Never forget that professor lane is continually reminding us to not "accept what he is saying as "truth" For example those of you inclass last Thursday who were shaken up by finding out that "virgin"was not in the Hebrew manuscripts. And those of you who were shaken about the gospels. I bet it sounded to you as if there was an unreasonably long period between Jesus and the writings of the gospel. Or that Mary magdalene may not be who you were taught she was. Everything is not as obscure as you think and there is always multiple sides to every story. This rings true especially for a Catholic. In no way do i intend to share a deep and thorough response in any of these categories, im just going to throw some things out there as "food for thought"
The gospels
Catholics have something called "Sacred Tradition" Included in this tradition is Oral tradition which has preserved the core meaning ofthe gospels. For example you may have understood by the professors statement that Paul, who wrote 50% of the new testament ( a man who never even seen Jesus) can possibly be responsible for the bulk of Christian beliefs. Well, We know as Catholics through sacred tradition that the Apostles and those that studied under them known as the "Early church" fathers preserved and consistently taught the same things that we find in the Gospels. For example some of the Gospel writers such as John, taught early church fathers such as Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. So there isn't this huge vast gaping hole of information that you may have probably thought there was.The core of information is preserved for a Catholic.
Oral tradition was vital in Jewish culture and it has been passed on in the Catholic Church. For example the Olivet discourse in which Jesus forewarns the destruction of the Jewish temple (manyRapturists and Dispensationalist mistakenly interpret this to be ateaching of the End of the world) was passed on correctly in Scripture. How do we know this? We know this because Christianity Exists! If his followers didn't understand and believe Jesus they would have been killed during the siege of Jerusalem, which is also when the temple was destroyed. If you believed Jesus was the Messiah, and if you believed what Jesus said then you showed your Faith withyour Feet. You left Jerusalem and hid, and by doing so, you saved your life, as it was a massacre for many who remained during the siege between 68-70 a.d.
Mary Magdalene,
The cause of confusion over the identity of Mary Magdalene in the Gospels is rooted in two main factors. One being there is more than one "Mary" in the gospels and Two there are many unnamed women in the gospels. So to make a long story short, In the Catholic faith the church is well aware of this fact. Since the beginning Mary has been revered as "Apostle of apostles" The identity of the unnamed women in the gospels was believed to have possibly been her by different people since the beginning of the church. There has been arguments presented that she was demeaned specifically in the Homily of Pope Gregory I known as "Homily 33" in which he stated "She whom Luke calls the sinful woman, whom John calls Mary, we believe to be the Mary from whom seven devils were ejected according to Mark and what did these seven devils signify, if not the vices?" Further reading of this homily shows no evidence of Mary Magdalene being demeaned rather revered and an example of a repentant sinner rising as "Apostle toapostles" an inspiration and an example for people to reflect on their own sinful ways. (remember the apostles were hiding while she went to the tomb)
The Bottom line. We don't know exactly if she was any of the unamed women. She could have been. the Catholic Church knows this and always has been aware of the possibilities. A faithful Catholic need not have their faith shaken by this. Remember investigate to get the full perspective. (in no way have I presented it here)
Lets move on to Isaiah.
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (NIV)
It is well known that the Greek Septuagint translated the words "young woman" as Virgin but this in no way takes away from the messianic prophecy. How so? In short you could say they were synonyms in the Jewish culture. Remember professor lanes explanation of the "Camel walking through and Eye of a needle" We are quick to imagine a Camel walking through an actual sewing needle because its what we are familiar with now. Professor lane gave two alternate examples. The frizzy thread and the Camels that were walking through the thin walkway known as "the needle". You can apply this same understanding as well to Isaiah and the differing translations.Culturally for us now it would be strange for me to refer to your little sister ages 12-14 as a "Virgin" but technically, and(hopefully should would be)it would be true to assume that. So it wouldn't be wrong for me to refer to her as such. Even more can be said for the Jewish culture at that time. A young woman was basically the Same as a "Virgin" This doesn't prove that the Prophecy of the Messiah is true. It just shows that the term translated as young woman and Virgin doesn't really debunk anything. (by the way this is a very small and informal argument, books have been written regarding this topic I do not intend to write one here.)
However I'm still going to take Professor Lanes "Messiah prophecy"debunking a bit farther. Many christians are also surprised to find out that the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 was already fulfilled in the lifetime of Isaiah! Don't believe me? You only need to read a bit further in order to know for certain that it was.
"Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the LORD said to me, "Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 4 Before the boy knows how to say 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria." Isaiah 8:3-4 (NIV)
Without going into further detail about it. (and I can) this prophecy was fulfilled in the lifetime of Isaiah. However, from a Catholic perspective we know that "An event can be a prophecy of a still-future, final fulfillment, and when it is, we need to consider the entire historical context of the events to receive a full and complete understanding."
Further arguments can be made from Isaiah 9:7
"Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."
Many question, "Where is this kingdom? There isn't one so Jesus couldn't have possibly fulfilled this prophecy!."
The fact that Isaiah 7:14 is rendered "young woman", "Virgin"or "young maiden" shouldn't make a Catholic flinch for the reasons I stated earlier. And as for the "kingdom" by being a Catholic you wake up in that Kingdom everyday in the Catholic church.
Remember to investigate your faith. Fire every single skeptical missile you have at it and if its real it will stand. Investigate all the information so that you will know for certain as much as you can about any given topic or something stated as fact. In the end we dont truly know and we will never in our lifetime unlock the secret of the universe. It always comes to faith at some point. But theres nothing wrong with testing as many facts as you can against that faith. After all if there is "God" he just might meet us somewhere in this earthly life during our investigation.
Investigate! Don't just Kneel and drink professor Lanes "Kool aid"! =P
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