That brought guffaws, laughter and a handful of theories explaining why the Gospel accounts of Christ's resurrection were pure man-made fiction.
Sorry, but I'll save revealing how the discussion concluded for another time.
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Remember in Acts 8:26-40, when after explaining the meaning of scripture to the eunuch, Phillip was suddenly taken away by the Lord and just as suddenly re-appeared about 50 miles away in the Philistine city of Azotus? What was that about? Was it teleportation, or a "literary device," or what?
My personal impression is that the event is literal; my impression doesn't matter.
The point is that if the Gospel accounts of Christ's resurrection were fiction, dreamed up later by authors eager to endorse secular agendas, why stop with the Resurrection?
After preaching in Azotus, why not have Phillip pop over the Mediterranean to Rome? Why not include tales about flying carpets, 8-eyed sea creatures and jaunts through outer space to other planets?
Because tales of magic carpet rides seem too far fetched? Well, think back to the Resurrection. If you're scribbling down fiction to get the reader's awe and attention, once you've raised your central character from the dead and described his ascension into Heaven, seems like the rest of the field is wide open to toss in any other fantastic event you'd like.
Just to make sure the reader sees that the "hero" in your tall tale is the best, most powerful tall tale hero of all. Ever.
But the gospels don't include any nonsense or inventions or fabrications. All the gospel writers had to do was write down true events.
And 2000 years later, the truth they recorded is more amazing ... more powerful and more wonderful ... than ever.
