The Need for an Accurate Apologetic for Jesus Christ

By: Curtis Evelo | April 9, 2023

In this article, I want to describe the need for biblical literacy and compassion to give an accurate apologetic for Jesus Christ and Christianity. This article is a representation of one of the types of deception of modern “man-centered” religious views that tries to bring together new age, evolution, and Christianity. In this article, I will specifically be highlighting the Urantia book. This is a “holy book” of sorts that is used over the Bible by people who are a part of this false religion.

Questions and Assertions

Recently I had a rather enjoyable conversation with another person, and as we were discussing Jesus, God things, prayer, and how powerful it is to be aligned in agreement with our fellow believers. We got into the topic of “truth” and how we could know truth. We agreed that truth is found in Jesus.

But, this person questioned the truthfulness of scripture and why we have the books we do in the Bible. Continuing to ask why there wasn’t any of the other Apocryphal and extra written literature in our Bibles since all of what we read is written by men. What’s the difference? I sat and listened. This person went on asking (ranting) about the lack of willingness by scholars to discover what Jesus did in his “growing up years.”

Then the question came, “How come the information that Jesus was a world traveler isn’t known?” I was still listening. Next came this statement, “We all know that Jesus was a shipbuilder traveling the world spreading his wisdom as he perfected his craft”… now that got my head tilting sideways like a Beagle pup that heard a whistle for the first time!

Answers

So, by the time I was able to catch my thoughts from the firehose of statements, assertions, and questions. This person was moving on to a different topic. I replied back, “Whoa, whoa, whoa…we can’t just move on as if the questions and assertions you stated have no answer.” I proceeded to take the conversation back to the specific questions and answer those questions that were presented. As I did, I also explained that the very existence of Bellator Christi ministry (www.BellatorChristi.com) is built around answering these types of questions. That we have an amazing team that is comprised of many different types of biblical scholars who hold many different doctoral degrees and have the capability to answer these questions in depth.

Which Jesus?

I then continued with “But you really caught my attention with Jesus being a shipbuilder… can you explain?” As he was explaining, I sat and listened. This person brought up things that were very foreign to the stories of scripture but had a slight bit of truth. Then I had a moment of clarity and realized we aren’t talking about the same Jesus…! The Jesus I follow is the incarnate God. This person’s Jesus was a created being. The Jesus I follow gave his life as an atoning sacrifice to redeem. This person’s Jesus is a man that made the Romans and Jewish leaders mad and got himself killed!

Now as an apologist, I don’t mind having these types of conversations, nor do I mind tackling tough questions, but this one really shocked me. I took some time to answer the assertion that Jesus was a shipbuilder. Answering with what the Greek word tekton means. What traditionally has been translated really had a deeper meaning and how it could be equally translated into craftsman and went on explaining the culture and regional needs for a skilled “craftsman.”

Our conversation ended, and we went on with our day, but this whole ordeal didn’t settle well with me. I got in the house later in the evening and started looking up “Jesus the shipbuilder,” and what I found was disturbing, to say the least. My heart and spirit were crying because of the deception that I was reading. Now I want to say upfront that I don’t know if the person that I was in discussion with is part of this religion or even knows of Urantia or the Urantia Book. But the words, statements, and questions really are similar to what I was uncovering.

Conclusion

So in this article, I want to create a starting point for us to discuss what and who Jesus is. I also want to get viewpoints from our team here at Bellator Christi.

I want to finish this article describing some of the points that cause confusion in understanding the real Jesus. And also provide answers from this conversation, along with debunking the Urantia view and misleading information about Jesus. Some of our very own team members will provide responses to the following statements and questions in articles to follow.

Jesus is just another created being.
Jesus’s “silent” years were his traveling years as he taught his truths.
Jesus’s “silent” years were spent building ships since he was a professional carpenter.
Jesus’s death was not an atonement but was a death caused by angry Romans.
Are scholars really unwilling to learn what Jesus did in his youth?
How do we detect untrue statements about Jesus?
Present a real true Gospel vs. the Urantia view.

About the Author:

Curtis Evelo is a cattle rancher at the E6 Hereford Ranch in St. Ignatius, Montana. Curtis is the Co-Host and Producer of the Bellator Christi Podcast. He often teaches and speaks at his church Cornerstone Faith Center in St. Ignatius. Curtis provides a common-sense approach to Christianity as he contemplates the wonders of God’s creation in Big Sky Country. Curtis serves as the Vice-President of Bellator Christi Ministries, a contributor, and the co-host of the Bellator Christi Podcast. His research interests include Jewish studies in the New Testament, Old Testament typologies, and studies on free will.