God, Science and the Bible: Another fraudulent attack on the Bible doesn't hold water
Perhaps you've heard of the lawsuit filed against The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown, claiming he plagiarized much of his material from an earlier book titled Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent and two others. Baigent lost the case, but that hasn't stopped him from again trying to cash in on the massive publicity generated by The Da Vinci Code.
Both books propose that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and that she bore His child, and that Jesus' bloodline continued in Europe . These facts, they argue, were scrupulously covered up lest Christianity be exposed as a fraud.
Baigent is back again with a new book and a new twist on history. The Jesus Papers claims that papyrus documents exist—in Jesus' own handwriting, no less—proving that He didn't die when crucified, but was still alive in the flesh as late as A.D. 45. Further, Jesus supposedly said in these papers that He never claimed to be divine and that it was all essentially a misunderstanding.
Baigent makes a number of claims that are ludicrous for someone who claims to be a student of history. For example, he claims that the documents from which his book gets its title were excavated from under a house in the Old City of Jerusalem in 1961 by an Israeli man looking for artifacts.
But as anyone familiar with Middle Eastern archaeology knows, papyrus cannot be preserved longer than a few years in a climate like that of Jerusalem—it's simply too moist. Papyrus is preserved only in extremely dry desert climates. No ancient perishable documents have ever been found in or around Jerusalem—they've long since disintegrated.
Baigent is also quite sure of what the documents say—even though he cannot read Aramaic, the language in which he says they were written. Where are the documents today, and who has possession of them? Sorry, he can't share that information.
He makes other claims that are demonstrably false. For example, he says there is no extrabiblical evidence for Jesus' crucifixion. Yet several notable historians and Roman officials, including Flavius Josephus, Cornelius Tacitus, Caius Suetonius Tranquillus and Pliny the Younger, all mention Jesus. Some give details of His crucifixion; others note that His followers considered Him divine.
Baigent also tries to have it both ways when it comes to the Gospels. On the one hand he dismisses them as fabrication when they contradict his ideas, but then he quotes them when he thinks they support his points.
The Jesus Papers is filled with other problems—rampant speculation masquerading as fact, no verifiable evidence to support his theory, and denial or misrepresentation of facts that contradict his theory.
Like other books that supposedly disprove the origins of Christianity, The Jesus Papers is more fiction than fact, proving once again the lengths to which some will go to deny any claim the Bible might have on their lives. If you would like to learn the real truth of Jesus Christ's life and why the biblical Gospels are an accurate historical record, request our free booklet Jesus Christ: The Real Story.
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: January - February 2007
Course Content
Mario Seiglie
Mr. Seiglie was born in Havana, Cuba, and came to the United States when he was a child. He found out about the Church when he was 17 from a Church member in high school. He went to Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, and in Pasadena, California, graduating with degrees in theology and Spanish. He serves as the pastor of the Garden Grove, CA UCG congregation and serves in the Spanish speaking areas of South America. He also writes for the Beyond Today magazine and currently serves on the UCG Council of Elders. He and his wife, Caty, have four grown daughters, and grandchildren.
Scott Ashley
Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
Tom Robinson
Tom is an elder in the United Church of God who works from his home near St. Louis, Missouri as managing editor and senior writer for Beyond Today magazine, church study guides and the UCG Bible Commentary. He is a visiting instructor at Ambassador Bible College. And he serves as chairman of the church's Prophecy Advisory Committee and a member of the Fundamental Beliefs Amendment Committee.
Tom began attending God's Church at the age of 16 in 1985 and was baptized a year later. He attended Ambassador College in both Texas and California and served for a year as a history teacher at the college's overseas project in Sri Lanka. He graduated from the Texas campus in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in theology along with minors in English and mass communications. Since 1994, he has been employed as an editor and writer for church publications and has served in local congregations through regular preaching of sermons.
Tom was ordained to the ministry in 2012 and attends the Columbia-Fulton, Missouri congregation with his wife Donna and their two teen children.
