The Case for Christianity
The Resurrection Of Jesus Christ.
The resurrection of Jesus is at the heart of the Christian faith and is a belief every Christian should be able to give a defence for. The physical resurrection of Jesus has a wide ranging collection of facts supporting it’s historicity. The role of the Christian is to present such evidence in the face of opposition both internally and externally. There are a range of methods for defending the resurrection like the minimal facts argument (see argument to the right) since it uses data agreed by majority scholars Christian, agnostic and atheist. It is logically airtight and does well against alternative theories for the resurrection. But just because this argument uses data agreed by all scholars, that doesn’t make the Bible untrue, this is an “argument using sceptical data” so we can say to the non-Christian “Even without assuming an inerrant Bible, God raising Jesus from the dead is the best explanation”. For more on the reliability of the Bible, a broader case, see Trustworthiness of the Bible section.
A) There are five essential established Facts about Jesus:
- Jesus died by crucifixion
- The disciples belief in Jesus’ post-mortem appearances
- Paul’s belief in seeing the glorified Jesus
- James’ belief in Jesus’ post-mortem appearances
- The empty tomb
B) The hypothesis “God raised Jesus from the dead” is the best explanation of the facts
C) The hypothesis “God raised Jesus from the dead” entails that God exists
Articles
7 Minutes | Fact 1. Jesus died by crucifixion
12 Minutes | Fact 2 part 1. Jesus’ disciples believed that he rose and appeared to them
11 Minutes | Fact 2 part 2. Disciples saw and believed
5 Minutes | Fact 3. The church persecutor Paul was suddenly changed
6 Minutes | Fact 4. The sceptic James, brother of Jesus, was suddenly changed
7 Minutes | Fact 5. Jesus was buried (Part 1)
15 Minutes | Fact 5. The tomb was empty (part 2)
2 Minutes | Conclusion: the J.e.s.u.s. acronym. a way of remembering View
2 Minutes | Opposing theories: What are they?
3 Minutes | Is the resurrection the best explanation?
8 Minutes | Legend/mythic theory assumes the story grew
6 Minutes | Nonhistorical genre theories assume it was just a story
7 Minutes | Resurrections in other religions
3 Minutes | Fraud 1 theory Disciples lied or stole the body
2 Minutes | Fraud 2: Someone other than the disciples stole the body
2 Minutes Psychological Phenomena
3 Minutes | Do hallucinations explain the accounts?
3 Minutes | Do delusions explain the accounts?
5 Minutes | Do visions explain the accounts?
4 Minutes | Does a Conversion disorder explain the account?
<1 Minute | Maybe Paul felt guilty?
2 Minutes | Did they do it for power?
5 Minutes | What if we combine multiple theories?
4 Minutes | Aren’t there discrepancies in the Bible’s resurrection accounts?
4 Minutes | Aren’t these testimonies biased?
4 Minutes | Why didn’t Jesus have a greater impact?
2 Minutes | We can never know what really happened? Response
< 1 Minute | Maybe Jesus is an alien?
<1 Minute | Maybe the resurrection proves nothing?
2 Minutes | What about Joseph Smith’s revelation?
2 Minutes | Aren’t Jesus sightings comparable to Elvis and alien sightings?
2 Minutes | Do extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence?
2 Minutes | Naturally speaking: The challenge of naturalism
7 Minutes | Only science can prove what is true
2 Minutes | Science: No resurrections
2 Minutes | Science can explain everything, so we don’t need a God
2 Minutes | If God exists, he cannot intervene in natural Laws
4 Minutes | Science must assume a naturalistic explanation for everything
2 Minutes | Even if a miracle occurred, we could never know that it was a miracle
Introductory videos
13 minutes and 2 animated videos to give you a broad overview on the powerful case for the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
Video Crash course
Michael Jones of Inspiring Philosophy has made this incredible 6 video evidence based case for the resurrection. It’s rather essential watching to give you a more detailed broad scope on the evidence for the resurrection.
Great videos/talks
The resurrection is strongly attested in the academic world and many of the professors have come out in numbers with lectures and videos to help you be confident in, and defend your faith.
Jesus has often been compared to supposed dying and rising gods pre-Jesus. what do we make of these? I’ve got 15 below in a subsection.
As well as these, see the Christian vs debates in the final section (These are for someone whose read quite a lot on the resurrection prior and understand objections in advance).
The Resurrection of Jesus | William Lane Craig
Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead? | Dr. N.T. Wright
The Resurrection of Jesus | Tim McGrew
The Probability of the Resurrection of Jesus | Richard Swinburne
The Minimal Facts Resurrection Timeline | Gary Habermas
Was The Body of Jesus Placed in a Known Tomb? | Craig Evans
The Fate of the Apostles | Sean McDowell
James: The Brother of Our Lord | John McArthur
Taking apart Hallucination Hypothesis | Dr. Bergeron
Paul’s Conversion Turned a Skeptic Into a Christian Apologist | Erik Manning
Do Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence? | Dr. Tim McGrew
Talking with Your Kids about Jesus | Natasha Crain
Jesus and Pagan Mythology | Mary Jo Sharp
2 Top Historical Scholars look at strong evidence Jesus Rose | Gary Habermas and Mike Licona
Was Jesus Raised From The Dead? | William Lane Craig Vs James Crossley
Did Jesus Rise From The Dead? | William Lane Craig Vs Marcus Borg
Did Jesus Rise From The Dead? | William Lane Craig Vs Shabir Ally
Did Jesus Rise From The Dead? | William Lane Craig Vs Richard Carrier
Did Jesus Rise From The Dead? | David Wood Vs John Loftus
Is atheist naturalism coherent? | Gary Habermas vs Michael Ruse
Jesus’ Resurrection | Gary Habermas Vs Antony Flew
Do the minimal facts support the resurrection? | Gary Habermas & James Crossley
Paid course
Learn from the resurrection professor
should say before you get put off paying for a course, this course often discounts for free several times a year (Downloadable material for offline usage)
Gary Habermas, the world’s leading expert on the resurrection of Christ, has created an entire course just for you! There is no more important event in human history than the Resurrection of Christ. This event not only evidences God’s intervention and love into the human condition, it tells the world that Christ is Lord. The great thing about the resurrection of Christ is that it is not something God asks believers to accept with blind faith. This is an event that happened in human history with hundreds of historic details that people are called to examine to gain confidence in their faith in Christ. That is why this 30-session Credo Course is focused solely on the historicity of the resurrection of Christ. There is not a more important event for Christians to know inside and out. The historicity of the resurrection is sure to tame any skeptic (outside and within), causing us all to fall on our face and worship the one true Lord, Jesus Christ.
30 Sessions
- The Importance of the Resurrection of Jesus
- A Priori Objections (Part 1)
- A Priori Objections (Part 2)
- Principles of Historiography Methodology: How Do We Use Historiography in Apologetics
- Approaching Scripture
- Minimal Facts Method
- Preaching before Completion of the New Testament
- Naturalistic Theories: Alternative Explanations for the Resurrection
- Naturalistic Theory 1: The Disciples Stole the Body
- Naturalistic Theory 2: Someone Else Stole the Body
- Naturalistic Theory 3: The Swoon Theory
- Naturalistic Theory 4: The Hallucination Theory
- Naturalistic Theory 5: The Copycat Theory
- Supernatural Alternative Theories
- Categorical Problems with Naturalistic Theories
- Understanding the Mind of a Skeptic
- Changing the Skeptical Mindset of the Naturalist (Part 1)
- Changing the Skeptical Mindset of the Naturalist (Part 2)
- Evidence for the Death of Jesus
- Evidence for the Appearances of Jesus
- Evidence for the Empty Tomb
- Constructing a Historical Timeline
- Apologetics: Building a Bridge from Miracles to Christianity
- Apologetics: Establishing a Connection between the Resurrection and the Existence of God
- Who Did Jesus Think He Was?
- Establishing the Deity of Christ
- Grounding Theology (Part 1)
- Grounding Theology (Part 2)
- Grounding Christian Practice: Application Based on the Resurrection
- The Resurrection of Jesus
Get the course
Books
A great starting point will be to kit yourself out with books. These, by their nature take you from start to finish for resurrection cases. Here’s some of my recommendations!
Evidence That Demands A Verdict
This large book is a small library for data on the resurrection as well as the New Testament
The Case For The Resurrection Of Jesus
This is where you start if you want to make a logical defence of the resurrection
Are there contradictions in the resurrection accounts of the gospels? No, this book tells you why
The Risen Jesus And Future Hope
This book looks at the resurrection, God’s existence and the future hope we have The
Resurrection Of The Son Of God
A massive book on the origins of the resurrection: Is it genuine? or was it an idea stolen from others?
The Crucifixion Of Jesus: A Medical Doctor Examines The Death And Resurrection Of Christ
The title says it all really…
Resurrection Of Jesus, The: A New Historiographical Approach
Using just the historical and scholarly data, Licona makes an extensive scholarly case for the resurrection
A journalist goes around interviewing the top scholars with his questions. as a result, he becomes a Christian
A man sets out to disprove the resurrection and writing a book about it, however, he ends up writing a book for the evidence of the resurrection
Q&A
Does the Resurrection Require Extraordinary Evidence?
Was Jesus an Exception to Roman Burial Practices?
On Extra-Biblical Sources for Jesus’ Post-Mortem Appearances
Was Jesus Buried for Three Days?
Does the Quran attest to the resurrection?
What About Pagan Myths of Dying and Rising Gods?
Why Didn’t Jesus Appear to the Rulers of His Time?
Can you believe Jesus just spiritually rose rather than physically?
Given the Evidence, Why Don’t More Jews Believe?
What About Matthew’s Guard Story?
Is the Resurrection Hypothesis Really As Absurd as the Alien Hypothesis?
How Do the Claims of Christianity Compare to the Claims of Joseph Smith?
What Role Does Evidence Play in the Belief of the Resurrection?
Should We Expect More Extra-Biblical Sources For Jesus?
Is the Oral Tradition Comparable to the Telephone Game?
Are the Facts of the Resurrection an Appeal to Majority?
What Happened to the Disciples That Transformed Them into Avid Witnesses for Christ?
Does Belief In Christ Produce A Historical Bias In Favor of the Resurrection?
Could the Post Resurrection Appearances of Jesus Be Merely Hallucination Experiences?
Do We Regard the Resurrection Narratives In the Gospels As Historically Credible?
What Kind of Evidence Is Historical Evidence?
Do the Resurrection Narratives Hinge Upon Biblical Inerrancy?
Does Mark’s Account of the Resurrection Have Legendary Embellishment?
Why Are There Differences in the Resurrection Accounts?
Did Jesus Physically Appear or Was He a Vision
Is It Possible to Evaluate the Resurrection without Believing In God or Miracles?
Should We Expect More Eyewitness Accounts of the Resurrection?
Where Is the Resurrected Body of Jesus?
Is there a Pre-Markan Source and the Resurrection of Jesus?
Who were the 500 Eyewitnesses in First Corinthians 15?
What is meant by the Ascension of Jesus?
What about one’s presupposition about Jesus’ resurrection?
What is the personal significance of Jesus’ resurrection?
What is the Significance of Jesus’ Resurrection?
Do other New Testament writers confirm Jesus’ disciples?
What Evidence is there for the Empty Tomb of Jesus?
What is the evidence that Jesus appeared alive after His death?
Why did the Christian movement come into being?
Did Early Jews Understand Scriptures to Claim an Empty Tomb?
What did the Jews at the time believe about a physical resurrection?
Did Jesus Die and Was He Buried as Christians Claim?
How were People Affected After Seeing Jesus Resurrected Body?
Did God Raise Jesus from the Dead?
Did Simon Peter Invent the Resurrection?
What Do Scholars Believe About the Resurrection of Jesus?
Do the Gospels Describe the Crucifixion With Medical Accuracy?
More
Abductive Reasoning and the Case for the Resurrection
Can the gospels be defended as eyewitness accounts?
Do Variations in the Resurrection Accounts Discredit the New Testament?
Evidence for Jesus’ empty tomb
Did the Apostles really die for their claims?
Establishing the Crucifixion of Jesus
Do the minimal facts support the resurrection? Gary Habermas & James Crossley part 1
Do the minimal facts support the resurrection? Gary Habermas & James Crossley part 2 (Q&A)
Why Didn’t Mary recognise Jesus?
Are There Contradictions in the Easter Account?
Investigating the resurrection of Jesus
Cold Case Resurrection with J Warner Wallace
The Resurrection Course with Gary Habermas
Are There Good Reasons to Believe in the Resurrection?
Was Jesus copied from a pagan myth? with Mary Jo sharp
Questions on the Sources for the Resurrection
A Key Reason Sceptics Reject the Resurrection
Evidence for the Historical Jesus | Gary Habermas
The Uniqueness of Christ Among the major world religions | Gary Habermas
The Resurrection of Jesus: A Rational Inquiry | Gary Habermas (Dissertation, 1976)
Extract – Ancient evidence for the life of Christ (The Historical Jesus) | Gary Habermas
Reinterpretations of the Historical Jesus (The Historical Jesus) | Gary Habermas