Woods’s article not the right spirit

THE Weekend Post has a column called “That's the Spirit”, by Peter Woods. Perhaps it is the policy of the newspaper to represent a fair variety of religious views in its content. However, the latest article by Woods represents a direct attack on the core beliefs of Christianity – a religion which set the Western world apart from the horrors of superstition and idolatry, and made it powerful, prosperous and humane.

I feel it would be an injustice to allow the claims of the article to go unchallenged as it is a matter of heartfelt importance to many.

While acknowledging that Woods (and the Weekend Post) has the right to freedom of expression, I find both the spirit and content of the article to be offensive.

The lengthy quoting of one Reza Aslan seems to be his justification for the indefensible summary line: “The Easter dogma that has been built around these events, of a one-off, substitutionary sacrifice for the appeasement of God's anger, is pure religious conjecture”, almost as though he himself has no real knowledge of the subject. (I for one, and others beside myself, would like to know what a “pastoral therapist” is?)

Evidence for the Christian religion are verified historical facts, open for all to examine, be they historian or cleric or layman. The Bible itself is demonstrably the single most-reliable historical document of all antiquity by an order of magnitude, with more textual validation than any 10 other classical documents of antiquity.

Classical scholar and archaeologist Sir William Ramsay set out to overthrow the Bible by digging up the Middle East. After 15 years of labour and study, his conclusion was – concerning the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts: “Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy”.

His regard for the remainder of the Bible was much the same.

The fact of the crucifixion is firmly established by not only the witness of the followers of Jesus, but also by his enemies and detractors themselves, both Jew and Roman.

The resurrection is established by an analysis of the reports and circumstances

surrounding the event according to the rules of the scientific evaluation of evidences, such as expressed for example by Henry Morris Snr in his book Who Moved the

Stone? and Josh McDowell in his monumental work Evidence that Demands a Verdict.

The Christian perhaps need not worry about such attacks on his or her beliefs yet the truly seeking man or woman can be thrown from the trail of truth by such careless reports which have no basis in fact.

We Christians are not mostly ignorant of Roman crucifixion practices nor are we ignorant of the desire of unbelievers to be justified in their rejection of the truth, as every human has a need to be justified, as Mr Woods frankly admits. That is to say, the human conscience seeks deliverance from guilt.

ALF FERREIRA, WALMER

I WAS saddened when I read Peter Woods’s article, “Salvation of Easter ‘Religious Conjecture’ ” (Weekend Post, April 19). Sad, because he appears to have chosen to believe a recently written book by Reza Aslan rather than the eyewitness accounts of those who knew Jesus and witnessed His crucifixion.

Woods’s summary of the life of Jesus as portrayed through the eyes of one who, by his own admission, is a prominent Muslim thinker, contains numerous glaring discrepancies with the facts recorded in the gospels.

Woods draws the conclusion that “The Easter dogma that has been built around these events, of a one-off, substitutionary sacrifice for the appeasement of God's anger, is pure religious conjecture”.

I beg to differ. Rather, it is a matter of faith in the resurrected Christ and His atoning sacrifice – and He is still in the business of changing lives.

KW LONGE, PE

MY WIFE and I were deeply shocked to read the article about Easter by Peter Woods in your issue of April 19. Clearly he doesn’t believe the Bible is the inspired word of God (Timothy 3:16). Allow me to reply to his column with the Christian viewpoint.

Jesus never aspired to be a political leader or an earthly king. His father sent him to earth to set up the Kingdom of God and in order to to do this, he had to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15)

Christ’s death by crucifixion was necessary as the perfect sacrifice to deal with mankind’s sin. In his infinite wisdom, this was part of God’s plan from the beginning.

If Jesus had not risen from the dead, there would have been no Christianity. As St Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:14: “If Christ has not been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe”. Hence Easter Sunday is the most important celebration of the year.

It is astonishing that Peter Woods, a retired Methodist minister, continually knocks Christianity. John Wesley must be turning in his grave.

DR PETER JUPP, PORT ALFRED

THE contemptible and offensive article by Peter Woods was insensitive and imprudent in light of the sacrosanct significance of Easter. It seems that Woods is grappling with his own demons and is hell-bent in denigrating the faith he once purportedly revered. The book by Reza Aslan Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth is not a recent theory as Woods would have readers believe. The erroneous viewpoint is as “old as the hills”. He audaciously and unashamedly asserts that Aslam’s version is historically factual. The atoning sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the cross was predicted centuries before the Romans practised crucifixion.

The message of the cross is Good News for all people and reminds us that there is a way back to God from the dark paths of sin and iniquity. No, Mr Woods, it’s not “conjecture”, it’s the truth and no one can come to God the Father but through the One who is the only mediator between Divinity and humanity The evidence of history records that another Peter denied the Lord three times and Jesus forgave him. Peter you should do the same. BRUCE WOOLARD AND ST MARKS

PASTORS

I AM deeply puzzled as to the intention of Peter Woods in his column of April 19. Peter, is your goal to weaken the faith of Christian believers? If it is, you will fail! The stuff you write in your column may just possibly deter some non-believers from finding the comfort and peace that comes from faith in God and Jesus Christ, for which you should be deeply ashamed.

TREVOR MOORE, PE