AN INVENTED JESUS? — The media has started giving publicity to the latest Jesus conspiracy theory: Story of Jesus Christ was ‘fabricated to pacify the poor’, claims controversial Biblical scholar: Christianity was a sophisticated government propaganda exercise used to pacify the subjects of a the Roman Empire, claims scholar.
So, the Romans invented a story in which Roman soldiers crucified the peaceful leader of a new religion to make themselves more palpable to their subjects? I don’t think so.
Parchment and Pen has an introductory analysis: Ancient Confession Found: ‘We Invented Jesus Christ’ (Hint: no “ancient confession” has been found).
Also see Never Read a Press Release Headline at Stand to Reason Blog.
FROM THE “OLD-EARTHERS ARE IN LEAGUE WITH THE DEVIL” CLUB — Here’s an excerpt from a loving note from the head of the Creation Science Hall of Fame:
Dear Creationists & Friends,
Hugh Ross must be stopped! He has caused many good Christians to stumble. I have witnessed good Christian Churches argue over the interpretations of Genesis more than any other topic. I have now witnessed good Christian Churches that have broken up directly as a result of Hugh Ross teaching a mixture of evolution and Christianity.
The Bible teaches us to judge other Christians by their fruits. Hugh Ross has no fruits, but he has caused many Christians to stumble in their faith. He is causing so much harm among Christians all over the world and he must be stopped. Evil is using him in a great way.
Etc…
It seems that to the folks at the Creation Science Hall of Fame, the age of the Earth is more important than the gospel, Christian unity, truth, or love.
HT: Old Earth Ministries: Creation Science Hall of Shame
WHO’S FAULT IS IT? — Another YEC who blasts old-Earthers, of course, is Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis. Here’s what Mr. Ham recently wrote about Daniel Hamlin, a member of a Nazarene church, who had written a testimony about how evidence for biological evolution had caused him to have a crisis of faith:
Well, Hamlin shares that when he began reading about evolutionary ideas, he came to the conclusion that “Christianity is a lie and I’ve been duped.” He believed he had been “deceived” by Christian leaders, and he writes that he “chose science and for a time questioned the existence of God.” Wow! Those kinds of statements really demonstrate the way evolutionary ideas can undermine the authority of the Word of God and the gospel. Hamlin’s automatic conclusion was that Christianity had to be false if evolution and millions of years were true—these things are mutually exclusive!
So here’s what happened:
- Christian hears “If the Earth is old, then Christianity is false” (or if evolution is true, then Christianity is false).
- Christian learns that there is plenty of evidence for an old Earth, or for biological evolution.
- Christian concludes that Christianity might be false.
So who’s fault is it? I would say these crises of faith are due primarily to the bad science and false dichotomies presented by the YECs.
Read Hamlin’s story: Evolution and Faith: My Journey Thus Far.
GeoChristian 
Are the Creation Science Hall of Fame (I take it they are real and this is not Poe’s Law in action) a bit Do Lally?
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Thanks for continuing to provide great information on the absurd, mean things YEC are saying! I can’t believe how they are so ignorant as to slander Hugh Ross!! He knows more about science than any of them and is a good Christian.
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Concerning Hugh Ross, sounds like the YECs can’t even get their slander straight. I’ve never seen anything from RTB to suggest that they accept evolution at all. My perspective as a research biochemist is that nothing RTB says about biology is reliable at all, but I’ve always appreciated the fact that they do get the Gospel out, and I’ve seen people saying that they became Christians by Ross’s ministry. Seems like there is nothing in these attacks on him but lies and malice.
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Ever notice how people of a certain mindset get fixated on one rather obscure, questionable idea and everything revolves around this fixation? Then to explain the truthfulness of this improbable fixation there are all sorts of “conspiracies.”
So on the far left we now have the idea that the Romans conspired to invent Christianity to keep the peasants – especially the Jews – down. Some pagan Roman, being no doubt also an expert on Jewish thought, discovered all sorts of hidden meanings in the works of Josephus and used this secret knowledge to invent oppressive Christianity and – wait for it! – it is 2,000 years later and only now has some “scholar” appeared who is learned enough to rediscover Josephus’s hidden meanings and smart enough to unravel the Roman conspiracy that led to Christianity.
Then on the far right fringe we have some YEC leaders in revolt against modernity. There is a fixation on a certain reading of a few verses from Genesis and a very specific timeline – with some claiming to know the exact date, hour and minute that creation began, and that is almost the sum of Christianity right there. Then there have to be conspiracies and enemies. Evidently every mainstream scientist is motivated to discover some previously unknown fossil or previously unknown fact about physics in order to somehow prove God does not exist. Evidently every Christian teacher who does not follow the YEC party line is trying to undermine the Bible. These “atheistic” scientists and “compromising” Christians are working together in some insidious conspiracy.
It is interesting how people who become fixated with an odd idea tend to have peculiar or “secret” readings of certain texts, and then in addition to their improbable idea the world is filled with even more improbable conspiracies.
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