Atheist New Testament scholar Gerd Lüdemann states, “the elements in the tradition are to be dated to the first two years after the crucifixion of Jesus…not later than three years… the formation of the appearance traditions mentioned in 1 Cor. Included in this creed are all three of our minimal facts: the death of Jesus, the empty tomb, and the post-resurrection appearances. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 Paul recounts what biblical scholars recognize as an early Christian creed dating to within a few years of the crucifixion. Atheist historian Michael Grant concedes that “the historian… cannot justifiably deny the empty tomb” since applied historical criteria shows “the evidence is firm and plausible enough to necessitate the conclusion that the tomb was indeed found empty.” 16įact #3 – The Post-Resurrection Appearances 15 As with the crucifixion, the account of the empty tomb meets the historical criteria of multiple, independent and early eyewitness sources, including implicit enemy attestation as well as the principle of embarrassment. 14 It is hard to imagine this being an invention of the early church considering the low social status of women in both Jewish and Roman cultures and their inability to testify as legal witnesses. In addition, all four gospel narratives attest to an empty tomb and place women as the primary witnesses. 13 Ironically, this presupposes the empty tomb.
The only early opposing theory recorded by the enemies of Christianity is that the disciples stole the body. “It would have been wholly un-Jewish,” notes William Lane Craig, “not to say foolish, to believe that a man was raised from the dead when his body was still in the grave.” 11 The Jewish authorities had plenty of motivation to produce a body and silence these men who “turned the world upside down,” 12 effectively ending the Christian religion for good. Not only was Jesus publicly executed in Jerusalem but “His post-mortem appearances and empty tomb were first publicly proclaimed there.” 10 This would have been impossible with a decaying corpse still in the tomb. John Dominic Crossan, non-Christian critical scholar and co-founder of the Jesus Seminar, puts it this way: “That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be.” 9 7 Josephus tells us that “Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us…condemned him to the cross…” 8 From a perspective of historiography, Jesus’ crucifixion meets the historical criteria of multiple, independent and early eyewitness sources, including enemy attestation. Some of these include the Jewish historian Josephus, the Roman historian Tacitus, the Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata, as well as the Jewish Talmud. Not only is the crucifixion account included in every gospel narrative 6 but it is also confirmed by several non-Christian sources. Perhaps no other fact surrounding the life of the historical Jesus is better attested to than His death by crucifixion. I contend that the best explanation for these minimal facts is that Jesus was raised bodily from the grave. 3 Though as many as 12 minimal facts surrounding the death and resurrection of Christ may be examined, 4 the brevity of this essay limits our examination to three: the crucifixion, the empty tomb, 5 and the post-resurrection appearances. Rather it merely holds these writings to be historical documents penned during the first century AD. The approach I will take in this essay is commonly referred to as the “minimal facts approach.” This method “considers only those data that are so strongly attested historically that they are granted by nearly every scholar who studies the subject, even the rather skeptical ones.” 2 It should be noted this approach does not assume the inerrancy or divine inspiration of any New Testament document. Consequently, it is entirely appropriate that a positive case for “Why Christianity is true” focus on the most central truth claim of the Christian faith: the Resurrection.
Show that Christ has not been raised from the dead and you will have successfully proven Christianity false. As Paul himself said, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” 1 Here the Apostle provides an objective criterion by which to judge the legitimacy of the Christian worldview.
The truth of Christianity stands or falls on the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s outstandingly different in quality and quantity.” - Antony Flew
“The evidence for the resurrection is better than for claimed miracles in any other religion. The Facts of the Resurrection by Aaron Brake
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