Theories on the Resurrection
"...I am the first and the last, and the living One...I am alive forevermore..." - Revelation 1:17-18
Do you want to disprove Christianity?
The key to doing this is to prove that Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead. You prove that and Christianity is a joke.
In the 1930's, a British lawyer by the name of Frank Morrison took on that challenge. He was convinced the resurrection was a myth. Using his skills as a lawyer, he sought to do the world a favor by exposing this fraud once and for all.
He began to study the evidence, examining it just as he would in court. In the course of his work, an amazing thing occurred. This skeptic began to realize the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus was so strong it had to be true. As a result, the first chapter of his book, Who Moved the Stone?, was titled "The Book That Refused to Be Written."
How about you? Have you examined the evidence objectively? I urge you to consider the evidence, then decide--fact or fiction?
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15 Comments
His name is Frank Marison (one R) and the ISBN for his book, Who Moved the Stone?, is 0310295610 and can be found @ amazon.com here:
http://www.amazon.com/Who-Moved-Stone-Frank-Morison/dp/0310295610/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205066272&sr=1-1
- David
Fiction. - Erik
i dont agree with this devotion because christianty and the resurrection of jesus christ are as real as you and i. - haley
Haley, the devotion is not saying that the life of Christ is fiction, it is just trying to get you to decide in your heart how you believe. I do believe that Christ is the Son of God and that he is the only way to heaven. I know some will say that they believe he is fiction and that is between them and whatever they think they will answer to. I still dont know why if someone doesn't believe the Bible why do they bother logging on to this site. It looks like they would look for a site that they do belive in and let the ones of us who do believe alone. - Jerry
Please do not discourage the skeptics who search this site. They know enough to at least keep seeking something they sense they do not have. They try to understand why we believers can be so "gullible". They look for proof that would never satisfy if they ever found it. Because the problem is not in "proof", it is their desparate need for a tiny mustard seed-sized faith they are too fearful to ask for. This mysterious faith, He would give them gladly, if only they would let go of their pride and ask for it humbly of Him. I know, because I once was one such skeptic. Thank God now, He is with me daily, and I know that I know in my deepest heart & soul, He lives! - marti mastbrook
One of the things I think is really insightful about atheists is their ability to so easily dismiss the resurrection. Like anybody today, living 2000 years after this happened, can say, "Sorry all you witnesses, but I, living 2000 years later, can tell you that you are a bunch of liars. None of the things you say you saw actually happened." For a belief system (atheism) that touts evidence and reason as its main virtues, why do they abandon all the evidence and reason behind the resurrection? Because normal people cannot rise from the dead? That's Jesus's point in doing it... - Austin
Well "Spoken" Austin. I think it deserves a response from someone like Erik... - waiting....
...like anyone living today can say with any certainty what happened 2000 years ago in Jerusalem. All we have are wildly contradictory stories written 30+ years after the
events supposedly happened. - Erik
I welcome Erik's comments. While they are sarcastic at times, he is generally not hostile and he seems like a reasonable person. Christians need to hear the objections against Christianity, and that there are good answers to those objections. If we have a holy huddle, then we will not grow in our ability to defend the faith. I also pray, though, that you will some day come around Erik, and really take a hard look at the evidence with an open mind.
As far as thirty years after the event, that is unprecedented, and there are good arguments for even earlier dating on some. Even at thirty years, that is much closer to the events than the documents for other historical events we all take for granted. Historians hold the accounts of Jesus up to much higher scrutiny than other historical accounts. Yet they agree in many key areas: Jesus was a real person, he was known as a faith healer and miracle worker, he was crucified under Pontius Pilot, he was buried by a historical figure called Joseph of Arimethea, his tomb was found empty, and his followers claim to have seen him alive afterwards.
Historians also agree that the biblical documents are quite historically accurate in many other details. The reason they do not believe all of the events is because they have theological undertones and they contain supernatural events. But, if you at all think there is a possibility that there is a God who created the universe, there should be no reason that you would not consider the possibility that the accounts in the bible are true. Surely, raising Jesus from the dead would be trivial compared to creating the universe. - Rick Y
All you have to do is want to believe, open your heart and ask God to enter in. He will show you the way. I see both the points below, why do non christians enter this site but at the same time, one of these devotions or responses might just be the one to turn his heart to God and our living saviour Jesus Christ. What do you think Erik? - I believe
When I said 30 years I was being charitable. Even conservative scholars date the Gospels as >35 years after the death of Jesus (if he existed). John may have been written as late as AD 100. The legends about Jesus are endlessly fascinating but they don't provide much more than a few tantalizing clues about who he was.
Nobody knows what really happened. Let not your heart be troubled though. That's why they call it "faith" rather than knowledge. - Erik
Conservative scholars date Mark in the 60s, and many put the date in the 50s. Even the Jesus Seminar dates John in 85 to 90.
If he existed? You're not serious? The most liberal of scholars agree that Jesus was a historical person. You're trying to make me feel bad for calling you reasonable, right? - Rick Y
I won't quibble about the dates. It doesn't really matter. The Gospels are written by anonymous persons who were not eyewitnesses, about events that happened 30-60 years previous. They are contradictory and anachronistic.
As far as Jesus goes it's possible that he was a historicized myth. Not the most likely scenario, but definitely possible. The same is true of the Buddha and Socrates. Just no way to know for certain. - Erik
There are oral traditions in the early creeds that go back to when Paul first visited Jerusalem five years after the crucifixion that clearly state Jesus died for our sins, was buried, was raised on the third day, and made appearances to hundreds of people. I would hope you would agree that it would be very unlikely that Jesus is a myth, even if you believe nothing more about him.
As far as inconsistencies in the gospels, most of those that are usually mentioned are easily resolved. We are talking about independent accounts and not all details will be mentioned or mentioned in the same way. If they were too similar, one might think there was collusion. Yet, they contain many details that do not necessarily need to be part of the narrative and some details that are quite embarrassing, which would not be put in or kept in the story if they were made up. Even if I granted you that they are all true inconsistencies, which I do not believe, they are in peripheral details, and not the main points of the account. - Rick Y
Faith vs. Knowledge
Step 1 vs. Step 2.
The Holy Spirit makes that transition from step 1 to step 2 - David