Part 1 and Part 2
Wintery Knight has a very complimentary essay to the video on the resurrection of Christ and uses Dr. Habermas as the source as well. I’ve linked to Wintery Knight here before as it is a very smart, credible, and informative blog. It is very similar to the Western Experience in terms of world and political point of views. Be sure to make it part of your reading.
Do you just skim right over 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 when you read your Bible? Did you know that this passage is the best passage in the entire Bible when it comes to defending the resurrection? Let’s take a look at a lecture where historian Gary Habermas explains the importance of 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 for defending the bodily resurrection of Jesus as a historical event.
Recall that there are certain criteria for deciding what passages of the New Testament writings are historically reliable. Here is a great article from Gary Habermas that explains all of the criteria. Below, I’ll list some of the criteria from that article.
Early attestation
Early sources include: 1) 7 of the 13 Pauline books that are unanimously accepted as being authored by Paul, 2) the “Q” passages which are shared by Matthew and Luke, but that are not in Mark, and 3) certain short creedal passages from the book of Acts. The 7 reliable Pauline epistles are Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philipians, 1 Thessalonians, Galatians and Philemon.
Habermas writes:
With regard to the historical Jesus, any material between 30 and 50 AD would be exemplary, a time period highly preferred by scholars like those in the Jesus Seminar.
Reports from such an early date would actually predate the written Gospels. A famous example is the list of Jesus’ resurrection appearances supplied by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. Most critical scholars think that Paul’s reception of at least the material on which this early creedal statement is based is dated to the 30s AD. Other examples are supplied by the brief creedal statements that many scholars find embedded within the Book of Acts, which Gerald O’Collins dates to the 30s AD. From the so-called “Q” material in the first and third Gospels, another instance is the statement of high Christology found in Matthew 11:27/Luke 10:22. Further, Paul’s earliest epistles date from the 50s AD.
Please be sure to read the rest of the essay, here.
Thanks for the link! I really appreciate it. And you picked a good post to link to as well. Everybody needs to be comfortable talking the resurrection using the earliest sources and minimal facts. It’s fun!
It is also loaded with evidence that fuels the process and confirms the historicity of Christ and His resurrection. I don’t want people to take my word for it. I won’t them to consort with the experts who have given a life time of study to philosophy, theology, history, and the sciences. People would be amazed at how many “academics” and “scholars” either believe in Christ and the resurrection or can find no easy way to do away with it.
The latter is what really convinced me to accept it as fact. Too much points in the direction that something profoundly earth changing took place. Add expert analysis, the rich history of support, academic scrutiny and there arises a defined and supported conclusion that you must decide on.
One thing I have always noticed was the serious lack of historical investigation into the real Christ. There seems to be little posted academic research available on the topic. Jason if you ever come across anything of this nature, be sure and point me in its direction. Good post, Knight.
Mike, on the contrary. That is an entire classification of study on that very subject. The scholars and experts range from Christians, Atheist, Secularist and to every other form and religion.
You would be surprised out reliable and documented (ancient Greek and Hebrew) the New Testament is. In fact, it is by far the most documented ancient writing in human history.
It is just most don’t know about it or dismiss it as “not really academic.” In fact, it is a fascinating subject and is very interesting study by some of the brightest minds and premier expert historians in the world.
I would be happy to send you some authors or list of books on the subject. I haven’t read a lot myself, probably around a half-zones books but they extremely thought provoking.
In the meantime, try looking up Lee Stroebel’s book the Case for Christ. He goes around the country interviewing scholars on “historic-Jesus.”