If I determined that there was some personal benefit to professing Jesus as my Lord and Savior but was skeptical about the Church’s motivation for encouraging me in this direction, would I be able to substantiate that Jesus himself made such a claim and, more importantly, that he had/has the power to fulfill it? Are there sources independent of the Church that can corroborate its story? Are there sources independent of the Church that can provide a different interpretation? What are the chances of putting together an objective picture of the man Jesus, who he was, what he said, and what he did?
We live at an extraordinary time! This is true in many respects, including biblical and archeological discoveries not available to centuries of Christians before the twentieth century. In conjunction with unprecedented scientific discovery during the same period an emerging worldview capable of accommodating both science and religion appeared, although this has also contributed to a reactionary fundamentalism that continues to attempt to discredit the alliance. If ever there was a generation in a position to develop a profile of Jesus comparable to that of first-hand witnesses, it is ours.
Such an endeavor is, however, going to be strenuously complex and challenging to whoever would enter into it. And there is no guarantee of any personal reward other than the satisfaction of the effort itself. If approached with the attitude of “what’s in it for me?” the incentive to pursue the subject with the diligence required will simply be lacking. A simplistic approach that provides absolute answers is ever so much more attractive to the selfish mentality. This was true in Jesus’ time just as surely as it is in ours.
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