SUMMATION
In this thread, I presented five facts that are accepted by professional New Testament scholars of all faith positions teaching at major universities throughout the western world. The Minimal Facts are:
1. Jesus died by crucifixion
http://atheistforums.org/thread-34162-po...#pid973916
2. Jesus' disciples believed that He rose and appeared to them
http://atheistforums.org/thread-34162-po...#pid975575
3. Saul, the persecutor of the Church, was suddenly changed
http://atheistforums.org/thread-34162-po...#pid980717
4. James, the skeptical brother of Jesus, was suddenly changed
http://atheistforums.org/thread-34162-po...#pid985969
5. Jesus' tomb was found to be empty
http://atheistforums.org/thread-34162-po...#pid988560
Taken together, these five facts provide an unmistakable series of signposts that point toward the logical conclusion that Jesus of Nazareth died on the cross, rose again, and appeared to his disciples—a sequence of events that radically altered their lives and changed the course of human history.
The Evidence Demands a Response
For the skeptic, it is insufficient to merely ignore or deny this evidence—a position which is on par with denying the holocaust or that men landed on the moon.
Apart from humorous attempts at comparing Jesus to Obi-Wan Kenobi or Elvis, no serious efforts have been made to refute or re-interpret the passages from the ancient Jewish and Roman historians cited by New Testament scholars in support of these facts. Those half-hearted (and half-baked) theories which have been suggested in order to explain (or explain away) these facts simply do not have the explanatory scope and power of the astounding claim that Jesus rose from the dead—just as He indicated that He would as evidence for His divinity.
Ironically, in the absence of an adequate alternative, the non-believer is forced to live with nagging doubt about his or her own beliefs that God does not exist.
In this thread, I presented five facts that are accepted by professional New Testament scholars of all faith positions teaching at major universities throughout the western world. The Minimal Facts are:
1. Jesus died by crucifixion
http://atheistforums.org/thread-34162-po...#pid973916
2. Jesus' disciples believed that He rose and appeared to them
http://atheistforums.org/thread-34162-po...#pid975575
3. Saul, the persecutor of the Church, was suddenly changed
http://atheistforums.org/thread-34162-po...#pid980717
4. James, the skeptical brother of Jesus, was suddenly changed
http://atheistforums.org/thread-34162-po...#pid985969
5. Jesus' tomb was found to be empty
http://atheistforums.org/thread-34162-po...#pid988560
Taken together, these five facts provide an unmistakable series of signposts that point toward the logical conclusion that Jesus of Nazareth died on the cross, rose again, and appeared to his disciples—a sequence of events that radically altered their lives and changed the course of human history.
The Evidence Demands a Response
For the skeptic, it is insufficient to merely ignore or deny this evidence—a position which is on par with denying the holocaust or that men landed on the moon.
Apart from humorous attempts at comparing Jesus to Obi-Wan Kenobi or Elvis, no serious efforts have been made to refute or re-interpret the passages from the ancient Jewish and Roman historians cited by New Testament scholars in support of these facts. Those half-hearted (and half-baked) theories which have been suggested in order to explain (or explain away) these facts simply do not have the explanatory scope and power of the astounding claim that Jesus rose from the dead—just as He indicated that He would as evidence for His divinity.
Ironically, in the absence of an adequate alternative, the non-believer is forced to live with nagging doubt about his or her own beliefs that God does not exist.
