Some have objected that the Gospel writers were more interested in theology than history and that the two are opposed. “We can’t really trust their eye-witness testimony since they were so emotionally and spiritually invested,” they say. But this is simply not true. Emotional investment does not make someone’s testimony invalid. It was the impassioned accounts from Jews after the Holocaust that turned out to be more accurate than reports from the “objective media.”[1]
It would be hard to cite any ancient writing that could not be described as biased in some way, yet we rightly accept those writings as historically accurate. If someone had seen the ministry of Jesus, they necessarily would have had emotional investment if the gospels are true. If someone saw a man rob a bank, who would discount the person’s eyewitness testimony because he’s emotionally invested and already believes the man robbed the bank?[2] Their emotional investment would not discount their testimony to the truth of the event.
Lastly, though some ancient writers played fast and loose with historical fact, it’s clear that was not the intent of the biblical writers. Luke, who wrote The Gospel of Luke and Acts, states his intent clearly at the beginning of his gospel:
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
Luke 1:1-4
Real historical fact explains best the writings of the Gospels and the rise of the Christian church. The Gospel writers set out to write theologically rich, yet, accurate history, and that is what we have in the Gospels.
[1] Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of the Gospels. 73.
[2] J. Warner Wallace and Lee Strobel, Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels, 1st edition (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2013).
Mike McGregor
Mike McGregor (MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary) is Director of College Ministry at First Baptist Church in Durham, N.C. You can follow him on Twitter at @m5mcgregor.
