No matter what religious beliefs or lack there of one holds, history is separated by the birth and events that surround one man; and that man is Jesus of Nazareth. If there is one controversial event that surrounds this historical figure, it is his resurrection that is argued the most. In most scholarly circles, it is accepted that Jesus of Nazareth was born around the first century, while living gathered a religious following, and was crucified by the Romans. It is his resurrection, though that separates secular and believing biblical experts. This paper will discuss the historical validity of the resurrection of Jesus by looking at biblical validity, the evidence surrounding the resurrection, and expert opinions from both sides as whether or not in today’s age it is reasonable to be believed in.
If one is to debate the historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus, then one most first examine that which the resurrection account is found in. The largest account of the resurrection can be found the first five books of the New Testament, which are the Gospels. The word gospel comes from the Greek word meaning, “good news” or a message that brings salvation (Gunn, 2013). Mark, which is the first gospel that was written, was influenced by Paul’s usage of the term and used it to describe Jesus’ ministry, works, death and resurrection. The other gospel books followed in suit. The question remains though, are these first century manuscripts historically reliable? The answer to this question is yes but to the extent of their validity depends on whom you ask.
It is true and held by most reputable scholars and historians the New Testament is the best proven book in ancient history, both in terms of the number of manuscripts and the nearness o...
... middle of paper ...
...ead. This is a fact that is almost universally acknowledged among New Testament scholars today. Even Gert Lüdemann, perhaps the most prominent current critic of the resurrection, admits, "It may be taken as historically certain that Peter and the disciples had experiences after Jesus’s death in which Jesus appeared to them as the risen Christ."18
Finally, fact #4: The original disciples believed that Jesus was risen from the dead despite their having every reason not to. Despite having every predisposition to the contrary, it is an undeniable fact of history that the original disciples believed in, proclaimed, and were willing to go to their deaths for the fact of Jesus’s resurrection. C. F. D. Moule of Cambridge University concludes that we have here a belief which nothing in terms of prior historical influences can account for—apart from the resurrection itself.19
The article Reasonable Doubt by Alice Camille presents reasons for defending the actions of Thomas, the apostle of Jesus Christ, and relates the factors that not only made Thomas doubt his faith, but the testimonies of the resurrection witnessed by Thomas himself. The article also discusses evidence demanded by Thomas to prove that Jesus had risen from the dead.
Normally, it is generally believed that the statement gap between broadminded and conventional Christian theologians is more ruthless than the statement gap between broadminded and conventional Politicians. Most of the time the Politicians are fewer forced to confront each other in elections but the broadminded and conventional Christians can spent most of their time keeping away from each other. In a book, ‘Meaning of Jesus’ the authors Marcus Borg and Tom Wright has discussed a lot of issues like resurrection. Even though Borg and Wright take different diverse methods but they has discussed each other point of view in a reasonable manner, and they both directly faced points of their discrepancy.
5. Paul’s testimony on the resurrection of Christ is an asset to Christian apologetics. In addition, The early historical record that the apostle provided in his letters about the death and resurrection of Jesus the Nazareth make the strong argument that the miracle of resurrection was not a myth or legend. The early historical records are poor that the resurrection was not a myth or legend invented by his followers. (124,
The New King James Bible explains, "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all ... For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man ... If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body" (Acts 4:33 and 1 Corinthians 15:21 and 44). Paul explains that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected. Since Jesus was physically buried, then Jesus ' resurrection would represent Him physically rising from the dead. Moreover, Paul explains that we will be resurrected like Jesus because God created humanity. Humanity cannot be physically resurrected because the human body is perishable. However, the spiritual body is imperishable and will live for eternity. Therefore, our physical bodies will be resurrected into an imperishable spirit. The significance of the passage is to demonstrate the historical event that Jesus ' disciples taught the physical resurrection of Jesus and also humanity will be
Questions of the Holy Bible’s authenticity has been interrogated since the beginning. Non-believers dispute parts or the entirety of the Bible’s actuality. Yet some believers question parts of the Bible, particularly the Gospels. Individuals are skeptic if the Gospels are historically reliable. Can we Trust the Gospels? by Mark D. Roberts was able to provide reliable evidence and reasons on why people can trust the Gospels. His book gives an overview on the subject of the gospel reliability.
One of them, Quadratus (AD 70 – 130) wrote, “But the works of our savior were always present, for they were true; those who were healed and those who were raised from the dead were seen not only when they were healed and when they were raised, but were constantly present, and not only while the Saviour was living, but even after He had gone they were alive for a long time, so that some of them survived to our own
This paper covers all the different viewpoints on the life of Jesus with thorough research exploring the Gospels. Moreover it gives us useful insights related to the preexistence, birth, childhood, miracles all the way up to the death and resurrection of Jesus and helped us to better understand how writings are manipulated in order to achieve its success which in this case are the gospels.
One of the most talked about myths in Christianity is the story of how Jesus Christ was crucified but came back to life. When he was crucified for human sins and when he resurrected he took mankind sins away with him. There are many functions and theories that try to explain this myth. Whether individuals believe in the myth is up to them. That being said, this myth is one that is followed by numerous people around the world.
When other popular teachers died, their movement died with them. However, after the death of Jesus, his movement continued to build strength and grew rapidly. James, Peter, John and Paul, Jude and the writer of Hebrews were convinced of Jesus’ resurrection, they believed this with such conviction that they did not even try to defend or prove this. They stated it as fact. “In each narrative, names are given of those to whom the resin Christ presented himself (Barnett 130)”. This can be verified and proven true, based on eyewitnesses. After the death of Christ, the lives of the writers of the New Testament were radically changed. They traveled where they had not gone to reach out to people outside their comfort zone. They died in their challenge
Jesus, a name known by billions throughout the world. To each, this name means something different; savior, friend, philosopher, prophet, teacher, fraud, fake, liar. Some even believe that He is just an imaginary character from the minds of those who wrote about Him. The Westminster Dictionary of Theology describes apologetics as, "Defense, by argument, of Christian belief against external criticism or against other worldly views" (Apologetics 31-32). Though there are still many mysteries that surround the ongoing debate about Christianity, evidence can now prove some of what Christians took by faith before. Now, more than ever, there is information to prove the existence of this man that walked the earth more than two thousand years ago. Little remains of His life and works except for that which is contained within the pages of the Holy Bible. Throughout the past century alone, there have been numerous discoveries, both scientific and archeological; to further prove the existence of a man called Jesus and reinforce the Bible as a legitimate historical document. The validity of Christianity and Jesus Christ himself has been the center of religious controversy for centuries. Though His identity has not and probably never will be proven, He did exist. This paper will use apologetics to prove this so. Sufficient evidence proves the existence of Jesus and forms a firm basis for Christianity.
Dahl E. "The Resurrection of the Body: A Study of First Corinthians 15." Journal of Bible and Religion (1963): 31-2. JSTOR. Web. 1 May 2014.
Looking at the painting “The Incredibility of Saint Thomas”, the power seems to lie in the skepticism exhibited by Apostle Thomas. The painter seems interested in Thomas’ doubt at the time he is pushed to the limits to believe about Jesus’ resurrection (Miller, Vandome, & McBrewster, 2010).
In this paper, I will examine Jesus’ resurrection from the dead because, according to many scholars, there is no other event in the life of Jesus that is as significant. In order to better comprehend the magnitude of this event, I will begin by looking at what can be discerned from the Resurrection of Jesus. Then, I will explore the two different kinds of resurrection testimony that there are: the confessional tradition and narrative tradition. For the confessional tradition, I will look at a few examples including St. Paul’s confession in First Corinthians which is composed of four parts: Jesus’ death, the question of the empty tomb, the third day, and the witnesses. For the narrative tradition, I will briefly examine the two sources of information
Bauer & Johannes, 1970, p.64). As a bonus his death not only offers redemption for mankind but also introduces the aspect of new life. Starting over and new life is not an aspect discussed in the Old Testament. Finally despite the perfection of Christ’s redemption of mankind, believers will have to wait until the return of Christ for this particular redemption to be complete.
John P. Meier "How do we decide what comes from Jesus" in The Historical Jesus in Recent Research 2006 pages 132–136