I’m torn on how to answer to this one. Whether I should tell you what I think or tell you what Strobel said in his books or use the points made by Habermas & Licona in The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. Whether theirs or mine, it’s all stuff from previous posts with only […]
Archives for April 2014
9. How do we know Jesus didn’t pass out on the cross & just revive in the tomb?
Passing out during crucifixion is like passing out underwater. Stop moving, stop breathing, die in the time it takes to drown.
8. How do we know the disciples weren’t suffering from a mass hallucination or mass hypnosis?
Hmm, how about such things wouldn’t explain it. No, really, that’s the answer for both of them.
7. How do we know it was really Jesus on the cross? How do we know the tomb was really empty?
They sound like unrelated questions, but they have a common answer. Enemy attestation. Say what? English, por favor? The disciples’ enemies did not deny the claims that Jesus died on the cross or that the tomb was empty. They argued over what happened to the body.
6. How do we know the disciples weren’t lying about seeing the resurrected Christ?
The only disciple whose fate I can remember ever being mentioned growing up was Judas. Judas hangs himself in remorse (Mt 27:5) after the Sanhedrin condemns Jesus. So what happened to the other 11? They settled down, get married & live happily ever after on the royalties from all those stories? No, unfortunately, the majority died […]
5. How do we know there is any truth in the gospel stories?
The principle of embarrassment applies here. If you were making up a story, why would you include things that make you look bad? The gospels include embarrassing or problematic details.
4. Could the Resurrection be a legend added later to the New Testament?
The gospels were written too soon for a legend to appear. Legends take many years to develop, because the first & secondhand eyewitnesses have to die off before the truth can be distorted. Otherwise the eyewitnesses say that’s not what happened.