The resurrection did not really happen?
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Jesus.Freak
Apr 2, 2006, 11:12:24 AM4/2/06
to We R Jesus Freaks
The resurrection did not really happen.
The questioner has two problems in mind:
-The New Testament story is unreliable.
-Miracles are hard to accept in a scientific age.
The first problem can be answered from Section 5. The second demands a
scientific study of the facts without any assumptions as to whether
miracles do or do not happen.
INITIAL CHALLENGE
"I am interested that you should say that because it shows you have
been thinking about these things. What makes you come to that
conclusion? Have you ever Investigated the evidence?"
THE BIBLICAL BASIS
What happened? Four facts:
-The prophecy of Jesus. Jesus said in advance that He would rise again
three days after his death, Luke 18: 31-33. But the disciples did not
believe Him at all.
-The empty tomb. The tomb was empty. Matt. 28: 6, even though heavily
guarded, Matt. 27: 62-66. Anyone in Jerusalem could visit it in order
to see for himself
-The appearances of Jesus. Jesus appeared to his disciples in a variety
of situations, e.g. in the upper room, on the road to Emmaus.
-The changed disciples. The disciples were turned within four weeks
from beaten men into world revolutionaries described as "those who have
turned the world upside down". Acts 17: 6. A great effect demands a
great cause.
Who took the body? Four wrong explanations:
-The Romans? They wanted to close the whole affair. Pontius Pilate
washed his hands of all responsibility.
-The Jews? They put a guard on the tomb. Later they must have moved
heaven and earth to find the body of Jesus and suppress this Christian
story of resurrection.
-The Disciples? "They invented the whole thing." But soon they suffered
terribly for their "fiction". Men give up their deceptions when they
become unprofitable.
-The Disciples? "They were fooled by hallucinations." Psychologists
tell us that hallucinations depend upon a spirit of positive
expectancy; but on the contrary the disciples were convinced that
everything was finished. They were just not thinking wishfully. In
addition, Jesus' appearances were very solid (not "ghost-like") and
came in a wide variety of circumstances.
The only adequate explanation:
-The only explanation to fit the facts is that God raised Jesus Christ
from the dead and that He is truly alive.
ILLUSTRATION
Many men have set out to prove that the Resurrection never happened.
One was a journalist, Frank Morrison, who wrote the well-known book
"WHO MOVED THE STONE?" His first chapter is entitled. "The Book that
Would Not be Written". In it he says that he set out to write a book to
prove that Jesus never rose again and that the facts compelled him to
reverse his convictions, and he wrote his book to prove that Jesus did
rise from the dead.
The questioner has two problems in mind:
-The New Testament story is unreliable.
-Miracles are hard to accept in a scientific age.
The first problem can be answered from Section 5. The second demands a
scientific study of the facts without any assumptions as to whether
miracles do or do not happen.
INITIAL CHALLENGE
"I am interested that you should say that because it shows you have
been thinking about these things. What makes you come to that
conclusion? Have you ever Investigated the evidence?"
THE BIBLICAL BASIS
What happened? Four facts:
-The prophecy of Jesus. Jesus said in advance that He would rise again
three days after his death, Luke 18: 31-33. But the disciples did not
believe Him at all.
-The empty tomb. The tomb was empty. Matt. 28: 6, even though heavily
guarded, Matt. 27: 62-66. Anyone in Jerusalem could visit it in order
to see for himself
-The appearances of Jesus. Jesus appeared to his disciples in a variety
of situations, e.g. in the upper room, on the road to Emmaus.
-The changed disciples. The disciples were turned within four weeks
from beaten men into world revolutionaries described as "those who have
turned the world upside down". Acts 17: 6. A great effect demands a
great cause.
Who took the body? Four wrong explanations:
-The Romans? They wanted to close the whole affair. Pontius Pilate
washed his hands of all responsibility.
-The Jews? They put a guard on the tomb. Later they must have moved
heaven and earth to find the body of Jesus and suppress this Christian
story of resurrection.
-The Disciples? "They invented the whole thing." But soon they suffered
terribly for their "fiction". Men give up their deceptions when they
become unprofitable.
-The Disciples? "They were fooled by hallucinations." Psychologists
tell us that hallucinations depend upon a spirit of positive
expectancy; but on the contrary the disciples were convinced that
everything was finished. They were just not thinking wishfully. In
addition, Jesus' appearances were very solid (not "ghost-like") and
came in a wide variety of circumstances.
The only adequate explanation:
-The only explanation to fit the facts is that God raised Jesus Christ
from the dead and that He is truly alive.
ILLUSTRATION
Many men have set out to prove that the Resurrection never happened.
One was a journalist, Frank Morrison, who wrote the well-known book
"WHO MOVED THE STONE?" His first chapter is entitled. "The Book that
Would Not be Written". In it he says that he set out to write a book to
prove that Jesus never rose again and that the facts compelled him to
reverse his convictions, and he wrote his book to prove that Jesus did
rise from the dead.
"If Jesus really rose again, then all He said is true. He can change
your life. He is God's answer to your need and there is nothing more
important than your relationship to Him. Let us look at the Third Law
which deals with this."
We would love to have you join us in our group
We R Jesus Freaks we love to talk about life and what is to come..
Thanks Brother Ted
http://groups.google.com/group/We-R-Jesus-Freaks
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