A Test Of Faith
This column was written by CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.
You have no doubt heard by now about the Discovery Channel show that claims to have found a stone box containing the bones of Jesus and several members of his family.
People are up in arms because Christians believe Christ rose from the dead. Merely raising the question of an unresurrected Christ is blasphemy for many.
But it's the kind of question that's wrestled with daily in divinity schools and seminaries across the country.
I remember quite clearly discussing the virgin birth in a theology class many years ago.
Are the miracles of the Bible myths, or are they the stuff that faith is made of? If you dismiss Noah and the Ark as a fable, then what of Moses and his tablets? Did God really appear to him in a burning bush, or was that merely a metaphor? Do you need a literal resurrection, or were Jesus/ teachings transcendent enough?
Do the bones matter? Sounds like the title of a sermon.
Harry's daily commentary can be heard on many CBS Radio News affiliates across the country.
By Harry Smith