withallyourmind.net

This is a post in a continuing series on the resurrection of Jesus based on arguments presented by Gary Habermas in The Risen Jesus & Future Hope. His approach is to establish some minimal facts which the majority of critical scholars will admit to . From these (at least 6) facts, a strong argument can be made regarding the historicity of the bodily resurrection of Christ. Here are the first four facts (the fourth of which I will discuss today):

1. Jesus died by Roman crucifixion.
2. The disciples had experiences that they thought were actual appearances of the risen Jesus.
3. The disciples were thoroughly transformed, even being willing to die for this belief.
4. The apostolic proclamation of the resurrection began very early, when the church was in its infancy.

Scholars consider it a luxury to have one or two sources within 100 years of an occurrence. In the case of the resurrection of Jesus, we have two sources within perhaps five years of Christ’s death. Habermas states:

Virtually all scholars agree that I Corinthians 15:3ff. records an ancient oral tradition(s) that reports the Gospel data…Although Paul wrote the passage, it is not his material, but is actually much older than the book where it is recounted.

Some indicators of the pre-Pauline nature of the text:
1. The terms “delivered” and “received” are equivalent Greek terms that indicated the imparting of tradition.
2. These passages contain verbal parallelism and stylized wording, non-Pauline terms, sentence structure, diction, the proper names of Cephas and James, and a possible Aramaic original.

Habermas provides quotes of several scholars:

Joachim Jeremias calls it “the earliest tradition of all.”

Ulrich Wilckens declares that the material “indubitably goes back to the oldest phase of all in the history of primitive Christianity.”

Walter Kasper states “We have here therefore an ancient text, perhaps in use by the end of A.D. 30.”

The dating of this creedal passage from I Corinthians 15 is usually assigned a date of A.D. 32 - 38, only 2 to 8 years after Jesus’ Death. Skeptical scholars often provide agreement frequently.

The second of the two extremely early sources are contained in the sermon summaries found in Acts, each of which includes the deity, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Many place these in the early 30’s A.D., as well.

Further supporing evidence for the early proclamation of the resurrection:
1. I Corinthians and Galations are dated to about A.D. 55 by scholars (25 years after the death of Christ) and some even date it earlier.
2. Mark is usually dated to about A.D. 65-75.
3. Matthew and Luke-Acts come approximately 10 years after that, John and Clement 15 years after that, and Ignatius another 15 years later.

All told, there are at least 9 independent sources attesting to the early proclamation of the resurrection. Next, the experience of James.

Continuing a summary of Gary Habermas’ defense of the resurrection based on a minimal facts approach, today, I look at the transformation of the disciples. I have already discussed how almost all critical scholars admit the historicity of the death of Jesus of Nazareth by crucifixion, as well as the experiences of the disciples which they thought were actual appearances of the risen Jesus.

That the disciples were transformed by these resurrection appearances is universally attested by scholars. The entire New Testament testifies to this fact. According to Habermas:

Prior to Jesus’s death, they abandoned him and went into hiding. But seeing Jesus again thoroughly modified the rest of their lives, making them willing to die for their message. Accordingly, many of them were killed. The earliest Christian writings testify that what the apostles taught and how they behaved were forever altered by Jesus’s resurrection.

- The Risen Jesus & Future Hope - (p 27)

The Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of the New Testament contain many references to the transformation of the disciples by Christ’s resurrection. I will not enumerate them here. Non-biblical sources also confirm this transformation, both Christian and non-Christian. That the apostles were willing to die is reported in many places. Clement of Rome speaks of the martyrdom of Peter and Paul. Josephus and Hegesippus both speak of Jesus’ Brother, James, martyrdom. Eusebius also contains the martyrdom of James (John’s brother), Peter and Paul.

It is true that people may be transformed by a belief or an experience which is not true, but it goes almost uncontested that if someone is willing to die, that belief is strongly and genuinely held. In the case of the disciples of Christ, it is not just a belief, but it is an experience that transformed their lives to the point of matyrdom, namely, the resurrection appearances of Jesus.

Ben Meyer, in The Aims of Jesus, states:

That it was the Easter experiences which affected [the disciples] transformation is beyond reasonable doubt.

Hugo Staudinger, in Resurrection of Jesus Christ, claims:

Only the appearances of Jesus brought about a new change of mood in them.

Next, the fourth of the six minimal facts needed to argue convincingly for the resurrection: The early proclamation of the resurrection.

Reminders flicker at us from
odd angles, nor will he be ignored;
we sight him in unlikely places,
oaths and dates and empty tombs.
God. His print is everywhere,
stamped on the macro- and the microcosm.
Feathers, shells, stars, cells speak
his diversity. The multiplicity of
leaf and light says God. Wind,
sensed but unseen, breathes the old
metaphor again. Seasons are his
signature. The double helix
spells his spiral name.
Faith summons him, and doubt
blows only the sheerest skein
of mist across his face.

Al Mohler today has an interesting post on Benedict Spinoza the 17th century Jewish panthiest. I have discussed some of his views on miracles in previous posts. I have never studied Spinoza in great detail and Mohler’s blog provides lots of interesting information. Among the most interesting is Spinoza’s identity as the founder of modern Biblical criticism and his bifurcation of science as truth and religion as meaning.

Matthew Stewart is absolutely correct in noting that Benedict Spinoza’s concept of biblical criticism is now seen as “unexceptional” in the modern secular academy. Beyond this, Spinoza’s distinction between meaning and truth has found its way into all too many pulpits, churches, seminaries, and denominations. We can only hope that a reminder of what took place in Amsterdam 350 summers ago might serve to remind the believing church of what is at stake today.

In my last post I was dealing with the second of the six minimal facts regarding the resurrection of Jesus Christ which, according to Gary Habermas, are granted by almost all contemporary scholars. I gave several supporting arguments for the fact that the disciples had experiences that they thougth were actual appearances of Christ. Note, it is not necessary at this point to argue that it actually was Christ, only that they thought it was Christ. The cumulative power of all six of these facts will provide an adequate reason for accepting that this was actually the resurrected Christ that they saw. Today, I will continue with a few more supporting arguments for the experience of the disciples.

Next, scholars acknowledge that James, the brother of Jesus, was an unbeliever and probably a skeptic during the public ministry of Jesus ( John 7:5; Mark 3:21). Later, he is the leader of the Jerusalem Church (Gal 1:18-19; Acts 15:13-21). According to the aforementioned creedal statement of I Corinthians 15 (v7), something happened between these two conditions: James saw the resurrected Jesus. This is the majority position among even skeptical scholars. The skeptical scholar John Shelby Spong stated:

…we can be certain of the fact that the brothers of Jesus were not impressed, were not followers of Jesus during his lifetime. They were scoffers, cynics, suspicious of Jesus’ sanity. But something happened…Look at James before Easter. Look at James after Easter. What caused a change this dramatic?

Next, besides I Corinthians 15, there are other creedal passages in the New Testament that also report Jesus’ post resurrection appearances. Many of these are from sermons in the book of Acts. These are considered very early evidence for these appearances.

In summation, The death of Jesus and the disciples’ experiences of the resurrected Jesus are perhaps the two most widely accepted facts in the New Testament. Next, the case is further built by a discussion of the third minimal fact: The transformation of the disciples.

This post is a part of a series on defending the resurrection by using a minimal facts approach as delineated by Gary Habermas, author of The Risen Jesus & Future Hope. Habermas asserts, and I agree, that using six minimal facts which the vast majority of all critical scholars accept as true, one can present a convincing argument for the historicity of the resurrection. Yesterday, I briefly discussed the overwhelming support for the death of Christ by crucifixion as a true historical event.

Another fact which is granted by almost all scholars is that the disciples had experiences that they thought were actual appearances of the the risen Jesus. Paul’s testimony is central to the granting of this fact.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. - 1 Cor 15:3-8 ESV

First, this passage from 1 Corinthians 15 is critically agreed to be an extremely early account of Jesus’s appearances after his ressurection and is traceable to excellent sources. Habermas establishes that this passage is part of an early creedal confession which Paul probably received in the mid-30’s, just a few years after Christ’s death. Even if one does not grant this early date, we know at minimum that it predates the writing of 1 Corinthians at approximately 55 A.D. Paul states in 1 Corinthians, that he had preached this same message years early at Corinth and also that he had received it from someone else. The above passage is very early testimony (probably eyewitness) to the resurrection appearances of Christ.

Second, Paul claimed that he himself saw the risen Christ (more than once). This claim is corroborated by non-Pauline sources in Acts (9:1-9, 22:1-11, 26:9-19).

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? - 1 Cor 9:1 ESV

Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. - 1 Cor 15:8

Pauls drastic turnaround from eager persecutor of the church to an apostle demands an adequate explanation. That explanation is that Paul was certain he saw the risen Christ. Atheistic philosopher Michael Martin grants this:

However, we have only one contemporary eyewitness account of a postresurrection appearance of Jesus, namely Paul’s.

Roy Hoover, a member of the Jesus seminar states:

The reason for starting here is simple and compelling: Paul’s testimony is the earliest and the most historically reliable evidence about the resurrection that we have…The most important evidence about the resurrection with which Paul provides us is…a direct claim that he has seen the risen Jesus.

Third, Paul’s report regarding the resurrection appearances is approved by and matches that which others preached. Paul made at least two trips to Jerusalem ( Gal 1-2) to counsel with the apostolic leaders in order to make sure that they were teaching the same thing about the Gospel which centered on Christ’s resurrection. The apostolic leadership ( including Peter, John, and James the brother of Jesus) specifically approved Paul’s message. Acts 15, which may or not be one of the two events mentioned in Galatians, also contains an affirmation of Paul’s message by the apostles. Habermas states, “Critical scholars agree that Paul’s Gospel message had been approved by the other key apostles.”

Not only was Paul’s message approved by the apostolic leadership, Paul knew and approved the resurrection message of the other apostles. Again, 1 Corinthians 15 contains early creeds from just a few years after Jesus’s death. After citing this early creed, Paul proclaimed that the other apostles were preaching the same message (1 Cor 15:11, 14-15). The Gospels also contain reports of Jesus’s appearances to His disciples and others (Matt 28, Luke 24, John 20-21, Mark 16:6-7).

There is more support for the experiences of the disciples that they thought were resurrection appearances of Christ. I’ll continue this discussion in the next post.

John Mark Reynolds, at Middlebrow, has a very interesting discussion of a study that shows acceptance of theory of evolution in the United States lags far behind most other countries (all but Turkey). The entire discussion is worth a read. He goes on to comment further on the Intelligent Design-Evolution controversy. Among the findings of the study, which are quite interesting:

The study found that over the past 20 years:

— The percentage of U.S. adults who accept evolution declined from 45 to 40 percent.

— The percentage overtly rejecting evolution also declined, from 48 to 39 percent.

— And the percentage of adults who were unsure increased, from 7 to 21 percent.

Reynolds exposes many errors in the conclusions drawn by the authors regarding their findings. You will enjoy his assessment.

Stand to Reason today has an interesting post on a recent Pew Research Poll that finds that 2/3 Americans believe we should find a middle ground on abortion. As STR points out, this totally misunderstands the nature of the debate. The whole issue is whether the unborn baby is a human being or not. If not, no restrictions are needed. Any who wishes for whatever reason she wishes should be allowed to abort her child. If the fetus is a human being, then how many killings of innocent life do we tolerate? What middle ground do we find?

Yesterday, I blogged on the minimal facts approach to defending the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus as delineated by Gary Habermas. This list of 12 minimal facts can be halved and one can still argue convincingly that Christ did rise from the dead. Here is the reduced list:

1. Jesus died by crucifixion.
2. The disciples had experiences that they thought were actual appearances of the risen Jesus.
3. The disciples were thoroughly transformed, even being willing to die for this belief.
4. The apostolic proclamation of the resurrection began very early, when the church was in its infancy.
5. James, the brother of Jesus and a fomer skeptic, became a Christian due to an experience that he believed was an appearance of the risen Jesus.
6. Saul (Paul), the church persecutor, became a Christian due to an experience that he beleved was an appearance of the risen Jesus.

- from The Risen Jesus & Future Hope -

Over the next few posts, I hope to examine each of these briefly, beginning today with the first fact: The death of Jesus.

The death of Jesus is rarely contested, at least by scholars, because its occurence is so well attested. First of all, a number of ancient historical texts record Christ’s death. Among these are I Corinthians 15:3 and several other early creedal reports that predate the New Testament. The Gospels all report the death of Jesus. At least 10 non-Christian texts (Tacitus, Josephus, the Talmud, Lucian of Samosata, Mara Bar-Seraphon, Thallus, Acts of Pilate, The Gospel of Truth, The Gospel of Thomas, and The Treatise on Resurrection) and several non-canonical Christian texts (Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Justin Martyr) report the death of Jesus.

Secondly, The Swoon Theory (basically that Christ did not actually die on the cross, but only “swooned” and later was rescusitated) is counteracted by medical studies examining death by Crucifixion. The victim dies ultimately of asphyxiation, although their are other contributing factors. The spear wound to Christ’s side was a wound inflicted as a final stroke to insure His death.

Thirdly, over a century ago, David Strauss, in A New Life of Jesus, powerfully critiqued the swoon theory, settling the issue for many. He asserted that even if Christ did escape death on the cross, he could not have accounted for the belief in his discipes that he had been raised. He would have been a physical disaster in obvious need of medical attention. His bloodied, pale, weak bodily appearance would not have inspired believers that they would someday be raised like him. Habermas quotes liberal theologian John Dominic Crossan (of the Jesus Seminar):

“That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be”.

Next, the disciples’ experiences.

Yesterday, I blogged on the centrality of the resurrection of Jesus to the Christian faith. This was prompted by my reading of Gary Habermas’ The Risen Jesus & Future Hope. Habermas takes what I believe is a fruitful approach in dealing with skeptics of the resurrection. One could defend the historicity of the resurrection on the basis that the Bible is God’s inspired word and is therefore true. However, obviously not many will grant this premise in approaching this subject. So, we cannot argue from innerrancy, how about reliability? Again, Habermas argues that one need not be granted the reliability of the New Testament to effectively argue for the resurrection. Instead, the defender of the resurrection only needs that which the vast majority of scholars will grant as being authentically historical. He, quite successfully in my opinion, begins with only those facts yeilded by even the most liberal scholars. This is what we mean by the “minimal facts” approach.

And what are these minimal facts accepted as historical by virtually all scholars? You might be surprised.

Minimal Facts:
1. Jesus died by Roman crucifixion.
2. He was buried, most likely in a private tomb.
3. Soon afterward, the disciples were discouraged, bereaved, and despondent, having lost hope.
4. Jesus’s tomb was found empty very soon after his interment.
5. The disciples had experiences that they believed were actual appearances of the risen Jesus.
6. Due to these experiences, the disciples’ lives were thoroughly transformed, even being willing to die for this belief.
7. The proclamation of the resurrection took place very early, at the beginning of church history.
8. The disciples’ public testimony and preaching of the resurrection took place in the city of Jerusalem, where Jesus had been crucified and buried shortly before.
9. The Gospel message centered on the death and resurrection of Jesus.
10. Sunday was the primary day for gathering and worshipping.
11. James, the brother of Jesus and a former skeptic, was converted when, he believed, he saw the risen Jesus.
12. Just a few years later, Saul of Tarsus (Paul) became a Christian believer due to an experience that he believed was an appearance of the risen Jesus.

- from The Risen Jesus & Future Hope - (pp 9-10)

After being granted the preceding minimal facts, the most likely explanation is the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth!