Absolutely key to the Christian Gospel is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Imagine a scenario in which the truth of the Gospel were to be investigated through a court of law. Imagine a string of witnesses being called to testify of their eyewitness accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. Imagine another load of witnesses testifying second hand accounts of this miracle, friends of friends who didn't see it but knew and vouchsafed for the honesty integrity and sanity of those eyewitnesses. Now imagine prosecuting attorneys invalidating many of these first and second order witnesses, thereby stripping down many attestations to a miracle to just a few. The bulk of the testimonies have been thrown out of court as "inadmissable" and the job is now to make a convincing case for Christ from what remains.
In his book "The Case For Christ" one time skeptic and investigative journalist Lee Strobel is on a case. We take this up from his book on page 305. ("The Case for Christ"- Lee Strobel, Zondervan Books 1998)
In the following video post we join Gary Habermas, Ph.D, D.D as he gives a 80 minute defense of the resurrection. In this video he recounts some personal history. He was just awarded the privilege of using the historicity of the resurrection as a basis for his doctoral dissertation, a requirement of some 180 pages minimum, which in fact ended at over 300 pages. But- as a parting shot as Habermas left to begin this already daunting task- one of his examiners put a great caveat on what he was allowed to work from. Only those portions of scripture which were "vindicated" by higher criticism were to be admissible in his evidence for the resurrection. If the picture isn't graphic enough, imagine tearing out great chunks of the New Testament and then having to piece together enough verification for the resurrection to be utterly convincing from what remains. Rather than a deterrent to faith this has become a great testament not only to the scholarship of Habermas but a victory also to the veracity of the resurrection, without which we would still be dead in our trespasses and sins. This video is hosted by the Veritas Forum, a place for excellent video resources covering a wide variety of subjects.
Imagine a scenario in which the truth of the Gospel were to be investigated through a court of law. Imagine a string of witnesses being called to testify of their eyewitness accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. Imagine another load of witnesses testifying second hand accounts of this miracle, friends of friends who didn't see it but knew and vouchsafed for the honesty integrity and sanity of those eyewitnesses. Now imagine prosecuting attorneys invalidating many of these first and second order witnesses, thereby stripping down many attestations to a miracle to just a few. The bulk of the testimonies have been thrown out of court as "inadmissable" and the job is now to make a convincing case for Christ from what remains.
In his book "The Case For Christ" one time skeptic and investigative journalist Lee Strobel is on a case. We take this up from his book on page 305. ("The Case for Christ"- Lee Strobel, Zondervan Books 1998)
'As my flight gently banked over the wooded hills below, I was doing some last minute reading of a book by Michael Martin, the Boston University professor who has sought to discredit Christianity. I smiled at his words: "Perhaps the most sophisticated defense of the resurrection to date has been produced by Gary Habermas"'
In the following video post we join Gary Habermas, Ph.D, D.D as he gives a 80 minute defense of the resurrection. In this video he recounts some personal history. He was just awarded the privilege of using the historicity of the resurrection as a basis for his doctoral dissertation, a requirement of some 180 pages minimum, which in fact ended at over 300 pages. But- as a parting shot as Habermas left to begin this already daunting task- one of his examiners put a great caveat on what he was allowed to work from. Only those portions of scripture which were "vindicated" by higher criticism were to be admissible in his evidence for the resurrection. If the picture isn't graphic enough, imagine tearing out great chunks of the New Testament and then having to piece together enough verification for the resurrection to be utterly convincing from what remains. Rather than a deterrent to faith this has become a great testament not only to the scholarship of Habermas but a victory also to the veracity of the resurrection, without which we would still be dead in our trespasses and sins. This video is hosted by the Veritas Forum, a place for excellent video resources covering a wide variety of subjects.
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