The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus

Great book! Lots of great information regarding the historical account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I recommend this book to everybody. It is a meaty book so you may need to read each chapter a few times and chew on it. Very very good book.

Best apologetics book I have read so far, but exposes the Christian disconnect regarding probability!

"So we know that the disciples sincerely believed that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to them. We've seen that there is good evidence to support their claims, namely the conversion of the church persecutor Paul, the conversion of the skeptic James, and the empty tomb. And finally, the complete inability of opposing theories to account for the data leaves Jesus' resurrection as the only plausible explanation to account for the known historical facts. And it seems that if Jesus rose from the dead, we have good evidence that God exists and has actually revealed himself to mankind in Jesus Christ" ---Habermas and Licona, p. 214

Anyone not from a Christian background who reads this statement will ask, "What are these guys smoking???"

Here is the big disconnect in logic between Christians and non-Christians on the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus claim: Probability. If you believe that the god, Yahweh, exists; that he is THE Creator God; that he is all-knowing and all-powerful; and you believe that Yahweh has predicted in the Hebrew holy book (the Old Testament) that he will send a messiah who will be killed and then raised from the dead....OF COURSE you will believe that the resurrection is the most probable explanation of the evidence! But if you do NOT believe that Yahweh exists, then it is LAUGHABLE to suggest that the reanimation (resurrection) of a three-day-brain-dead corpse is more probable than the many possible, alternative, naturalistic explanations for the early Christian resurrection belief. (Even if you believe that there is evidence for a Creator God, evidence for a generic Creator does NOT automatically translate to evidence for Yahweh.)

Here is just one of many plausible, alternative, naturalistic explanations that without assuming the existence of Yahweh is MUCH more probable than the Christian supernatural explanation: Someone moved the body on Saturday night. The women found the tomb empty the next morning, told the disciples, who soon believed that an empty tomb meant that Jesus had been resurrected. In the emotional hysteria that followed, one of the disciples had an hallucination in which he believed the flesh and blood Jesus appeared to him. Based on his hallucination, he convinced the other disciples to believe his delusion, which they did. They didn't die for a lie. They died for someone's hallucination (Medical experts confirm that people who have hallucinations remember them to be real). James converted PRIOR to his alleged appearance experience; he believed the first disciple's hallucination as did the other disciples. Paul suffered a mental illness and at times experienced his own delusions and hallucinations, explaining his appearance experience. The detailed appearance claims in the Gospels are literary fiction, just as Licona believes that Matthew's Dead Saints Shaken Out of their Tombs Story is fiction. The group appearance claims in the Early Creed were of a bright light which believers perceived as appearances of Jesus; they never claimed to have seen a walking/talking body.

It's that simple folks.

This is an incredibly powerful and effective defense of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Authors Gary Habermas and Michael Licona have made a way for anyone to make a compelling case for this critical event in world history. After all, if the resurrection occurred, that is also strong evidence for the existence of God. Also, if Jesus died and rose, it makes sense that people should listen to what he has to say. After all, no one else has ever done that before or since.

A very interesting part of this book is the 'minimal facts approach' presented. In this section, the authors make a very compelling case using just five facts that are virtually undisputed. They are agreed upon by almost all scholars of this field including those who are very conservative, ultra liberal, and even agnostics.

There are also some very helpful charts that will help one to really learn this approach well. In addition, there is even a game DVD included that helps readers to really solidify this approach in their minds. There are also several responses to skeptics to assist students of this topic in answering objections.

This is really a 'must read' for those who are into Christian apologetics as well as any other Christian and anyone who is open minded enough to thoughfully consider this topic.

Drs. Habermas and Licona's compelling book, "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus" provides evidence and defensive arguments for Jesus' resurrection. The intent of the book is to deal with the resurrection without relying on faith. This is the perfect book for those in need of hard evidence and fact.
I must admit the book is a bit technical and hard to digest in parts but it is very much worth the effort. "The Case for the Resurrection" is comprehensive and runs well in excess of 300 pages. It is a thorough defense of the resurrection, It's data is the latest. I was impressed.

The Case for The Resurrection of Jesus, by Habermas and Licona, is an accessible and structured introductory popular level apologetic work which presents a positive case for a belief in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The book is essentially an apologetics work, however it is unusual and unique compared to other apologetics books I've seen. Why? Because it reads like an evangelism manual, rather than being just a book which intellectually answers a question or presents a particular thesis. It has sections explaining how to present the author's arguments to friends and colleagues in an honest, open and friendly manner. I found this section to be invaluable, however I recommend against buying the book for a Non Christian friend for this very reason- they might be put off by all the evangelism training in the book! Instead, I recommend reading the book yourself and then attempting to engage your friends with the arguments employed by the authors, using their tips to ensure you put forward your case in a gentle, friendly way.

The authors employ a framework dubbed "The Minimal Facts Approach". Basically, they start off by asserting five "minimal facts", or events that basically ALL New Testament scholars and historians agree are real, historical events (note: one of the facts is only agreed by 75% of scholars), including atheist and agnostic scholars, and then the authors assert that the resurrection of Jesus is the only viable historical alternative left after taking all of these 5 events into account. Or at least, the most reasonable alternative. The five facts are- Crucifixion, Empty Tomb, Conversion of James, conversion of Paul and post mortem appearances.

The authors spend a couple of chapters framing the debate and providing the basic historical evidence for the five facts, and then continue to defend their approach against every possible objection. Most of the basic historical-type objections are dealt with by explaining that they simply don't account for the five facts. However, they also delve into relevant questions such as the philosophy of naturalism and God's existence- as these are also objections people raise against the resurrection of Jesus.

The real strengths of the book are:

- The employing of diagrams and acronyms to help the reader remember the basic historical evidence.
- The structured and metholodical approach used to make their case.
- Extensive footnotes with additional commentary on key points and references to numerous resources for extra reading.

I rate this 5 stars, and I highly recommend for any Christian who is interested in the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus and especially those who have a real interest in presenting a case for the resurrection to friends and family.

Although I thought this book was a little boring (mainly because I already knew a lot of the information it was providing), I thought that the main concept was good. They call it the minimalist approach. They take a number of key points concerning the resurrection that the majority of critics accept and show why these points alone can clearly show a resurrection occurred. It really keeps the discussion focused.

I can't be positive, but I am pretty sure that the reviewer who titled their review something like "the house of cards tumbles" either skimmed through the book, read a summary of it, or read it simply to argue against it (although I just doubt he read it, period). First of all, the facts that lay the foundation for this book are accepted by the majority of critical scholarship. That means that most critics of the resurrection hold these facts to be true. I'm not very sure if this guy is a scholar, but I do know that he is in a very small minority. I could go through the historical arguments that he believes don't exist, but I will instead recommend he review the beliefs of most scholars who are critical of the resurrection and perhaps "The Historical Jesus" by Habermas and/or some other books on the subject. The vast majority of scholars accept these facts because they know they it is pretty silly to argue against them. I have to say that this ultra-skeptical position is fairly laughable. We might as well forget about the rest of history if these facts can't be agreed upon.

(...)
New Testament scholars Gary Habermas and Michael Licona have produced quite possibly the most comprehensive book on the market, at the popular level, in regards to examining the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Habermas and Licona build the case for the resurrection around 5 data points accepted widely by New Testament scholars, 4 of which are accepted by virtually ever scholar: 1) Christ's death by crucifixion; 2) The disciples' sincere belief of Christ's post-mortem appearances to them; 3) The conversion of the skeptic James; 4) The conversion of Paul; 5) The empty tomb.
Following a discussion of some of the evidence that establishes these data points on very solid historical ground, the authors discuss a wide range of alternative theories to Christ's resurrection touted over the centuries by critics (e.g. The Swoon theory; Fraud theories; Hallucinations), demonstrating each to not satisfactorily account for all of the widely accepted data. So thorough is the authors' treatment of alternative theories that they cover probably about anything, no matter how outlandish (e.g. Jesus was a space alien), that has ever been reasonably popular, in some detail.
Included within this book is a helpful discussion of the nature of the resurrection body (i.e. spiritual vs. physical); a brief chapter on Christology; a brief chapter detailing common apologetic arguments for the existence of God; and very informative data in their end-notes section. What makes this book truly unique is its design, however. The authors' intent is to prepare the reader to be able to share with others the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Helpful flow charts are presented throughout the book; the last chapter is dedicated to suggestions regarding how one should approach a spiritual seeker with the data; and an outline of the main points of the book are placed in an appendix at the end. The book even comes with its own CD with quizzes for the reader on material presented!
While the authors could have added other widely accepted historical facts regarding Christ's resurrection to augment their case, they still compellingly debunk all alternative theories and established that the only reasonable fit for the data is a bonified resurrection. This book should be of value to all students of the resurrection of Jesus on a beginners and even intermediate level.

In The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus Gary Habermas and his protégé Michael Licona have produced an amazing resource for presenting and defending the historic Christian faith. Case for the Resurrection presents Habermas's "minimal facts" approach to arguing for the resurrection of Christ - a method that avoids appealing to sources that only Christians would find compelling. To encourage readers to really assimilate the material, a quality video game is included on a CD-ROM in the back of the book.

It is divided into four parts. Part One is an introduction to the whole book that explains why Christ's resurrection is so important, gives an overview of the historical method, and previews the main points that will be discussed. Part Two delivers the minimal facts approach itself (see below). Part Three demonstrates how the approach can be used to handle common objections to Christ's resurrection. Part Four compliments part three by including many secondary objections that might be brought up, as well as a section on people skills. Nearly one third of the book awaits, however, as the main body is followed up by a series of sample conversations, an outline of the entire approach in (this alone is worth the price of the book), extensive notes, and a bibliography.

The book's strengths are many. The minimal facts approach "considers only those facts that are both strongly supported by evidence and are conceded by almost every scholar, even those who are skeptical" (p. 220). There are five facts brought to bear on the issue: (1) Jesus died by crucifixion, (2) Jesus' disciples believed that he rose and appeared to them, (3) the church persecutor Paul was suddenly changed, (4) the skeptic James (brother of Jesus) was suddenly changed, and (5) the tomb was empty. The authors note that point five is not technically a minimal fact because it only has about 75% acceptance by scholars rather than the vast majority required by the others, but there is enough evidence and agreement to include it anyway. Each of these is given plenty of supporting arguments and evidence.

The evidence and arguments are presented in an easily understood manner, even for the layperson. Memory aids are found throughout in the form of helpful acronyms, graphics, and summaries. These permeate the book to such an extent that even a cursory glance will deliver more useful information than an average Sunday school class. The writing is casual and friendly, which serves as a constant reminder that this is how the authors intend the material to be used. More than most apologetics texts, the authors show a great concern for the manner in which this information is communicated - they often stress the need for listening and responding to the objector's points without simply bulldozing them with facts.

I was not really planning on reviewing the CD-ROM game included with the book because I assumed it to be a mere add-on for promotional purposes, but to the degree that I expected this I was completely wrong. The game is actually a high quality trivia game with a humorous "host" who encourages the player (sometimes through playful ridicule) as he goes through the game. It was quite entertaining and really lets the reader objectively evaluate how well they truly grasp the material.

Case's weaknesses are few and minor. The book is entry-level without appearing "dumbed down" and so some of the more difficult scholarly objections were handled rather cursorily, but to offer much more would have weighed the book down. Further, the notes and bibliography can point the reader to more detailed refutations. There is quite a bit of repetition that was appreciated for aiding the memory and driving home how well the minimal facts approach can be used in numerous situations, but it could have been lightened considerably and still served its purpose. The weakest section of the book was chapter eleven which dealt with God's existence. It comes in section four (secondary issues) because it is not a direct objection to the resurrection itself, and is treated only briefly (less than ten pages), offering only two arguments (intelligent design and first cause). Both arguments use primarily scientific data for support rather than the considerably more powerful philosophical versions of the arguments, and many classical arguments are not mentioned at all. (Unlike, for example, William Lane Craig - another debate heavyweight - who uses the same basic evidential method when dealing with the resurrection, but includes the powerful Kalam cosmological argument for God's existence - supported by both scientific and philosophical evidence - in his overall case). Due to the evidential nature of the book (which reflects Habermas's apologetic methodology) this was not necessarily unexpected, but as an "armchair editor" I would have had that chapter expanded - possibly into a more robust appendix.

If there is a second edition, (or, better, a sequel!), more space should be devoted to theories being expounded in recent books like The Empty tomb: Jesus Beyond the Grave (Robert Price and Jeffery Jay Lowder, eds.), and ideas being promoted by other up-and-coming critics like Richard Carrier who has taken up the "spiritual resurrection" gauntlet. While some of these theories are briefly dealt with in Case for the Resurrection (and more thoroughly refuted in other works such as Norman Geisler's The Battle for the Resurrection: Updated Edition and N. T. Wright's The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God)) they will become less "academic" and more "popular" as the internet continues to close the gap between the two.

Knowing why you believe what you believe is one of the hardest parts of being a Christian. Just as parents answer a child's endless supply of "why?" questions and usually run out of answers, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas ensures that we Christians don't. It begins with "why" it is important for us to know the information provided in this book. The answer is found in God's Holy Word, I Peter 3:15, "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account of the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence."

This book takes several arguments disputing the resurrection of Christ and tears them to shreds. It demonstrates that the very sources used against the resurrection are biased and partial. The amount of information and biblical knowledge contained within is astounding. It includes a CD-ROM which is pure genius, educating the public about the resurrection.

Habermas dissects common questions that argue against Jesus' resurrection, making it an easy reference for the future. For example, say the person you are witnessing to says, "The disciples stole the body;" it is easy to find the information to refute that false belief. Every known argument for why the resurrection didn't happen is accounted for in this book, and proven wrong.

This book is an excellent learning tool for every Christian. I recommend it for pastors as a reference tool and a study guide, regardless of where they are in their walk with the Lord. All of life is a time to learn, and learning never stops. We can never know too much about God.

With the inclusion of a detailed outline of the arguments contained in this book, the notes taken to write the book ( listed by individual chapter),and the bibliography of other reference books used in this one, there is an limitless supply of Bible studies and/or sermons. What pastor could not use this book? This book is by far one of the most useful books on the Christian faith. -- Tammy Hornbeck, Christian Book Previews.com

The authors of "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus" are both skilled Christian debaters who regularly take on committed atheists in arguing for the resurrection. Their book

reflects this background: it utilizes a top-down approach of first

presenting each major argument, then delving into every objection with

the refutations that can be made. Even with a lot of data it is easy to follow, since

they lay out everything in an orderly progression and make use of

copious, clear diagrams to keep the information straight. It covers in

detail the alternative naturalistic theories to the resurrection (body

theft, apostolic hallucinations, "swoon" theory etc.) and then touches

on other evidences for God's existence and how a resurrection might be

consistent with this. The authors do NOT assume the inerrancy/inspiration of the new testament documents, the deity of Jesus, or other remarkable assumptions that would invalidate their arguments with a skeptic before the exchange of ideas even began.

The book also includes a CD that contains two in-depth quizzes of the

presented information. The CD is professionally designed and

first-rate, with a humorous talk-show host, and the questions are

challenging! The quizzes by reviewing the material help to cement the

facts, conclusions and refutations.

The case for Jesus' resurrection is astonishingly strong and will shake a naturalistic world view (the view that this universe is all there is). This book is a self-study course on the evidences for Jesus' resurrection and how to

use these to present your faith. And if you are not a believer read it

with an open mind. You might be surprised.

Both Dr. Habermas and Dr. Licona are world renowned scholars, who have brought their erudition to fruition in this volume. The analysis is objective, and the exhaustive research fairly draws upon sources from multiple worldviews, including atheism. This should be standard reading in the areas of history and philosophy of religion.

I have used the "minimal facts" approach several times since I finished reading "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus." Three weeks ago I used it to witness to a Muslim, and she granted that Jesus could have risen from the dead, but she argued this would not mean Christianity was true. However, I pointed out that Jesus' resurrection would have served in confirmation of the claims He made, and she agreed with me.

I also used the "minimal facts" approach while witnessing to and debating three agnostics at once this past Saturday night. The approach was extremely effective against their objections, and the best they could come up with was that the disciples were subconsciously predisposed to believe Jesus rose from the dead, grave robbers stole Jesus' body, and that Paul was just sick of his job so he converted to the Christian faith. However, I pointed out that the disciples were not in the right frame of mind to believe Jesus had risen from the dead, because they had just seen their leader, and friend die a horrible death. I also explained how the grave robber theory could not account for the resurrection appearances to Paul, nor James. Regarding Paul's conversion I reminded them of Paul's own words stating that he was an excellent Pharisee, and he apparently loved his job before his conversion. The agnostics also tried to negate the four minimal facts by pointing out that many people sincerely believe they have been abducted by aliens, and that more people have claimed to have been abducted by aliens than those who claimed to have seen the risen Jesus. However, I pointed out that this objection failed to address the minimal facts presented.

Needless to say, I found "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus" to be a very powerful, and effective witnessing tool.

From a historical point of view, Habermas does an exceptional job of conducting research and then distilling it down into a very readable format. He does it so well, in fact, that anyone who has never been through genuine historical research wouldn't have a clue what went in to this book. This was extroardinarily researched and then whittled down to perfection due to Habermas' constant tour of the debate circuit. This guy has been to some serious college campuses (i.e. Duke and the like) and NO ONE will challenge him on the historicity of the Resurrection. Pretty cool. Worth your time to read.

No way you can escape this. Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus is presented in a very detailed and resonable format. The evidence speaks for itself. It's like the phrase "he cast out demons with the Devil's Power". They didn't say he DIDN'T cast out demons, they just attributed Jesus' power to the dark side. They had the evidence right in front of them. Lazarus was alive and could be questioned. Who covered up for the Roman Guards? How was Saul changed into Paul, the completely transformed former killer of christians? What changed his mind? People do not die for a lie or the perception of a lie. The disciples that saw Jesus Resurrected had no mass hallucination, delusion or craziness. Jesus did die and came back to life. Powerful evidence stated in very no nonsense, verifiable words. You really have to ask yourself, "Is Jesus really alive?" Yep.

Even though i recognize the sincerity of the authors of this book i do not agree with their interpretation of the gospel events in relation to the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus definitely rose from the dead...his spirit body left his physical body & for a period of 40 days he appeared to his close disciples in his glorious spirit body. He passed through material, he appeared & disappeared, he conversed with his disciples & they did not recognize him immediately. Jesus was the same person but now he was manifesting himself to his disciples in his substantial spirit self..normally we dont see spirits because our spiritual senses are not open. This was a special grace period to allow his disciples to renew their faith & love for Jesus. After the Pentecost they received more spiritual power to witness to Jesus. Jesus was & is a human in the fullest sense & when he died he died physically which is the natural process.Raising someone from the dead doesnt prove anything. Lazarus was brought back from the dead. We value Jesus resurrection because Jesus was one with God & grants us spiritual salvation & the promise to be with him in the highest realms. The important point is that Jesus was the tue son of God & shows us how to become like him when we love him & keep his commandments. I know that by emphasising the physical resurrection of Jesus the authors want to show that Jesus is unique in all of history & that he is in fact God. Jesus is already special & came into the world to fulfill the messianic mission to create God's kingdom of true love & liberate people from the influence of Satan. The fact is that he was murdered as in the testimony of Stephen & Jesus had to promise the second coming of the Christ to fulfll this mission spiritually & physically. In one sense we need to look at scriptures from a different perspective already knowing God's heart & his purpose for creation & Jesus place in the fulfillment of God's providence. Thank you.

People like Paul Doland reject this book because of the lack of contemporary writings or what othr defenses they may have to prove that God does not exist. Whatever. Like they have all the answers. How do they know? The Bible and its case for Jesus is far more reliable than books written by Richard Dawkins on evolution or to prove God's non existence. The Bible has one word for them: fools.

Even though i recognize the sincerity of the authors of this book i do not agree with their interpretation of the gospel events in relation to the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus definitely rose from the dead...his spirit body left his physical body & for a period of 40 days he appeared to his close disciples in his glorious spirit body. He passed through material, he appeared & disappeared, he conversed with his disciples & they did not recognize him immediately. Jesus was the same person but now he was manifesting himself to his disciples in his substantial spirit self..normally we dont see spirits because our spiritual senses are not open. This was a special grace period to allow his disciples to renew their faith & love for Jesus. After the Pentecost they received more spiritual power to witness to Jesus. Jesus was & is a human in the fullest sense & when he died he died physically which is the natural process.Raising someone from the dead doesnt prove anything. Lazarus was brought back from the dead. We value Jesus resurrection because Jesus was one with God & grants us spiritual salvation & the promise to be with him in the highest realms. The important point is that Jesus was the tue son of God & shows us how to become like him when we love him & keep his commandments. I know that by emphasising the physical resurrection of Jesus the authors want to show that Jesus is unique in all of history & that he is in fact God. Jesus is already special & came into the world to fulfill the messianic mission to create God's kingdom of true love & liberate people from the influence of Satan. The fact is that he was murdered as in the testimony of Stephen & Jesus had to promise the second coming of the Christ to fulfll this mission spiritually & physically. In one sense we need to look at scriptures from a different perspective already knowing God's heart & his purpose for creation & Jesus place in the fulfillment of God's providence. Thank you.

People like Paul Doland reject this book because of the lack of contemporary writings or what othr defenses they may have to prove that God does not exist. Whatever. Like they have all the answers. How do they know? The Bible and its case for Jesus is far more reliable than books written by Richard Dawkins on evolution or to prove God's non existence. The Bible has one word for them: fools.

The author makes a number of errors. He only gets his information from believers and never from secular sources. He only assumes the believer's positions are true and never makes a case that the secular position is wrong in any way. His arguments are full of fallacies and circular reasoning and in some cases down right misinformation.

This is a book written for believers and will fail to convince any true skeptic.

The recount of the scientific recollections of the study in the Shroud of Turin is absolutely fascinating.

I attended a conference a year before last and was dazzled by the recount of the scientific communities' study on the Shroud and their synopsis of the Shroud of Turin. It was absolutely amazing, especially when we as humans have a DNA numbering one molecule more than the Shroud had emulated. Could it be the mystery of sin?

I was completely amazed with the information that was brought forth and would highly recommend this information to any skeptic to ponder.

As a believer in Christ Jesus, I was thoroughly convinced.

Enjoy,

This is a book designed to let Christians with no idea why they are Christians parrot back learned & memorized debatable claims.

I won't go into its innumerable problems but just highlight a couple big issues. They say all the original 11 disciples plus new member believed in the resurrection and were willing to be martyred for this belief. So were Paul and James. This is an assumption and not a fact. We have primary documentation of the belief of Paul ONLY. We have second-hand (or third or 4th hand) accounts of what Peter, John, James, etc believed. Critical scholars do not think ANY of the NT books were written by a member of the Twelve. So we must believe Paul, whoever wrote Acts, and whoever wrote the gospels and epistles as to what the Twelve believed. Not one writes in their own words what they thought of Jesus or the resurrection claims. Where is it recorded in divinely-inspired text exactly what Matthias or Simon thought? Oh, they were illiterate... So we can only take someone else's guess as to their beliefs. Remember, the authors quote the Matthew passage that said some disciples doubted.

Also, how do we know which were martyred and for what reason? Even the NT does not record a single detailed account of martyrdom except for Stephen as far as I can remember. All else is legend = tradition. We can't even be certain Peter and Paul died as tradition says let along Nathaniel or Jude. Some works suggest Paul did set out for Spain. The point is NOT that none died as martyrs, but simply we can only speculate and depend on legendary accounts, often with truly unbelievable details attached.

The authors gloss over both these issues in telling us ALL the disciples believed in the resurrection and all were willing to be martyrs.

Paul's resurrection experience is so different as to make it eligible for an asterisk. And Luke and Acts can't even describe it the same, which doesn't enhance the evidence. As far as James goes, why not jump at the chance of heading a movement started by his brother? Big opportunity; jump at it. Claim you have seen Jesus to give you credentials to match any other disciple making that claim. As a matter of fact, if just one or two key disciples claimed to see resurrected Jesus, and you wanted the respect and prestige that brought among Jesus Movement followers, why not jump on the bandwagon and make the same claim so people would sit at awe at your feet as you told fascinating stories of Jesus. And the more fascinating, the more people would listen to you. So embellish!

Finally, just stupid to say if the tomb was not empty, Jewish/Roman officials would have paraded around a body. After 50 days? And Christian movement so small & trivial at that time, no one in power even took notice of them. If the officials were really concerned with these Jewish sect quacks, they could have just found any old body & paraded it around as belonging to Jesus. Maybe they did, and Christians just never preserved that fact! No, just no need to try to debunk what at the time was an invisible Jewish sect. There were many, some bigger.

If this book makes a default Christian-by-birth/raising feel they have valid reasons for believing in their religion, and they can feel better in parroting the party line, then so be it. But I guarantee it will not sway any sophisticated, knowledgeable nonbelievers. It may sway a nonbeliever who is as shallow in their nonbelief as any Christians who would use this book are shallow in their own understanding.

This book contains all the most powerful scholarly arguments, including consensus, to ascertain the reality of Jesus' resurrection, and deals with all the arguments that have been held against it.
Except that in Jewish literature, miracles were "literary signs". The same goes for the resurrection, which according to the Didache is the "third sign" after the deployment (of angels?) and the sounding of trumpets. In the Didache, resurrection is viewed as a future event. Mark claims it happened.
What then did Mark have so imperatively to demonstrate with the resurrection argument, an acknowledged literary sign? I would like scholars to give an answer.

I understand why, as apologists, the authors want to make the case. But the case is only made to those who are already convinced.

First of all, the rising of the dead, from a tomb that is opened, is not unique - even in the New Testament. Remember Lazarus? (John XI). Secondly, we know that Jesus was crucified on a Friday, and according to law at the time in Palestine, the crucified were taken down by sundown, and that more than 10% lived. So nothing odd with that. There are 20 million Thomasine Catholics in Kerala, India today who can tell you (if they haven't been Romanized) that Jesus, Thomas, and Mary went East, with Mary dying in the town of Murie (named after her) in present-day Pakistan, Thomas going south, and Jesus north to Srinagar (you can actually visit his tomb).

The problem with the whole story is that Jesus himself believed - wrongly as it turned out - that he was living in the "end of time" - and had to prepare his followers for it. It didn't happen, and the followers needed a new tale, one that wasn't tied to Jesus' own words. The personal "resurrection" of Jesus (which Jesus never preached) became the replacement.

Well, reject all of that. It doesn;t matter. The author haven't come close to proving their case.

I can see why Christian apologists like this book. It is well written, with lots of sensible advice in arguing wtih skeptics, and it was written from the heart.

But the idea that some minimal agreed on set of facts makes the resurrection of Jesus the best explanation of history is just - bunk. In fact, it is pseudo-history, the way creationism is pseudo-science. It requires one to uncritically accept the historical value of the New Testament, and ignore all modern historical standards for evidence.

I have heard WIlliam Lane Craig lay out this pseudo-history in a debate, and also Greg Licona. Craig is a very accomplished debater, Licona less so - but neither one is persuasive. The idea that there is credible historical evidence for an empty tomb is just false, and the whole argument falls to pieces after that.

I think that the point of this book is to make Christians feel better about their intellectual credentials. But the arguments do not convince anyone who knows about historical standards of evidence. And if Christian missionaries just keep repeating these arguments, it will eventually make them look bad.

I would recommend any book by Robert Price, especially the Incredible Shrinking Son of Man, to anyone who really wants to evaluate the historical case for the Resurrection.

The argument is a proverbial house of cards. The authors start out with some premises that they say just about everybody, even skeptics, agree with. Well, a lot of us don't agree with them. Anyway, the authors then try to build upon what they say "everybody" agrees with, in a house-of-cards fashion. If this is true, then that must be true. And if this, then that, etc.

I'll give a very brief counter to each of the base premises:

1) Jesus' death by crucifixion;

Most skeptics have agreed to this, primarily because crucifixions did occur, so it wouldn't be terribly surprising if somebody names Jesus Christ was crucified. But, beyond that, there isn't any reason to believe it. There is NO contemporary reference to Jesus Christ in existence. And, since the NT (Gospels, Epistles, etc.) were written at least (by conservative Christian standards) at least 20 years after his alleged death. That means even including the Bible, there is still exactly 0 contemporary references.

Skeptics can't really prove that somebody named Jesus Christ wasn't crucified, so most of accept that it happened. But, then it becomes one of the pieces of the house of cards: "Well, if Jesus *was* crucified, then..." Well, no, I take that piece out and say no I don't accept it happened unless you can give me a non-propaganda contemporary reference for it. You can't, so I reject claim 1.

2) Jesus' disciples believed that he rose and appeared to them;

The original ending of Mark has no appearances. Therefore, it seems quite likely the earliest belief of Christians didn't have appearances. Again, no contemporary non-propaganda reference to the alleged disciples believing any such thing exists. I reject claim 2.

3) Paul, a persecutor of the church, has suddenly changed to faith in Jesus;

No contemporary non-propaganda reference to this exists. Claim rejected. Besides. Even if it did happen, so what? People change religions every day. So what?

4) James, skeptical of Jesus during his ministry, was suddenly changed to faith in Jesus; and,

No contemporary non-propaganda reference exists. Claim rejected.

5) The tomb of Jesus was empty.

No contemporary non-propaganda reference exists. Claim rejected.

All claims rejected. House of cards crumbles.

Many things that Habermas presume as true concerning, for instance, the idea that most scholars regard the "empty tomb" as a fact of history, are simply false. Scholars are not nearly so unified on accepting many of the premises assumed. He presumes so many facts told us by the bible that he might as well just say "Jesus is risen because the bible says so" and save us some time and money.
For reasons why the resurrection is not supported by history, and for other challenges to fundamentalist Christianity, see the writings by Robert Price or Michael Tenenbaum on the matter.

Blinded by the defense of his personal beliefs. and like all dogmatic doctrine, gary here does a wonderful job of blurring the facts with his beliefs. nonsense meant as entertainment, that is, if one plans to live in a civilized state.