Turning The Stone: The Truth Behind The Resurrection

In Christian Theology, Christians believe that there is an afterlife. After they die, their body is either buried or cremated and their unique soul enters Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory. Their belief that Jesus rose from the dead three days after crucifixion, gives them hope that if they follow Jesus’ teachings and make him their Lord and Savior than they too will experience a resurrection in the afterlife . Jesus’ incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection gave all Christians hope that life after death is possible.

The resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of Christianity and it is all that Christianity stands upon, consequently, should the resurrection be proven to be false Christianity will fall like a pack of cards. As previously stated the resurrection of Jesus is an objectively testable truth as such, they are facts that are tangible, objective in them and can be proven or tested. Although you may know theories that are against the resurrection of Jesus, however, they are flawed unproven theories. I will present six incontrovertible proofs for the resurrection of Jesus.

However this opinion may not necessarily be true. The base of many theories of resurrection is the bible, which suggests that

Still, the resurrection of Jesus Christ has been under persistent attacks since the Apostolic age. Why? Because it is the central confirmation of Jesus' identity as the incarnate Son of God, and the ultimate sign of Christ's completed work of atonement, redemption, reconciliation, and salvation. Those who oppose

Many people ridicule Christians for believing in a man who resurrected from the dead. They laugh at Christians and criticize them for basing their faith on an event that lack proof and evidence. However, the evidence that skeptics use to challenge the Christian faith, in actuality, support the claims that Jesus truly was the God that he claimed to be. The evidence that affirms Jesus’ claims to be true include his lifestyle and teachings, the prophecies that he fulfilled, historical facts, and the dramatic transformation of the lives of his disciples. Many may ask Christians how they can believe in a Savior without proof of his divinity; but, in reality, God has given us an abundance of signs. He is still providing us with compelling evidence

He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God”(The Holy Bible). The history and the facts of Christ are very important to the Christian faith. If Christ had never been resurrected from the dead, then the whole Christian religion would be false (“History of Christianity”). 1 Corinthians 15:14 explains, “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain”(The Holy Bible). The resurrection of Christ is extremely important to Christians, because the resurrection proves what they believe, giving purpose to their lives. “About 32 percent of people in the world, or 2.1 billion individuals, describe themselves as Christians. Some Christians believe that only those who are 'born again ' can claim to be Christians, which is why the number tends to fluctuate”(King).

The Christian religion finds its foundation on the Word of God and the work of Jesus Christ. Christianity finds its beginnings with Jesus Christ about 2,000 years ago. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came down to earth to teach, heal, and die for the sins of humanity. When God created man, he openly rebelled against God, causing a rift in their relationship. Since humans cannot save themselves, a perfect and completely innocent sacrifice was necessary in order to purify and restore mankind. Christianity is all about Jesus’ death and resurrection, as well as denying oneself and following Christ.

We read about this in (Ephesians 1:19-21 NLT, as well as in Romans 6:4: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life).” In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we see the clear demonstration of the power of the true God. (Ephesians 1:19-21) tells us that it is the power of our heavenly Father that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Our salvation depends on our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In (Romans 10:9, we are told how to be saved. It says that “if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be

The resurrection of Jesus himself is a concept that is hard to believe. How can a man come back to life, and why is this the first time this has happened? Jesus was not written about till after his death. The gospels were told by Jesus’ apostles and their recollection of Jesus and his teachings. The Council of Nicaea were Christian theologians who decided which stories about Jesus to include in the Bible. The Council of Nicaea left out the Gnostic gospels “hidden knowledge” which talked about Jesus’s early childhood. Why should we believe the council when they left out the parts of Jesus’ life they did not agree with.“Even those whose hearts were inclined to accept the new faith required some intellectual satisfaction before they were willing to commit: How can God be three separate beings- God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit- and one indivisible being at the same time? If Jesus is “coeternal” with God, why is there no mention of him in the two thousand-year tradition of Hebrew writings? If Jesus is the divine Son of God, how could he experience such human emotions as temptation, fear, and loneliness?” 1 (pg. 229)

Here are a few of the challenges Christians face about this topic. The first is some claim that the only document he is written in is the New Testament. This is false as he is included in several other writings including Suetonius and Tacitus. It is much easier for people to question his existence 2,000 years after his death because he is not here to prove them wrong, but he was there to prove them wrong 2,000 years ago. Not once was the question ever brought up if Jesus existed 2,000 years ago. This is because they were there with him with proof in front of them. Another reason to support the claim he did exist is the way the Jews described Jesus in the Gospels. He was depicted as weak and as infamous to the Jews by being hung on the cross. Jews wouldn’t logically depict their God this

The evidence in the Gospels is convincing and eye opening. What makes it more convincing is the accounts of eye witnesses. Looking at the seven signs that John speaks of the first one starting with John 2:1-11 when Jesus turned water into wine, John 4:46-53 Jesus heals the sick, John 5:1-29 Jesus heals on the Sabbath, John 6:1-14 Jesus feeds the multitude, John 6:16-24 Jesus walks on water, John 9:1-12 Jesus heals the blind, and John 11:1-44 Jesus raises the dead. People followed Him believing that Jesus was the predicted prophet of Messiah that had been sent in human form to show

A quote from Sherri Sheared, an article writer, Says, “I believe that Jesus died for my sins, and rose again, and that's my belief” (1). Jesus was a giving man and he lead religion in a positive way for many people. In this article surveys say that Jesus really did exist on this earth at one time. The statistics say that he was a healer just like the bible said. Jesus was also a helper to anyone in need; therefore, he was the child of God. Although some people do not think Jesus is real, research shows that he did exist and he walked the earth at one point changing the perspective of how people saw him.

Gary Habermas in The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus calls this the minimal facts approach. “The minimal facts approach considers only the data that meets two criteria: 1. The data are strongly evidenced 2. The data are granted by virtually all scholars on the subject, even the skeptical ones.” On the basis of this approach, four different arguments will be examined for the resurrection of Christ in this paper.

There is a lot of evidence which point to the truth of Christianity. If the resurrection of Jesus truly occurred, then Jesus is God the son. If the resurrection did not occur, then he is not God the son.

As with most other Pauline attributed documents, 1 Corinthians is believed to be a single document that addresses salient topics and rationalizes Paul’s view of faithfulness to Christ with Corinth citizens. The newly founded church of Corinth was in correspondence with Paul requesting his answers to questions they posed on topics ranging from marriage to the resurrection of the dead; the latter being one of the most highlighted in 1 Corinthians. Paul’s assurance of resurrection illustrates a concern for Corinth as he admonishes their disbelief in resurrection of the dead with a series of explanations as to why such doubt would render the faith of Christ “in vain”. Given the context of the time, Paul’s correspondence with Corinth clearly