I am arguing that Jesus physical rose from the dead after 3 days and appeared to many. What you have to understand is there is a lot at stake if I am wrong about this. The Apostle Paul states the problem in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19 “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” Basically, Paul is saying if Jesus did not rise from the dead a person is a fool to say I am a Christian. If the resurrection is false, the entire foundation of the Christian faith is destroyed. Christianity stands or falls on the truth of the resurrection; that Jesus physically walked out of that tomb.
The Discovery Channel attacking the resurrection is nothing new; for 2,000 years people have tried to disprove the resurrection. Some critics have said the Biblical accounts were written so long after the fact that there was plenty of time to create this legend called the resurrection. Others have said that Jesus didn’t die on the cross; that he was placed into the tomb unconscious and came back to life and only appeared to rise from the dead. And still others have said the disciples suffered from hallucinations and wishful thinking.
What are we to make of these claims? Was the resurrection a myth made up by men creating a religion? Are Christians who believe in a historical resurrection fools? Was the Apostle Paul a fool? Truth is, as I have investigated the evidence I have found excellent reasons to believe the resurrection happened. I would like to share this with you.
In order to do that, I will first show the Biblical record is reliable and accurate; second, I will present 5 historical facts surrounding the resurrection accepted by the majority of liberal and conservation scholars; and third I will use the 5 historical facts to test the alternative explanations to see if they have historical merit.
Answering objections is very important to me. You need to understand even though I am a Christian my skeptical nature, back when I was an atheist, has not left me. When I find counter arguments against what I believe, I have to check them out and try to find answers. This is why I love to talk to people who don’t agree with me. I want to test what I believe to make sure it is aligns with reality. Remember when belief and reality match you have truth. That is my desire; to hold onto as many true beliefs I can and get rid of false beliefs.
My hope is that you are willing to test your beliefs. In order to do that you need to approach this topic with an open mind and open heart. If you read this post and disagree with anything I say, I do welcome and love to interact with people with different points of view.
