Friends. This will be a short one for tonight’s entry at http://www.wallsofjericho.info doesn’t have much. I am giving the link again so anyone can be sure of the argument I am dealing with:
http://www.wallsofjericho.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=32
The claim is that the NT has fostered the idea that Jesus Christ is the name of the central figure in the NT and the name is exclusive to him.
If you mean name as in a birth name, no. A birth certificate of Jesus would not say “Jesus Christ.” Jesus is the given name. Christ is a name describing his position.
Our writer is correct that Jesus is the variant of Joshua and would be read as Yeshua. It was a common name even in the time of Christ. There are even some reports that Barabbas, whom Pilate released instead of Jesus, was named Jesus and Barabbas was a surname. If that is the case, it would have meant his name was “Jesus, son of the father” in opposition to Jesus, Son of the Father.
Our writer is also correct that there are four other people in the Bible named Jesus. Again, this goes along with it being a common name.
Our writer is also correct about Christ meaning “Anointed one”, which could have a limited perspective as it did for Cyrus, but the Jews were also waiting a specific anointed one, a greater one that we would call “The Messiah” today and Jesus was certainly claiming Messianic status for himself and there can be no doubt that’s what the Christians at least meant to attribute to him by calling him Jesus Christ.
Our writer wishes to say that since this information was so lost and distorted beyond recognition, then this can explain how the same could happen with a fact like the birth of Christ.
No. Instead, it shows that the church today is ignorant. A friend of mine tonight was talking about Zeitgeist and I said that while it is quite false, most Christians couldn’t answer it. This friend asked me if I really believe most of the church is that uninformed. I sadly had to say yes. I really wish I was wrong. I do. I don’t think I am though.
I don’t think Walls of Jericho gives good arguments against the virgin birth. However, it does tell me that our churches need to be better informed for in our state, we will even succoumb to bad arguments for a false position. Keep this in mind fellow apologists. Just because you see an argument as pathetic, it doesn’t mean the person sitting in the pew next to you does.
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