Dear Friends,

This is my second post of direct commentary on How Jesus Became God, by Bart Ehrman. Check here for my introductory comments.

So far this has been a fascinating read, and I hope you are enjoying it. My simple prayer is: God bless you with reading grace and me with writing grace.

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Minding the mind

In the last post, I discussed some comments of Ehrman’s which seemed to accidentally bolster the case for Christ. Today’s post is no different:

“Unlike Christianity, Roman religions did not stress belief or the ‘intellectual content’ of religion. Instead, religion was all about action – what one did in relation to the gods, rather than what one happened to think or believe about them.” (Page 31 of 302)

This is yet another comment from Ehrman that points out the distinctives of Christianity. And it’s a distinctive I’m happy to accept! As just one simple example:

[Jhn 11:26 KJV] 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. BELIEVEST THOU THIS?

It also seems like it would be difficult for someone raised in Roman religion to encounter Christianity but then happily go back to their paganism.

Christianity was different…but not in the way that mint and chip ice cream is different from rocky road.

Because Christianity respected the mind, a core component of the immaterial identity which distinguishes humans from animals, Christianity was actually better.

It’s almost like monotheism is the logical choice

The other comment I’ll address today yet again seems to support Christianity, or at least monotheism:

“Some ancient people – for example, some of those more philosophically inclined – thought that at the very pinnacle of the divine realm was one ultimate deity, a god who was over all things, who was infinitely, or virtually infinitely, powerful and who was sometimes thought to be the source of all things.” 35 of 302

Once again, we see Ehrman pointing out the alignment between mind (“the more philosophically inclined”) and Christianity (as well as Judaism and Islam), a religion which does in fact posit a deity who is “the source of all things.”

Keep in mind, these comments are coming from an atheist; he’s not out to promote Christianity, or any other supernatural belief system. That gives his comments in favor of Christianity even more weight.

In closing, I offer a Jesus quote which affirms Ehrman’s observations, in that it includes the activities of your mind in the very greatest commandment.

[Mat 22:37 KJV] 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy MIND.

God bless you and thanks for reading!

TFOTF