.jpg)
Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 14, No. 11. September 6, 1951
[Introduction]
The controversy touched off by Dr. Munz in his address to the S.C.M. and continued in Salient did not die away without murmur. Dr. Flanagan recently addressed a meeting of students on the historicity of the Gospels.
About fifty students were present and Dr. Munz took up the cudgels at the end of the meeting.
The fundamental issue in Dr. Flanagan's opinion, and also in that of C. S. Lewis ("Screwtape Letters") whom he quoted in support of the view, is miracles. Christianity stands or falls on miracles and any critic of the New Testament must first state his attitude to this philosophical problem. Alfred Loisy himself believes this to be a basic issue. "Only when you hold that miracles are possible does the historical evidence concerning Christian origins present a coherent picture."
Two divisions appeared in the address: (1) the evidence presented; (2) a survey of the schools of thought in Biblical criticism in the last 150 years.