The Resurrection

The resurrection of Jesus is the basis for the Christian faith.  No resurrection, no Christian faith—it’s that simple according to the Apostle Paul, who wrote half the New Testament.  But how well does the resurrection stand up to historical scrutiny?

The Gospel accounts of Jesus’ burial and resurrection are found in:

Matthew 27:27 – 28:15,
Mark 15:42 – 16:8,
Luke 23:50 – 24:12, and
John 19:38 -20:18.

Here’s a presentation on the historical reliability of these accounts by Dr. William Lane Craig, in which he uses analytic philosophy to get at the truth of the resurrection.  If this sounds a bit intellectually over the top, check out our recent Apologetics 101 post where he explains the process—using logic, clear definition, and the careful enunciation of arguments, with an emphasis on the derivations of conclusions from premises.  It’s a lengthy video, packed full of sound reasoning, and well worth the time it takes to watch.

Backstory

So how did William Lane Craig, one of the greatest deep thinkers of our time, come to faith in Christ?  It must have been in response to the writings of someone like C.S. Lewis or Søren Kierkegaard, right?  Maybe he read classical theologians like Augustine of Hippo, or reformists like Martin Luther, John Calvin, or Thomas Aquinas?  Or maybe he read the Bible and found some special truth that appealed to his intellect?

Here’s Dr. Craig’s surprising answer (you just can’t make this stuff up).

He was “hit like a ton of bricks” by an annoyingly happy girl named Sandy.  Go figure.