Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Is the Resurrection of Jesus Credible?

The Life Training Institute blog has a fantastic post today that poses the questions: "Are New Testament accounts of the resurrection reliable? Is the basic story line credible?" Here's a taste:

The NT shines better than any other document of antiquity. For example, the earliest biographical accounts of Alexander the Great were written nearly 400 years after his death, yet historians consider them generally reliable. The gospels, meanwhile, were written during the lifetime of the original eyewitnesses, long before there was time enough for legends to appear. In short, it would not have been easy to invent or distort the historical events of Christ's life when hostile (and living) eyewitnesses could easily refute the story. These eyewitnesses would not have allowed the disciples to lie or invent careless legends.

The disciples, meanwhile, proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus in the very city--Jerusalem--where He was crucified. Again, to disprove the disciples' claim, all the Jews and Romans had to do was produce the body of Jesus. After all, they knew exactly where he was buried. They couldn't do it. Contrast the compelling evidence of the empty tomb with legendary myths--like reported sightings of Elvis or JFK--which always transpire in a far-away place with virtually no reliable sources to verify the claims.

Check out the full post here.

1 comment:

TKB said...

I just read Lee Strobel's Case for Easter...it's an easy read and short, but really good. I'm putting you on my favorites...I check Kat's all the time and see you post there...btw, i think we're planning on going to the KBM reunion deal this summer