DID JESUS RISE FROM THE DEAD? (one)

                                              DID JESUS RISE             FROM THE DEAD?
            (one)   
                        (copied from Y-                   Jesus.com)




We all wonder what will happen to us after we die. When a loved one dies we long to see him or her again after our turn comes. Will we have a glorious reunion with those we love or is death the end of all consciousness?

Jesus taught that life does not end after our  bodies die, He made this startling claim :

"I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again." 

 According to the eyewitnesses closest to Him, Jesus then demonstrated His power over death by rising from the dead  after being crucified and buried, for three days. It is this belief that has given hope to Christians for nearly 2000 years.

But some people have no hope of life after death. The atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote,  "I believe that when I die I shall rot, and nothing of my own ego will survive.  Russell obviously did not believe Jesus' words.

Jesus' followers wrote that he appeared alive to them after His crucifixion and burial. They claim not only to have seen Him but to have eaten with Him, touched Him and spent 40 days with Him.

So could this have been simply a story that grew over time, or is it based on solid evidence? The answer to this question if foundational to Christianity. For if Jesus did rise from the dead it would validate everything He said about Himself, about the meaning of life and our destiny after death.

If Jesus did rise from the dead then He alone would have the answers to what life is all about and what is facing us after  we die. On the other hand if the resurrection of Jesus is not true then  Christianity would be founded upon a lie.

Theologian R.C. Sprout  puts it this way:

"The claim of resurrection is vital to Christianity . If Christ has been raised from the dead by God, then He has the credentials and certification that no other leader possesses."

                                              
All other religious               leaders are dead but             according to                         Christianity, Christ is alive.



Many skeptics have attempted to disprove the resurrection. Josh McDowell was one such skeptic who spent more than 700 hours researching the evidence for the resurrection.  McDowell stated this regarding the resurrection:

"I have come to the conclusion that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the  most wicked, vicious, heartless hoaxes ever foisted upon the minds of men OR it is the most fantastic fact of history. "

McDowell later wrote his classic work, The new evidence that demands a verdict, documenting what he discovered.

So, is Jesus' resurrection a fantastic fact or a vicious myth?  To find out we need to look at the evidence of history and draw our own conclusions. Let's see what skeptics who investigated the resurrection discovered for themselves.


next post  12th July