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Evidence for the Resurrection

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Evidence for the Resurrection

Prepared by Mary Jo Sharp

for Confident

Christianity Apologetics

Ministry

“There’s actually no historical evidence that isn’t a hotly disputed item within the field of history to prove that he ever was even a man, much less the Son of God.” – Kelly, Rational Response SquadABC’s Nightline Face-Off

Is belief in Jesus Christ comparable to the belief in:

Not Even Close!

Resurrection …

Foundationof

Christianity

Resurrection …

If Christ was not raised than your faith is useless

I Cor. 15:14

Resurrection …

If Christ was not raised we are

false witnessesI Cor. 15:15

Resurrection …

The resurrection is the best

explanation for the available facts

The Minimal

Using the Bible as a historical document

They must be strongly evidenced.

Definition:

They must be strongly evidenced:

1) multiple, independent sources2) enemy testimony

3) principle of embarrassment4) eyewitness testimony5) early testimony

The Minimal

They must be acknowledged by the vast majority of scholars.

Definition:

They must be acknowledged by the vast majority of

scholars.

Dr. Gary Habermas, Liberty University

Complied 1400* scholarly sources of resurrection writings from 1975 to

the present, whether the scholar was atheist, skeptic, liberal, or

conservative.F

The Minimal

Not saying:these facts prove historically the

resurrection.

I am saying: the best explanation of these

historical facts, when combined, is a resurrection.

The Minimal

Jesus died by Roman Crucifixion

Minimal Fact #1

1) Recorded in all four Gospels

2) Non-Christian sources

- Josephus, Jewish Historian

- Tacitus, Roman Historian

- Lucian of Samosata, Greek Satirist

- Mara Bar-Serapion, Syrian prisoner

- the Jewish Talmud

Jesus died by Roman Crucifixion

Minimal Fact #1

3) Jesus’ death is one of the most well-attested events of ancient history

“That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be.”

- John Dominic Crossan, “Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography” pg.145

Review: The Facts

Minimal Facts Approach

1) Jesus died by Roman Crucifixion

Gary Habermas, Mike Licona. The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. Kregel Publications. pgs. 70-74

Jesus’ tomb was empty

Minimal Fact #2

1) Jerusalem factor

2) Enemy testimony

3) Testimony of women

Minimal Fact #2

1) Jerusalem factor

- Why not go get the body, drag it through the streets, and shut down the Christian movement?

- No defense of a body in the tomb by the early church fathers

- It would have been impossible for Christianity to begin in Jerusalem if the body were still in the grave

Minimal Fact #2

2) Enemy Testimony

- If testimony about an event or person is given by a source who does not sympathize with the person, message, or cause then there is reason to believe the testimony is true

Minimal Fact #2

2) Enemy Testimony

Sources:• Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho 108• Tertullian’s Spectacles 30• Jewish Toledoth – “he was not in his grave”• Matthew 28: 11-15 "You are to say, 'His disciples came during

the night and stole him away while we were asleep.‘”

Minimal Fact #2

3) Testimony of women

- Principle of embarrassment

- Odd invention for the writers of the New Testament to make women the first witnesses

- Testimony of a woman not as highly regarded as a man, especially the more serious the issue

Review: The Facts

2) Jesus’ tomb was empty

Jesus appeared to the disciples

Minimal Fact #3

1) Jesus’ disciples sincerely believed he rose and appeared to them

2) The disciples transformed from frightened, hiding individuals to bold witnesses of the resurrection

Minimal Fact #3

1) Jesus’ disciples sincerely believed he rose and appeared to them

- Established by primary evidence: Peter, Paul, and John wrote what they personally witnessed

- Established by Paul who wrote about the appearances to the disciples: 1 Cor. 15:10-11 (some of the earliest material)

• Established by the written tradition, including the Gospels and works of the apostolic and early church fathers (Origen, Polycarp, Tertullian)

“Written Tradition”

Minimal Fact #3

Are there any writings that follow the Gospels, and the writings of Peter, John, and Paul?

Yes...

And these writings help confirm our facts!

Didache, Clement of Rome, The Shepherd of Hermas, Ignatius, Polycarp, Diognetus

Papias, Quadratus of Athens, Aristides, Justin Martyr, Claudius Apollinaris, Minucius Felix, Melito of Sardis, Hegesippus, Dionysius of

Corinth, Athenagoras of Athens, Irenaeus of Lyons, Rhodon, Theophilus of Caesarea,

Theophilus of Antioch, Maximus of Jerusalem, Polycrates of Ephesus, Pantaenus, Clement of

Alexandria, Tertullian, Serapion of Antioch, Apollonius, Caius, Hippolytus of Rome, Origen

Minimal Fact #3

2) The disciples transformed from frightened, hiding individuals to bold witnesses of the resurrection

- Willingness to endure suffering, persecution, martyrdom

- Jim Jones, David Koresh, Muslims versus the disciples’ post-resurrection proclamation of Jesus as God

• Nearly all scholarship agree that the disciples had experiences of the risen Jesus that transformed their life….now we have to explain why

Review: The Facts

3) Jesus appeared to the disciples

Jesus appeared to skeptics and foes

Minimal Fact #4

2) James - Jesus’ brother1) Paul - Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee

- Both were unbelievers before the resurrection of Jesus

• Both became believers after an experience of the risen Jesus, following Jesus’ crucifixion

- Neither had good reason to convert!

Review: The Facts

3) Jesus appeared to the disciples

4) Jesus appeared to skeptics/foes

Historians look for the hypotheses that best fit

the available facts.

The hypothesis that fits all the facts is the best

explanation.

The hypothesis that fits all the facts is the best

explanation.

Once all the hypotheses have been weighed against the

facts, we have confidence in the explanation that outweighs the rest.

Once all the hypotheses have been weighed against the

facts, we have confidence in the explanation that outweighs the rest.

The resurrection of Jesus is the best

explanation of the facts!

Gary Habermas: Skeptics must provide more than alternative theories to the

Resurrection; they must provide first-century evidence for those theories.

Norman Geisler, Frank Turek. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be An Atheist. Crossway Books. Wheaton: 2004. pg. 299.

May I suggest for further reading:

The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus

Gary Habermas, Mike Licona

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist

Norman Geisler, Frank Turek

May I suggest for getting started:

The Case for ChristLee Strobel

Seek and proclaim

Mary Jo Sharp

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