FBI Resurrection

What are the three factors described whenever Scripture defines the Gospel?

the Deity of Jesus; the Death of Jesus, an atoning death for our sins; the Resurrection of Jesus, bodily resurrection

True/false: The Resurrection of Jesus is a bodily resurrection. What we mean by resurrection is what we call the bodily appearances.

true

True/false: Jesus’ resurrection is not described. What we mean by resurrection is what we call the bodily appearances.

true; we do not know what happened inside the tomb

What is the loftiest title for Jesus?

Lord

What are 5 main rules for coming to “reasonable historical certainty”?

multiple attestation, eyewitness testimony, early eyewitness testimony, enemy attestation, embarrassing details

What is the meaning of “multiple attestation”?

“Two heads are better than one.” If I got information from 2 or more independent sources, it is more likely truer than it is false.

What are the multiple attestation sources for the NT? (We have six sources that critics allow, but way over this number of sources)

__Mark__-the material in Mark that is also repeated in Matthew and in Luke. __M__-material unique to Matthew. __L__-material unique to Luke. __John__-material in John alone. __Acts__. __Another source__-material repeated in Matthew and Luke, but not in Mark.

What is the 3 ways of viewing the Bible and do they all provide room for proving the Resurrection? (the 3 positions he describes at the beginning of the course)

__If the Bible is the inspired Word of God__, Jesus was raised from the dead. __If the Bible is not inspired but highly reliable for historical purposes__, Jesus was raised from the dead. __If the Bible is mostly non-historical, but some of its history is reliable__, Jesus was raised from the dead.

What are the 7 epistles of Paul that are accepted by critical/skeptical scholars?

Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon

True/false: Using the Pauline epistles (that the critics allow) you have enough data, with the strictest critical criteria, to demonstrate Jesus rose from the dead.

true

What book do critics consider Paul’s earliest letter, and when do they think it was written?

1 Thessalonians, circa 50 AD

How many sources does Bart Ehrman, atheist NT scholar, list for the crucifixion of Jesus?

at least 15 sources that verify the crucifixion of Jesus

What are the non-Christian sources that provide ancient evidence for Jesus’ crucifixion?

__Josephus__ (born same decade Jesus died, early eyewitness writing in the first century records that Jesus died under Pontius Pilate); __Tacitus__ (112-118 AD); __Suetonius__ (118-120 AD, The Twelve Caesars)

What are the non NT Christian sources that provide ancient evidence for Jesus’ crucifixion?

__Clement of Rome__ (Letter to Corinthians); __Ignatius__ (wrote seven epistles on his way to Rome to be martyred); __Polycarp__ (110 AD, letter to Philippians)

What are the 2 criteria for determining minimal facts?

each fact must be multiply attested by several independent sources; because there are such good reasons, most critics (90%+) accept it

Why does the “empty tomb” not fit as a minimal fact?

only about 75% of critical scholars accept the empty tomb, therefore it is not used as a minimal fact

What are the 6 minimal facts?

Jesus died by crucifixion; the disciples had experiences that they believed were appearances of the risen Jesus; early reports; transformed lives; conversion of Paul; conversion of James

What is the “key fact” out of the minimal facts?

the disciples had experiences that they believed were appearances of the risen Jesus

What is the value of a minimal facts approach?

Uses the lowest common denominator of historical facts accepted by the majority of critical scholars. The historicity of the Resurrection can be proved without having to debate the inspiration of the Bible.

What are the 2 strongest evidences for arguing for the empty tomb?

__Women witnesses__. Even skeptics believe this is the best evidence for the empty tomb. Why would all four Gospel writers say the women went to the tomb first when, in that time, it was very disadvantageous to do it? __The Jerusalem testimony/factor__. Why would the disciples proclaim an empty tomb in Jerusalem, the same place Jesus was crucified and buried, if they did not expect people to go to it for verification?

What is the significance of the claim that the disciples stole the body?

Justin Martyr (c. 150 AD) and Tertullian (c. 200 AD) both said that Jewish leaders were still sending emissaries around claiming the disciples stole the body. Worst explanation of all. The fact they blamed it on the disciples is an actual claim that the tomb was empty.

What are key characteristics of Creeds in the NT?

In the NT are dozens of creeds or traditions; mostly really brief; mostly always concern the death, burial, and Resurrection; mostly 80% concern deity, death, and Resurrection of Jesus; they do not refer to peripheral issues (creation, church government); they concern the fundamentals of the fundamentals, the center of the center, the deity, death and Resurrection of Jesus.

Know that 1 Corinthians 15:1-7 is the “most significant creed for making the case for the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The “creeds” cited by Paul, like this one, predate Paul’s conversion, which happened between 2-3 years after the cross. Paul picked up these creeds which were in circulation in the early church and incorporated them into his letters.

How do we know these are creeds?

use of “delivered” and “received” communicates the imparting of an earlier, oral tradition. it contains indicators of an Aramaic original. fourfold “that” in verses 3, 4, 5. use of “Cephas”, Peter’s Aramaic name. text is stylized with parallelism. Parallelism includes “according to the Scriptures” in v3 (found only here in the NT). Non-Pauline language (words he does not utilize elsewhere in his letters.

Did Paul originate the creed in 1 Corinthians 15:1-7?

he is claiming that this is not his material; someone else gave it to him

Know that the earliest time frame that even the most critical scholars have admitted the creed material of NT came about

critical scholars agree that the majority of these creeds cited by Paul (maybe all of them) date as early as 1-2 years after the crucifixion

Know the benefits of knowing the creed material in the NT

\+1-3 years from the cross; this predates the Apostle Paul’s conversion. “I will take this material on the creeds over knowing the authors of all four Gospels… I would rather have this argument than getting the other six of Paul’s epistles”

True/false: The Gospel message was confirmed and ALL the apostles agreed to its content prior to Paul, making the Gospel very early, not legend or myth.

true

Know the significance/summary of the timeline (pg 27 esp black text box)

This timeline demonstrates that the idea that Paul invented Christianity is historically inaccurate. Paul himself claims to have received the Gospel before 51/52 when he first visited Corinth and preached it to them. Most likely this can be traced back to 35/36 (just 5-6 years after the crucifixion) when he first visited the Jerusalem Apostles who gave him the well developed creedal statements that found their way into Paul’s letters.

Know how the “creed material” is “better than” the Gospels in discussions with critics as evidence for death and resurrection.

the Creeds date 1-3 years after the cross. This predates Paul’s conversion and is almost 40 years earlier than the first Gospel written, Mark

True/false: Even the later dates assigned by critical scholars to the Gospels are so much closer to the time of the events they record than any other ancient historical writing about the events they report.

true

When do the critics assign the writings of the Gospels?

between 70 & 95 AD or 40 & 65 years after the crucifixion

When are the sources for Buddha’s life?

Our best sources for his life are 600-800 years after his death. Even prominent Buddhist scholars admit we know nothing about his history or what he originally thought

When are the sources for Alexander the Great’s life?

died c330 BC. We do not have any of the biographies written about Alexander until about 300 years after his death. The two best biographies we have of Alexander are over 400 years after his death.

True/false: No one generally doubts Buddha’s or Alexander’s life or actions, but they say the Gospels are “too late” to know anything Jesus said or did!

true

Why should we learn about the creeds?

It is theoretically possible in the minds of the critics that legend and mythology could have grown to be included in the apprx 40 years before the Gospels were written, but even the critics admit that 1 to 3 years between the crucifixion and the creedal material makes the development of myth or legend virtually impossible.

Know how to counter the critic’s claim that Jesus rose in a spiritual, not a physical body, and the teachings of 1 Cor 15:50 and Phil 3:21 as they relate to the believer’s future state, and reasons given for why Paul meant “bodily” when he spoke of resurrection

The disciples obviously thought that they experienced Him bodily. The prominent Jewish view at the time was bodily resurrection (Pharisees). Paul was a Pharisee, so would only speak of resurrection as being bodily. 1 Cor 15:50 although some think it means we cannot get to heaven in a physical body, it simply means we cannot get there as we are. Phil 3:21 Paul specifically says He will change our body (soma) to be like His body (soma), not His spirit (pneuma).

Know the importance of free choice for answering the problem of evil.

Know the following about Near Death Experiences and the Flew and Ayer quotes, don’t memorize, just know atheists have admitted NDEs challenge naturalism

Know which title of Jesus is the strongest term for His deity in the NT.

Lord

Know which two passages are key to understanding what Jesus meant by the title “Son of Man”