Josh McDowell

The Fact of the Resurrection

172  

 “But  if  there  is  no  resurrec2on  of  the  dead,  not  even  Christ  has  been  raised;  and  if  Christ  has  not  been  raised,  then  our  preaching  is  vain,  your  faith  

also  is  vain…  173  

 …Moreover,  we  are  even  found  to  be  false  witnesses  of  God,  because  we  tes2fied  against  God  that  He  raised  

Christ,  whom  He  did  not  raise,  if  in  fact  the  dead  are  not  

raised…  174  

…For  if  the  dead  are  not  raised,  not  even  Christ  has  been  raised;  and  if  Christ  has  not  been  raised,  your  faith  is  worthless;  you  are    

s2ll  in  your  sins.”  

175  

Dr.  David  Strauss  

…It  ‘touches  Chris/anity  to  the  quick’  and  is  ‘decisive  for  the  whole  view  of  Chris/anity.’”  

176  

Dr.  David  Strauss  

…touchstone,  not  of  the  life  of  Jesus  only,  but  of  Chris/anity  

itself  to  risk  all  on  its  eventuality.”  

177  

178  

 “…He  began  to  teach  them  that  the    Son  of  Man  must  suffer  

many  things  and  be  rejected  by  the  elders  and  the  chief  priests  

and  the  scribes…  181  

 …and  be  killed,  and  aQer  three  days  rise  again.”  

182  

‘“The  Son  of  Man  is  to  be  delivered  into  hands  of  men,  and  they  will  kill  HIM;  and  when  He  has  been  killed,  He  will  rise  three  days  later.”  

183  

187  

Relevant  Facts  

► Jesus of Nazareth

► Jewish prophet

► Claimed to be the Christ prophesied in Jewish Scriptures

188  

Relevant  Facts  ► He was crucified

► 3 days after his burial, the women found the body gone

189  

Relevant  Facts  

► Disciples claimed God raised Him from the dead and He appeared to them several times before ascending to heaven

190  

Skeptics who were scientifically

convinced of the Resurrection

172  

Two  friends  from  Oxford,  author  Gilbert  West  and  statesman  Lord  

George  Ly\leton,  were  determined  to  destroy  the  basis  

of  the  Chris2an  faith.  1263  

Gilbert  West  was  going  to  demonstrate  the  fallacy  of  the  

Resurrec2on.    1264  

Lord  Ly\leton  was  going  to  prove  that  Saul  of  Tarsus  never  converted  to  Chris2anity.  1265  

Concluded  that  the  Resurrec2on  was  TRUE!  

1266  

Concluded  Saul  had  been  CONVERTED!  

1266  

Wrote  Who  Moved  the  Stone?    Chapter  1:    

“The  Book  That  Refused                                                              to  Be  Wri\en.”  

Dr.  Frank  Morrison                        Journalist  

206  

George  Eldon  Ladd  

“The  only  ra2onal  explana2on  for  these  historical  facts  is  that  God  raised  Jesus  in  bodily  form.”  

195  

Thomas  Arnold                          Author:  3-­‐volume  History  of  Rome  

“I  have  been  used  for  many  years  to  study  the  histories  of  other  

2mes  and  to  examine  and  weigh  the  evidence  of  those  who  have  

wri\en  about  them… 196  

Thomas  Arnold                          Author:  3-­‐volume  History  of  Rome  

…I  know  of  no  one  fact  in  the  history  of  mankind,  which  is  proved  by  be\er  and  fuller  evidence  of  every  sort  to  the  

understanding  of  a  fair  inquirer… 197  

…than  the  great  sign  which  God  hath  given  us  that  Christ  died  and  

rose  again  from  the  dead.”

Thomas  Arnold                          Author:  3-­‐volume  History  of  Rome  

198  

“Taking  all  the  evidence  together,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  there  is  no  historical  incident  be\er  or  

more  variously  supported  than  the  resurrec2on  of  Christ…

Brooke  Foss  WestcoH    English  Scholar/Literary  Giant  

199  

…Nothing  but  the  anteceded  assump2on  that  it  must  be  false  could  have  suggested  the  idea  of  deficiency  in  the  proof  of  it.”

Brooke  Foss  WestcoH    English  Scholar/Literary  Giant  

200  

“If  all  the  evidence  is  weighed  carefully  and  fairly,  it  is  indeed  

jus2fiable  according  to  the  canons  of  historical  research  to  conclude  that  

the  tomb…

Dr.  Paul  Maier                                      Western  Michigan  University  

201  

…in  which  Jesus  was  buried  was  actually  empty  on  the  morning    

of  the  first  Easter.”

Dr.  Paul  Maier                                      Western  Michigan  University  

202