In contrast, when Horace, Cicero, Seneca and Ptolemy say that the star Sirius was red, we see no reason, no collective reason, for them to misrepresent its colour. Indeed Bishop Gregory of Tours in AD 560 confirmed it. And when the Arab astronomer Al Sufi in AD 900 says it was white, as it is today, it seems incredible. But one must look for a natural explanation for a star to change its colour in 400 years, when it normally takes tens of millions of years. One possibility is that Sirius had a giant red twin which masked it, and collapsed; but this must be very tentative. Nowadays we look for explanations which are within the world of Nature, however incredible they may seem; and we decline to take too much on trust of word of mouth. The world of science may not be as honest as it used to be; but it still commands a fair measure of respect. The world of religious faith does not.
Yet Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection can be subjected to a similar scrutiny. To go to your cross alone, rejected and despised demands, I am sure, a greater courage than to die in battle. Whatever enabled him to do it, was the most incredible miracle. So incredible, that none of his disciples even contemplated following him. On Good Friday they were a pack of cringing cowards. Yet within a few weeks, another miracle happened; they became incomparably brave men who thought nothing of bringing the same fate on themselves. They say it was the resurrection that made the difference; no-one has been able to suggest anything else. The authorities accused them of stealing the body. Everyone knew it was rubbish. As though a body-snatcher could become a consummate hero! Only frightened men would suggest it.
The resurrection for them may not have been the same as our idea of the resurrection, because we are influenced by art and legend and myth, and time. But it is difficult not to be persuaded that they were supremely confident about it; whence otherwise did they obtain their courage? And this is the way to follow Jesus today; by being prepared to imitate his consummate courage in the dramatically changed social conditions of today, if circumstances arise which invite you or challenge you to do so. You do not study with modern scholarship the minutiae of what he said. You go to the heart of the matter, which was to follow him; the fringe benefits need not detain you. The difficulty is to recognise a challenge, from a temptation to be absurd. You want to follow Christ; and not Don Quixote.
“Belief in God in an age of science” has many disciples, not least among scientists; but the divinity and teaching of Jesus are another matter entirely. Belief in God can be prompted by an interpretation of the incredible coincidences in the natural world which scientific research has revealed. Belief in Jesus can be prompted by courage, honour, truthfulness, the old Roman virtues. These are all the better if crowned by the Christian virtues of forgiveness and charity. But the Christian virtues without the Roman tend to be servile and obsequious. There are no short cuts; Christ taught men to suffer and die for something it was worthwhile to die for. One wants to make sure that if one sacrifices one’s life, the cause one has chosen is worth it; but his teaching was incomparable. It is no flattery to call him the Messiah.