I remember reading this article when it first came out. At that time, I was a student member of the AMA. The AMA no longer represents me or more than 80% of US physicians. Nonetheless, this article was published in a major US medical journal; JAMA is a major US medical journal. The article was several pages long and went into detailed medical analysis of all of the historical data. The purpose of the article was twofold. First, one of the first apologetic issues that Christians have to answer is whether Jesus actually died. If the tomb was empty because Jesus wasn't dead and just walked out on his own, bearing in mind the size of the door stone and that he would have been severely injured, then we as Christians have a problem. The second issue is that these doctors wanted to apply modern medical knowledge and forensic modeling to the text to see if what is described could have been survived. If I can track down a copy of the whole article (or pay for a reprint,) I will post it for you. It is a graphic if clinical view of a modern autopsy performed via the historical documents on the body of Jesus Christ. The resultant conclusion is inescapable: Jesus Christ died on the cross.
Why would science seek to prove half of the Easter story? As a scientist myself, I use the scientific method as my hermeneutic to evaluate problems in the physical world. A person who wants to pit science against the Word of God has to at least submit to the hermeneutic of science to hold such a position. There is no room for post-modern mumbo-jumbo in science, nor should there be in theology. We scientists demand intellectual honesty and a specific method of investigation to support any hypothesis, whether or not we actually produce it is another matter. In this case, there is actually an incredible wealth of description of the wounds of Jesus Christ. First, there is the manner of the nailing to the cross. Next, there is John's description of the piercing of his side, the result of that event and the reason for it. Two of the Gospels talk of His being struck with a reed. Mark and Luke say that he was beaten by the Jewish guards. John also says that the Romans flogged Jesus, but the description is limited. There is also a very specific time stamp on this story as we are told about the number of hours that pass. The whole mechanism of Crucifixion was designed to cause a frightfully horrific spectacle as a deterrent to other law breakers. The application of the scientific method to the available data leads to only one conclusion: Jesus died that day on the cross.
This leaves us with only one mystery, the mystery, the Truth. On the third day, the tomb was empty.
No comments:
Post a Comment