Fear and Trembling

Ben Witherington provides a detailed analysis of and response to Bart Erman’s “Jesus Interrupted” in his four posts here , here , here and here . [4/16: I forgot to mention this will be an ongoing series for Witherington. The next post is h ere .)

A song from the Easter Service at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, where I attended this morning: "Oh to see my name written in the wounds, for through your suffering I am free. Death is crushed to death, life is mine to live won through your selfless love! This is the power of the cross: Christ became sin for us. Took the blame, bore the wrath. We stand forgiven at the cross." - "The Power of the Cross" by Townend / Getty

Much has been said by leaders in the modern church about “felt needs” and the necessity of reaching the lost by an appeal to those “felt needs.” I will pretend to be a non-Christian for a minute. I will speak from the perspective of “ the mind set on the flesh .” My number one felt need at this point in my life is a Victory Red, 2009 Chevrolet ZR1 Corvette . Motor Trend Magazine’s article sold me on the idea. It’s hard to beat a 620 horsepower engine in a 3,324 pound car. Plus the typical Corvette suspension package and amenities. I guarantee that if your church buys me this Corvette, meeting the felt need of my heart, I will attend each and every Sunday morning for the rest of my life. I will constantly and enthusiastically tell everyone I meet about the great things happening at your church, and I will invite everyone I know to the church that is serious about meeting our felt needs. That church will be successful in the way that the modern church measures success: numerical growth....