According to this article that posted yesterday on CNN’s Belief Blog, evangelical pastor and New Testament scholar, Gunnar Samuelsson, says that the Gospels (the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) do not say Jesus was crucified. The article says that Samuelsson was working on a dissertation at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden when he noticed a problem with a major book about the history of crucifixion before Jesus.
It’s apparent, by reading the article, that the scholar is somewhat torn by his findings. “I am a pastor, a conservative evangelical pastor, a Christian,” Samuelsson says. “I do believe that Jesus died the way we thought he died. He died on the cross.” However, he goes on to say, “if my observations are correct, every book on the history of Jesus will need to be rewritten.”
Is this one man’s attempt to thrust himself in the limelight and rewrite Christian tradition or he is on to something that, for centuries, Christians have gotten wrong?
This highlights one of the many problems of a "Sola Scriptura" approach. Early Christian tradition goes beyond the words of Scripture. If nothing else, there is the Didache, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didache , along with many other early texts.
My favorite is to point out that the word "Trinity" is nowhere to be found in the Bible. It wasn't even nailed down as a doctrine until the 4th century. Yet, it is safe to say that a belief in the Trinity is foundational in Christianity.
This is an academic discussion, and has its place. It is important in those circles, and could filter down to us one day. But, does it change the way we live our daily lives? http://blog.rrchapman.us/2010/05/the-three-in-one...