Posted on 04/21/2025 6:35:38 AM PDT by Red Badger
I legitimately don't understand. Christianity Today, the flagship evangelical publication founded by the late Billy Graham, declares its method is:
"To deliver biblical wisdom and beautiful storytelling from the whole world to the whole world across all media."
That publication published THIS on Eater weekend:
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Christianity Today @CTmagazine The Bible doesn’t say Jesus was nailed to a cross.
One evangelical Bible scholar thinks the crucifixion may have been done with ropes.
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Christianity Today had to be community-noted by Christians to correct a grievous biblical error.
Maybe it slipped past the editors. But how? How could a theory, so antithetical to the explicit teaching of Scripture, whose entire line of argument is predicated upon the heretical notion that the Gospel of John could have been, for lack of a better term, a fabricated account, ever get published at a magazine dedicated to the truth of salvation in Christ alone?
It's embarrassing to have to point this out to people who boast that their organization, "illuminate(s) what it means to follow Jesus faithfully in our time," but here are some important facts:
John was an eyewitness to the crucifixion. We know that from the lips of Jesus Himself, who spoke to John while hanging on the cross, telling him to care for His mother. (19:26-27)
After reports of His resurrection, Thomas famously told the other disciples, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." (20:25)
Outside the Gospel of John, Scripture unsurprisingly validates and corroborates itself:
Paul writes that on the cross, Jesus "canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross." (Colossians 2:14)
In one of the most descriptive prophecies of the Old Testament, hundreds of years before crucifixion had even been invented, the Psalmist writes of what would happen to God's Messiah: "Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet." (Psalm 22:16)
Luke, one of the greatest historians of all time - biblical or otherwise - records details of Christ's appearing to His disciples and authenticating that He is the crucified, risen Lord by telling them, "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself!" (Luke 24:39)
Had Christ's hands and feet not been pierced by nails, such a statement would make no sense. He would have told them to look at His face. The hands and feet bore scars that would identify Him as the One who had just been executed three days previous.
Now could the Romans have tied the arms of Jesus to the cross with ropes as well as driving in the nails? Perhaps. But the question remains why an institution like Christianity Today would want to generate skepticism over such a central Christian teaching. Particularly on such flimsy grounds backed by such weak scholarship. And on Easter weekend.
That seemed to be the consensus opinion among believers as CT was "ratioed" into oblivion:
I’m looking forward to Christianity Today article:
“The Bible doesn’t say Jesus was buried in a tomb.
One evangelical Bible scholar thinks Jesus was cremated.”— Samuel Sey (@SlowToWrite) April 20, 2025
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Christianity Astray strikes again. It would be comical, if not for the extreme disrespect being shown towards Jesus here. What an ugly lie to spread this weekend.— Jared (@Livng4Jesus) April 20, 2025
That last point is the one I keep coming back to.
It's not that I don't appreciate discussion or want to dismiss competing thoughts without giving them a proper hearing. It's that it is beyond irresponsible for a Christian publication to spend its money and platform to undermine the authenticity and credibility of the gospels.
We are loved and redeemed by the God of the universe. From before time began He had chosen to sacrifice His own Son on a cross of wood to save us from an eternity apart from Him. One day that Son will return and welcome us into a glorious eternity. Until that time, we are on a mission to tell this truth to others.
That's our motivation as Christians. It's the cause that trumps all other causes, be they political, cultural, educational, historical, academic or otherwise.
Someone might want to let the brothers and sisters at Christianity Today know that spreading shoddy research that undercuts central doctrines of the faith and demoralizes the faithful isn't a great way to advance it.
They should just rename it Heresy Today
World remains Biblically based despite the escalating apostacy of modern culture.
My thoughts exactly.
The infamous Sinkspur, who posted here years ago and falsely claimed to be a Catholic Deacon, also held this position, or at least believed it was possible. It’s heresy.
Good.
Russell Moore is editor of Christianity Today. Keep eyes open for that name, anything attached to it is anathema.
Thomas: Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe
I used to read Christianity Today(along with Eternity and 30 Days,a Catholic mag) every month. I worked in a mall that had a Christian bookstore, and never missed an issue. I would read them on my lunch break. How the mighty have fallen.
hey, I remember Sinkspur, wasn’t he pretty good on a lot of things? I have a 1968 novel written by a famous ( at the time) Finnish author Mika Waltari. He has an extended scene of mass crucifixions in Rome done for Nero’s pleasure where the first person Roman narrator laments the expense of using nails rather than rope to hang victims to their crosses, many of which were posts.
didn’t someone say once that the biggest impediments to believing the Christian message are Christians themselve’s?
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
Christianity Today is NOT Christian in the least.
CT should be sued for dishonest marketing and required to change their name.
Using rope was the traditional Roman crucifixion as happened to Spartacists. Deathe was from asphixiation as the lungs ciuld not expand. The use of nails was done in some cases. The Sanhedrin did not want Jesus on the Cross for the length of time it would take to asphixiate. Legionnaires knew the drill and placed the nails through the wrists. When it appeared Christ would last longer the centurion put the spear in His side. Rope may have been uses to prevent the possibility of the damaged wrist falling through the nail.
Next Sunday, Orthodox Christians will celebrate St. Thomas putting his fingers into the prints of the nails in the resurrected Jesus’ hands!
Christ is Risen, but “Christianity Today” is fallen!
“When it appeared Christ would last longer the centurion put the spear in His side.”
that’s not how the Bible words it.
they broke the legs of the two living men to speed their deaths. Jesus was already dead when the spear was used.
Good talking about the wrist - which the term “hand” included back in those days/language. The bones in the hand would not have held a nail in place - the wrist does. A rope may have been used as well.
The spear was used to confirm that Jesus had died. Blood and water flowed from the wound, which occurs after death.
From the interweb:
The difficulty surrounding exhalation leads to a slow form of suffocation. Carbon dioxide builds up in the blood, resulting in a high level of carbonic acid in the blood. The body responds instinctively, triggering the desire to breathe. At the same time, the heart beats faster to circulate available oxygen.
The decreased oxygen (due to the difficulty in exhaling) causes damage to the tissues and the capillaries begin leaking watery fluid from the blood into the tissues. This results in a build-up of fluid around the heart (pericardial effusion) and lungs (pleural effusion).
The collapsing lungs, failing heart, dehydration, and the inability to get sufficient oxygen to the tissues essentially suffocate the victim.1 The decreased oxygen also damages the heart itself (myocardial infarction) which leads to cardiac arrest. In severe cases of cardiac stress, the heart can even burst, a process known as cardiac rupture. Jesus most likely died of a heart attack.
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Of course the blood and water also has spiritual/ symbolic significance.
I grew up in a liberal church. After becoming a Christian, I was able to smell liberalism a mile away. Even in my early years, I could tell Christianity Today was a liberal rag.
someone told me they should rename the rag “Christianity MAYBE”.
The publication has become a garbage outlet. Megan Basham has exposed their chief editor Russell Moore in her book “Shepherds for Sale”.
I used to subscribe to CT. Let it lapse, and I am glad.
I now subscribe to World Magazine. Much better journalism.
wng.org
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