Sceptics often dismiss message of church

There was no CCTV to record the Easter rising or scene which greeted the visitors and witnesses at ‘The Empty Tomb.’ Neither did the Magi (Wise men from the East) leave behind any stamped passports offering a window into their journey to Nazareth.

Christmas and Easter do much less well than Pentecost when it comes to collateral evidence tests. But the spiritual root of Pentecost has largely been lost sight of in the modern UK, where the masses are more drawn to celebrate the Whit Bank Holiday Monday.

Contemporaneous Roman, Greek, Jewish and other authors, documented-’The Spreading Flame’growth of the Early Church in various ancient manuscripts. Archaeological experts have also found inscription (or other evidences) of the strange new cult which grabbed the Mediterranean world’s attention. Modern sceptics often dismiss the message of the Church because it sounds so manifestly absurd, a fair enough point at one level, but they fail to follow through with a teasing question which must inevitably follow: why has such an odd sounding amalgam of far fetched spiritual and supernatural claims survived (or even thrived) for so long?

An Early Church intellectual wrote: Certum Est Difficile Est [‘It is true because it is impossible’]. This Pentecost, as the UK celebrates the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen, we have reason to contemplate or deliberate upon the worldview which has sustained our monarch through decades of faithful service. Many members of the Royal dynasty (distant and more recent) have disgraced or defiled its reputation. But does our Queen uniquely deserve those letters-’FD’-we see printed on coins: Defender of the Faith.

J. T. Hardy by email