If They Discovered the Body. . .

[jimmyjimmy]

But it doesn't contain a question mark. It is therefore not a question.

The Resurrection of the Dead
12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

OK. Whatever you say.

 

[Jamsie]

As I noted 1 Cor.15:14 and the surrounding verses give context to the hypothetical question in the OP. Paul addresses the question of Jesus not the question of God. It should also be understood that if we are called to "defend/give answer to" (1 Peter 3:15) our faith then it can be logically assumed that any answer would be in response to a questioning of the reliability of Jesus Christ in some manner. A sure defense of our faith requires the asking ourselves to wrestle with and answer the tough questions posed to us.

 

[JackRT]

It would confirm what I have long suspected but it would not make me any less a follower of Jesus.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

As I noted 1 Cor.15:14 and the surrounding verses give context to the hypothetical question in the OP. Paul addresses the question of Jesus not the question of God. It should also be understood that if we are called to "defend/give answer to" (1 Peter 3:15) our faith then it can be logically assumed that any answer would be in response to a questioning of the reliability of Jesus Christ in some manner. A sure defense of our faith requires the asking ourselves to wrestle with and answer the tough questions posed to us.

Right! Christianity is (theoreticllay) falsifiable, and I hesitate to use that term, because if people don't understand what a hypothetical question is, they certainly aren't going to understand what I mean by that term, so I'll expect a massive derailment.

 

[Wolfe]

There is a very important word in the OP: "If"

Well a What If question has to have some logical meaning behind it, if you're going to use it to prove a point, or pose a question.
Finding the body of Jesus would literately be impossible, we wouldn't know his skull from another mans skull, and it's not like we have his DnA on file.
So the question is entirely humorous, in which case I don't find it a good use of my time, or healthy to entertain it.

So the question has no relevance to me, and really shouldn't to anyone, in regards to faith.
I can't generate a genuine reaction out of an impossible situation.

 

[I'm_Sorry]

What if there was no physical reality? That there is no-thing? Hypothetically,

Discuss, you/we being a thing.

It's impossible.

 

[devin553344]

Good for you. So do I. How does that pertain to the OP?

I believe in Jesus the Christ and that makes me a Christian. The OP clearly does not.

[edit] To believe in Jesus the Christ, means to believe his every word. Then you must believe he is risen.

 

[lesliedellow]

If the body of Christ were discovered, if He weren't raised, but simply died and was buried, what would be your response? How would the news change your life, if at all?

My first response would to be highly sceptical, and to think that the militant atheists had well and truly over reached themselves.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

I believe in Jesus the Christ and that makes me a Christian. The OP clearly does not.

[edit] To believe in Jesus the Christ, means to believe his every word. Then you must believe he is risen.

I do believe He is risen. What does that have to do with the OP?

 

[S.O.J.I.A.]

i'm starting to think people believe jimmyjimmy is a closet atheist.


Paul does, in fact, pose this very question in scripture and answers the hypothetical by saying believers would have lived an utterly vein life and sacrificed for nothing.

 

[Jamsie]

Interesting that Paul raised the question and responded to the "hypothetical", I suppose he found the charge worth addressing. Questioning is not necessarily a matter of committing to doubt but can be an agent of growth.

 

[Tolworth John]

To answer the question in the spirit it was asked.
I would want to know how they identified the body as Jesus's.
If statisfied about the identity, all I would be able to do would be to follow Puddleglum and as even an imaginary Christianity beats anything atheism can offer I would continue to live as a Christian.

 

[Malieta]

If the body of Christ were discovered, if He weren't raised, but simply died and was buried, what would be your response? How would the news change your life, if at all?

I believe it wouldn't matter, my belief would still be the same but I will have a lot of questions. Like what if christs body was discovered and that would lead me to believe that the bible was tempered with? Has anyone actually seen these original scripts from the prophets / apostles? And was those that had put the bible together actually read & translated it properly?

 

[jimmyjimmy]

i'm starting to think people believe jimmyjimmy is a closet atheist.


Paul does, in fact, pose this very question in scripture and answers the hypothetical by saying believers would have lived an utterly vein life and sacrificed for nothing.

Thanks, W.

You've understood the OP, unlike 80% of responders, so how would your life be changed? I've heard some Christians say that they would not change a thing if they found our that Christ had not risen. I think that response is a little odd. How about you?

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

If I really believed it, then I would probably revert to Judaism. If that were successfully refuted, then I would probably revert to something like the faith of Abraham or Noah. If I were convinced against that, then it really wouldn't matter what I believed, because I'd be nothing but an unlucky molecule in an atheistic universe.

Hypothetical discussions, like asking, "what if there were no gravity," or, "what if the sky were red," is all fun and games until it touches upon religion. It's very uncomfortable, but it does have a way of scraping up an ort of truth from an overlooked crevice. Your reaction to the refutation shows where your heart is. You defend the things you love.

I think, in many cases, the persecution of Christians and others comes not from failing to convince the followers of other religions and beliefs, but of succeeding. The persecution arises from a soul that still loves what he can no longer believe, who hates the one that robbed him of the thing that he loved.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that posters react so negatively, even belligerently, to the OP for suggesting that they pretend that they are wrong. It shows that they love their faith. Unfortunately, it also shows a degree of weakness, for who ever got up in arms over the suggestion that the sky might not be blue? A strong believer could discuss the matter candidly and unafraid. I do wonder if this mental exercise is insensitive to the weaker members, though.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

I believe it wouldn't matter, my belief would still be the same

In which ways? You would still be a "Christian" with no risen Christ?

 

[jimmyjimmy]

it also shows a degree of weakness, for who ever got up in arms over the suggestion that the sky might not be blue? A strong believer could discuss the matter candidly and unafraid. I do wonder if this mental exercise is insensitive to the weaker members, though.

Excellent point, and it reveals the irony of the accusations of the strength of my faith for even daring to pose the question.

 

[devin553344]

I do believe He is risen. What does that have to do with the OP?

JimmyJimmy, The OP is making people accept the conjecture that God is not risen, and this is a Christian forum, can't you see the evil in that? Not to be offensive, on the contrary, just trying to help you see the wrong in that. We as Christians get happiness of the holy spirit in confessing God is risen and that we too might be resurrected, and that is the Joy of being Christian, the OP is in opposition of that. God Bless

 

[jimmyjimmy]

JimmyJimmy, The OP is making people accept the conjecture that God is not risen, and this is a Christian forum, can't you see the evil in that? Not to be offensive, on the contrary, just trying to help you see the wrong in that. We as Christians get happiness of the holy spirit in confessing God is risen and that we too might be resurrected, and that is the Joy of being Christian, the OP is in opposition of that. God Bless

The OP is asking a hypothetical question. In order to comply with forum rules regarding staying on topic, you have two choices, either answer it, or post elsewhere.

 

[JoeP222w]

If the body of Christ were discovered, if He weren't raised, but simply died and was buried, what would be your response? How would the news change your life, if at all?

I would understand it to be a complete hoax if someone claimed to find the body of Christ.