Christian Living

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK

by GLENN PEASE
01/31/18
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Based on I Cor. 15:5-11

One of the most novel debates in the history of Christianity was that over the question of whether or not Adam and Eve had a navel. The man in the street could hide his conviction, but the artist had to face the issue squarely and choose a side. His works made it clear whether he was pro or anti-navel. Michaelangelo in painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel came out strongly for the pro-navel side. He was strongly criticized by Sir Thomas Broune, however, who called it a dreadful mistake “in that it implies that the Creator affected superfluities or ordained parts without use or office.”

Anti-navelists said that God does not create what is useless, and so why would He give them a navel when they were not born by the normal process? But the pronavelists argued that if they lacked navels they would be imperfect specimens of mankind, and God does not create imperfections. Every argument was met with a counter argument. Christopher Morley described the situation perfectly in his poem The Twins.

"Con was a thorn to brother Pro
On Pro we often sicked him:
Whatever Pro would claim to know,
Old Con would contradict him!"

In opposition to Michaelangelo other artists painted Adam and Eve without navels. If men were aiming to appear uttering ridiculous, they could not selected a better subject to debate, for with this one they hit it right on the button. The issue died down for a long time, but was revived again in 1944 in the Congress of the United States. Assuming that navel affairs came under their jurisdiction, a subcommittee of the House Military Affairs Committee opposed distribution of the booklet The Race Of Mankind to all soldiers. One of the grounds of their complaint was that an illustration depicted Adam and Eve with navels. It is easy to see how the evolutionist could use this to support his contention that Adam and Eve were born from some preman creature. On the other hand, if they had no navel, it would be a sign of their being the direct creation of God. It is a question difficult to resolve.

The point of even bringing up all this navel nonsense is that it illustrates just how involved men can get over an issue that is pure speculation without a single fact or thread of evidence on which to stand. Some of the arguments on both sides are sound, but that is all they are-sound there is no solid ground on which to rest. The best argument has no better foundation than the worst. Each side can appeal to faith, but there is no basis for faith without facts. Many Christians get confused at this point, and they think that faith can be a substitute for facts. Whatever you call that which believes without evidence, it is not biblical faith. Credulity, superstition, or blind faith maybe, but it is not biblical faith.

Biblical faith is always based on facts, and is supported by evidence. If we would keep this in mind, we would avoid many of the foolish mistakes Christians have made. A. T. Pierson, one of the great defenders of the faith in the 19th century, considered it a Christian duty to demand proof and evidence of what is proclaimed as Christian doctrine. If you swallow everything you hear proclaimed as Christian truth, you will soon be a walking encyclopedia of error. Heresy, nonsense and false ideas are constantly being communicated by both liberals and conservatives. The Christian is obligated to test everything and try the spirits to see if they are of God. In his book Many Infallible Proofs Pierson says, “There is a kind of doubt that is entirely right, and of that sort is the doubt of one who does not believe what he has no reason to believe, and what he has no proof of as true.” He also says, “A faith not firmly founded upon good evidence deserves not the name of faith... Nothing is to be accepted unless based on good evidence.”

These statements are confirmed as we examine the argument of Paul in this chapter on the resurrection. Paul’s procedure and pattern in this argument is almost as valuable to us as is the content of his message. Paul teaches us how to defend Christian truth, and how a Christian should conduct himself in controversy. Many Christians do great harm to the cause of Christ, even in defense of the truth, by failing to follow Paul’s pattern. If a truth is worth defending, it is worth the effort to be honest, factual and logical. Fallacies are never justified even in defense of the most vital truths. Let us, therefore, learn from both the message and the method of Paul as he lays the groundwork for his argument on the resurrection of the dead. First we consider how he

I. ACCUMULATES EVIDENCE.

Paul does not launch off from the clouds of speculation. He begins on the solid ground of eye-witness evidence. The heart of Christianity is the Gospel, and the heart of the Gospel is the resurrection of Christ. Paul’s whole argument depends upon the reality of the resurrection. An historical fact can only be proven by historical evidence, and historical evidence comes to us largely by means of eye-witnesses. The resurrection, like every other historical event, depends for its validity on the testimony of eye-witnesses. That is why Paul records this list of those who had seen the risen Christ. He did not depend on his own testimony as sufficient proof. Paul is aware of the fact that even honest men can make mistakes. They can have unusual subjective experiences, and so one man is an inadequate basis for proof. Almost all nations have required at least two witnesses to convict a man of a crime.

Jesus said that where two or three are gathered in His name that He would be there in the midst. Jesus is with us when we are alone as well, but no conviction or interpretation of Scripture coming out of that private fellowship can be considered authentic unless it is confirmed by others. We do this in our business meetings also. No motion is ever considered on the basis of one person making it. It must have a second to be considered. A distrust for pure individuality runs through our whole system. Charles Seignobas writes, “It is a principle common to all sciences of observation, not to base a scientific conclusion on a single observation. The fact must have been corroborated by several independent observations before it can be affirmed.”

On the basis of this principle Paul does the most scholarly job of accumulating evidence. Matthew only records two appearances of the risen Christ; Luke only three, and John only four, but Paul has five plus his own, and one of them to a group of over 500 people. Even at that Paul is not exhaustive in his evidence, for certainly he must have heard to the appearance to Mary Magdalene and the other women. Paul, however, did not list them, for they were not as powerful as witnesses. Women did not have the same status as men, and Paul is concerned only with the best evidence at his point. He left out the men on the road to Emmaus also, for they were obscure and not well known. The point is, Paul was selective in his evidence to give the greatest impact without unnecessary facts cluttering up his argument. As an unknown poet wrote,

"Examples I could cite you more,
But be contented with these four,
For when one’s proofs are aptly chosen,
Four are as valid as four dozens."

So it is with Paul’s list here. He has given what he feels is the most powerful and well balanced list of eye-witnesses. He has selected 3 individuals and 3 groups. The 3 individuals, Peter, James and himself are key leaders known to all in the church. Paul is using one of the most common and valuable appeals in argument, which is the appeal to authority. If you can quote outstanding authorities to support your position, your view will have greater weight. It is a legitimate and biblical procedure in debate. Defenders of the faith have always depended upon this a great deal in controversy with the world of unbelief.

Let us not misunderstand this appeal, however, and think authority is in itself a sufficient proof of anything. This is contrary to the whole spirit of Protestantism. When Martin Luther was forced to reply before the Diet of Worms he said, “Since your imperial Majesty requires a plain answer, I will give one without horns or hoofs. It is this, that I must be convinced either by the teaching of Scripture or by clear argument. I cannot trust the pope or councils by themselves, for both have erred. I cannot and will not retreat.” Luther would have accepted proof and evidence from authority, but authority in itself does not produce truth, it can only be a witness to truth. The greatest authority in any field must still back up his ideas with evidence. Paul was a great authority himself, but he does not by authority command the Corinthians to believe. He lays before them evidence to compel belief.

The fact that great leaders like Peter, James and himself are believers in the resurrected Christ is powerful evidence, because each of them was in a negative relationship to Christ at the time of the resurrection. They were not in a psychological state that could lead to wishful thinking and hallucinations. They were not caught up in an ecstasy of hopeful expectation. Instead, Peter was a denier of Christ; James was a disbeliever, and Paul was a despiser. He saves his personal testimony for last because it is the most powerful. He was the least likely person to ever be a believer, for he hated Christians, and the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ was nonsense to him. Paul’s method here has become commonplace in Christian evidence. We take the man who was formerly atheist or criminal as an example of the power of the Gospel. It is a valid practice, for it shows the reality of conversion in a visible way, and it shows that if such a person can be converted, then anyone can.

In the 1930's, for example, a boy by the name of John Cifelli was a member of a gang in Toledo, Ohio. His job was to steal cars. The gang would repaint them and resell them. He was caught and served 32 months in prison. He spent years traveling with various carnivals and began to drink heavily. He went to a rescue mission and heard the Gospel but he was not interested. All he wanted was the free meal and bed. In 1963 he went to Galesburg, Ill. He sought out the nearest tavern and then visited the Rescue Mission. He liked to sing How Great Thou Art, and so he requested it and they sang it. He stayed there doing odd jobs and after much effort by a local pastor he trusted in Christ as his personal Savior. He went on to become the superintendent of that mission. He married a Christian woman and ordained into the ministry. Personal testimonies like this by the thousands down through history cannot be dismissed by the honest mind. They prove that the Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation.

Paul then goes on to make sure that no one charges him with choosing isolated cases. He selects three groups of witnesses of the resurrection. He has the 12, and then the larger body of Apostles, and finally the 500 disciples who saw the risen Christ. There is a strong collective testimony as well as personal testimony. Paul had an appeal to quality when he selected the 3 individual leaders, and now he has appeal to quantity. Numbers are not unimportant. When you can get over 500 people to testify to having seen something there is not a court in the world that would reject it as inadequate evidence.

Paul was so zealous in accumulating evidence that he apparently had personal interviews with some of these 500. We know he had an interview with Peter and James, but it is implied he talked with other witnesses as well because he says that most of them are still alive. In other words, though some have died and the evidence is buried, most of the evidence is still available to anyone who wants to take the effort to look these people up as I have done. Check it out for yourself is what Paul is saying. This is the best evidence possible, for it is evidence you can personally examine and not just take someone else’s word for it.

There is more to be said on this, but we need to move on. The important thing is to simply recognize Paul’s attitude in gathering this evidence. He was a great man of faith, but also a great man of facts. He does not suggest by word or act that proof and evidence is contrary to faith. Paul would add to the word of James who said, “Faith without works is dead,” and say that, “Faith without facts is also dead.” Jesus expected us to love God with all our minds, and this demands that we have seeking minds ever in search for facts and evidence to confirm our faith. Jesus gave men evidence of His Messiahship in His miracles. He satisfied the longing of John the Baptist for evidence to support His claim to be Messiah. He gave Thomas the evidence he longed for to prove that He had risen. Our faith would be stronger, and we would be more effective witnesses if we had the same zeal of Paul in gathering facts, testimony and evidence to prove the truth of what we believe. Next we see how he

II. AVOIDS EMOTION

Paul is dealing with people who do not find his views acceptable, and others who are uncertain and on the border. If he would call his opponents a pack of meat heads and scatterbrained ignoramuses, he would lose the ear of his opponents and push the border line people over into error. Studies on debates have proven time and time again that emotional language of name calling and ridicule are very effective for nonChristian goals, but very ineffective for Christian goals. If you are interested in only getting cheers from those who already think like you, nothing is more effective than name calling.

Voltaire and Ingersall traveled widely and kept people in stitches as they ridiculed the Christian faith. Their cause was destructive and negative. If that is your goal to tare down, then ridicule is a powerful weapon. Paul’s goal was to build up, however, and not to tare down. A Christian should never be in an argument for any other reason but to extent the truth into areas now held by error. Paul wrote to convince the disbelievers, and bring those on the border over on to solid ground.

Paul’s goal called for cool, calm and unoffensive language. He must be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. Daniel Webster said, “Keep cool: Anger is not argument.” I have heard men arguing for a position I agreed with, but they lost my vote and respect because they had nothing better to do than blast the opponent’s view and call them names. A man who does not deal with the issues, but engages in name calling insults the intelligence of his audience. He is a liability to his cause even if he is on the right side. Many men with less wisdom and love than Paul would have split the Corinthian church in half. Paul avoids the emotion filled arguments that kindle the fires of anger. Without a doubt Paul felt more emotion than he reveals, for the issue was vital to Christian faith, but he controls his emotion and follows the course of calm reasoning.

When the Spirit of truth guides a man in controversy he will be honest in his logic, and will not use the cowardly weapon of name calling. Jesus in confronting Satan answered argument for argument and won out on the basis of a more accurate and reasonable interpretation of the Scripture. All the name calling in the world would not settle the issue then, and it would not with Paul, nor will it with us today. May God help us each to learn to be Christian in controversy and follow the pattern of Paul. Accumulate evidence so that your argument is based on solid facts, and then avoid emotion by a cool dignified presentation of those facts and their implication. Let us follow the pattern of Paul who was an expert in laying the ground work.