When I first saw Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ back in 2004, I was intrigued by the character of Veronica. As Jesus struggles with the cross through the streets of Jerusalem, a young woman approaches him and wipes his face with a cloth. The scene is almost surreal as she walks bravely through the midst of the soldiers to Christ and then back again. As Jesus and the soldiers continue on their way, she stands holding the cloth which seems to bear an imprint of Jesus’ face on it.

I found this a very touching scene, and yet I also remember thinking, “What was that all about? I don’t remember that in the Bible.” Well, three years have passed, and I guess I was never curious enough to do the research myself, but John Mark Reynolds over at The Scriptorium has come to my aid today with a fascinating article called: Women of Holy Week: Veronica and Legends that Capture the Truth.

In the article Reynolds explains the origins of the Veronica legend and even the origin of her name. (Her name, “veron ika” means “very image” and corresponds to the image of Christ’s face on the cloth.) After affirming the historical truth of the gospel accounts and revealing the Veronica account as clearly legend and myth, Reynolds goes on to show how we can still learn something from the Veronica story today.

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Here are some of the figures from the latest Newsweek poll, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International on March 28-29, 2007. According to the poll, which questioned American adults aged 18 and older on political and religious beliefs, 9 in 10 American adults believe in God.

Here are some of the other results from the poll.

Of the 1,004 American adults surveyed:

• 91% believe in God
• 87% identify with a specific religion
• 82% identify themselves as Christians (5% say they follow a non-Christian faith, such as Judaism or Islam)
• 48% reject the scientific theory of evolution
• 34% of college graduates say they accept the Biblical account of creation as fact
• 10% identify themselves as having “no religion”
• 6% said they don’t believe in a God at all

The “believe in God” number seems low to me compared to other polls I have seen in the past, and the “do not believe in God” number seems high. And although it may be nice for 82% of American adults to identify themselves as Christians, if 82% of all American adults truly followed Christ, I think we would see a very different moral climate in our country. You can read the actual poll questions here.

Albert Mohler has two great back-to-back posts on the importance to Christian faith of the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus. He cites both a Jewish rabbi and a secular historian to make his point. Although some people would claim that it doesn’t matter to Christian faith whether or not Jesus actually rose from the dead, the Bible says differently, and both of these writers agree.

Rabbi Marc Gellman: “I know many Christian clergy who have told me that the main truth of Christianity for them is to love as Jesus loved and that no archeological discovery can change that spiritual lesson. I love these folks but, as an outsider, I just don’t agree that decisive refutation of Jesus’ resurrection would have no effect on Christian faith. Unlike Judaism and Islam and Hinduism and even Buddhism, which are built on God’s teachings, Christianity is built both on God’s teachings as well as on an historical event proving a transcendental miracle.”

Gellman continues: “The divide separating Christians from non-Christians is not between those who think loving all people is good and those who think loving all people is bad. The real divide is between those who believe that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day as proof that he was indeed the Messiah sent by God, and those who do not believe this article of faith and this audacious historical claim.”

And here is historian A. N. Wilson weighing in on the supposed find of Jesus’ lost tomb: “Long ago, Paul the Apostle wrote to his friends in Corinth that if Christ did not rise from the dead, their faith was in vain. No doubt, if Cameron’s find were proved to be authentic, it would destroy the Christian religion. The Pope could shut up shop. The Church of England could be absorbed by the National Trust as just a collection of medieval buildings. Unbelievers in the resurrection would feel that their scepticism had been justified and the vast majority of Christian believers, who profess their faith in Christ risen from the dead, would be compelled to admit their faith had been based on a mistake.”

Make no mistake about it. Without the resurrection of Jesus, there is no true Christian faith.

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day . . . If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4,14)

You can read Mohler’s two commentaries here:

• Rabbi Gellman Gets It — The Resurrection Really Matters
• A. N. Wilson Gets It Too — No Resurrection, No Christianity

Here is a classic quote from Billy Graham that bears repeating in light of the recent “Jesus Tomb” special:

“There is more evidence that Jesus rose from the dead than there is that Julius Caesar ever lived or Alexander the Great died at the age of 33. It is strange that historians accept thousands of facts for which they can produce only shreds of evidence. But in the face of overwhelming evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ they cast a skeptical eye and hold intellectual doubts. The trouble with those people is that they do not want to believe.” – Billy Graham, Peace with God

HT: Minister’s ToolBox