Even Fewer Minimal Facts for the Resurrection
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.