What is the Foundation of Christianity? Stephen Bedard, May 15, 2015November 7, 2020 I recently had an interesting conversation about the foundation of Christianity. It began with a response to a pastor’s statement that the foundation of Christianity is not the Bible but is Jesus. Some people were deeply concerned about this statement. What is the foundation of Christianity? Jesus or the Bible? In terms of the Bible, we must acknowledge its extreme importance. What we know about Jesus comes primarily from the Bible. When we want to know Jesus better, we dig into our Bibles. I would never deny that. But does that make the Bible the foundation of Christianity? I am concerned by how some people seem to raise the Bible above Jesus. I have had conversations with Christians about inerrancy and I was surprised by the results. They admitted that they could see how Jesus could make (non-theological) errors but could not see how the Bible could make (non-theological) errors. They were willing to give the Bible a higher degree of inerrancy than Jesus! Here are some of my thoughts of why the Bible is not the foundation for Christianity. The earliest Christians did not have access to the Bible as we know it. What would they have in the first century? Those who had the money may have had access to the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint). We do not know exactly when the Gospels were written, but even with the early dates, not enough copies would have been made for most Christians in the first century to have access. Paul’s letters? We see from 2 Peter that they were being collected in the first century. But you still have the problem of copying them and distributing them to the various cities where churches existed. What did the early church have? They had oral traditions and creeds. First Corinthians 15 3:7 would be an example of this. But you can’t equate oral traditions with the Bible. Some oral traditions made it into the Bible, some did not. The Bible contains some of these creeds but includes other original material as well. What about Christians today? Is it possible for a person to become a Christian without access to the Bible? There are people who become Christians by hearing the simplest form of what Jesus did without any actual quotes. There are others that have become Christians through dreams and visions and who do not encounter the Bible until later. What if the Bible was not inspired (don’t worry I believe it is inspired)? What if the Gospels were simply accurate traditions about who Jesus is and what he did? Even without the inspiration, people could put their faith in Jesus and become Christians. I am not dismissing the importance of the Bible. But the Bible is important because it points us to Jesus, the true foundation of the Christian faith. The earliest creeds of the Church were not about the importance of the Bible, but that Jesus is Lord. I am reminded of this passage: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39–40 ESV) Jesus’ opponents thought life was to be found in the Scriptures but in reality, life is to be found in the one the Scriptures point to. Paul also teaches, “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11 ESV) The Bible is important but it is not the foundation of the Christian faith. The Bible points to and teaches about the true foundation, that of Jesus Christ. Liked it? Take a second to support Stephen Bedard on Patreon! Related Posts Is Christianity True? PodcastA while back, Brian Auten and Apologetics 315 sponsored a series entitled Is Christianity True?… Foundation UniversityI just came across a neat school called Foundation University. There are a number of… Is Christianity True? PodcastA while back, Brian Auten and Apologetics 315 sponsored a series entitled Is Christianity True?… Apologetics and Theology Blog BibleChristianityFoundationJesus
If we don’t have Jesus, then we won’t have the bible. But if we didn’t have the bible, we would still have Jesus. But the problem would then be: then how would we remember Jesus? Reply
Jesus who?? All I know about Jesus is what is written in the gospel. Of course there are other Jesus..the Jesus of the new age movement or the Jesus of the Da Vinci code. Preach Jesus aside from what is taught in the gospel and what do you have? an imaginary Jesus, a figment of one’s caprice and imagination. You can not separate Jesus from the Bible. otherwise you have a meaningless Jesus. Reply
Without the Bible how would you know that Jesus is God? Think about that: There is no other source of information which gives (alleged) evidence that Jesus of Nazareth is the Creator of the universe and Ruler of heaven and earth. Personal experiences, feelings, and perceptions of Jesus in your “heart”? Sorry, but many people of many different religions can claim similar experiences, feelings, and perceptions about their god or gods. Personal perceptions are notoriously unreliable. So we are dependent upon the Bible for determining the veracity of the first century claim that a man from northern Palestine was King of all Creation. How do we know that the Bible, in particular, the Gospels are historically accurate? The majority of New Testament scholars today do NOT believe that the Gospels were written by eyewitnesses or the associates of eyewitnesses. Are we really to believe that a man was a god based on oral stories passed around for several decades prior to being written down by non-eyewitnesses in far away lands??? But even if the Gospels WERE written by alleged eyewitnesses, should we believe eyewitness testimony which defies science, medical knowledge, and common sense? Just this year, a crowd of hundreds in Ireland claimed to have seen a woman who has been dead for 20 centuries appear to them. These people are very sincere, very devout Christians. I would not doubt that at least some of them would be willing to suffer great persecution and even death defending their belief. Should we believe this very extra-ordinary claim just because there are so many alleged eyewitnesses? No! Reply
John 1:1- says; in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. One cannot divorce Jesus from His Words which is the Bible. Remember Jesus spoke the word (the Bible) and the Bible is Still Speaking about Jesus Christ (The Word). THEREFORE THE FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIANITY IS SOLELY BASED ON THE JESUS WHO IS HIS VERY WORD AND THE WORD WHICH IS CHRIST. Reply