“Faith-Building Fridays | Innocent Until Proven Guilty”

Friday, August 16, 2024

Let’s talk about the Gospels, those four wonderful books that we cherish so deeply. Without them, we’d know precious little about the life of Jesus. Without them, the foundation of the entire Christian system would crumble. In terms of the Christian faith, there have never been four books more valuable than Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 

For that reason, it’s not surprising that those who oppose the faith vigorously challenge the validity of these four books. If they can manage to undermine the credibility of the Gospels, then they’ve won the war. Game. Set. Match. So, it’s important for us to think about why these Gospel are so worthy of our trust. For the next few weeks, we’ll dig into what makes the Gospels so reliable. That starts with a phrase you’ve heard before… 

Innocent until proven guilty. That’s the standard we use in a court of law, and it’s a reasonable and rational standard. If you are going to convict someone of a crime, then you should first be able to prove that they committed that crime, and, until you do, we must take them at their word when they profess their innocence. Innocent until proven guilty. It makes sense. 

Too often the Gospels don’t get the same treatment. Too often these historical documents which chronicle the life and teaching of a Man named Jesus of Nazareth are cast aside as unreliable, untrustworthy fairy tales before they are even examined. Too often the Bible writers are labelled as fraudsters spinning a lie, gullible simpletons falling for a trick, even pitiable souls suffering from a shared hallucination. These accusations are tossed around, repeated, believed, and accepted without a shred of evidence. Let that sink in… 

Over the next few weeks, we’ll examine some of the evidence that supports the reliability of the Gospels, but we should begin by appreciating that there simply is no basis for the charges brought against them. In criminal court, charges without evidence are thrown out before the trial begins, and that’s exactly what should happen in this case. Innocent until proven guilty. 

- Jonathan Banning

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