The State of The Nation: 18/04
A DIFFERENT CHALLENGE TO ANSWER
Attention has been drawn during this week by the Media to a new
book written by Philip Pullman called “The Good Man Jesus and the
Scoundrel Christ”. Mr. Pullman is well-known as an author and his
trilogy “His Dark Materials” earned extensive interest because of
its anti-Church stance. He is, of course, an open and zealous
atheist and the theme of the corruption of the Church and its
malignant influences comes through a many of his books. This book is
no exception.
Pullman’s latest offering is a fictional retelling of the story
of Jesus. In interviews he has given he speaks highly of the Gospels
and the story of Jesus, which he sees as an outstanding tale. But he
refuses to believe in God and claims that the Gospels have
significant inconsistencies, contradictions and gaps. He attempts to
tell in his own way the story so that those weaknesses of the
Gospels may be ironed out. At no time does he claim that what he has
written is true – it’s his take on things.
In his story, and remember it is a fictional account, Pullman
claims Mary had twins – Jesus and Christ. From that the rest all
flows, as the two brothers behave in very different ways. It is not
necessary to try to recount the story or its outline here. It is
certainly a well written and clever story. It follows the storyline
of the Gospels to some degree, but he changes many of the details
and adds some extraordinary things. In the end neither Jesus nor
Christ come out as truly godly men. The biblical teaching that Jesus
Christ is Divine and the only Saviour of sinners gets no
representation at all.
What is the significance of this book? In one way not much! It is
yet another book in a long line of such offerings that attempt to
diminish the truth of the Bible and to devalue the Saviour. However,
like “The Shack”, some Christians are already saying that the book
may do good because it will make people go back to reading the
Gospels for themselves. And so they are encouraging people to read
it.
On the other hand it is very subtle and therefore very dangerous.
And this why we must think about it. When people read books like
this they read a story that grips them and bring them some pleasure.
That makes them take on board some of the ideas being presented.
“The DaVinci Code” did exactly the same. Of course, Pullman would
say that it’s just a story. But he knows that a well-told story
imparts ideas far better than anything else – why else did Jesus
Christ tell stories (parables)? And in our post-modern culture
stories are powerful media for conveying ideas. Where are the
Christian story writers?
So I would suggest the book is dangerous because of its very
cleverness and subtlety. What then should be our reaction? Let me
suggest a number of answers.
- We should not berate the author, nor demand that it not be
published, nor that its circulation be restricted. Evangelical
Christians are becoming very vocal about freedom of speech. That
is a double-edged sword. If we want freedom to express our
beliefs we must allow others the same freedom, even when what
they say is blasphemous. God will deal with those who malign His
Son and His truth. That is not our calling (Romans 12:17-21).
Attacking Pullman on a personal level or attempting censorship
of some form will only increase people’s interest.
- We should understand what is going on. The Apostle John
dealt very effectively with the issues in 2 John :7 and 1 John
2:18. The spirit of antichrist is abroad in the world. That is
not some apocalyptic statement. It is the reality of the world
we live in. There is a solid answer to this – 2 John :8-11 and 1
John 2:20-25. Truth will not lose any argument.
- Be confident in the Gospel and in the Biblical record.
Pullman’s underlying tenet is that there are deficiencies in the
Gospel record – that is an hoary old chestnut that has been
demolished times without number. The Devil just keeps bringing
it back. So let us make sure we are informed about the facts and
then tell people about them whenever they raise the issue.
(Brian Edward’s book “Nothing but the Truth” is a good place to
start your personal studies).
- Challenge Christians you know who take the very
foolish line of encouraging people to read it because it might
do good. As with “The Shack” this book is blasphemous. Any
believer who is prepared to support someone reading blasphemy is
as unsafe for the Gospel as the blasphemy itself is offensive to
God. If we lived more godly lives and spoke more faithfully and
excitedly about the Lord, people would see the reality of Christ
in us and would want to read the Gospels for themselves. If we
need blasphemy to promote the Gospel we are in a very bad way.
- Realise that despite the errors and misrepresentations
of this book God can overrule. He does make the “wrath of men
praise Him”. So all Philip Pullman’s plans and hopes will come
to nothing. That does not justify his writing this book anymore
than the purposes of God justified the wickedness of men in
crucifying Jesus (Acts 2:23). It is a wicked book, but in a
godless age such things will arise.
- Believe that the power of the Gospel is greater than
the cleverness of men. Preach the truth by life and word. Speak
out if you hear people promoting the book by telling them the
truth – Jesus is the Christ, the glorious Saviour of sinners!
Christ is a title that belongs exclusively to Jesus of Nazareth
– the God/man.
- Pray that God will visit our heathen nation. Atheists
are becoming so much more active and bold because the church is
increasingly weak and sidelined into seeking to copy the culture
rather than change it. We need a mighty outpouring of the
Spirit. May God make us to see the need and give us a real
burden to pray – “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit”
(Zechariah 4:6).
This book presents us with a different challenge to answer from
what we often discuss but the answer is still the same - our
prayerfulness and obedience, and God’s mighty power and grace. The
wonderful fact is simply this, the Gospel always wins.