Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard have written Killing Jesus and state,
… we have the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
but they sometimes appear contradictory and were written from a spiritual point
of view rather than as a historical chronicling of Jesus's [sic] life. [1]
They should get a copy of Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties by Gleason Archer which deals
with these tensional verses. Doctor Luke
clearly states that he is using historical research methods (Lk 1:1-4). Has O’Reilly actually read the Bible (all 66
books)?
O’Reilly’s spin is “We do not address Jesus as the
Messiah” [2] Did he take the same
approach in Killing Lincoln and Killing Kennedy? Was Lincoln merely a prominent leader during
a Civil War? NO, he was President. Was JFK just a national figure loved by many
celebs? NO, he “kept the world from
ending” (Cuban missile crisis). Jesus Being
the Christ cannot be overlooked! The
Jewish Historian Josephus recorded the following:
[Jesus’ disciples] reported that he had appeared to them
three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps
the messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders. [3]
This version comes from a tenth century Arabic text and
so is unlikely to have been corrupted by Christian influence. Christ’s miracles and perfect life point to
his deity:
Jesus of Nazareth was a man proved to you by God
himself through the works of power, the miracles and the signs which God
showed through him here amongst you - as you very well know. … Now therefore the
whole nation of Israel must know beyond the shadow of a doubt that this Jesus,
whom you crucified, God has declared to be both Lord and Christ (Acts
2:22, 36, Philips).
O’Reilly claims to be Roman Catholic (RC), but he denies
the reality of Adam and Eve and ridicules Noah’s Large Barge (Ark). The Kolbe Center in an RC resource that
supports traditional creation. Dr.
Joseph Strada (Ph.D. Aeronautical
Engineering and Mathematics) is one of their speakers.
O’Reilly refers to Jesus’ post-Resurrection appearances
as “apparitions.” [4] What’s up with
that?
Even the cover of Killing
Jesus is wrong. Mel Gibson (friend
of Robert Downey Jr.) got it right. The
sign on the cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” was in Hebrew, Greek
and Latin (Jn 19:20).
On a more positive note, O’Reilly’s references on the “Historical
Jesus” include the work of J.P. Moreland, Darrell Bock, William Lane Craig,
Paul Copan, Mike Licona and C.S. Lewis. [5]
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Notes:
1) Killing Jesus
by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard , p. 1.2) Ibid., p. 2.
3) quoted in Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics by Norman Geisler (Baker, Grand Rapids, MI, 1999), p. 254.
4) O'Reilly and Dugard, p. 261.
5) Ibid., p. 279.
