If Christ Is Not Risen, Nothing Else Matters
Every question in this series leads here. Christianity does not stand or fall on whether Christians are kind, whether churches are large, or whether faith makes people happier. It stands or falls on one event: whether Jesus of Nazareth, crucified under Pontius Pilate, rose bodily from the dead on the third day.
If He did not, Christian preaching and faith collapse. If He did, then everything God promised is confirmed: Jesus is who He said He is, His death paid for sin, and death itself has been defeated. This study looks at why the resurrection is the cornerstone of the faith, at the historical facts that even skeptical scholars accept, and at why every natural explanation of those facts falls short.
Knowledge can feed pride. This study is not about becoming sharper in arguments or winning debates. The goal is that you would know what you believe and why you believe it, so that you can speak the truth in love, with a settled heart and a clear mind, and point people to Jesus rather than to yourself.
- The resurrection is the cornerstone of Christianity.
- The minimal facts are accepted by scholars across the theological spectrum.
- Every alternative explanation collapses under scrutiny.
What would it take for you to die for something you knew was a lie?
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For Deeper Study
- The Case for the Resurrection of JesusAmazon Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. LiconaThe fullest popular presentation of the minimal facts approach, with answers to the alternative theories.
- Who Moved the Stone?Amazon Frank MorisonA classic by a writer who set out to tell the story of Jesus' last days without the miraculous and was persuaded by the evidence.
- The Case for EasterAmazon Lee StrobelA short, readable set of interviews on the death and resurrection of Jesus.
- The Son Rises: The Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of JesusAmazon William Lane CraigA careful argument from the empty tomb, the appearances, and the origin of the disciples' faith.
- The Fate of the ApostlesAmazon Sean McDowellA scholarly study of what can be known about how the apostles died; more advanced.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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The Bodily Resurrection
Jesus rose bodily from the dead on the third day. Without the resurrection, the apostle says, our faith is vain.
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