No.
Jesus said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."
If you are a Christian, then you can't believe that Jesus is lying. Nor can this be considered a case of literary allusion, as Jesus is telling us that he saw Jesus' day and was actually glad.
Just thought, in light of the historical Adam controversy, I would nip that one in the bud. Your welcome. ;-)
I'd like to add another:
ReplyDeleteCan Christians Doubt the Existence of an Historical Jonah?
I actually wouldn't hang my hat on that. I believe in an historical Jonah (although I'm agnostic toward whether the story of Jonah is an historical event or just a pure parable-like story that uses the historical prophet Jonah as its main character), but the literary allusion alone, I don't think, would make the case to most people, since Jesus doesn't actually refer to Jonah as a person with whom he has interacted with in heaven and makes statements of him as one who reacted well toward His coming to earth.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, some people might just make the argument that Jonah is a literary figure, like Romeo, but that real people can make parallels between themselves and literary figures (e.g., "Just as Romeo and Juliet's love defied two nations, Marc Antony and Cleopatra did not let their countries stand in the way of their love").
I guess with both Abraham and Moses, due to quotes like that from Jesus (not to mention the transfiguration), we can believe in their historical existence and that God was at work in their lives while being open to the way expanded traditions may have grown up around them.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Ben. That's what I would say of Adam as well. There is no need to doubt the historicity of a person because they are presented in a theological narrative that has been molded by God and man to produce Scripture.
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