October 24, 2009 09:54 PM PDT
Ben's sermon tonight was entitled 'Why I cannot preach on this subject' where he describes the stark contrast between the undisputed word of God, and what appears to be a latter additional text.
When you read to verse 8 you are reminded of the dawning realisation that the body of Jesus was not in the tomb, the women were told, that he has gone ahead of you, and very understandably the women were very afraid and frozen to spot in total bewilderment.
yet without the batting of an eye, verses 9-20 move strait to the happen ending introducing doctrine absent from the rest of the book.
This has tested the finest minds over the centruies, and lead to a split between those who wanted the then stus quo to be perpetuated, dispite the investigation results, and those who could not not accept the content of what appears to be a man made addtion to make the book read better as expressed in the Dean's book and the big A - the passage I can't preach.
From a personal point of view of a preacher, can you preach a portion contained in the Bible which, leaves you uneasy due to it's authenticity, should you keep quite and ignore it, and hope that non of the people you pastor spot it? should you speak out against it? should you say you just do not know? or should you state the facts and let the listener make up their own minds?
The problem with me - Do I really believe.
V15. Go into all the world ....
The note about earlier manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20
So is this the word of God, what is the word of God.
West-cote and Horst rewrote King James
V8. Trembling and bewildered. .......because they were afraid.