I accompanied my wife to her church for Easter service today, mainly to watch our three kids sing. They were cute.
However, the sermon was horrible. The pastor asserted several times that the empty tomb of Jesus was “thoroughly historical.” He offered no concrete evidence, mind you, just an argument not dissimilar to this.
But let me switch focus to mention that the pastor’s backing slideshow was very well done: professional and sophisticated. Yet my wife’s church doesn’t have that much money. They are working towards their own church, but don’t have one yet. So, with a production that slick, I wonder which organization the church is really part of. I suspect the church is an independent “franchisee” of a larger mega-church brand.
I take the not-very-convincing repetition of the “thoroughly historical” resurrection as a sign that the New Atheism has made an impact. On the day of spring, bunnies, and chocolate, one clergyman had to–he had to–devote much of the sermon to apologetics. And while he had a neat-o story, he had no documentary evidence or anything else of substance.
Readers? What are your thoughts on the “thorough historicity” of the empty tomb? Do you think the New Atheists have put clergy-folk back on their heels?
