The Resurrection of Jesus, the man from Nazereth, stands at the center of the Christian faith. It is the core historical event, either in support of the claim or in denial of the claim. From the earliest evidence, we see all of the supporters of Jesus and the story around the resurrection, place that Resurrection at the center of their claim that this person Jesus was also the “Son of God.”
Through this podcast series, we have examined the Bible historically and discovered that the New Testament in particular is the most historically secure set of documents from antiquity. That then leads us to this moment to investigate this central claim. It should be obvious, but if Jesus or His followers never claimed that He was the Son of God, and that He had come back to life after his death, no one would quibble about the historicity of these documents.
We know His death by crucifixion is one of the most highly attested events from antiquity. Some scholars will attempt to question “the how” but the vast majority understand there was this person Jesus, and he was killed by crucifixion. But then we then are confronted with the fact that there was an empty tomb. The followers of Jesus made the audacious claim that he was back, that he was alive.
Why we must examine it in light of history is that the world was transformed by the followers of Jesus. We are “stuck with” examining Christianity whether we like it or not. By 150 AD, citizens from across the Empire, including many non-Jews, had adopted “the Way,” this Christian faith that centers on a story that this man Jesus rose from the grave, and is now alive. By 300 AD, the faith was throughout the Empire, with some estimates suggesting as many as 25%, maybe 30% citizens had converted.
During the episode, we include research by Sean McDowell in his second edition work The Fate of the Apostles. You can find it available on Amazon or elsewhere books may be ordered.
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