Christianity Today Apologizes For Viral Article That Was Hated By 99% of People
Christianity Today has issued a correction and apology for publishing an article arguing that Jesus wasn’t nailed to the cross, with the author saying that he failed to consider Jesus’ interactions with Thomas in John 20:25 and, as a result, unintentionally “called into question the inerrancy of Scripture.”
Days ago, Daniel Silliman, the senior news editor of CT, wrote Was Jesus Crucified with Nails?, where Jeffrey P. Arroyo García, an ‘evangelical biblical scholar’ who teaches at Gordon College, insisted that Jesus likely wasn’t nailed to the cross but instead was merely secured with ropes when he perished. Silliman entertained this erroneous speculation, throwing a bit of cover and intrigued to help him make his case.
The X post sharing the article was instantly reviled and rationed into oblivion. It received 2.8M impressions at the time of writing and only 810 ‘likes,’ with multiple critical responses far outpacing it.
Quickly ‘Community Noted, it earned the organization a plethora of bad press, reinforcing for many its reputation as a staging ground for progressive talking points designed to undermine and muddy the Christian faith. (See endnotes)
With pressure mounting, folks clamored for a response from Editor-in-Chief Russel Moore to issue a statement, but none was forthcoming.
Nine days after the article was published, a correction was issued, with the disclaimer now reading:
In the original article, Silliman briefly discusses the nails mentioned in John’s gospel, allowing García to strangely brush it aside.
Now, the updated version reads:
The correction links to an apology by Silliman, Nailing Down the Truth of Christ’s Crucifixion, where he explains in part:
A Bible professor suggested it was possible that crucifixions at the time of Christ’s death used ropes rather than nails. That’s obviously an idiosyncratic view—and almost certainly wrong, it seemed to me. But I thought it was interesting.
My curiosity took me to the descriptions of Christ’s death and the details in those accounts. I didn’t think about John 20:25 and the implication of the idea that Thomas was mistaken to think the resurrected Jesus would have nail marks in his hands. Thomas clearly would not have said that if the Romans at that time used ropes.
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My article implicitly called into question the inerrancy of Scripture. In my eagerness to explore the historical context of Christ’s death, I missed that, and I’m sorry.
Also on X:
In the absence of comment or clarification from Russell Moore, Senior Director of CT Media, Mike Cosper, offered: “I’m grateful to work with people who have the clarity and integrity to publish something like this, which is not an easy thing to do. Thanks @danielsilliman for your curiosity, and your honesty.”
This prompted author and cultural commentator Megan Basham to respond:
Some of their issues include:
Report: ‘Christianity Today’ Staffers Donate Exclusively to Democrats
Christianity Today Calls Pro-LGBTQ ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ a “Win for the Common Good”
‘Christianity Today’ Rocked By Scandal, Say ‘Sexual Harassment Went Unchecked’ at Company For Decade
Christianity Today Promotes Gay-Affirming Ministry (with Ties to North Point Church)
‘Christianity Today’ Compares Having In-Person Church To Snake Handling
Christianity Today Roundly Mocked for Claiming Jesus Was ‘Asian’
Christianity Today Bashes White Christians as Racists who Commit Violence Against Black People by Voting GOP
Christianity Today Lays Responsibility For Violence at Feet of ‘White American Church’
Lies Abound in Liberal Christianity Today’s Rehashed Smear Piece on John MacArthur
Christianity Today Appeals to Non-Profit Status While Bringing in over $10,000,000
Christianity Today Promotes the Installation of Solar Panels on Churches as a “Gospel Issue’
Former Christianity Today Editor and Trump Critic Mark Galli Converts to Roman Catholicism
‘Christianity’ Today Warns Christians Not to Vote Because “Voting is Important”
Christianity Today Makes Pathetic Attack Against John MacArthur Over MLK Criticism
Christianity Today Gets Torched for ‘Pro-Personal Pronoun’ Article
Bonus commentary by JD Hall:
ummm- THIS is what Christians are up in arms about? SMH
It sounds like many people never attempted to read Dr. Garcias article but have created a straw man. If they had read even the scholarship he proposed in 2009 they would have found out that he is trying to create conversation on evidence he has found. I have not found one clear indication on how this goes against the inerrancy of the Bible. It sounds like it goes against the “inerrancy of a view about Jesus nails,”