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This is part 5 of the Why Christianity class.

How would you go about convincing someone that the resurrection of Jesus actually happened?  Now, what if that person didn't recognize the scriptures as inspired by God.  How would you go about making a case for Jesus' resurrection in that kind of scenario?  In this presentation, you learn four key pieces of historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, including (1) the honorable burial, (2) the empty tomb, (3) appearances, and (4) resurrection belief.  You'll also become familiar with competing theories and how to respond to them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uax_VwrUS94

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Honorable Burial-----------------1. multiple, early, independent sources say he was buried in a known marked tomb (1 Cor. 15.4, Mark 15.46, John 19.42) 2. Joseph of Arimathea is unlikely to be a Christian invention since he is not one of the disciples, but a member of the Sanhedrin, the very body that condemned Jesus3. no competing burial story exists (even enemies never claimed a common grave or that Joseph’s grave was inaccurate)

Empty Tomb-----------1. several independent sources attest to empty tomb (Mark 16.6, Luke 24.5/Acts 13.29-31, John 20.2)2. a movement founded on Jesus’ resurrection could not get far if his body was still in a known tomb…otherwise early opponents could just bring Jesus’ corpse out disproving resurrection3. that women first discovered the empty tomb is unlikely a Christian invention since Josephus tells us women weren’t even allowed to serve as legal witnesses in a court of law4. the Gospels lack marks of legendary development and theologizing in the resurrection narratives (cp. to Gospel of Peter)5. the earliest Jewish polemic, “His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep” (Matthew 28.13) presupposes an empty tomb

Appearances-----------1. the early creed of 1 Cor. 15.3-7 contains a list of eyewitnesses2. the Gospel appearance narratives contain earmarks of eyewitness testimony and their divergences exclude the possibility of collusion3. that the disciples failed to anticipate or believe in Jesus’ resurrection even after they found out about the empty tomb is unlikely to be a Christian invention4. James & Paul both did not believe in Jesus as Messiah, but became leaders in the church after they claimed they saw him

Resurrection Belief--------------------1. belief that God raised Jesus from the dead is unlikely to be a Chr