A liberal's (Mark Tindall's) response to C S Lewis'

"Rowland Croucher" wrote:

Then four writers may be cited: Bishop Spong, Dr Barbara Thiering, A.N.Wilson, and A.D. Crossan...

They are not all the same. Thiering supports a Pesher reading of the text, Spong a Midrashic reading of the texts .... they therefore come to very different conclusions. A N Wilson (a layman) is more famous for his fictional work and biographies than anything related to theology ( and most of his his biographies have huge flaws)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2. All theology of the liberal type involves at some point - and often involves throughout - the claim that the real behaviour and purpose and teaching of Christ came very rapidly to be misunderstood and misrepresented by his followers, and has been recovered or exhumed only by modern scholars... The idea that any... writer should be opaque to those who lived in the same culture, spoke the same language, shared the same habitual imagery and unconscious assumptions, and yet be transparent to those who have none of these advantages, is in my opinion preposterous. There is an a priori improbability in it which almost no argument and no evidence could counterbalance. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think that the misrepresentation came in via the Gentiles after the Temple was destroyed. There is good evidence that the early Jesus Christians did not worship Jesus as God and that this distortion of the gospel became more prevalent after 70 AD.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3. Thirdly, I find in these theologians a constant use of the principle that the miraculous does not occur... This is a purely philosophical question. Scholars, as scholars, speak on it with no more authority than anyone else. The canon 'if miraculous, unhistorical' is one they bring to their study of the texts, not one they have learned from it. If one is speaking of authority, the united authority of all the Biblical critics in the world counts here for nothing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The miracle myths are more relevant to the other religious myths of the day than anything of an historical nature that can be verified. In the Greco-Roman world myths abounded for every great personage. Ther Greco-Roman myths are still very much alive in the arts today.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4. My fourth bleat is my loudest and longest. Reviewers [of my own books, and of books by friends whose real history I knew] both friendly and hostile... will tell you what public events had directed the author's min to this or that, what other authors influenced him, what his over-all intention was, what sort of audience he principally addressed, why - and when - he did everything...

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Sounds like sour grapes rather than a critique of those who critique. The author being critiques ALSO has his / her own agenda and bias.

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... The sort of statement that arouses our deepest scepticism is the statement that something in a Gospel cannot be historical because it shows a theology or an ecclesiology too developed for so early a date...

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This is also used to date other ancient texts. Why should the bible be treated any differently?