Cold Case Christianity

J. Warner Wallace, ex-cop and lifelong atheist, uses his detective skills to puzzle out the truth (or lack of it) in the story of Jesus. First off, did Jesus die on the cross or was he just comatose? If so, that would explain his empty tomb. When stabbed on the cross, blood flowed, yet according to this detective, blood flow slows at the point of death. But would the guards have allowed him off the cross if he were still alive? Why is he not portrayed with purple skin, like other dead people? When portrayed in the resurrection, he doesn’t look wounded. If the crucifixion was as brutal as described, survival would’ve been impossible.

Wallace devotes a chapter to the “witness” problem. Two eyewitnesses in a murder case can have different accounts based on their previous experiences. A 23 year old and a 38 year old will focus on different things in the same scene, such as details in appearance. A younger witness might notice facial expressions, while the elder might focus on clothing. This may not seem relevant, but keep in mind that in the Gospels the accounts of Jesus are all different. Thomas was skeptical about Jesus coming back after death, and Judas’ account would be suspect. Yet the Gospels of Thomas and Judas were lost until 1945, when they were unearthed in Egypt (the infamous Nag Hamadi library.) The Gospel of Thomas focuses more on Jesus’ actual words, and makes no mention of the resurrection.

I applaud Wallace’s efforts in using his detective skills to solve the mystery of Jesus, yet there are shortcomings. If Jesus was a Jew, why did he give Simon the Greek name “Peter,” which comes from the Greek “Petrus” meaning “rock?” As for Thomas, his name comes from the Greek “Dydmus” meaning “twin,” so who was he a twin of? Bartholomew comes from the Aramaic “Bar Talmay,” and could this be the same as “Ptolemy?” If so, was Bartholomew an Egyptian and not a Jew? As for Jesus, his appearance in artwork is open to debate. If Jesus looked so distinctive, why did Judas have to kiss him to identify him? If Saint Paul decried long hair on men, why would Jesus wear his hair like that? Why is he portrayed without his beard in early Christian mosaics? In the Roman catacombs, why is Jesus portrayed like the god Apollo?

I’m not going to give too much of this book away, but it is definitely a fun book to read, especially if you’re into detective stories.