FACTS ARE STUBBORN THINGS

"Of course I am, a defender of the faith, I mean, but count me out as a defender of the church. Like every scriptural scholar, I know how the Bible was made and how the church was born. Like John Adams said, 'Facts are stubborn things.'"      -Monsignor Brahaney, p. 26

The Monsignor was quoting the second president of the United States who as a young attorney successfully defended the soldiers accused of the Boston massacre with an argument ending in these words: "Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."

Monsignor used the quote to illustrate something Ellen already knew, that modern churches and their scriptures are far from where they started, morphed to a degree that early Christians wouldn't recognize. No doubt much of Jesus' record has survived, but it's likely that even more has been lost or changed, as the renowned Christian scholar Origen described in the third century, "through the negligence of some and audacity of others." … Facts are stubborn things.

How do you deal with "stubborn facts"? Could the first scriptures have been altered ... corrupted?