[Continuing the exchange between Sinaite BAN@S6K and her long-time missionary friend “CF” who first converted her from her Catholic faith to evangelical Christianity, hereunder are: CF’s latest email dated July 17, and BAN’s response to “CF” dated July 21–Admin1.]
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“Starting from Scratch”
My much loved BAN and VAN,
In working through our ongoing conversation of greatest importance, I ask:
- From what overriding and infallible research does John Tabor base his exclusion of the New Testament as part of the inspired Word of God?
- Where is the grave of Jesus where historians have confidence his body lay? Where are their proofs of such? In other words would it not be to the advantage of the unbelievers to conclusively prove his death and burial without resurrection?
- What will cleanse us from sin in place of the sacrifice required under the law?
Waiting for your response and continuing to pray for you to know the truth.
Love,
CF
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My dear CF,
I do want to correct your impression that James Tabor’s book had influenced me in making my spiritual decision. My decision was made much earlier. I read the book months after. James Tabor did not influence me at all. Though when I read the book, I did agree with him on most of what he wrote.
I do think that being a student of antiquity, he is interested in finding where the grave of Jesus was which, I believe, he will never find, two thousand years after the fact. For, first of all, who would even take the trouble during Jesus’ time to put a mark on his grave for posterity. No one of his disciples ever thought that Christianity would emerge because of him. Jesus taught the Torah and always advocated obedience to it. He was a Jew, lived as a Jew, and worshipped as a Jew. He was the epitome of what a Torah believer was.
With regard to where Tabor based his exclusion of the New Testament as part of the “inspired word of God,” this is no mystery at all. All one has to do is look into historical records on how the New Testament came about. It is recorded in church history.
For me, the issue is, what did the Lord reveal of Himself in the Old Testament? And does the Old Testament validate what is written in the New? The Old Testament is the foundation of our faith in the One True God. It does not need the New Testament to validate what it says.
Can the New Testament stand on its own merit? How can we accept the fact that more than 700 years after the last book of the Old Testament was written, a new set of books would be given the same status as the Old Testament by men whose lives were not godly at all. And whose agenda was mostly for political power? Church history records that the canonization of the New Testament was done through the votes of the early Church Fathers in the Council of Nicea and the votes for canonicity won by a mere 5 votes! This is how the New Testament was declared “the inspired word of God.” INCREDIBLE!
I guess, CF, for all of us, our spiritual life is a journey. We know what our goal is, where we want to go. There are many stations where we stop and sometimes, we get to be too comfortable in the station where we are that we fail to go further. Let us not let these stops derail our journey.
Love you and praying that the One True God Whose Name is YHWH lead us where He wants us to go.
BAN@S6K
Next: Discourse – Christian to Sinaite, back to Christian – 15