Jesus Heresies: Keep Em Coming

Davinci Code, The Jesus Dynasty and The Gospel of Judas.

This seems to happen every year when we approach a Resurrection Celebration; people begin to attack the character of Christ. The word "heresy" may appear sharp at first, until you realize that John called those who denied the true identity of Jesus as being the spirit of the antichrist. While I believe we need to defend the faith and expose such errors, I think it can be a positive when they are all expressed.

1. They Dilute One Another. The more of this stuff that comes out, the less potency each carries. Dan Brown's theories get confused with gnostic writings which all blend into vague theories. There is no one strong attack against Christ, but rather a bunch of minor ones.
2. It shows the gospels resiliency. It is not that the character of Jesus has gone unquestioned for 2,000 years, it's that it has stood up under all scrutiny for 2,000 years. I, II and III John deal with those who were heading down the gnostic path already. None of these claims are anything new.
3. Our people learn what matters. A casual believer may state that understanding a completely divine and completely human being is difficult and simply leave it there. They may be comfortable with explanations that are easier to picture, but diminish the true character of Christ. However, when these adaptations are carried out to the full extent of becoming complete denials of Christ, suddenly the casual believer sees the problem. They begin to look into the nature of Christ, and they learn why it matters.
4. People are talking. I doubt I could begin a conversation with my neighbor with the evidence of the the bibligraphic standard. However, once they question the validity of the Bible as we read it, I now have an opportunity...
5. The ultimate conspiracy....leading to a conversation about the resurrection. I can explain that these theories are old and the church has been answering them for millennia. But then I can challenge them that the world has never come close to a satisfactory answer for the Resurrection. They've had 2,000 years to work on it, and still they can not--with genuine scholarship--deny its existence. That is the real conspiracy they should be thinking about.

We don't have to ask the world to keep the heresies coming...it will do that on its own. However, we don't have to panic. We can use them to expose the true glory of the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us.