User:Ari89/historicityresurrection

This is not a Wikipedia article: This is a workpage, a collection of material and work in progress that may or may not be incorporated into Resurrection of Jesus. It should not necessarily be considered factual or authoritative.

The historicity of the resurrection of Jesus refers to the historical authenticity of the accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. While critical scholars may hold the resurrection as a miraculous event cannot be evaluated by historical method, the events surrounding it such as the burial, tomb discovery and resurrection appearances can be evaluated by historical critical method.

The Resurrection of Jesus from a Historical perspective

Bart D. Ehrman writes that even if one believes Jesus was raised from the dead "there is no way we can demonstrate it using historical methods."^[1] However, this does not preclude historians from evaluating the historical reports of the resurrection of Jesus.^[2] William Lane Craig writes that there are four lines of evidence for determining the historicity of the resurrection:^[3][4]

1. the burial of Jesus;
2. the discovery of the empty tomb;
3. the appearances of Jesus to his disciples;
4. the origin of the Christian faith.

Records

Early creeds

The earliest written records of the death and resurrection of Jesus are the letters of Paul, which were written around two decades after the death of Jesus,^[5][6] and show that within this timeframe Christians believed that it had happened. Some scholars suppose that these contain early Christian creeds and creedal hymns, which were included in several of the New Testament texts and that some of these creeds date to within a few years of Jesus' death and were developed within the Christian community in Jerusalem.^[7] Though embedded within the texts of the New Testament, these creeds are a distinct source for early Christianity.

• Romans 1:3–4: "...concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord."^[8]
• 2 Tim. 2:8: "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, this is my Gospel."^[9]

1 Corinthians 15

Of special significance to understanding the resurrection of Jesus and belief within the early Church is 1 Corinthians 15, specifically the creed recorded in 1 Cor. 15:3–4. This creed reads:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

Many scholars have noted that here, Paul is referring to rabbinic style transmission of an early authoritative tradition that he received and has passed on to the church at Corinth. For this and other reasons, it is widely believed that this creed is of pre-Pauline origin.

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Gospel narratives

According to the Gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his

The Apostolic Fathers, likewise, discussed the death and resurrection of Jesus, including Ignatius (50−115),^[20] Polycarp (69−155), and Justin Martyr (100−165).

Josephus

According to Christian belief, Jesus' resurrection reversed human judgment, established freedom from death, and inaugurated "the age to come."[24] The nature of Jesus' resurrected body has been a matter of debate from the earliest days.^[24] According to Paul, the risen Christ had a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15).^[24] From early on, however, Christians have insisted on the material reality of Jesus' resurrection (see Luke 24:36-43).^[24] In John, the physical, risen Jesus can move through closed doors (John 20:19), showing that he had not simply returned to a regular earthly life.^[24]

Burial

Contemporary burial practices

The crucifixion of Jesus occurred in a Jewish region of Roman Palestine. For this reason, contemporary burial practices must be viewed in light of both Roman and Jewish customs, although emphasis for the Jesus account should be placed on the latter.

Evans article in Journal for the Study of the Historical Jeuss and Jesus, the final days.

Burial of Jesus

Some scholars are split on whether Jesus was buried. Craig A. Evans contends that, "the literary, historical and archaeological evidence points in one direction: that the body of Jesus was placed in a tomb, according to Jewish custom."^[25] John Dominic Crossan, based on his unique position that the Gospel of Peter contains the oldest primary source about Jesus, argued that the burial accounts become progressively extravagant and thus found it historically unlikely that an enemy would release a corpse, contending that Jesus' followers did not have the means to know what happened to Jesus' body.^[26] Crossan's position on the Gospel of Peter has not found scholarly support,^[27] from Meyer's description of it as "eccentric and implausible",^[28] to Koester's critique of it as "seriously flawed".^[29] Habermas argued against Crossan, stating that the response of Jewish authorities against Christian claims for the resurrection presupposed a burial and empty tomb,^[30] and he observed the discovery of the body of Yohanan Ben Ha'galgol, a man who died by crucifixion in the first century and was discovered at a burial site outside ancient Jerusalem in an ossuary, arguing that this find revealed important facts about crucifixion and burial in first century Palestine.^[31] Other scholars consider the burial by Joseph of Arimathea found in Mark 15 to be historically probable,^[32] and some have gone on to argue that the tomb was thereafter discovered empty.^[33] More positively, Mark Waterman maintains the Empty Tomb priority over the Appearances.^[34] Michael Grant wrote:

[I]f we apply the same sort of criteria that we would apply to any other ancient literary sources, then the evidence is firm and plausible enough to necessitate the conclusion that the tomb was indeed found empty.^[35]

The physical resurrection of Jesus requires that Jesus was buried and entombed. All four Gospels state that, on the evening of the crucifixion,

The synoptics stated that women saw where Jesus was buried; Matthew named "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary," Mark named "Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses," and Luke simply gave "the women who had come with him from Galilee." Matthew gave an account of the chief priests and Pharisees requesting that Pilate secure the tomb, lest Jesus' disciples should steal the body and proclaim Jesus to be risen from the dead, whereupon Pilate said, "you have a guard of soldiers, go, make it as secure as you can"—after which they secured the sepulchre by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

William Lane Craig argued that the guard placed at the tomb was a Jewish guard, and that Pilate's words to the chief priests and Pharisees recorded in Matthew, "You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you can," were all rebuff. In support, he observed that Roman guards would have been subject to execution if they slept during watch, and that the Jewish authorities probably could not have provided protection for Roman guards from Pilate, like they could have if the guard was Jewish; thus, he wrote, "if one were to give the story the benefit of the doubt, one would assume the guards were Jewish."^[38]

Scholars; L. Michael White and Helmut Koester see the account of the guards in Matthew as an apologetic attempt of the writer to explain the Jewish claims that the disciples stole the body; which were circulating at the time.^[39][40]

Three days in the tomb

Beyond "I was dead" (Rev 1:8), the only apparent New Testament comment on the three days in the tomb is 1 Peter 3:18-20, which describes Jesus as preaching to the "spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago". This passage, along with the words of Peter that God did "not leave his soul in Hades" (Acts 2:31) give rise to "descended to Hades" in the Apostles' Creed. The death state of Christ was considered by theologians such as Thomas Aquinas and related in traditions such as the Harrowing of Hell.

The Resurrection

The actual act of Jesus rising to life from a state of death is not described in

Craig's intro: The majority of contemporary researchers accept the historicity of the discovery of the empty tomb.[44]

Although no single Gospel gives an inclusive or definitive account of the resurrection of Jesus or his appearances, there are four points at which all four Gospels converge:^[45]

1. The linking of the empty tomb tradition and the visit of the women on "the first day of the week;"
2. That the risen Jesus chose first to appear to women (or a woman) and to commission them (her) to proclaim this most important fact to the disciples, including Peter and the other apostles;
3. The prominence of Mary Magdalene;
4. Attention to the stone that had closed the tomb

^[41][46] Variants have to do with the precise time the women visited the tomb, the number and identity of the women; the purpose of their visit; the appearance of the messenger(s)—angelic or human; their message to the women; and the response of the women.^[41]

Apologists claim the places where the Gospels coincide consist of confirming evidence, as they show that the authors agree on what happened, while the differences between the four accounts consist of confirming evidence as they show that the authors were not colluding to propagate a falsehood, but rather, they show that each writer researched the events independently or that different stories had developed.^{[citation needed]}

Women

All four Gospels report that several women were the ones to find the tomb of Jesus empty. According to Mark and Luke, the announcement of Jesus' resurrection was first made to women. According to Matthew and John, Jesus actually appeared first to women (in John to Mary Magdalene alone).^[41] "Whereas others found woman not qualified or authorized to teach, the four Gospels have it that the risen Christ commissioned women to teach men, including Peter and the other apostles, the resurrection, foundation of Christianity.^[41]

In the Gospels, especially the synoptics, women play a central role as eyewitness at Jesus' death, entombment, and in the discovery of the empty tomb. All three synoptics repeatedly make women the subject of verbs of seeing,^[47] clearly presenting them as eyewitnesses.^[48]

The presence of women as the key witnesses who discover the empty tomb has been seen as increasing the credibility of the testimony, since, in the contemporary culture (Jewish and Greco-Roman), one might expect a fabrication to place men, and especially numerous and important men, at this critical place, rather than just "some grieving women."

All three Synoptics name two or three women on each occasion in the passion-resurrection narratives where they are cited as eyewitnesses: the Torah's required two or three witnessesDeuteronomy 19:15 in a statute that had exerted influence beyond legal courts and into situations in everyday life where accurate evidence was needed.^[54] Among the named women (and some are left anonymous), Mary Magdalene is present in all four Gospel accounts, and Mary the mother of James is present in all three synoptics; however, variations exist in the lists of each Gospel concerning the women present at the death, entombment, and discovery. For example, Mark names three women at the cross and the same three who go to the tomb, but only two are observed to be witnesses at the burial. Based on this, and similar examples in Matthew and Luke, Richard Bauckham argued that the evangelists showed "scrupulous care" and "were careful to name precisely the women who were known to them as witnesses to these crucial events" since there would be no other reason, besides interest in historical accuracy, not to simply use the same set of characters from one scene to another.^[55]

Mark's account (which in the earliest extant manuscripts) ends abruptly and claims that the women told no one. The Gospels of Matthew and Mark do not present any further involvement at the tomb. Luke describes Peter as running to the tomb to check for himself, and John adds that the Beloved Disciple did so too, the beloved disciple outrunning Peter.^[56][57] Curiously, Mary also addresses Jesus as “Lord.”^[58]<^{[citation needed]}

Men

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Luke merely states that after seeing the vacancy of the tomb, Peter was wondering what had happened, John gives a detailed account.John 20:2–10

John describes the beloved disciple only as making a cursory glance at the linen, Peter is described as carefully examining the scene. After making their examination, the Beloved Disciple apparently draws a conclusion.John 20:8–9

Once Peter has entered, John describes the Beloved Disciple as entering the tomb whereupon he believed as they knew not about the scripture. What exactly the Beloved Disciple believed, and who exactly they are, and what scripture exactly is being referenced, is not explained. The word used to mean

was written before the Gospel of John, candidates have also been suggested from these texts. John only indicates that Peter and the Beloved Disciple were present, but it is possible that one or both of the people named Mary may also have been there, and thus Hartmann believes they refers to Peter and Mary being in ignorance about a resurrection.

Since the only mention in John of the tomb having any content describes it only as having grave clothes, this paucity of evidence for anything more than the body being stolen would make the Beloved Disciple rather gullible if it were a resurrection he suddenly believed in. A question also arises as to why, according to John, the Beloved Disciple doesn't tell Peter and them about this. A long line of major scholars including Augustine of Hippo and John Calvin have thus argued that the Beloved Disciple simply came to believe Mary Magdalene's story that the body was gone. Unlike Hartmann and those sharing his view, most scholars^{[citation needed]} regard they as referring to Peter and the Beloved Disciple, pointing to them both being ignorant about any resurrection, and pointing to the conclusion that the Beloved Disciple had come to believe some other issue.

Textual critics like Schnackenberg, however, have argued that the passage does actually refer to belief in a resurrection, but argues the reference to him believing is a later addition to the text^{[citation needed]}. The version of John in the ancient Codex Bezae has the passage reading that he saw and did ‘‘not’‘ believe^{[citation needed]}. Bultmann has called John 20:9 a gloss of the ecclesiastical redaction,^{[citation needed]} also arguing that the verse is a later addition, particularly since it references scripture as indicating that Jesus must rise from the dead, since John almost always prefers instead to use the wording ascend from the dead.

Luke and John both have the disciple(s) return home, which probably refers to Jerusalem, but possibly also Galilee.^[60]

Resurrection appearances of Jesus

Caravaggio

depicted the moment the disciples recognise their risen lord

Main article:

Resurrection appearances of Jesus

After the discovery of the empty tomb, the Gospels indicate that Jesus made a series of appearances to the disciples, with the most notable being to the disciples in the

when he ascended into heaven,^[64]

where he remains with God.

One of the most widely recalled pre-ascension visions of Jesus is the doubting Thomas conversation^[65] between Jesus and Thomas the Apostle. After Jesus' death, the apostle stated that he would not believe that Jesus was resurrected until he stuck his fingers in the nail holes in Jesus' hands and spear-hole in his side. Thomas was ordered to do so when he met Jesus, but the Gospel of John does not specify if physical contact actually took place.^[66]

Soon after, on the

Paul of Tarsus converted to Christianity. A few years later, Paul became Christianity's foremost missionary, converting hundreds of people, planting dozens of churches throughout Greece and the Near East, and writing letters that would become part of Christian scripture. On one missionary journey, Paul travels to Athens and speaks at the Areopagus, where he claims that over 500 people were witnesses of the resurrected Jesus, many still alive at the time.^[67]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that Jesus appeared after his resurrection also upon the American continent and taught them, as well as bestowed the rights of the priesthood upon twelve apostles to administer in all the affairs of the church among that people. The account is found in Third Nephi in the Book of Mormon.^[68]

Origin of the narrative

The ultimate origin of the Apostles early belief in the resurrection of Jesus is debated by theologians, scholars and lay persons alike.

The earliest Christians proclaimed Jesus as the risen Christ. The first Christians may be defined as those followers of Jesus who, after his crucifixion, proclaimed him as the risen lord.^[69] The earliest Christian scriptures place Jesus' resurrection at the center of religious faith.

The preaching of the

Apostle Peter in the Acts of the Apostles which is widely believed to reflect Aramaic Jewish-Christian preaching^[70] declare that Jesus died, was raised by God and the apostles are witnesses to this resurrection.^[71] The same proclamation of Jesus' death and resurrection is found within the letters of Paul. In his first epistle to the Corinthians 15:1-8, Paul passes on a Christian creed that he claimed to have received at his conversion. Paul Barnett writes that this creedal formula, and others, were variants of the "one basic early tradition that Paul "received" in Damascus from Ananias in about 34 [CE]."^[14] The comparatively short length of time between the events and the earliest descriptions makes it unlikely that a deliberate fraud could have occurred.^{[citation needed}

]

Although narrative of Jesus' entombment and resurrection circulated orally among early Christians, its first extant recording as a narrative is found in the Gospel of Mark, in addition to the other canonical gospels.

E.P. Sanders argues that a plot to foster belief in the Resurrection would probably have resulted in a more consistent story, and that some of those who were involved in the events gave their lives for their belief. However, Sanders offers his own hypothesis, different from the supporters, claiming that "there seems to have been a competition: 'I saw him,' 'so did I,' 'the women saw him first,' 'no, I did; they didn't see him at all,' and so on."^[72]

In Mark's account, the earliest manuscripts of Mark 16 break off abruptly at 16:8, where the men at the empty tomb announce Jesus' resurrection, lacking post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. The modern text of Mark 16:9–20 does not appear in the earliest manuscripts.^[73] Many modern translations of Mark 16 end at Mark 16:8 with for they were afraid, sometimes adding 16:8–20 in italics, or in a foot note; the New Revised Standard Version gives both the "long ending," i.e., 16:8–20, and another variant "short ending" after Mark 16:8. Scholars disagree about whether the original work ended at 16:8, or whether the last part, perhaps the last page, is missing.^[69] John Fenton writes that if the Evangelist intended to end at 16:8, this does not mean that he "did not believe that Christ was risen" as he refers to the resurrection directly and indirectly on numerous occasions throughout the work.^[74] Reginald Fuller believes that the "writer seemed to know such apperances, apparently to Peter and the others in Galilee."^[75]

James D.G. Dunn writes that where the apostle Paul's resurrection experience was "visionary in character" and "non-physical, non-material" the accounts in the Gospels are very different. He contends that the "massive realism'...of the [Gospel] appearances themselves can only be described as visionary with great difficulty - and Luke would certainly reject the description as inappropriate" and that the earliest conception of resurrection in the Jerusalem Christian community was physical.^[76] Conversely, members of the Jesus Seminar believe that Mary of Magdala, Paul, and probably Peter had genuine visionary experiences of the risen Jesus.^[77]

Those who think Paul was a Gnostic Christian hold the belief that Paul talks of the resurrection as an allegory or that Paul thought that Jesus was never a human.^[78]

Explaining resurrection belief

A number of theories are put forward by biblical scholars and historians to explain the early Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus.

Bodily resurrection

Jesus bodily raised from the dead; limits of history

Body was removed

The body was removed by someone unconnected with the movement, or stolen by disciples.

Wrong tomb

Empty tomb was not that of Jesus

Spiritual resurrection

Footnotes and references

1. ^ Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium, p.228
2. ^ Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium, p.228
3. ^ William Lane Craig, The Son Rises: The Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus. p.45
4. ^ http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/p96.htm
5. ^ L. Michael White, Importance of the Oral Tradition
6. ^ Barnett, Paul, The Birth Of Christianity: The First Twenty Years (After Jesus)^{[page needed]}
7. ^ A basic text is that of Oscar Cullmann, available in English in a translation by J. K. S. Reid titled, The Earliest Christian Confessions (London: Lutterworth, 1949)
8. ^ Wolfhart Pannenberg, Jesus—God and Man translated Lewis Wilkins and Duane Pribe (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1968) pp. 118, 283, 367; Neufeld, The Earliest Christian Confessions (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964) pp. 7, 50; C. H. Dodd, The Apostolic Preaching and its Developments (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), p. 14
9. ^ Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament vol 1, pp. 49, 81; Joachim Jeremias, The Eucharistic Words of Jesus translated Norman Perrin (London: SCM Press, 1966) p. 102
10. ^ Neufeld, The Earliest Christian Confessions (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964) p. 47; Reginald Fuller, The Formation of the Resurrection Narratives (New York: Macmillan, 1971) p. 10; Wolfhart Pannenberg, Jesus—God and Man translated Lewis Wilkins and Duane Pribe (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1968) p. 90; Oscar Cullmann, The Earlychurch: Studies in Early Christian History and Theology, ed. A. J. B. Higgins (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966) p. 64; Hans Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians, translated James W. Leitch (Philadelphia: Fortress 1969) p. 251; Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament vol. 1 pp. 45, 80–82, 293; R. E. Brown, The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus (New York: Paulist Press, 1973) pp. 81, 92
11. ^ Most Fellows of the Jesus Seminar concluded that this tradition dates to before Paul's conversion, c AD 33. Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus. HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "Empty Tomb, Appearances & Ascension" p. 449-495.
12. ^ Geza Vermes (2008) The Resurrection. London, Penguin: 121-2
13. ^ see Wolfhart Pannenberg, Jesus—God and Man translated Lewis Wilkins and Duane Pribe (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1968) p. 90; Oscar Cullmann, The Early church: Studies in Early Christian History and Theology, ed. A. J. B. Higgins (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966) p. 66–66; R. E. Brown, The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus (New York: Paulist Press, 1973) pp. 81; Thomas Sheehan, First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity (New York: Random House, 1986 pp. 110, 118; Ulrich Wilckens, Resurrection translated A. M. Stewart (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew, 1977) p. 2; Hans Grass, Ostergeschen und Osterberichte, Second Edition (Gottingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1962) p. 96; Grass favors the origin in Damascus.
14. ^ ^{a b} Paul Barnett, Finding the Historical Christ (After Jesus Volume 3), Eerdmans, 2009. 182.
15. ^ Hans Von Campenhausen, "The Events of Easter and the Empty Tomb," in Tradition and Life in the Church (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1968) p. 44
16. ^ Archibald Hunter, Works and Words of Jesus (1973) p. 100
17. ^ Matthew 28:5-10; Mark 16:9; Luke 24:12–16; John 20:10–17; Acts 2:24; 1 Cor. 6:14
18. ^ Luke 24:13–35
19. ^ Ministering to Israel: Matthew 15:24; ascension: Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51, Acts 1:6–11; Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus: Acts 9:1–19, Acts 22:1–22; Acts 26:9–24; Second coming: Matthew 24:36–44
20. Letter to the Smyrnaeans
    .
21. ^ Funk, Robert W. and the Jesus Seminar. The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus. HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "John the Baptist" cameo, p. 268
22. ^ Josephus Jewish Antiquities 18.3.3
23. ^ Josephus Jewish War 6.5.4
24. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Resurrection of Christ." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
25. ^ Craig A. Evans, "The Silence of Burial" in Jesus, the Final Days Ed. Troy A. Miller. p.68
26. ^ Crossan 1994, p. 154-158; cf. Ehrman 1999, p.229
27. ^ N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996), p. 49; who wrote "[Crossan's hypothesis] has not been accepted yet by any other serious scholar."
28. ^ Ben Meyer, critical notice of The Historical Jesus, by John Dominic Crossan, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 55 (1993): 575
29. ^ Helmut Koester, Ancient Christian Gospels (London: SCM, 1990), p. 220.
30. ^ G. Habermas, The Historical Jesus, (College Press, 1996) p. 128; he observed that the Jewish polemic is recorded in Matthew 28:11–15 and was employed through the second century, cf. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 108; Tertullian, On Spectacles, 30
31. ^ G. Habermas, The Historical Jesus, (College Press, 1996) p. 173; cf. Vasilius Tzaferis, "Jewish Tombs At and Near Giv'at ha-Mivtar", Israel Exploration Journal 20 (1970) pp. 38-59".
32. ^ Brown 1993, vol. 2, ch. 46
33. ^ e.g. Paul L. Maier, "The Empty Tomb as History", in Christianity Today, March, 1975, p. 5
34. ^ Mark W. Waterman, The Empty Tomb Tradition of Mark: Text, History, and Theological Struggles (Los Angeles: Agathos Press, 2006) p. 211-212
35. ^ M. Grant, Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels (New York: Scribner's, 1977) p. 176
36. ^ Matthew 15:57–61, Mark 15:42–47, Luke 23:50–56, John 19:38–42
37. ^ R. E. Brown, The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus (New York: Paulist Press, 1973) pp. 147; cf. Deuteronomy 21:22–23.
38. ^ W. L. Craig, "The Guard at the Tomb." New Testament Studies 30 (1984), 273–81.
39. ^ Ancient Christian Gospels Koster, Helmut; Trinity Press, (1992) pg 237.
40. ^ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/symposium/historical.html
41. ^ ^{a b c d e} Stagg, Evalyn and Frank. Woman in the World of Jesus. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978, p. 144–150.
42. ^ Cameron, Ron. The Other Gospels, 1982. pp. 77-78. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/gospelpeter.html
43. ^ The Gospel of Peter vv35-41. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/gospelpeter-brown.html
44. ^ Habermas, Gary, "Resurrection Research from 1975 to the Present: What are Critical Scholars saying?" Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, Jun2005, Vol. 3 Issue 2, p135-153[1]
45. ^ Mark 16:1–8, Matthew 28:1–8, Luke 24:1–12, and John 20:1–13
46. ^ Setzer, Claudia. "Excellent Women: Female Witness to the Resurrection." Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 116, No. 2 (Summer, 1997), pp. 259–272
47. ^ Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (Eerdmans Publishing Company: Cambridge, 2006), p. 48.
48. ^ B. Gerhardsson, 'Mark and the Female Witnesses', in H. Behrens, D. Loding, and M. T. Roth, eds., Dumu-E2-Dub-Ba-A (A. W. Sjöberg FS; Occasional Papers of the Samuel Noah Kramer Fund 11; Philadelphia: The University Museum, 1989), pp. 219–220, 222–223; S. Byrskog, Story as History—History as Story (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament Jerusalem Talmud 123; Tübingen: Mohr, 2000; remprinted Leiden: Brill, 2002), pp. 75–78; Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (Eerdmans Publishing Company: Cambridge, 2006), p. 48.
49. ^ Ben Witherington III, What have they done with Jesus (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 2006), p. 50.
50. ^ C. H. Dodd, The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1953)
51. ^ Jewish War, 7.389 and 4.81
52. ^ Pliny the Younger, Epistles, X.96.
53. ^ Bart Erhmann http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/p96.htm#EhrmanFirst
54. ^ B. Gerhardsson, “Mark and the Female Witnesses,” in H. Behrens, D. Loding, and M. T. Roth, eds., Dumu-E2-Dub-Ba-A (A. W. Sjöberg FS; Occasional Papers of the Samuel Noah Kramer Fund 11; Philadelphia: The University Museum, 1989), p. 218; Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (Eerdmans Publishing Company: Cambridge, 2006), p. 49.
55. ^ Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (Eerdmans Publishing Company: Cambridge, 2006), pp. 50–51.
56. ^ To answer the question of running speed: It is never explained why the disciple(s) move(s) from merely traveling to running, and it has often been speculated that running only occurred on the last stretch once the tomb had come within sight. John Calvin instead speculated that the rush was due to religious zeal. In particular, John describes the Beloved Disciple as outracing Peter, though waiting for Peter to arrive before entering the tomb, with some scholars seeing the out-racing as a metaphoric elevation of the Beloved Disciple above Peter. However, many Christian scholars object to this interpretation, instead arguing that since the Beloved Disciple is usually interpreted as a reference to the author of John, it would be necessary for him to be considerably younger than Peter, and hence his speed could be due simply to youthful vigour. Another question is why John the Beloved Disciple pauses outside the tomb. While many view it as being due to his not wanting to violate death ritual by entering a tomb, in contrast to Peter who has no such qualm and instead enters immediately, most scholars believe John is simply deferring to Peter, particularly since the Beloved Disciple enters the tomb once Peter is inside. There is some scriptural variation as to whom the women told and in what order.
57. Beloved Disciple
    , an individual that is usually considered to be a self-reference by the author of the gospel John.
58. ^ John had not previously described any of the followers as using this title, and Mary also states that ‘‘we’‘ don't know where they put him, even though at this point only Mary is described as having been to the tomb. To those who believe in inerrancy, Lord is used here because Jesus only gained the title on dying, and that we is evidence that John actually agrees with the Synoptics and merely didn't regard the other women as worth mentioning. However, most textual scholars see this as a typical contradiction by John of the synoptic gospels, arguing that we is a later modification to hide the discrepancy, as evidenced by some ancient manuscripts of John which have I instead of we at this point. Brown, on the other hand, has proposed that as the remainder of the passage wasn't subjected to such harmonising, the speech by Mary must have been written by a different author from the rest of the gospel.
59. ^ Psalm 16, Hosea 6:2, and Jonah 1:17
60. ^ Raymond E. Brown claims that the majority of scholars interpret home as the location that the disciple(s) had been staying in Jerusalem, and hence a substantially briefer journey.^{[citation needed]}
61. ^ John 20:24–29
62. ^ Luke 24:13–32
63. ^ John 21:1–23
64. ^ Luke 24:44–49
65. ^ John 20:24–29
66. ^ John 20
67. ^ 1 Cor. 15:6
68. ^ Book of Mormon. Third Nephi Chapter 11
69. ^
    ISBN 0-19-530013-0
70. ^ C.H. Dodd, Apostolic Preaching and Its Developments: Three Lectures With an Appendix on Eschatology and History. 25. (Baker Book House, 1982).
71. ^ Acts 2:14-40; 3:11-12; 4:5-12; 5:29-32; 10:34-42
72. ^ "Jesus Christ." Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 10 Jan. 2007
73. Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209), from the Old Latin Codex Bobiensis
    , the Sinaitic Syriac manuscript, syr(s), about one hundred Armenian manuscripts, and the two oldest Georgian manuscripts…
74. ^ John Fenton, "The Ending of Mark's Gospel" in Resurrection: Essays in Honour of Leslie Houdlen Ed. Stephen Barton and Graham Stanton.6.
75. ^ Reginald Fuller, The Formation of the Resurrection Narratives. (SPCK, 1972). 2.
76. ^ James D.G. Dunn, Jesus and the Spirit: A Study of the Religious and Charismatic Experience of Jesus and the First Christians as Reflected in the New Testament. Eerdmans, 1997. p. 115, 117.
77. ^ Cite error: The named reference ActJJesus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
78. ^ Pagels, Elaine, The Gnostic Paul: Gnostic Exegesis of the Pauline Letters, 1992, ISBN 0–8006–0403–2

Bibliography

• James D.G. Dunn, Jesus and the Spirit: A Study of the Religious and Charismatic Experience of Jesus and the First Christians as Reflected in the New Testament. Eerdmans, 1997.
• Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium.
• Gary Robert Habermas, The Resurrection of Jesus: A Rational Inquiry Dissertation submitted to Michigan State University 1976

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Resurrection of Christ.

Pro-Resurrection

Articles:

• Bruce, FF, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?
  , 1985, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press
• Catholic Encyclopedia, The resurrection of Jesus Christ
• Craig, William Lane, Contemporary Scholarship and the Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, 1985, Truth 1 89–95
• David Marshall (Ph.D.). "The Risen Jesus" an essay in Essential Jesus, edited by Bryan Ball and William Johnsson, and published by Pacific Press in 2002.
• Habermas, Gary, "Resurrection Research from 1975 to the Present: What are Critical Scholars saying?" Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, Jun2005, Vol. 3 Issue 2, p135-153
• Wright, N.T., "Resurrecting Old Arguments: Responding to Four Essays," Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, Jun2005, Vol. 3 Issue 2, p209-231. [2]
• Yamauchi, Edwin, Easter: Myth, Hallucination, or History?
  , 1974, Christianity Today

Books:

• Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony. Wm. B. Eerdman's, 2008.
• Endsjø, Dag Øistein. Greek Resurrection Beliefs and the Success of Christianity. New York: Palgrave Macmillan 2009.
• Habermas, Gary and
  Licona, Michael
  , The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, Kregel Publications, 2004.
• Habermas, Gary, The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ (College Press: Joplin, MI 1996).
• McDowell, Josh, New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Thomas Nelson, Inc, Publishers, 1999
• Strobel, Lee, The Case for Easter, Zondervan Publishing Company, 2004.
• Wenham, John. Easter Enigma: Do the Resurrection Stories Contradict One Another? Cambridge University Press, 1993.
• Wright, N.T., The Resurrection of the Son of God. Fortress Press. 2003 Online excerpt

Sceptical

Articles:

• Crossley, James G.. "Against the Historical Plausibility of the Empty Tomb Story and the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus: A Response to N.T. Wright,"Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, Jun2005, Vol. 3 Issue 2, p171-186
• Price, Robert M., By This Time He Stinketh: The Attempts of William Lane Craig to Exhume Jesus. 1997.

Books:

• Paine, Thomas, The Age of Reason, 1795
• Robert M. Price and Jeffery Jay Lowder, The Empty Tomb: Jesus Beyond the Grave (ISBN 1–59102–286-X), 2005
• Spong, John Shelby, Resurrection: Myth or Reality? , 1995

Dialogues

• Craig, William Lane, Jesus' Resurrection: Fact or Figment?: A Debate Between William Lane Craig and Gerd Ludemann. IVP Academic, 2000.
• Is There Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus?: A Debate between William Lane Craig and Bart D. Ehrman (transcript) [3] (video)
• Stewart, Robert B. The Resurrection of Jesus: John Dominic Crossan And N.T. Wright in Dialogue, 2006

Major Gospels
Ascension