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The whole Bible rests on one claim. The resurrection of Jesus. It is the foundation of Christianity. It is the one thing every true Christian believes absolutely (See Romans 10:9 and 10). The resurrection of Jesus identifies him uniquely as the victor over sin and death, our representative and substitute, the Savior of mankind--the Lord. His resurrection is the sign he offers to the world of his identity, and his success in fulfilling his mission.
In recent decades, numerous discoveries and arguments have been presented in support of the earlier dating of the books of the New Testament. Additionally, many Christian scholars have contributed to making a convincing case for the resurrection by using the same principles historians apply towards any event out of history.
Ancient historical statements are difficult to prove in an absolute sense, but they can be tested in numerous ways. One such way is to examine them for contradiction. If two statements are contradictory (logically impossible) it proves at least one statement to be false. Antagonists of Christianity have staked their ground and said the resurrection accounts are vastly contradictory and untrustworthy. Leading this charge is the head of the nation's largest atheist organization, Dan Barker of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF, Inc.) based out of Madison, Wisconsin. His "Easter Challenge" was formally published 16 years ago in his 1992 book, "Losing Faith in Faith."
It seems God thought the narrative of events surrounding the resurrection too important to leave to just one gospel writer, so he gave it to four. Add Paul's list of resurrection appearances in 1 Cor. 15:3-8 and we have a total of five writers. There is no shortage of information. No lack of details. Like putting a puzzle together, the challenge has been to put it all together into one consistent narrative. The complexity provided by all five writers is of far stronger evidentual value than if the agreement of the writers was obvious. I've concluded that God gave his most important story to the world as a literary puzzle to prove that he inspired each writer in his selection or omission of the details he provided. Experts in evaluating testimony have reason for doubt if stories told by different witnesses are too similar, indicating possible collusion. Neither is perfect agreement among witnesses necessary to know with certainty that the alleged event really took place.
No one person has ever so impacted the world as has Jesus. And of all that is claimed of him, his resurrection from the dead is the greatest of all. Over two billion people in the world today follow the teachings of Jesus in one way or another. Time spent studying the details surrounding the historical reports in the Bible of Christ's resurrection and appearances that followed is time well spent.
Stephen Kingsley
s307kingsley@yahoo.com
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