If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#20) There Would Have Been an Early Resurrection Polemic [audio]
There are two key formal elements in the argument concerning the resurrection of Jesus. The first is the “resurrection polemic” and the second is the “early resurrection creed." Both had been fully developed in the very early days of Christianity. And both must be unders...
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#18) the Tomb Would Have Been Empty [audio]
And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. (Mark 16:6)
Apart from the actual appearances of Jesus, the empty tomb is probably the greatest physical evidence of the resurrection of Christ that ...
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#17) He Must Have Been Dead and Buried [audio]
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures… (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
Mythicists and skeptics attempt to debunk Jesus in ...
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#16) He Must Have Existed [audio]
A recent survey in Britain showed that 22% of Brits don’t believe that there ever was a real Jesus… that it is all fake, some kind of a myth or made-up deception.
This is fascinating, for the vast majority of historians find the evidence compelling that there really was a Jesus of Nazareth. What is going on ...
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#15) We Would Have a Harmonized Resurrection Story [audio]
If I were to tell my children and grandchildren the resurrection story, harmonizing all of the accounts and adding some intervening puzzle pieces and some color it would go something like this. I would also do it with a [map], pointing out the places and routes as we go along. You may want to see Da...
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#14) There Would Be No Contradictions in the Accounts [audio]
When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. (Matthew 28:17)
Over the last several days, we have looked at some of the charges levelled against the resurrection accounts due to supposed conflicts in numbers, timing, events and places. I believe a rational view of these things, ...
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#13) God Would Have Recorded the Places Inerrantly [audio]
After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3)
We have now come to what I believe is the most difficult of the resurrection issues. This has to ...
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#12) God Would Have Recorded the Events Inerrantly [audio]
We have already dealt with several events that have come under the charge of critics: the guards, the women and the angels. There are others that involve a supposed contradiction in where they took place. These are the most difficult, and we will leave those for tomorrow.
Today, we will look at t...
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#11) God Would Have Record the Numbers Inerrantly [audio]
On Day 10 we looked at the accusation that the resurrection accounts have contradictions regarding when the women came to the tomb—a contradiction of timing. Today we will deal with the contradictions of numbers. Charges have been understandably leveled at the Gospel accounts because of the app...
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#10) God Would Have Recorded the Times Inerrantly [audio]
The resurrection has, of course, been the subject of countless attacks seeking to dismiss it as legend or hoax. And not surprisingly so, for on the surface, the Gospels do not seem to fit perfectly together in several of the details. In the overall account, however, there is no doubt that they each p...
