One of these days, if it has not yet happened, one will inform you that the New Testament account of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is “fiction”. Plus, he or she will say that the accounts are late dated, generations after Christ, when myth is made.
This is a real concern, because if the account of Jesus is false, it means that Christianity falls! In fact, the apostle Paul pointed out this exact possible weakness in 1 Corinthians 15. If Jesus did not raise from the dead…our faith is in vain.
Maybe he was also saying to the skeptic “OK, here you go, you want to disprove Christianity, you want to destroy it, than feel free to take aim at the resurrection and Christianity is DEAD if proven false”! If one wants to falsify Christianity, here is the “Achilles heal”.
But alas, the skeptic has been trying to do just that for the past 2,000 years, but to no avail. Here’s why, because the account of Jesus is one of the most attested, historically documented accounts in history from that time period! If we can’t believe the account, our understanding of other figures from that time period ought not be believed as well.
We have four main sources for the account of Jesus. The four Gospels, which are primary source material! Second, the epistles, such as 1 Corinthians 15. These first two sources are dated early by historians! Third, secular contemporary historians. And lastly second century documents affirming the Christ narrative. In other words, Christianity’s greatest weakness is also it’s greatest strength! See the short video below for more information.
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Here is a very short, 3 minute powerful clip that will document much of what I have said above. Here is a great way to prep your mind so you can give reasons for your faith (1 Peter 3:15).
Tell us your story, have you ever been challenged on this issue? What did you think of the clip? Tell us below!
While the article and the video point to the historicity of Jesus, they do not answer the question of the Resurrection. For example, the fact that Paul preached about the Resurrection in AD 50 just means that is what He was preaching about. If we find a similarly verifiable historical document that says there are eyewitnesses to a fountain in India producing blood rather than water, should we cling to that as proof that Vishnu is God? As a Christian, I am committed to rejecting Vishnu as God, so the historical accounts are not going to sway me. Likewise, someone with a naturalistic philosophy dismisses the the possibility of the Resurrection, not to mention Jesus' claim to be God incarnate. I have never seen a skeptic swayed by a "historical Jesus" explanation.
As I have interacted with skeptics, there is a general dismissal of the Resurrection as it is impossible in their worldview. They would have to deny their own philosophy to accept the Resurrection. I doubt anyone is going to be willing to abandon their worldview because Tacitus mentions a Christus who probably lines up with the biblical Jesus.
Remember, Paul was called to speak at the Areopagus because he was preaching some foolishness about the Resurrection (Acts 17:18). To this audience of skeptics, Paul boldly proclaimed God as the Creator (taking a swipe at the Epicureans), told them to ditch the idols, and pointed to God's guidance of history (a stone tossed at the Stoics) while calling them all to repent and look to the Resurrected Jesus lest they be judged by God.
To the believers at Corinth, he confirmed what he knows they already believe by reminding them of the witnesses of the Resurrection and its importance as to their trust in Christ.
It seems he uses two different tactics to these different audiences. We would do well to follow his lead–proclaim God as Creator and Jesus as resurrected Savior to the skeptics and use similar evidences to affirm the faith of believers.