Christian Apologetics and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Dr. Simon Greenleaf is often cited in the field of Christian legal apologetics.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is critical to the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul wrote, "if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain" (I Cor:15:14). Traditionally, Christianity has believed in a physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Christian apologist Michael Horner of CRU has an excellent resource which offers a defense of the resurrection of Jesus Christ entitled Did Jesus really rise from the dead?. In addition, Dr. Gary Habermas offers an online audio library which defends the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Tim Chaffey of Answers in Genesis offers an excellent defense of Jesus's resurrection, as does GotQuestions.org.

In recent history, Dr. Gary Habermas is considered the foremost Christian apologist for defending the resurrection of Jesus. Dr. Habermas had a debate against the philosopher Antony Flew regarding the resurrection which was chronicled in the work Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? The Resurrection Debate and the debate had a panel of debate judges. J. Hampton Keathley, III, Th.M. in his essay Evidences for the Resurrection wrote: "The decision of the judges were as follows. The panel of philosophers judging content cast four votes for Habermas who argued for the fact of the resurrection, none for Flew, and one draw. The panel of professional debate judges voted three to two, also in favor of Habermas, this time regarding the method of argumentation technique."

In recent history some notable defenders of the resurrection include: William Lane Craig, Ben Witherington, Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, Edwin M. Yamauchi, N.T. Wright and Michael Horner.

Jesus Christ fulfilled the Bible's messianic prophecies

• How does Jesus Christ fulfill the messianice prophecies, Alex McFarland Ministries
• Did Jesus Fulfill Old Testament Prophecy? by Josh McDowell Ministries
• What are the odds surrounding Jesus Christ and messianic prophecy?, ChristianAnswers.net

Evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ

"The Resurrection" by Carl Heinrich Bloch.

See also: Evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ and Historicity of Jesus

Key evidences of the resurrection of Jesus Christ include:

1. Early accounts. The sources for Jesus are remarkably early, especially in comparison to sources for other ancient historical figures. The gospels were written relatively soon after the resurrection. Most of the Saint Paul’s letters were written previously to 60 A.D. Furthermore, Paul records an ancient creed in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, which notes the appearances of Jesus to both individuals and groups; this creed can be traced back to within a few years of the resurrection itself (this creed dates to 30-35 A.D.).

2. Multiple eyewitness accounts. There are 11 accounts of Jesus appearing after the resurrection to individuals/groups. According to 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, over 500 people saw Jesus alive after his resurrection, in addition to Peter, James, Paul, and the rest of Jesus's disciples. At the time Paul reported these events around 55 A.D., many of the individuals Jesus appeared to were still alive and could be spoken to (this was approximately 25 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection).

3. Extrabiblical Christian, Jewish and pagan accounts of the resurrection. For example, Josephus, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, etc.

4. Embarrassing details. Women's testimony was considered unreliable at the time of Jesus. The gospel accounts of Jesus's resurrection report that women were the first people to see Jesus appear from the tomb after the resurrection.

5. Enemy attestation. The Jews and Romans both claimed that Jesus's body was stolen as an excuse to explain away the resurrection. This however was not a credible excuse. The Roman seal was placed over the tomb of Jesus. The seal over the tomb designated that the tomb was occupied and both the power and authority of Rome stood behind the seal. Breaking the Roman seal was punishable by death.).

6. The empty tomb. The Romans, Jews, and Christians knew where Jesus was buried, but his body was never produced.

7. Explosive emergence and growth of the early church. See: Historical examples of the exponential growth of Christianity

8. Transformation of the apostles. The apostles of Jesus were transformed from being timid to being bold witnesses who were eventually martyred. Eyewitnesses don't die for a lie. It is almost universally accepted by historians that the disciples genuinely and firmly believed they had encountered the resurrected Jesus.

9. The conversion of the Apostle Paul. Paul was transformed from being a fervent persecutor of Christianity who killed Christians to being its most ardent supporter. Paul said he had encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus post Jesus's resurrection.

10. Expected event. Jesus foretold his resurrection ((That is why the tomb was guarded) and Old Testament prophecies alluded to it via messianic prophecies. Prior to the resurrection, Jesus was known as a miracle worker. See: Bible prophecy

The boldness of the early Christian church and the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ

See also: Christian apologetics and Evidential apologetics and Historicity of Jesus Christ

St. Paul defends his preaching (Giovanni Ricco)

Eric Lyons, M. Min. wrote about the explosive growth of early Christianity:

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To say that the first-century church was a growing church would be a major understatement. The early church did not merely grow; she exploded onto the scene and continued multiplying in number for many years. About 3,000 souls obeyed the Gospel the very day the church was born in Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago (Acts 2:41). To that number, “the Lord added…daily those who were being saved” (2:47). Despite attempts to stifle the preaching of Jesus and the growth of His church, “many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men1 came to be about five thousand” (Acts 4:4). “Believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women” (5:14). In Jerusalem, “the disciples multiplied greatly;” even “a great many” of the Jewish priests were “obedient to the faith” (6:7). In Samaria, “the multitudes with one accorded heeded the things spoken by Philip” (8:6); “both men and women were baptized” (8:12). Indeed, “the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria…continued to increase” (9:31, NASB). After Paul’s conversion to Christ, He took the Gospel to Cilicia where the young “churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily” (16:5). Later, “all who dwelt in Asia [Minor] heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks” (19:10). Even Paul’s enemies testified to how “throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people” from idolatry (19:26). Paul and his companions also carried the Gospel to Europe, where “a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women” joined them (17:4). And what did Paul learn upon his return to Jerusalem following his third missionary journey? That “many myriads of Jews” had come to believe in Jesus (21:20). That is, within less than 30 years, the Lord’s church had increased to become many tens of thousands of Christians strong... Luke, the physician and inspired writer of Acts, sets the “defense” tone from the very beginning of his brief history of the first 30 years of the Lord’s church. In the first sentence, He reminds his readers of his previous account (the Gospel of Luke), where he recorded those things that Jesus did and taught. In the very next sentence, he concisely, yet reasonably, addressed one critical piece of evidence that would be repeated throughout Acts9 and that lies at the heart of the Good News: Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. How did Luke briefly convey the resurrection of Christ? Was it merely an unverifiable “hope” that he communicated? Did he make an emotionally based appeal using flowery words? Not at all. From the very outset, Luke set an apologetic tone for the book of Acts. Luke indicated that to the apostles Jesus “presented Himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (1:3, ESV). Notice that Luke affirms that Jesus “presented” (parestasen) Himself alive. Jesus’ dead body was not stolen and buried elsewhere. He did not just escape the tomb to leave everyone in doubt about a possible resurrection. He “presented” or “showed” (NIV) Himself. Luke used this term 13 times in Acts, including in Acts 9:41 where, after God raised Dorcas from the dead, Luke noted that Peter “called the saints and widows” and “presented her alive” to them. He proved to them that she was no longer dead. Likewise, the once-lifeless body of the Lord rose from the dead, and then, over the next 40 days, Jesus repeatedly presented Himself alive to the apostles—offering “many proofs.”

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The John Ankerberg website notes:

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After Jesus’ death his apostles were scared, scattered, and skeptical. Only one, John, was at the crucifixion (John 19:26-27). The rest fled (Matt. 26:56). They also were skeptical. Mary, the first one to whom Jesus appeared, doubted, thinking she had seen a gardener (John 20:15). The disciples doubted the reports of the women (Luke 24:11). Some doubted until they saw Christ for themselves (John 20:25). One would not even believe when all the other apostles told them Christ had appeared to them. Two disciples on the road to Emmaus even doubted as they talked with Jesus, thinking he was a stranger (Luke 24:18). A few weeks [later] these very same men and women who had huddled in secret (John 20:19) were fearlessly and openly proclaiming the resurrection of Christ—even before the Sanhedrin that was responsible for Christ’s death (Acts 4-5). The only thing that can account for this immediate and miraculous change is that they were absolutely convinced they had encountered the bodily resurrected Christ.

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Christian legal apologetics

For more information please see: Christian legal apologetics

Legal scholars, legal authorities, and eminent lawyers such as Simon Greenleaf, John Warwick Montgomery, Lord Darling, John Singleton Copley, Hugo Grotius, Lord Caldecote, J. N. D. Anderson, Lionel Luckhoo, and many others have asserted that western legal standards argue for the resurrection of Christ.

Minimal facts on the resurrection of Jesus Christ that even skeptics scholars accept

• Minimal Facts on the Resurrection that Even Skeptics Accept by Gary Habermas
• The Minimal Facts Approach to the Resurrection of Jesus: The Role of Methodology as a Crucial Component in Establishing Historicity by Gary Habermas

See also

• Christian apologetics

External links

• 9 Evidences for the Resurrection of Jesus
• 4 Points of Evidence for the Resurrection
• What is the Proof and Evidence of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ?, Christianity.com
• 10 Concise Pieces of Evidence for the Resurrection

Videos:

• What are the proofs for the resurrection of Jesus?, Southern Seminary
• Evidence for the Resurrection (Dr. William Lane Craig)
• Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus, Interview with Dr. Gary Habermas
• The Resurrection Argument That Changed a Generation of Scholars by Gary Habermas