Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
Millions of Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Is this a sign of a widespread delusion or is such a belief rational? No doubt, there are skeptics who see belief in the resurrection as irrational. That is fine. I respect their right to believe that. It is true that it is not common for people … Read More “Is It Rational to Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus?” »
Christians believe that Jesus died and that he rose from the dead on the third day. But what do we mean by that? What kind of resurrection do we think he experienced? For those who believed that something real happened to Jesus after his death, and this would include the Apostle Paul and the Gospel … Read More “Was the Resurrection of Jesus a Spiritual or Bodily Resurrection?” »
I was asked by someone to respond to a post titled My reply to “Five Reasons to Doubt the Resurrection by Matthew Hartke, Debunked.” So I am responding to a response that was a response to some original statement! Here I go. I will not respond to everything in the post at turch is rong … Read More “Responding to Some Criticisms of the Resurrection” »
If you were to go back in time to the first Easter Sunday morning, what would you have seen at the tomb of Jesus? This is a question that has been asked by both Christians and skeptics. In some ways, this is an important question. What did the earliest Christians believe happened to the physical … Read More “Was the Tomb Empty?” »
John 20:1-11 Introduction If someone was to ask you what the scariest thing to you is, what would you answer? Would it be snakes, spiders, the dark, heights? While heights would be near the TOP of my list, there is one thing that is scarier than all of those things: hope. That might surprise you … Read More “Blessed Are Those Who Hope Still” »
Luke 24:1-12 Introduction Have you ever heard that saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is”? This is a good general rule of thumb. For example, if you receive an email saying that someone from another country, who you don’t know, has left you one million dollars, you should be … Read More “Is the Resurrection Too Good to Be True?” »
Why am I a Christian? What is my faith based on? That depends upon the day. There are days when God’s presence feels so real. I have had numerous specific prayers answered in very dramatic ways. I have been overcome with feelings of peace and great confidence in God’s activity in my life. But there … Read More “Why the Resurrection of Jesus is Important to Me” »
Beginning with the time of the Enlightenment, people have attempted to understand Jesus outside of the supernatural. There is much that is good in Jesus’ teachings and Christianity has shaped the morality of western civilization. It would be nice, so it was supposed, if we could have just a natural Jesus. Perhaps Jesus’ healings (or … Read More “Does It Matter If Jesus Didn’t Physically Rise From the Dead?” »
Michael R. Licona, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2010), 718 pp. Pbk. There are no lack of books on the resurrection of Jesus. Pastors, scholars, apologists and critics have all weighed in on the issue. It is fair to ask: After N.T. Wright’s massive Resurrection of the Son … Read More “The Resurrection of Jesus” »
A devotion based on 1 Corinthians 15:17. In this chapter, Paul is providing an extended treatment on the resurrection, both of Jesus and of believers at the return of Jesus. The reason for this is that the Corinthians saw themselves as so spiritual that they could not imagine another level. They did not believe that … Read More “Devotions: 1 Corinthians” »
The point at which a movement usually moves from orthodoxy to heresy is its understanding of Jesus. If we get Jesus wrong, we get everything wrong. 1. Jesus is not a created being. The Arian heresy (similar to the Jehovah’s Witnesses) almost took over the Church. The reason the Nicene Council was called was to … Read More “7 Things You Need to Know About Jesus” »
I sometimes hear about people leaving Christianity. There are various reasons for this, both theological and emotional. I will never leave Christianity and there is one reason for that. I am convinced that there is good historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection is the best theory to explain how Jesus could be … Read More “One Reason I Will Never Leave Christianity” »
Please note that I am not saying that this is the most important passage for apologists (1 Peter 3:15 is arguably that). I am arguing that this is the most important passage for doing apologetics. What is that passage? It is 1 Corinthians 15:3-9. How can I make such a bold claim? I firmly believe … Read More “The Most Important Passage for Doing Apologetics” »
I just had an article published in the journal Studies in Religion. The name of the article is “On the Treatment of the Supernatural by Zeba Crook.” My article is a response to one that had been previously published in the same journal where Zeba Crook, an associate professor at Carelton University, argued that historians must … Read More “On the Treatment of the Supernatural” »
When people think of the Gospel, they often think of Jesus crucified. But what role does the resurrection of Jesus play? Most often when people share the Gospel story, they won’t even mention the resurrection as if it was a nonessential event like Jesus walking on water or turning water into wine. However, when one … Read More “Advent Four: Resurrection” »
A number of years ago, I had the privilege of being able to speak at a conference in Belgium on the resurrection. One of the speakers was Gerd Ludemann.[i] Although I knew I had some different opinions than Ludemann, I was eager to learn from such a well-known scholar. Ludemann began his presentation with an … Read More “Seeing is Believing” »
I often hear requests for suggested apologetics resources. Here are some books that I recommend for people interested in apologetics. Reasonable Faith by William Lane Craig Fabricating Jesus by Craig Evans Resurrection of Jesus by Mike Licona Tactics by Greg Koukl Devil’s Delusion by David Berlinski
When some historians look at the historical Jesus, they will look at his life and teachings and then usually end at his crucifixion. While they may look at what early Christians believed to have happened to Jesus, they will stop short of discussing the resurrection as a part of the historical Jesus. Why? Because history … Read More “Resurrection and Historical Inquiry” »
From time to time, people claim that Jesus’ resurrection was an apotheosis. An apotheosis was a belief within the Greco-Roman tradition that certain heroes could at death ascend to the realm of the gods and even attain divinity themselves and receiving worship from mortals. I have argued elsewhere that the Jewish concept of the general … Read More “Was Jesus’ Resurrection an Apotheosis?” »
Is believing in the resurrection of Jesus reasonable? Since we have just come out of Easter, I thought I would share why I believe in the resurrection of Jesus. These are not “proofs.” If you have already decided you do not believe in the resurrection, these reasons are not likely to change your mind. But … Read More “Why I Believe in the Resurrection” »
The first volume of Hope’s Reason: A Journal of Apologetics is now complete. You can find the entire issue here. I really like how it turned out. There are articles on Islam, teleology, resurrection, presuppositional apologetics and other topics, as well as some helpful book reviews. There is even an article by myself that responds … Read More “Hope’s Reason: Volume One” »
The cornerstone of the Christian faith is that of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If we do not get this, we do not anything. That is why it is so important to learn more about these pivotal events in how God has dealt with humanity through Jesus. I would like to recommend two … Read More “The Death and Resurrection of Jesus” »
I presented a paper at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. Many people have asked what I was speaking on, so I thought I would share. The title of the paper was “The Gospels, Josephus and the Place of Precision in Ancient Historical Accounts.” I often hear criticisms of the Gospels that they … Read More “Josephus and Precision Within the Gospels” »
This sermon was preached on Oct. 3 2010 at Woodford Baptist and First Baptist Church Meaford. A Unique Gospel Galatians 1:6-9 Introduction What would it take for you to want to curse someone? Perhaps for some people it would be as simple as getting stuck behind a slow driver when you are in a hurry. … Read More “A Unique Gospel” »
Often times people will point out that the Apostles died for their faith. This is offered as evidence for the proof of the Gospel, after all, who would die for a lie? The immediate counter-argument is that there are many people who die for a lie. From time to time we hear of cultists (e.g. … Read More “What Does the Death of the Apostles Prove?” »
One of the most important passages for demonstrating the resurrection of Jesus is the first part of 1 Corinthians 15. There is one part of this that some people have questioned: Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. … Read More “Five Hundred Witnesses” »
