how strong of a case can you build for Christ raising from the dead using these 5 facts:
1. Jesus was killed by crucifixion
2. Jesus' disciples believed he rose and appeared to them
3. The conversion of the church persecutor Paul
4. The conversion of the skeptic James, Jesus' half-brother
5. Jesus' tomb was empty
I want to pick at your brain for a bit, go ahead and POST AWAY!!
-Prince M-
Saturday, November 7, 2009
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Well, as a disclaimer, I have full faith in the inspired Word of God, which is enough evidence for me that my Savior rose. Without a risen Christ, none of us would have the hope of salvation, in which case, I am and will be eternally grateful and indebted.
ReplyDeleteNow, question, do we have to use all 5 facts? And can I do this more than once? I tend to comment multiple times on each post, so that'll probably happen this time, too.
I think that Jesus dying by crucifixion is important because that's what was prophesied. If one prophesy about the Christ is true then they all are, meaning He was raised.
The fact that He appeared to all of the disciples multiple times is a big deal. Had is just been one or two (His favorites) then there might have been other motives. But Acts 1 says He appeared to them for 40 days. Thinking you see someone raised from the dead once could be disproved. But 40 days? Can't make that up.
Another fact that isn't mentioned that I will make mention of here is that Jesus had raised people from the dead. I think it's significant that the people (of all beliefs) saw people raised, thus saw that it was possible. Jesus being raised wasn't the first mention of a person ever being raised from the dead--that would make it less believable.
Paul was converted by Jesus Himself. Paul was literally made blind. Other people--who were persecuting the Way--were with Him. It wasn't alone in his room where he could just make it up. It was on a road, a major road leading to a major city. In that major city he was blind and fasting. I also truly believe in the healing power of Jesus. No person with such strong convictions could be completely converted to the opposite side without Jesus. If He had not been raised there was no point in Saul ever becoming Paul. Without a risen Jesus, there is no point at all. And there is no such thing as Christianity.
I'm skipping point 4, but since I added my own, I think it counts.
Ahh, the empty tomb. People (like, historians, but I can't say there real names--but this is for real, not me making it up) say that the way they did tombs back then was, with rich people---the stones that were rolled in front were actually held back by a smaller stone--the smaller stone was moved, then the big stone fell into place. No person or even Roman force could remove said stones. ALSO, Roman Guards--who were like, completely and utterly awesome---FAINTED. P.S>they don't do that. Something HUGE had to have taken place. Like, idk, angels.
Those are just my 11pm rambles. =)
It is very important that we use all the evidences available to make a case for the resurrections of Christ, so good job bro. Also, I will add that Jesus appeared to over 500 brethren at once (1 Cor. 15:6), whom Paul in his letter says most were still alive while he was writing. Now, that's interesting, because that means hundreds of witnesses where alive at the time the New Testament letters and gospels were being written, and not one person seemingly stepped forward to disagree. Also, if there had been a discrepancy with the written accounts, someone would have pointed it out. Love.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing, we have over 6000 manuscripts or portions of Scripture for the New Testament alone, that is more than any other antiquity document, ever. That makes the Bible the most vindicated and proven collection of documents in entire written history. And, most of these documents date back within 100-120 years after the fact. Someone might say, "well wait, 100 years, that's a long time!" Well, actually it isn't. How many manuscripts of Julius Ceasar's Gallic Wars do we have? 10 manuscripts, written 900 years after the fact. Aristotle's Poetics? 5 manuscripts, written 1300-1400 years after the fact (Thanks Dr. Baucham).
ReplyDeleteEmily is right, without the resurrection we have no Christianity.
How does James really contribute to the validity of Christ raising from the dead? why is James even important to the issue?
ReplyDelete