Years ago I attended a Randy Stonehill concert (see the attached link for more background, and imagine what Jesus might have been like if he had come as a Wasp-ish tall and thin sixties / seventies era folk rock musician, and you’ll arrive at something approximating Stonehill).
https://www.joeledmundanderson.com/randy-stonehill-social-insight-from-a-musical-jester/
In any case, during the concert, Stonehill introduced a song with this comment:
"I was reading through the four gospels the other day, and… suddenly it hit me.
I remembered when I used to think the Gospels were merely creative fabrications.
But then after actually reading them myself, I totally changed my mind.
I mean, what kind of idiots would make up a story which could get them killed by the occupying Roman authorities??!!
I mean, really --just think of it: "Hey, dudes; I just got a totally radical idea for a new religious story!!
What if the twelve of us agree to the details of a story about God coming down to earth and personally taking us around Israel for at least three years, teaching us about God Himself, and even claiming to be the Messiah? Only to die by a brutal Roman crucifixion, and in the end, offer His life in atonement for our own shortcomings?
And then, come back from the dead??!!
“Well, sure, man!” says the next dude. “Sounds plausible!
Let’s do it up!!
Who’s got some parchment and ink??”
“I dunno,” says a third.
“We could all end up dying ourselves trying to spread this unlikely story.”
Seriously, the gospels are not the kind of stories ANY first century group would have simply made up; they’re too whacked for that! Only Someone with a supremely kooky imagination could invent them.
That’s when I realized that I wanted to know God better.
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