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Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute.
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"Are We Really Willing?" and "The Resurrection: Miracle or Myth?"
(articles from the From The President column of the Christian
Research Newsletter, Volume 5: Numbers 1 and 2, 1992) by Hank
Hanegraaff.
The editor of the Christian Research Newsletter is Ron
Rhodes.
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*Are We Really Willing?* by Hank Hanegraaff
(from the From The President column of the Christian Research
Newsletter, Volume 5: Number 1, 1992)
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When professor Tatiana came to the Christian Research Institute
on a January afternoon, she had one thing in mind: getting help for
her people.
Tatiana is a language instructor at Moscow State University,
and a fairly new Christian. But even as God's love and peace shone
from her smile, something weighed heavily on her heart. Why? One of
the dear friends in Russia who had led her to Christ had become a
Mormon. What, she asked, could we give her to help her show this
friend the errors of Mormonism?
She had other pressing concerns as well. At the university
medical school where her husband works, the Moonies are making
serious inroads with the administration. Meanwhile, Tatiana is
alarmed by Hare Krishnas who are aggressively hawking their wares
at every major subway station in Moscow. She asked us for materials
to help answer the questions of the Christian student group she
works with in Russia, and she left with an armload.
It has been rightly said that the ultimate test of a man's
conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for
future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard. We are
witnessing a unique and truly awesome moment in religious history.
In answer to the prayers of millions, the Iron Curtain has come
down with a thunderous crash. But before the dust had even settled,
the Jehovah's Witnesses, Moonies, Scientologists, Mormons, and
other cultists were poised and ready to exploit the situation. And
Eastern Europe -- deprived for decades of the things of the spirit
-- rushed to partake. Indeed, "to the famished man any bitter thing
is sweet" (Prov. 27:7).
The gravity of the situation has seldom been brought home as
powerfully as in the January 13, 1992 _Christianity Today_ article
entitled "New Kingdoms for the Cults." This powerful piece of
journalism is based largely on file material supplied by CRI, which
has been monitoring the situation closely. When I first read the
article, even I was stunned by the extent to which the cults are
successfully exercising their financial and political muscle in the
East. Cult leaders such as the Unification Church's Sun Myung Moon,
Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism's Daisaku Ikeda, and the guru Sri Chinmoy
have all met with Soviet leader Mikhael Gorbachev. Among Moon's
trophies: permission to fly nearly 2,000 university students to the
United States for indoctrination.
Years of behind-the-scenes, advance planning has paid off
handsomely for cults such as the Mormons, whose leaders sent
performing troupes from Brigham Young University as well as
high-level diplomatic contacts into the Soviet Union and its
communist satellites from the late 1970s onward. In _The Darker
Side of Virtue: Corruption, Scandal and the Mormon Empire,_ scholar
Anson Shupe details the careful compromises made by Latter-day
Saint envoys with communist officials -- guaranteeing, for example,
that "Polish Mormons would be taught to be 'good citizens,' to
uphold the government, and to follow the country's socialist work
ethic. In short, Mormons wouldn't provoke political trouble."
All during 1991 we received requests for help from Christians
in Russia, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and other countries in the
region. One wrote: "I'm a young Christian boy from Sofia, Bulgaria,
and I used to be a member of the Children of God cult for about one
year and a half. Maybe you'll be surprised to know that such cults
are now flooding the ex-Communist countries of Eastern Europe. I
left the Children of God five months ago. The problem with them now
is that in Bulgaria they still haven't revealed their cultic
nature.
They seem quite evangelical, and unfortunately many young
Christians join them, being deceived, not knowing anything about
Moses David and the Children of God." Indeed, both the church and
the general public are largely ignorant and all but defenseless in
the face of the cult invasion. While the response to Christian
evangelism has been encouraging, much of the budding evangelical
movement in Russia and Eastern Europe has shallow roots. The
churches are filled with new believers. In many cases, the pastors
(or congregational leaders) themselves have only been Christians
for one or two years.
So deep is the spiritual hunger in these nations that during
last summer's conventions, the Jehovah's Witnesses baptized 18,293
converts. Incredibly, their peak membership in 1991 for the region
was nearly 210,000. For me, the near frenzy of the cults to exploit
the spiritual vacuum in the former Eastern Bloc is the clearest
illustration of why the ministry of the Christian Research
Institute is so desperately important. The need to warn and equip
believers to deal with deception is so tremendous that it can
hardly be overemphasized. It has been rightly said that the
ultimate test of a man's conscience may be his willingness to
sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of
thanks will not be heard. The critical hour has arrived, and
Christianity in the West must decide. Are we _really_ willing to do
for the truth what the cults do for a lie? Will we stand up to this
invasion of the cults while we still have the opportunity, or will
we allow our new brethren to go like lambs to the slaughter?
Mark my words: the answer will determine the fate of
generations to come.
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*The Resurrection: Miracle or Myth?* by Hank Hanegraaff
(From the From The President column of the Christian Research
Newsletter, Volume 5: Number 2, 1992)
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What was the central truth of the early apostles' preaching?
What was the stimulus to the miraculous growth of the early church?
What was the energizing force which spread the gospel across the
face of the earth?" These questions, posed by Dr. Walter Martin in
his book _Essential Christianity,_ all find their answer in the
singular event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. "He is risen!"
was the victory cry of the early Christians, as they spread the
message of Christ's bodily resurrection to the ends of the earth.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very capstone in the
arch of Christianity. When it is removed all else crumbles. It is,
in fact, the singular doctrine that elevated Christianity above all
the pagan religions of the Mediterranean world. And it is precisely
because of its strategic importance to the Christian faith that
each person who takes the sacred name _Christian_ upon his lips
must be prepared to defend its historicity.
Thus the question must be asked, How can we know beyond any
doubt that Jesus really rose from the dead -- that this singular
event is not some queer predilection on the part of the Christian
but is rather _faith_ founded on irrefutable _fact?_
As Christians, we must be prepared to demonstrate that Christ's
resurrection was an event that occurred in time and space -- that
it was, in reality, _historical_ and not _mythological_ (cf. 2 Pet.
1:16). The importance of this event cannot be minimized, for Jesus
Himself proclaimed that His resurrection would prove His power over
death, and thus His deity (John 2:18-22). Not only that, but
Christ's resurrection is the very heart of the gospel (1 Cor.
15:1-4).
When I first began examining the evidences for Christianity, I
discovered that belief in the Resurrection does not constitute a
blind leap into a dark chasm but rather a step into the light.
Indeed, the evidence for Christ's resurrection is so overwhelming
that no one can examine it with an open mind desiring to _know_ the
truth without becoming _convinced_ of its truth.
Of the many evidences available, none is more compelling than
the fact that the resurrected Christ appeared to over five hundred
individuals _at a single time_ (1 Cor. 15:6). Christ appeared to
numerous other individuals as well, providing "many convincing
proofs" of His resurrection (Acts 1:3). Christ in His resurrection
body was even touched on two occasions (Matt. 28:9; John 20:17),
and challenged the disciples (Luke 24:39) and Thomas (John 20:27)
to feel His wounds.
For those who continue to harbor doubts about the veracity
of the biblical evidence, one need only point to Dr. Simon
Greenleaf, the greatest authority on legal evidences in the 19th
century. It is noteworthy that after examining the evidence for
the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Greenleaf suggested that any
cross-examination of the eyewitness testimonies recorded in
Scripture would result in "an undoubting conviction of their
integrity, ability, and truth."
Despite the biblical evidence, some have suggested that Jesus'
body was stolen from the tomb -- by either the Romans, the Jews, or
the disciples. However, even as we consider such alternative
explanations, reason drives us back to the conclusion that Christ
rose from the dead. Consider the following: We know that the
_Romans_ would have no reason to steal Christ's body. After all,
they wanted to keep the peace in Palestine.
The _Jewish religious leaders_ would also have no motive in
stealing the body since that would only stir up the very movement
they had tried to crush. Besides, if the Jewish leaders _had_
stolen the body, they could have later _openly displayed_ the body
to prove to the disciples and indeed the world that Jesus had
not really risen from the dead.
And certainly, the _disciples_ wouldn't have stolen the body,
for why would they choose to suffer and die for a cause they knew
to be a lie? While it is conceivable that someone might choose to
die for what they know to be the truth, it is inconceivable that
hundreds of Jesus' followers would be willing to die for what they
knew to be a lie.
Another theory that has been resuscitated (_ad nauseam_ and _ad
infinitum_) in a desperate attempt to explain away the Resurrection
is the so-called "Swoon theory." This theory says that Jesus did
not really die on the cross, but merely passed out and was later
revived. However, this theory is hopelessly flawed. Think about it
for a minute. Can you imagine that Jesus endured six trials, a
crown of thorns, a Roman scourge, a crucifixion, a spear thrust
into His side, the loss of a great deal of blood, going three days
without medical attention or food, pushing a two-ton stone away
from His tomb's entrance, and then _physically overcoming an armed
Roman guard while walking on pierced feet?_ No! The Swoon theory is
ridiculous in the extreme. And yet, amazingly, some people continue
to hang their hats on it.
After carefully examining all the evidence, one can only come
to the singular conclusion that _Jesus did indeed rise from the
dead and that He now lives to be our Lord and Savior_ (Rev. 1:18).
And let me emphasize that the resurrection of Christ is not just an
Easter-time phenomenon to be celebrated in song and service.
Rather, it is a truth that should daily fill us with eternal hope.
Not only did the resurrection of Christ transform the disciples
from cowards to lions of the faith, but His resurrection still
continues to transform lives today. Because Christ lives, the
Scripture says, we will live also. Indeed, in an instant, in the
twinkling of an eye, we shall be transformed into physical
resurrected bodies like unto His resurrected body.
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End of document, CRN0048A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"Are We Really Willing?" and "The Resurrection: Miracle or Myth?"
release A, June 30, 1994
R. Poll, CRI
(A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help in
the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS circulation.)
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