The Gospel according to Linus is so beautifully simple and poetic, as he stands there on that stage with his blanket, telling the Christmas story. It’s so pure and childlike.
Unbastardized.
I was taught that story of Jesus as a child, and I still believe it as an adult because I'm a Christian. But most aren’t Christian – most people think what I believe is a cartoon.
“And there were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.”
OK, that’s believable enough.
“And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy.’”
Wait … an angel? For real? OK, you you lost me at, ‘angel.’
“For unto you is born this day, in the City of David, a savior which is Christ, the Lord.”
Really? “A savior? Christ, the Lord??”
Really. An angel. A Savior. Christ the Lord.
In this series, I’m not going to talk much about faith, although faith is a cornerstone of being a Christian. I won’t talk much about how the Bible says that God has made himself known to all mankind through nature (Romans 1:19-20). Why? Because people who aren’t Christian don’t care about any of that, and they’re not going to care just because I think they ought to.
By the way ... they ought to, but ungullible people need things to make sense before they would even consider believing it. They need evidence. If Jesus really was a savior, if he really did walk around teaching in parables and had disciples and sat little children on his lap, if he really did die on a cross and rise from the dead like the Bible says he did, then there should be evidence for it, right?
My goal is to provide evidence (beef) that Linus got it exactly right, not just religion and faith (bun).
“And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was, with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest! And on earth, peace, good will toward men.’”
Evidence, not proof
Oh, how I wish I could prove I was right! But I have no man I can point to and say, "He's right there." Jesus happened 2,000 years ago and I can't prove he was who I think he was.
But there is evidence that there really was a babe named Jesus, that he really was the Son of God, and that he really is our savior, Christ the Lord. But first, we have a couple of problems to address: Confirmation bias, and defaults.
Confirmation bias
Never underestimate the ability of a man to convince himself of what he already believes. Unknown
Confirmation bias is defined on Wikipedia as “the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs or hypotheses.”
Everyone has confirmation bias;. Republicans use it on democrats, and vice versa; Evolutionists use it on Creationists, and vice versa; Christians use it on non-Christians, and vice versa.
Confirmation bias is what causes Christians (and other spiritually inclined people) to see proof of God in nature, and others to see no need for a God at all, because of nature.
Confirmation bias is what causes Christians to interpret a powerful, spiritual experience as evidence of God while people who aren’t spiritually inclined can be similarly moved by an amazing violin concerto!
So what do we do with that? Admit it and accept it.
If someone was ever to convince me that I was wrong about Jesus – that Jesus isn’t the savior of the world – what would they have to do? They would have to provide evidence and make it make sense to me.
Likewise, if I ever hope to convince someone else that they they were wrong about Jesus – that he is the savior of the world – what do I have to do? I can only provide evidence and try to making it make sense to them.
Defaults
The other problem is defaults. In politics, some default towards conservatism, and others are liberal. In sexuality, most default towards the opposite sex but some default towards the same sex. In education, some have a natural bent towards the sciences, some towards the arts, and others towards athletics or shop. And in spirituality, some people default towards believing in spiritual things, and others don’t.
I was raised in a family that defaulted toward believing in spiritual things and I do, too. Specifically, I default towards Christianity. I was raised in it; I get the nuances of it; Christianity makes perfect sense to me. But Christianity doesn’t make sense to most people. Most people in the world don’t believe the Gospel according to Linus beyond applauding it as a really sweet story – a favorite Christmas cartoon.
I actually believe it!
So here’s the question: if the story of Jesus really did happen like Linus said it did, how can it be that most people … smart people … don’t believe it? Defaults. It’s a spiritual story, and believing Linus is easier for some people than others. It’ happens to be easy for me, but not for others.
In my upcoming posts I will try to provide evidence to ungullible people that the Gospel according to Linus is actually true; that Jesus really is the Son of God.
I am a man who prays. And my prayer is that this series might embed a sliver in someone’s brain that says maybe, just maybe, the idea that Jesus really is the Son of God isn’t as ridiculous as they once thought.
My goal with this series is to provide evidence to ungullible people that the Gospel according to Linus is really true, ridiculous as that may seem.
NEXT UP: Part 1: Did Jesus Live and Die?
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