible and its contents that some people are drawn towards very strange ideas of who Jesus was, built on apocryphal gnostic writings. The same category of people discount the value of the New Testament narratives about Jesus, thinking there are other sources of knowledge that might be more reliable. I found a Web site that answers people thus led astray by arguing from a scholarly perspective that the Gospel accounts are in fact reliable sources of truth. This site also shows the fallacies of arguments that tend to show otherwise.

The site in question is Y-Jesus. I've read every page of it and found it extremely well done. The texts can be said to be a form of apologetics aimed at leading people to accepting Christ not only as a person who existed, but also as God and Savior, for whoever will trust Him.

Would anyone care to share their experience responding to this sort of perspective and to indicate on-line resources they find useful in responding from the perspective that the Bible is God's Word?

Daniel,

I also come from a very secular part of the world where there is little understanding of Scripture in the general community and so few apologists for the faith.

For me, I often use the model that Paul used at the Areopagus (Acts 17:22-34 ESV). We ask the provocative questions and then deal with the responses. But we need to be equipped for this kind of ministry. There is much apologetic material available in book form and on the Internet.

Here are some recommendations for apologists and apologetic material:

'Reasonable Faith' is the website of one of the leading apologists today, William Lane Craig. There are both scholarly and lay-level articles on this site.

Ravi Zacharias is another leading evangelical apologist. There are some articles and videos on his site, RZIM.

Here's a list of what some consider are The Top 20 Christian Apologists

You can also check out Watchman Fellowship, Let Us Reason, Xenos Christian Fellowship, Probe Ministries, etc.

I visited Quebec when I was part of a PAOC outreach team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

In Christ,
Oz

 

[DanielGarneau]

Thank you OzSpen for your response.

I began reading through parts "The Jesus Dynasty", by James Tabor. A person I know handed this book over to me, along with a few other similar books, with the intent of opening a dialog about who Jesus Christ is.

An article by Ben Witherington titled "Did Jesus Found a Dynasty -- James Tabor's new book", is helping me dealing with the book, as is also a fresh reading of the four Gospels themselves.

The approach you suggested, and the links you provided will no doubt help me preparing such dialogs.

Prayers appreciated...