Final Report

Interview with Pastor Larry Richardson

The man that I interviewed for my spiritual assessment was Pastor Larry Richardson of Faith Lutheran Church. He is a respected theologian and pastor educated at renowned St. John’s University in Colorado, achieved his masters at Divinity St. John’s in Minnesota, and consummated his academic journey by receiving M.Div. at Luther Seminary. He was a highly qualified participant in my topic, and I was honored that he agreed to be interviewed. It truly was exciting finally sitting down and discussing this topic with an individual instead of a computer screen. I relaxed in my cushion in the church’s lobby, surrounded by the dimming sunrays gleaming through the windows. It was a tranquil atmosphere, gazing out at the beautiful scenery of Alabama. I was serene, totally entranced by the beauty that flourished all around us. My mind wandered off and soon I found myself speculating what could have created such elegance. I soon came around and saw the shining face smiling right at me. Pastor Larry is an exquisite person. His demeanor radiated kindness, but also knowledge and fortitude for what he believed in. I was ready to get down to business. Making sure my notes were in order, I cleared my thoughts and started questioning. There has been speculation among many scholars that the Gospels contradict each other, and using deductive reasoning, this would conclude that the Bible and all of Jesus’ teachings were fallacies. I decided to make that a contention and I wondered how he would retaliate. First, he said that most of these contradictions can be overlooked because of the different viewpoints the Gospels had. They were not in total accordance because they were different people writing them, and they would have seen or noticed varying things. But essentially, he said, they did corroborate the main theme in each of the Gospels, and that validated their truthfulness. He also suggested that if the Gospels were indeed, word for word, the same many would theorize that there was plagiarism and would discount them. He believed that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all had the basic testimony of Jesus’ life and teachings and that supported the existence of Jesus. I wanted to delve into this even further. An issue had been festering in my mind as he spoke. The Gospel of Thomas. This Gospel has been accused of being apocryphal and not trustworthy of the other four Gospels. I wanted to know why. He retorted that the Gospel of Thomas was not truly a testimony, but a collection of sayings thought to be by Jesus. He also stated, and most Christian scholars agree, that the other Gospels were authoritative and Thomas was not. He believed that the Gospel of Thomas did not fit within the guidelines of Christian theology, and should be discounted by the Church. I agreed with his reasoning. He went on even further saying that the canon of scripture, the theology and message of the church that unified believers, was approved by the early church in 400-420 A.D. He believed this was relevant to his case because the early church leaders were very careful when they approved writings that would be incorporated in the Bible. Now, I wanted to get personal, really probe his inner thoughts and feelings. I asked the question that most try to avoid with evasive tactics. I asked him if he believed in the eternal suffering and damnation of Hell. I went further and asked did he believe that a forgiving God could have created such a place. His answer was somewhat surprising. He said that he believed that there was no physical place called Hell, as inculcated in cartoons and movies. There were not horned devils, no pitchforks, no burning cauldrons filled with rotting flesh. He believed that Hell was defined as the possibility of a person being separated or apart from God, he then went on to add that he thought spiritually one would suffer if one is not entombed with God. That really churned my thoughts. I then proceeded to ask him about the beliefs of a certain sect of the Christians, the Calvinists. I wanted to uncover his thoughts on predestination. I wanted to know that if God was omniscient wouldn’t he already know everything that would happen to someone, even if they were going to be eternally blessed or infinitely condemned? He responded by saying that predestination was rejected by Luther, and that this couldn’t possibly be the case because there is another element that must be considered. He believed that God instilled in us free will and other possibilities that circulated throughout our life. He went on and stated that, “God’s desire is what is good for me, but it is possible to turn away from God.” I asked a few other demanding questions, and at the end of our interview, shook hands and left with a smile hinting on my face. I had a notebook full of notes, and an open and optimistic mind on the existence of God.
My interview was not purely based on the existence of God. I already knew that inevitable answer I would receive. A resounding yes. I wanted to delve more into the topic, making sure there was nothing that could disprove Christianity and its teachings. Overall, I loved the time I had with the pastor. He was an interesting and engrossing speaker. He had well-reasoned well thought out answers. He was an abyss of theological insights. I had a lot fun throughout the interview, delving into my favorite subjects of philosophy and theology. I learned a lot more then I first thought, his answers pulsating through me, intriguing every fiber of my conscience. It was truly an insightful and meaningful experience and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I still had some questions, but many answers had been brought to the table. It was invigorating having another person to discuss and debate with.
Richardson, Larry.Personal INTERVIEW. 28 April 2010.

Answers to Tough Questions by Josh McDowell and Don Stewart

The source I used for my book-length work was Answers to Tough Questions Skeptics Ask about the Christian Faith by Josh McDowell and Don Stewart. The format of the book was a question and answer basis articulating sixty-five of the toughest questions inquired about the Christian faith. It is difficult to provide one synopsis that complements the entire book, because it has such a wide spectrum of topics. The authors compiled the book into sections dissecting conundrums from the most prominent topics of the Christian faith i.e. the Bible, Jesus, God, etc. It uses scripture from the Bible and a few outside sources to affirm its contentions about the validity of Jesus, the Bible, and God. It delved into some rather intriguing questions, one being where did God come from? And what was He doing before He created the universe? The answer the reader was given is that God is not relative or subject to the limitations of time and space. It is a very shady answer, but this divine entity and his attributes cannot be comprehended by mortals. The example it gave to validate its reasoning was Einstein’s theory of relativity. McDowell adduced in his text that “Einstein deducted that time can actually be slowed down, altered, and sped up when objects begin to travel at very high speeds. This would then suggest that the concept that all things emanate and operate within the context of fixed time and space, that nothing originates outside of time and space, could be incorrect”(56).
First of all, I’d like to note that not all scholars agree with everything inculcated in this book, and it is an opinionated text with evidence to support its claims. It is a rather odd layout for a book, but it is somewhat helpful. It is prescribed to be a guide to aid the reader in a spiritual reassessment. Even with this taking in account, I despised the format. It was very awkward and arduous to read, and really never captured my full attention. I was somewhat disappointed about the sources it used, primarily the Bible. This, to me, was not enough to satisfy my question. It was circulatory in nature, referring to the Bible to validate its assertions. It used some outside sources, namely Josephus the Jew historian living in the time of Jesus. It provided evidence that Jesus, in fact, did exist but not that he was the son of the living God. This is, of course, understandable because Josephus was a Jew and would never assert that he was the messiah. Josephus was shown, by other scholars, to be rather trustworthy in his writings, except when it came to the Romans. Tacitus was another historian cited, him being Roman. But he, like Josephus, did not depict the Jesus that is incorporated with Christianity today. It is intriguing; however, that so many copies of the New Testament are still in existence today. There are more copies of the New Testament than any other ancient document, which is a substantial affirmation to the credibility of the scriptures.
Looking inside the text, it has very convincing arguments. It’s certainly well-researched and cited. The authors looked at almost every aspect, every fiber of the Christian faith and tried to authenticate it. They were coherent contentions, arguing valid points for consideration. As I’ve iterated, I didn’t much care for the read, but it still was informative and essential to my investigation. It did raise interesting points, and probed my thoughts even further to the inescapable question of God’s existence.
McDowell, Josh. Answers to Tough Questions Skeptics Ask about the Christian Faith. United States of America: Campus Crusade for Christ, Inc., 1980. 245. Print.