'If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain'. -Paul to the Church in Corinth.
One of the most outrageous claims of Christian doctrine is that Jesus Christ was bodily raised from the dead. Many people find this a difficult thing to believe in and objections have been raised to Jesus' resurrection for two thousand years. However, many people all over the world do believe that Jesus Christ was bodily raised from the dead. There is overwhelming evidence that Jesus' bodily resurrection is something that really did happen. If Jesus really was raised from the dead it has huge consequences and implications for all of us.
Over my next few blog posts I shall be looking at what this evidence is. There are two popular arguments against the bodily resurrection that are often put forward to dismiss the historicity of the resurrection. Neither of them stand up to logic but in this introductory post I shall review them briefly.
Objection 1 - Jesus was seen after his time on the cross because he never really died
Some people suggest that if Jesus was alive on Easter Sunday it is because he never really died in the first place. The theory is widely discounted. It is almost certain that Jesus, who was flogged, beaten and then executed was not alive when he was buried. Even if we even entertain the idea that Jesus was not dead when he was buried it is impossible to conceive that Jesus could fool hundreds of people that he was alive and well such a short time after enduring such an ordeal, let alone escape a sealed tomb. There is also early evidence that reveals Jesus really was dead when he was executed. The early historian Tacitus talks of Christ being executed by Pontius Pilate. The Babylonian Talmud also talks of the death of Jesus. Furthermore, in the Gospels, Jesus' side is pierced and water and blood flow out of his body which is a medical sign that Jesus was dead. The author of the Gospel was not to have this medical knowledge when he reported this detail. This theory, on the basis of evidence and logic can be discounted.
Objection 2 - Jesus' body was stolen from his tomb by the authorities or his disciples
If the disciples had really stolen the body, they were all risking their lives for a lie and something they knew not to be true and it is highly likely that the body would have been found. If the authorities had stolen Jesus' body they would have produced it when rumours that Jesus had risen from the dead began to circulate. The story of Jesus' resurrection was causing them enough trouble! The theory that Jesus' body was stolen is also widely discarded and is very weak.
In my following few blog posts we shall get on to the real meaty stuff. We shall look at the evidence for an empty tomb, assess whether people were seeing a bodily Jesus, were hallucinating or believed in some kind of 'spiritual resurrection' over and against a bodily one and we shall see what the Jewish view on resurrection can tell us about the resurrection of Jesus.
Read part two, three and four of 'was Jesus bodily raised from the dead?'
One of the most outrageous claims of Christian doctrine is that Jesus Christ was bodily raised from the dead. Many people find this a difficult thing to believe in and objections have been raised to Jesus' resurrection for two thousand years. However, many people all over the world do believe that Jesus Christ was bodily raised from the dead. There is overwhelming evidence that Jesus' bodily resurrection is something that really did happen. If Jesus really was raised from the dead it has huge consequences and implications for all of us.
Over my next few blog posts I shall be looking at what this evidence is. There are two popular arguments against the bodily resurrection that are often put forward to dismiss the historicity of the resurrection. Neither of them stand up to logic but in this introductory post I shall review them briefly.
Objection 1 - Jesus was seen after his time on the cross because he never really died
Some people suggest that if Jesus was alive on Easter Sunday it is because he never really died in the first place. The theory is widely discounted. It is almost certain that Jesus, who was flogged, beaten and then executed was not alive when he was buried. Even if we even entertain the idea that Jesus was not dead when he was buried it is impossible to conceive that Jesus could fool hundreds of people that he was alive and well such a short time after enduring such an ordeal, let alone escape a sealed tomb. There is also early evidence that reveals Jesus really was dead when he was executed. The early historian Tacitus talks of Christ being executed by Pontius Pilate. The Babylonian Talmud also talks of the death of Jesus. Furthermore, in the Gospels, Jesus' side is pierced and water and blood flow out of his body which is a medical sign that Jesus was dead. The author of the Gospel was not to have this medical knowledge when he reported this detail. This theory, on the basis of evidence and logic can be discounted.
Objection 2 - Jesus' body was stolen from his tomb by the authorities or his disciples
If the disciples had really stolen the body, they were all risking their lives for a lie and something they knew not to be true and it is highly likely that the body would have been found. If the authorities had stolen Jesus' body they would have produced it when rumours that Jesus had risen from the dead began to circulate. The story of Jesus' resurrection was causing them enough trouble! The theory that Jesus' body was stolen is also widely discarded and is very weak.
In my following few blog posts we shall get on to the real meaty stuff. We shall look at the evidence for an empty tomb, assess whether people were seeing a bodily Jesus, were hallucinating or believed in some kind of 'spiritual resurrection' over and against a bodily one and we shall see what the Jewish view on resurrection can tell us about the resurrection of Jesus.
Read part two, three and four of 'was Jesus bodily raised from the dead?'
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