Debate on the Resurrection of Jesus

On By Daniel B. WallaceIn Uncategorized

An informal debate on the resurrection of Jesus, which began as a continuation of comments on my blog, “Can We Still Believe the Bible?” (https://danielbwallace.com/2014/03/24/can-we-still-believe-the-bible/), has turned into a formal debate. I think you’ll find it most interesting! Here’s the link:

http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/showthread.php?7723-Debate-on-the-Resurrection-of-Jesus-Apologiaphoenix-vs-Gary

9 thoughts on “Debate on the Resurrection of Jesus”

  6. Gary

    Dear Dr. Wallace and Readers of Dr. Wallace’s blog:

    After weeks of very interesting discussion, the Christians on Theology Web along with myself and other skeptics have come to these conclusions:

    1. We have agreed that there ARE alternative explanations to the early Christian belief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. We disagree as to which explanation best explains the evidence, but both sides acknowledge that skeptics cannot state as fact that the bodily Resurrection of Jesus did not happen, and Christians cannot state that the evidence proves the Resurrection is historical fact. The Resurrection remains an alleged historical event.

    2. Some Christians on Theology Web have used Christian author Craig Keneer’s book on miracles as evidence that miracles do occur. However, Keneer himself states in the forward to his book that ALL the miracle cases in his book have alternative explanations. Therefore Keneer is not asserting that he can prove miracles have happened, nor is he asserting that miracles today prove the historicity of the miracle claims in the Bible. He is simply stating that scholars and the public should give more weight to the PROBABILITY of miracles than they currently do.

    So where does that leave us: It leaves us each with the task of calculating the probability of every odd, rare event that we personally encounter or that we read about in any book, ancient or modern, as to whether its cause was an “extra-natural” explanation, as Keneer prefers to describe it, or, a naturalistic explanation. There is no right or wrong answer, folks. Determining probability is a personal choice.

    It has been an enjoyable experience discussing this fascinating and controversial issue with all of you.

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  7. gary

    Dr. Wallace,

    I am frequently chastised by conservative Christians for not having read enough books by Christian NT scholars regarding evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus. Would you mind answering the following question for me:

    How many books by NT scholars should the average person read in order to be able to say that they have fairly looked at the evidence for the Resurrection, and, so that they can make an adequately informed decision as to the historicity of this alleged event?

    Also, would you kindly list the names and authors of the minimum required number of scholarly books that you would recommend, in descending order of priority?

    Thanks!

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  9. nonsupernaturalist

    Are our pastors telling us the truth?

    Are Christian pastors honest with their congregations regarding the evidence for the Resurrection? Is there really a “mountain of evidence” for the Resurrection as our pastors claim or is the belief in the Resurrection based on nothing more than assumptions, second century hearsay, superstitions, and giant leaps of faith?

    You MUST read this Christian pastor’s defense of the Resurrection and a review by one of his former parishioners, a man who lost his faith and is now a nonbeliever primarily due to the lack of good evidence for the Resurrection:

    -A Review of LCMS Pastor John Bombaro’s Defense of the Resurrection-

    (copy and paste this article title into your browser to find and read this fascinating review of the evidence for the Resurrection)

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