1 Corinthians 15:17
English Standard Version
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
Alright, those of the unbelieving world. The easiest way to disprove Christianity is by disproving the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
For the Christian everything hinges off of the resurrection because not only did Jesus foretell that it would occur but it ultimately proved beyond a doubt that He was God.
John 10:29-31
English Standard Version
29 My Father, who has given them to me,[a] is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
30 I and the Father are one.”
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.
The authenticity of the Old Testament was confirmed by Jesus who taught from it and due to the abundance of manuscripts we know we have the same Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic translation despite a few misspelled words or scribal additions.
Jesus confirmed in His own words the legitimacy of creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Job, Noah and the flood, The Jewish exodus, Moses and the Torah, Jonah and the giant sea creature, Daniel, King David, etc. All were confirmed and spoken of as being real people and true events.
For Christianity, it wouldn't matter if the Old Testament was 100% true and then the resurrection be false. Then our faith is futile and our only hope would be within the Jewish religion that is still looking for their Messiah to come.
I'll list these key points that must be addressed when examining the resurrection.
1. Miracles
2. Prophecy
3. Historical events
4. The historicity of a man named Jesus Christ who was associated with the Biblical accounts
5. The theories that surround an empty tomb (
6. Why was the tomb guarded and sealed by 30+ Roman soldiers?
7. Eyewitness accounts
8. Could all of the Apostles and disciples been hallucinating?
9. Why would almost all of the original followers die horrible deaths for no money, no fame, and no power?
10. Secular accounts
11. The monumental shift designated by BC to AD that created such an impact, Rome would be converted.
12. Under the pressure of being killed, all they had to do was deny Jesus and pay tribute to the Roman gods and the Christians would live. Why not deny Jesus?
13. Archaeologists and historians (many being secular as well) use the Bible in the Middle East to help identify places, objects, names, etc. Why, if the book is merely filled with fables?
14. The empty tomb was first recorded to have been discovered by women (in a male-centric culture why would the disciples make that up)?
15. Why preach in the same town where Jesus was crucified that He had been risen? It would have been very easy to fact-check.
16. According to early Jewish sources like the Toledoth Jesu, they could not find the body.
17. The radical transformation of Paul.
18. The radical courage of the disciples who recorded themselves fleeing in fear as Jesus was crucified. (typically something false would not include embarrassing unmasculine topics for that culture)
19. The tomb wasn't just any tomb or mass grave of bodies. The tomb was owned by a named
Arimathea, named Joseph, a rich Jewish man part of the Sanhedrin. So the tomb could have easily been located.
20. Early creeds testify that indeed the first Christians believed what they saw or heard.
More points could be addressed and many scholarly sources have written on the topic. But to discredit the resurrection, you are then challenged to find naturalistic explanations for this historical event.
As one who has already been down this road, I was left with the only plausible outcome. Jesus Christ the foundation of Christianity truly did rise from the dead and secured His place as the Messiah to the Jews and Savior to the Gentiles. Jesus boldly claimed to be the only way to salvation (John 16:6, Acts 4:12) making all other belief systems or worldviews false.
The resurrection proves all other religions and beliefs to be false. It provides only a black or white image, there is no grey. He didn't give us that option. So if Heaven and Hell exist, then the only logical response is to truly wrestle with this topic because not only is your soul impacted but so are those around you.
English Standard Version
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
Alright, those of the unbelieving world. The easiest way to disprove Christianity is by disproving the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
For the Christian everything hinges off of the resurrection because not only did Jesus foretell that it would occur but it ultimately proved beyond a doubt that He was God.
John 10:29-31
English Standard Version
29 My Father, who has given them to me,[a] is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
30 I and the Father are one.”
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.
The authenticity of the Old Testament was confirmed by Jesus who taught from it and due to the abundance of manuscripts we know we have the same Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic translation despite a few misspelled words or scribal additions.
Jesus confirmed in His own words the legitimacy of creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Job, Noah and the flood, The Jewish exodus, Moses and the Torah, Jonah and the giant sea creature, Daniel, King David, etc. All were confirmed and spoken of as being real people and true events.
For Christianity, it wouldn't matter if the Old Testament was 100% true and then the resurrection be false. Then our faith is futile and our only hope would be within the Jewish religion that is still looking for their Messiah to come.
I'll list these key points that must be addressed when examining the resurrection.
1. Miracles
2. Prophecy
3. Historical events
4. The historicity of a man named Jesus Christ who was associated with the Biblical accounts
5. The theories that surround an empty tomb (
6. Why was the tomb guarded and sealed by 30+ Roman soldiers?
7. Eyewitness accounts
8. Could all of the Apostles and disciples been hallucinating?
9. Why would almost all of the original followers die horrible deaths for no money, no fame, and no power?
10. Secular accounts
11. The monumental shift designated by BC to AD that created such an impact, Rome would be converted.
12. Under the pressure of being killed, all they had to do was deny Jesus and pay tribute to the Roman gods and the Christians would live. Why not deny Jesus?
13. Archaeologists and historians (many being secular as well) use the Bible in the Middle East to help identify places, objects, names, etc. Why, if the book is merely filled with fables?
14. The empty tomb was first recorded to have been discovered by women (in a male-centric culture why would the disciples make that up)?
15. Why preach in the same town where Jesus was crucified that He had been risen? It would have been very easy to fact-check.
16. According to early Jewish sources like the Toledoth Jesu, they could not find the body.
17. The radical transformation of Paul.
18. The radical courage of the disciples who recorded themselves fleeing in fear as Jesus was crucified. (typically something false would not include embarrassing unmasculine topics for that culture)
19. The tomb wasn't just any tomb or mass grave of bodies. The tomb was owned by a named
Arimathea, named Joseph, a rich Jewish man part of the Sanhedrin. So the tomb could have easily been located.
20. Early creeds testify that indeed the first Christians believed what they saw or heard.
More points could be addressed and many scholarly sources have written on the topic. But to discredit the resurrection, you are then challenged to find naturalistic explanations for this historical event.
As one who has already been down this road, I was left with the only plausible outcome. Jesus Christ the foundation of Christianity truly did rise from the dead and secured His place as the Messiah to the Jews and Savior to the Gentiles. Jesus boldly claimed to be the only way to salvation (John 16:6, Acts 4:12) making all other belief systems or worldviews false.
The resurrection proves all other religions and beliefs to be false. It provides only a black or white image, there is no grey. He didn't give us that option. So if Heaven and Hell exist, then the only logical response is to truly wrestle with this topic because not only is your soul impacted but so are those around you.
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