Black Screen Evidence for the Resurrection
Mar 26, 2015
Black Screen
Evidence for the Resurrection
Black Screen
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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
FA
C TS
The Minimal
FA
C TS
Using the Bible as a historical document
FA
C TS
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
FA
C TS
The Minimal
FA
C TS
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
AC T
S
The Minimal
FA
C TS
Not saying:these facts prove historically the
resurrection.
FA
C TS
I am saying: the best explanation of these
historical facts, when combined, is a resurrection.
FA
C TS
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
Gary Habermas, Mike Licona. The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. Kregel Publications. pgs. 70-74
2) Enemy testimony
3) Testimony of women
Jesus’ tomb was empty
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
Jesus’ tomb was empty
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
Jesus’ tomb was empty
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.‘”
Jesus’ tomb was empty
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
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
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
Jesus appeared to the disciples
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
Jesus appeared to the disciples
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
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
2) Jesus’ tomb was empty
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
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
2) Jesus’ tomb was empty
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
Truth
Mary Jo Sharp