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Title: Secrets, Lies, & the Resurrection
Source:
TownHall
URL Source: http://www.townhall.com/opinion/col ... kcolson/2006/04/14/193605.html
Published: Apr 14, 2006
Author: Chuck Colson
Post Date: 2006-04-15 15:04:54 by Lod
Keywords: None
Views: 136
Comments: 6
Can you keep a secret? If you can, you’re pretty unusual, because a lot of people can’t. Especially if it’s the kind of secret that—if exposed—could get them in major trouble. One recent, and very public, example of this is the Duke Cunningham bribery scandal—which you probably heard about on the news—which helps to prove my point. Last year, when he was caught taking bribes, it didn’t take long for former Congressman Cunningham to spill the beans. He turned state’s evidence against his co-conspirators, and Time magazine reports that the congressman may have worn a wire to record secret conversations. It doesn’t take much to make us talk, does it? In that way, the Cunningham scandal reminds us very much of another scandal three decades ago, the infamous Watergate cover-up in which I was very much involved. Surprising though it may seem to some, it took only two weeks from the time that the president was first told the extent of the cover-up to the time when John Dean, his counsel, went to the prosecutors and made a secret deal to testify against the president in exchange for a lighter sentence. Now, mind you, this happened among twelve people, perhaps the most powerful in America, loyal to their leader. In a situation like that, as I saw up close, the desire to save oneself has a way of overriding loyalty or any idealism. But that little quirk of human nature, believe it or not, gives us one of the strongest proofs we have for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just think about the situation Christ’s disciples were in after He left them. Here was a group of peasants, powerless, up against the most powerful empire in the world. Possible prison time was the very least of their worries. They knew that torture and execution could be in their future if they refused to stop preaching the name of Jesus Christ. But they couldn’t stop. To a man, they kept talking about Christ’s life, death, and resurrection to anyone who would listen. None of them would deny or retract their story. Eventually, just as the authorities had threatened, most of them were executed for it. But still, all of them maintained to the very end that Jesus had risen from the dead—that they had seen Him, touched Him, talked with Him. What would inspire men to suffer and die for a belief? Only one thing—the absolute certainty that their belief was true. Who would die to protect a lie or a hoax, especially if he knew it to be a lie? You’d have to be insane. As we’ve seen from the examples I gave, most of us won’t face prison—no, never mind prison. Most of us won’t face public humiliation to defend a lie. Which leads me inescapably to one conclusion: Jesus’ resurrection was not a lie. These apostles would have turned state’s evidence in a heartbeat, copped a plea, unless they had seen the risen Christ in the flesh. This Easter, we ought to take time to remember the words of the apostles before the authorities: “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. . . . And we are His witnesses to these things.” Their courage, their steadfastness, proves that their story is the truth. And that makes it a truth worth living—and dying—for.
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#1. To: lodwick (#0)
If this were not true; we would not have any hope whatsoever. Great column.
Glad you liked it - I would never in a million years have thought of it like this "plumber" did. (Of course, I've never broken into the DNC headquarters, either.)
Good commentary. IIRC, only John died a natural death. The others dying by crucifixion, beheading, etc. As I heard explained, here's these apostles all threatened with death. They didn't have the access to instant communications we do today, i.e., telegraph, telephone, tellawoman, television, internet, etc. How easy it would have been for say, Thomas, over in India, to 'make a deal'.....renounce his belief in Jesus Christ and life. WHO would contradict him? Even if he returned to where some of the others were back in Asia Minor, Rome, etc., he could brag to them, "Boy, did I set them Indians straight--I gave them the gospel and got millions to come to altar calls and stop me on the streets to preach and pray".....after all, who would be around to set the record straight? But not a single one denied Jesus Christ. So much so, it seems, that Peter was honored to be crucified, but felt unworthy to have it done as his Lord and Savior, and so his was upside down. I'm with Colson---I don't believe these disciples were any braver than any of these yokels of today--survival is the most basic of human instincts.
good comments and article...Happy Easter! Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
“Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become suspected and odious; while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.” — Washington’s Farewell Address, September 19, 1796
Agree - and back in the day, they were not facing some easy, country club type incarceration as is the case with "criminals" today. The Romans didn't jerk around in the punishment phase of their trials.
Very true! No television, outdoor recreation, computers, kosher food (that's what Abramoff is getting), etc.
“Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become suspected and odious; while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.” — Washington’s Farewell Address, September 19, 1796
“We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. . . . And we are His witnesses to these things.” Their courage, their steadfastness, proves that their story is the truth. And that makes it a truth worth living—and dying—for.
#2. To: who knows what evil (#1)
Which leads me inescapably to one conclusion: Jesus’ resurrection was not a lie. These apostles would have turned state’s evidence in a heartbeat, copped a plea, unless they had seen the risen Christ in the flesh.
#3. To: lodwick (#0)
#4. To: rowdee, lodwick, who knows what evil (#3)
#5. To: rowdee. robin. all (#3)
I'm with Colson---I don't believe these disciples were any braver than any of these yokels of today--survival is the most basic of human instincts.
#6. To: lodwick (#5)
The Romans didn't jerk around in the punishment phase of their trials.
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