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The crux of the matter of all thought and ideas about religions centers on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ rose bodily from His death at the cross, as accounted by the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), then any question as to the validity of Christianity or of Jesus Christ and His words is futile and irrational. Jesus Christ made bold statements such as the only way to avoid eternal ruin and enter eternal life is to believe His claim to being almighty God and the promised Messiah from Hebrew Scriptures. As such, these words need to be taken seriously if Jesus did, in fact, rise from the dead. If the opposite is true, then Jesus was a lunatic and as such we should ignore His words. To build a case for the historicity of the resurrection, certain foundational truths and the context of the historical period of Roman occupied Judea are important.
I. Historicity of Jesus Christ: The gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) themselves provide detailed accounts of Jesus Christ, and the thousands of copies circulated in many locations/languages make these four books the best historical books that mankind has in terms of 1) number of copies, 2) short time lag from key events to being written (i.e., written 20-30 years after the events), 3) earliest copy/extract in our possession is circa 125 A.D. The Gospels also document the key political makeup of the day, taking note of the Roman and Jewish leaders of the day. The Gospels record the key customs and rituals of the day along with going into detail about the weather and topography of the region. Based on this, there is no reason to disregard the Gospels as history and mere inventions of mythology as there was not enough time for a myth to develop (which usually takes two or more generations at the very least).
There are also non-Christian and unbiased historical texts which claim that Jesus existed. Take Tacitus, born in 56 A.D. and Roman consul in the senate and later governor of Asia, in his work "The Annals of Imperial Rome" who wrote that Christus (Christ) lived during the reign of Tiberius and suffered a horrible fate at the hands of Pontus Pilate, Roman Procurator of Judea. Tacitus goes on to claim that Christians are an evil to mankind, and should be eradicated. As such, he holds a hostile position against Christianity and his statements represent an unbiased historical evidence for Jesus. IF Jesus did not exist, Tacitus would have mentioned this as his work represents a first-class historical document and would have been read by other reputable Roman historians/senators of his day. Also, since at this time Rome was in the business of discrediting Christianity and trying to halt its influence on the populace, Tactius would have mentioned how Jesus' body was stolen by the disciples or that it was subsequently discovered upon a Roman investigation into the matter (which would have been easy considering the resources and reach of its armed forces). However this is not the case.
II. The resurrection of Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ is arguably the most influential person of all history, however, to this day we cannot locate nor do we have a remote clue what happened to His body. If Jesus did exist, which is proven in section I above, then he died and was subsequently buried. As such, His body would either be on earth to this day or as claimed by His disciples risen. The Jews and Romans of the 1st century who opposed Christianity could have stopped the movement before it started if they could retrieve the body or prove what happened to it. Both the Jews and Romans had more resources and military might than the first century Christians and such could have overwhelmed them with a proper investigation and by force. Yet, both the Jews and Romans could not accomplish this.
The only other logical conclusion is that the disciples banded together and with little money, arms, or manpower, stole the body of Jesus to start a movement (i.e., Christianity). However, this position is weak on two grounds:1) throughout history, the sudden death of a leader has stopped movements from continuing. The death of many cult leaders have disbanded cults and have had made its members disband (albeit in sorrow). The death/capture of certain historical leaders, such as Mussolini and Hitler disbanded the fascist, Nazi era after WWII. As such, it is in the nature of man to become demoralized once a death of the leader of the movement proves that the movement was false and based on the wrong ideals. The disciples themselves disbanded and fled from Jesus at His arrest probably for the same reasons. However, they became abnormally bold after His resurrection. 2) The disciples could not have taken on Roman soldiers in open combat to steal the body of Jesus. After His death, the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day pleaded with Pilate to post Roman troops at the entrance of the tomb to prevent His body from being stolen. The disciples probably had side-arms and some swords, but could not take on the highly disciplined and well armed troops in Rome. Roman soldiers took an oath and would face the death penalty if they slept on duty.
III. Conclusion: It is logical to infer that Jesus did rise from the dead and His words are true based on I and II above. By believing in this you may have life and avoid judgment. Amen.
I. Historicity of Jesus Christ: The gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) themselves provide detailed accounts of Jesus Christ, and the thousands of copies circulated in many locations/languages make these four books the best historical books that mankind has in terms of 1) number of copies, 2) short time lag from key events to being written (i.e., written 20-30 years after the events), 3) earliest copy/extract in our possession is circa 125 A.D. The Gospels also document the key political makeup of the day, taking note of the Roman and Jewish leaders of the day. The Gospels record the key customs and rituals of the day along with going into detail about the weather and topography of the region. Based on this, there is no reason to disregard the Gospels as history and mere inventions of mythology as there was not enough time for a myth to develop (which usually takes two or more generations at the very least).
There are also non-Christian and unbiased historical texts which claim that Jesus existed. Take Tacitus, born in 56 A.D. and Roman consul in the senate and later governor of Asia, in his work "The Annals of Imperial Rome" who wrote that Christus (Christ) lived during the reign of Tiberius and suffered a horrible fate at the hands of Pontus Pilate, Roman Procurator of Judea. Tacitus goes on to claim that Christians are an evil to mankind, and should be eradicated. As such, he holds a hostile position against Christianity and his statements represent an unbiased historical evidence for Jesus. IF Jesus did not exist, Tacitus would have mentioned this as his work represents a first-class historical document and would have been read by other reputable Roman historians/senators of his day. Also, since at this time Rome was in the business of discrediting Christianity and trying to halt its influence on the populace, Tactius would have mentioned how Jesus' body was stolen by the disciples or that it was subsequently discovered upon a Roman investigation into the matter (which would have been easy considering the resources and reach of its armed forces). However this is not the case.
II. The resurrection of Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ is arguably the most influential person of all history, however, to this day we cannot locate nor do we have a remote clue what happened to His body. If Jesus did exist, which is proven in section I above, then he died and was subsequently buried. As such, His body would either be on earth to this day or as claimed by His disciples risen. The Jews and Romans of the 1st century who opposed Christianity could have stopped the movement before it started if they could retrieve the body or prove what happened to it. Both the Jews and Romans had more resources and military might than the first century Christians and such could have overwhelmed them with a proper investigation and by force. Yet, both the Jews and Romans could not accomplish this.
The only other logical conclusion is that the disciples banded together and with little money, arms, or manpower, stole the body of Jesus to start a movement (i.e., Christianity). However, this position is weak on two grounds:1) throughout history, the sudden death of a leader has stopped movements from continuing. The death of many cult leaders have disbanded cults and have had made its members disband (albeit in sorrow). The death/capture of certain historical leaders, such as Mussolini and Hitler disbanded the fascist, Nazi era after WWII. As such, it is in the nature of man to become demoralized once a death of the leader of the movement proves that the movement was false and based on the wrong ideals. The disciples themselves disbanded and fled from Jesus at His arrest probably for the same reasons. However, they became abnormally bold after His resurrection. 2) The disciples could not have taken on Roman soldiers in open combat to steal the body of Jesus. After His death, the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day pleaded with Pilate to post Roman troops at the entrance of the tomb to prevent His body from being stolen. The disciples probably had side-arms and some swords, but could not take on the highly disciplined and well armed troops in Rome. Roman soldiers took an oath and would face the death penalty if they slept on duty.
III. Conclusion: It is logical to infer that Jesus did rise from the dead and His words are true based on I and II above. By believing in this you may have life and avoid judgment. Amen.
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