Evidence for the Resurrection
““If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said?” ”
Here are a few places to start exploring the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection:
Lee Strobel — My Testimony and the Case for Christ — This one might be my favorite. It’s a 40 minute testimony from former investigative journalist on how he spent two years examining the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection.
Neil Shenvi on 4 Pieces of Resurrection Evidence – A research scientist examines the data.
George Sinclair on 10 Concise Pieces of Evidence for the Resurrection – Very clear and short points in evidence of the resurrection. A great place to start.
Matt Perman on Historical Evidence for the Resurrection – A long form article going into more detail on the history of resurrection and surrounding evidence.
Video – William Lane Craig on Evidence for the Resurrection (35min) – A short punchy talk on evidence for our beliefs in the resurrection jumping off from 1 Corinthians 15.
Lee Strobel’s book on The Case for Christ– The investigative journalist approaches the resurrection like a skeptical reporter and finds ample evidence.
Tim Keller’s book on The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter – While battling cancer a second time Keller talks about resurrection and its implications for daily life.
Quotes on the Resurrection
Some selections from Keller that I hope confront and inspire you:
“If you are looking at Christianity, start by looking at Jesus’s life as it is shown to us in the gospels, and especially at the resurrection. Don’t begin, as modern people do, by asking yourself if Christianity fits who you are. If the resurrection happened, then there is a God who created you for himself and ultimately, yes, Christianity fits you whether you can see it now or not. If he’s real and risen, then just like Paul, even though he had none of the answers to any of his questions, you’ll have to say, “What would you have me do, Lord?”…
“In Jesus’s day the message of the kingdom contradicted all the world’s categories. In our time the Christian faith is seen as something traditional rather than radical and disruptive. Nothing could be further from the truth…
“Belief or nonbelief in the resurrection is never merely an intellectual process. We are not computers. We are flesh-and-blood human beings, and when we confront the claim of the resurrection, we address it not only with logic but with a lifetime of hopes and fears and preexisting faith commitments. And we will never be able to accept it until we see our need for God’s grace…
“In the resurrection we have the presence of the future. The power by which God will finally destroy all suffering, evil, deformity, and death at the end of time has broken into history now and is available—partially but substantially—now. When we unite with the risen Christ by faith, that future power that is potent enough to remake the universe comes into us…”
Want to Learn More?
We invite you to be part of our next ALPHA class starting at the end of the summer. But you don’t have to wait, either. You can download the material and read through it with a friend. Then join us when our classes start again soon.