Author: Ben van Noort
Located in: The Hague (Neth.)
Submitted: August 30, 2018
Tell us a little about yourself. I am a graduate MA from Utrecht University. Since 1975 I worked as a high school teacher in Christian Religion. I worked as an editor and co-author in preparing a series of textbooks for Christian education. At the moment I am retired and live with my wife in The Hague, the Netherlands. We have two daughters, one son, and two granddaughters.
What was your motivation behind this project? As a high school teacher I was confronted with the reactions of my (senior) pupils. In the past one could teach about the Christian faith without much opposition in classroom. But about the Gospels my pupils reacted with: "Sir, it was all written long after the events, wasn't it? So how do we know it is true?" And: "Yes sir, it's fiction, just as we have learned with Dutch language and literature." This experience brought me back to the books. I felt that my students were entitled to clear answers, especially concerning the authenticity of Jesus's words.
It was a long road for me to bring all the relevant details together about the men and women that followed Jesus to preserve his teachings in writing. For my students, my discoveries gradually made an impact. The key texts that speak about documentation of Jesus's words brought conviction into the classroom. My pupils did not lean back anymore; this was real. The old Christian creed began to do its work: Listening to Jesus' words, is listening to Him.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? After my retirement I decided to bring everything together in a book. It is important for Christians not only to believe, but also to know; especially concering the authenticity of Jesus's words. It is important for Christians to be convinced (in their conscience) that the original words of Jesus do exist, without being dependent on an inadequate theological view of the so called oral tradition preceding the writing of the Gospels. Nothing richer in life than a convinced conscience.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? In my youth I loved mathematics and I learned from that two lessons. (1) How important it is to come to conclusive evidence. (2) It was always an interesting and learnful experience for me to work on a mathematical subject from different sides. It was necessary in my research to come to different ways to conclusions. If one way was closed another one was opened. And so I feld led by the Spirit, step by step. A great experience.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? In a negative way. It was a confrontation to me already during my study period that critical claims of theology were so outspoken, but often without fair argument.
In a positive way. My contact with evangelical students gave me views and practices concerning relevant faith.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: Our relationship with God does not provide all answers of life, but it does provide us peace with Him. To know that the words of the Lord are delivered to us accurately and in a natural way is certainly an important part of this spiritual peace. It helps us to understand and experience better the grace, brought by the words of Jesus.
