How to tell if someone is really a Christian: http://is.gd/bKcAV
The link takes you to the following cartoon:
Obviously the strip is saying that if a person claims to be a Christian, then we must be able to cast out demons, survive snake bites, and survive drinking poison. The conclusion is that Christians are hypocrites because the majority of us are not looking for demons to subjugate, pick up deadly snakes, or drink poison and those that are doing those things are crazy!
There are two problems with this. Anyone who knows anything the Greek texts and it's copies we have of Mark knows that Mark 16:9-20 is not in the oldest manuscripts and was most likely added later! Therefore I don't think that we can say that Jesus actually said it because it does not seem the same author of Mark wrote the Mark 16:9-20. In addition, even if you disagree and say that Mark 16:9-20 is just as much scripture as the rest of Mark, the cartoon strip twists verse 17-18. Let me quote the NIV and KJV
17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." (NIV)
17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (KJV)
Jesus is not telling his followers to pick up snakes or drink poison. The context is in terms of preaching. These signs are to be given to validate the witness not just because. If you happen to pick up a snake or drink poison unbeknown to you these promises are made. In Acts Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake while he was gathering wood. He didn't get sick but it was an accident. I liked how the following web site answered this:
If it is supposed to be in the bible then should we drink poison to get our skeptic "saved"?
We can see from the Devil's testing in the wilderness where Jesus stood on this issue:
(Mat 4:6-7 NIV) "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" {7} Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"Like some skeptics, the devil is good at quoting scripture (Psa 91:11-12) and Jesus wisely answers with scripture Deu 6:16. Clearly we should not put God to the test by drinking poison, further God saves using preaching, that is his method (Rom 10:14). (http://www.apocalipsis.org/difficulties/poison.htm)
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Greetings Marcus,
ReplyDeleteThe comic-strip maker has conveniently overlooked the nuance of Mark 16:18; in this particular clause about poison, the idea is not that Jesus is telling His disciples to proactively seek out opportunities to drink poison; it's that /if it so happens/ that they drink poison, they will not be harmed.
The comic-strip maker's mockery, and the misinterpretation upon which it relies, are not new; the ancient anti-Christian writer Porphyry did the same thing.
Now, you wrote, "Anyone who knows anything the Greek texts and it's copies we have of Mark knows that Mark 16:9-20 is not in the oldest manuscripts and was most likely added later!" I have looked into this subject in minute detail. The NIV's footnote, and the footnotes in some other translations, are quite misleading and one-sided.
Our oldest extant copy of Mark is P45, from c. 225. It is so extensively damaged that its pages containing Mark 16 have not survived, so we can't really say if it contained 16:9-20 or not when it was produced.
Only two Greek manuscripts end the Gospel of Mark at the end of 16:8. One of them -- Codex Vaticanus, from c. 325 -- has a prolonged blank space after the closing-title after 16:8, as if the copyist recollected the missing verses and attempted to reserve space for them. The other one -- Codex Sinaiticus, from c. 350 -- has the text of Mark 14:54 to Luke 1:56 on pages written by someone other than the person who made the surrounding pages, and there is a uniquely emphatic decorative line after 16:8.
Meanwhile, long before those two manuscripts were made, Justin (160), Tatian (172), and Irenaeus (184) used material from Mark 16:9-20. Their copies of Mark did not survive Roman persecutions or unfriendly cllimates but it is obvious that their copies (like over 1,500 extant copies of Mark) contained these 12 verses.
For more on this subject I welcome you to read the multi-page presentation that begins at
http://www.curtisvillechristian.org/MarkOne.html
Yours in Christ,
James Snapp, Jr.
Thanks for the clarification. We agree that Jesus was not at all telling us to go and drink poison or pick up snakes. I was wondering how old are the two manuscripts of Mark that end at 16:8 and the first manuscript that contains verses 9-20? What I like most is that whether or not those 12 verses were part of the original text or not, none of our doctrines are affected.
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