Resurrection Introduction

 In my next blog post series, I will address the resurrection of Jesus, using Gary Habermas's Limited Facts argument. By using certain minimal facts that all scholars grant, he builds a case for the resurrection. These facts primarily settle on the writings of the Apostle Paul Particularly 1 Corinthians 15 1-9 and the historicity of the early church. The writings of Paul will be the seven books that even those who are critical of the New Testament, believe are authentic and accurate. 

However, those scholars who are critical of the New Testament must also meet certain criteria. They must hold a terminal degree (Ph.D.) in a related New Testament field, be considered an expert, and be published. One would think that there would not be many who meet such standards. However, there are hundreds of people such as Bart Ehrman, who fit that mold.

It must be understood that this is a rather intense subject and my little writings don't even begin to scratch the surface of its complexities. Hence, I will only be concentrating on a few reasons, but rest assured there are many more. In fact, Dr. Habermas has written what he refers to as his "Magnum Opus" on this subject, totaling over five thousand pages. 

These are the following items I will be covering:

1. Lack of Credible Alternative Explanation

2. Post-Resurrection Appearances 

3. Early Conversion of Paul

4. Continued Existence of the Early Church

5. Martyrdom of Early Christians

6. Early dating of the Resurrection

7. Transformed nature of the Apostles

8. Conversion of James


Suffice to say, this is a very complex subject with points and counterpoints. What I've attempted to do is put my biases aside and present Habermas's case in an extremely condensed yet very informative version.

There of course are opponents to this view, and I'll be covering them in a later blog post. 

For more in-depth information, I recommend Dr. Habermas's YouTube Channel,  https://www.youtube.com/@garyhabermas1473

I can't stress the importance of the resurrection, it is the cornerstone of Christianity and without it, our belief is in vain.



Bro. Scott

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