Jesus Was Probably Resurrected By God

Con wisely frames the debate as "God probably raised Jesus from the dead," no doubt noting that "proof" in the definitive mathematical sense is an inappropriate and unachievable standard when reconstructing ancient history. Rather, he asks what historical facts serve to justify the conclusion that "God raised Jesus from the dead" as an inference to the best explanation. Please note that the existence of God is not the topic of debate. Though our respective positions on the topic at hand will be undoubtedly invested with implications for or against the existence of God, we begin our discussion with this as an open question, an answer to which will not be pre-supposed by either party, thus avoiding a fall into circular reasoning. I will present four historical facts surrounding the death and alleged resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, as argued by Dr. William Lane Craig: "FACT #1: After his crucifixion, Jesus was buried in a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea. This fact is highly significant because it means, contrary to radical critics like John Dominic Crossan of the Jesus Seminar, that the location of Jesus" burial site was known to Jew and Christian alike. In that case, the disciples could never have proclaimed his resurrection in Jerusalem if the tomb had not been empty" "FACT #2: On the Sunday following the crucifixion, Jesus" tomb was found empty by a group of his women followers" The fact that women"s testimony was discounted in first century Palestine stands in favor of the women"s role in discovering the empty tomb. According to Josephus, the testimony of women was regarded as so worthless that it could not even be admitted into a Jewish court of law. Any later legendary story would certainly have made male disciples discover the empty tomb" "FACT #3: On multiple occasions and under various circumstances, different individuals and groups of people experienced appearances of Jesus alive from the dead" The appearance traditions in the gospels provide multiple, independent attestation of these appearances. This is one of the most important marks of historicity. The appearance to Peter is independently attested by Luke, and the appearance to the Twelve by Luke and John. We also have independent witness to Galilean appearances in Mark, Matthew, and John, as well as to the women in Matthew and John. "FACT #4: The original disciples believed that Jesus was risen from the dead despite their having every predisposition to the contrary" The original disciples believed in and were willing to go to their deaths for the fact of Jesus" resurrection. Luke Johnson, a New Testament scholar from Emory University, muses, "some sort of powerful, transformative experience is required to generate the sort of movement earliest Christianity was. "" These four historical facts (Jesus" burial by Joseph of Arimathea, the discovery of his empty tomb by a group of his women followers, Jesus" post-mortem appearances, and the origin of the disciples" belief in the resurrection) must be accounted for by any adequate historical hypothesis. I maintain that as an inference to the best explanation, the notion that God raised Jesus from the dead is more probable than any competing hypothesis. Again, I thank Con for this debate, and eagerly await his rebuttal. Source: . http://www.reasonablefaith.org...