Over January I’ve been outlining in the newssheet why I’m a Christian. Step 1 is believing in the existence of a God, rather than holding to metaphysical absurdity (i.e. the Big Bang come from nothing). Step 2 is knowing my Sin will one day demand an accounting from this God. Step 3 is determining which world religion, if any, makes the most sense.
Every historian today believes Jesus really walked this earth 2,000 years ago, and really died on a cross. What is debated is the Resurrection. However, historian William Lane Craig has put forth 4 facts that prove the Resurrection beyond doubt (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8lkuuhVkOI), as follows:
Fact 1: Jesus’ burial by Joseph of Arimathea is attested to by multiple independent sources, with no alternate theories. Christians would not have fabricated a Jewish leader as the one who buried Jesus, and being a Jewish leader meant Jesus’ tomb was well known in Jerusalem.
Fact 2: Jesus’ tomb was found empty by women. Christians would not have fabricated the first eyewitnesses being women, given their testimony was considered inadmissible in Jewish Courts. The fact that the Jewish leaders spread a story that the disciples stole the body means they knew the tomb was empty. Since the location of the tomb was widely know, it must have been empty by the time the disciples started preaching about the Resurrection.
Fact 3: Multiple eyewitnesses experienced appearances of the risen Jesus on multiple occasions. Furthermore, Jesus’ own brothers became convinced of his Resurrection. The long list of eyewitnesses was easily refutable at the time of writing.
Fact 4: Even though the original disciples had every reason to not believe in the resurrection, they all died early deaths proclaiming it.
As such, the Christian faith makes the most sense, which is why I’m a Christian.
