As Easter approaches, I am reminded of the words written by the Apostle Paul:
"And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain" (1 Cor. 15:14; ESV; Emphasis mine).
Here, Paul makes an astounding confession. He is openly admitting that if Christ has not risen, our faith is worthless!
In the past, I have blogged on some of the evidence for the resurrection and some of the common objections offered by skeptics in an attempt to discredit the historical account of Jesus' resurrection.
In last Tuesday's post, we looked at The Moral Argument for God's existence by viewing a flash video from the Apologetics Bible Study Curriculum, offered by B & H publishing to compliment the Apologetics Study Bible.
Here is a flash video from the same series entitled, "Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?"; I encourage our readers and team members to check it out and share any thoughts, questions, or comments you may have.
You can view it here.
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad A. Gross
Comments
My overview is here:
http://winteryknight.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/quick-overview-of-nt-wrights-case-for-the-resurrection/
Hope all is well with you! Yes, I am familiar with Tom Wright's approach. I believe there is much to be said for it. I have heard Craig use a variation of the argument as well.
You may want to checkout the Kreeft article that I posted today (4-8-09). Part of his argument for the resurrection includes the existence of Christianity as we know it today.
Godspeed
Thank you for taking the time to view the flash vid. I enjoyed it.
Yes, the "swoon theory" has been all but abandoned within New Testament Scholarship; and for good reason! :-)
German scholar D. F. Strauss made a memorable point in respond to the swoon theory. He said that "it was not plausible that, having been scourged and crucified, Jesus pushed the heavy stone away from the tomb with pierced hands and walked blocks on pierced and wounded feet. Even if such a ridiculous scenario were possible, when he appeared to his disciples in his pathetic and mutilated state, would this convince them that he was the risen Prince of life? Alive? Barely. Risen? No." [1]
I believe that this video does a good job of demonstrating that the best explanation for the know facts is indeed the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Chasen, you may want to check out today's article by apologist Peter Kreeft. A great follow-up to the vid.
Godspeed
1. As quoted in "The Case for the Resurrection" by Gary Habermas and Mike Licona, p. 102.