Resurrection

The Empty Tomb: Inadequate Alternative Explanations. BADR Part 8

The Empty Tomb: Inadequate Alternative Explanations. BADR Part 8

Question – Critics have offered other theories to explain the empty tomb of Jesus. Why are these alternative theories not plausible?

1) Swoon or Apparent Death Theory: Jesus did not die.
But the Roman executioners were “professionals” who were thorough in verifying Jesus’ death.

2) Conspiracy & Theft Theory: The disciples stole the body and claimed that He rose from the dead.
But conspiracy is always executed for selfish advantage and the disciples were persecuted and imprisoned for their claims. Conspiracy theory about the resurrection violates all known psychological laws of lying.

3) Hallucination Theory: All of Christ’s post-resurrection appearances were really hallucinations.
But hallucination only visits the prepared mind. The disciples were not psychologically predisposed and did not expect Jesus to rise from the dead. Critics only needed to point to the body of Jesus in his tomb to refute the disciples.

You can view the video at:
The Empty Tomb: Inadequate Alternative Explanations. BADR Part 8

Next video – Harmonizing Alleged Discrepancies Between the Resurrection Accounts of the Four Gospels. BADR 9

Converging Historical Evidence for the Empty Tomb of Jesus. BADR 7

Converging Historical Evidence for the Empty Tomb of Jesus. BADR 7

Question: What are the facts surrounding the resurrection of Jesus?
The converging historical evidence and argument for the empty tomb is compelling.

1) Jesus was dead – crucified.
2) The disciples did not expect Jesus to die and were not prepared when it happened.
3) The transformation of the disciples from despair to confidence & certainty.
4) The tomb was empty
5) The disciples proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem where critics could easily verify or refute the disciples’ testimony.

You can view the video at:
Converging Historical Evidence for the Empty Tomb of Jesus. BADR 7

Authenticity and Coherence of Gospel Witnesses – The Resurrection Evidence is Well-Founded. BADR Part 6

Authenticity and Coherence of Gospel Witnesses – The Resurrection Evidence is Well-Founded. Badr Part 6

Kairos Podcast Series 8: Biblical Anthropology, Death and Resurrection (BADR Part 6)

Questions: Are the testimony of the eyewitnesses and the historical records in the NT credible? What criteria are used to evaluate the credibility of the NT accounts of the resurrection?

Aristotle’s dictum – Benefit of doubt must be given to the document itself, not arrogated by the critic to himself – listen to the text first & not simply assume fraud or error unless proven factual inaccuracies.

1. Variety of sources: multiple attestations
A variety of sources in the New Testament testify to the empty tomb: Matthew 28:11–15 (the M material special to Matthew); Mark 16:1–8; Luke 24:1–12; John 20:11–18.
There is a complex unified story shared between the gospels even though the authors wrote their respective accounts based on data gathered from different witnesses.

2. No legendary accretions. No developed theological reflection points to accounts situated in the early phase of Christianity. Evidence of honesty and integrity of witnesses– No glossing over disciples’ weaknesses, women as central witnesses to the Resurrection.

3. Pointers to authenticity – austere records, natural cohesion – the witnesses unintentionally confirm, corroborate one another. The gospels display incidental undesigned coincidences.

You can view the video at – Authenticity and Coherence of Gospel Witnesses – The Resurrection Evidence is Well-Founded.

Resurrection of Christ as Fulfilment of God’s Covenant Promise of Salvation. BADR Part 5

Resurrection of Christ as Fulfilment of OT Prophecy of Salvation. BADR 5

Kairos Podcast Series 8: Biblical Anthropology, Death and Resurrection (BADR Part 5)

Question: How is the hope of Israel that believers will be resurrected and enjoy the eternal presence of God related to the resurrection of Christ?

God’s covenant was the promise and fulfillment of Israel’s hope of resurrection:
1) God’s promise of covenantal inheritance in his covenant with Abraham and his descendants. “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you” (Gen. 17:7).

2) The qualifier “everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your offspring” points to the eternal salvation of the person who believed in God. “God is everlasting, the promised inheritance under the covenant consists of reconciliation to this eternal God, and it is therefore only to be expected that God’s elect should continue to exist in fellowship with Him.” (Barton Payne)

3) The resurrection of Christ is fulfilment of God’s covenant promise of salvation. The everlasting covenant promise and eschatological hope of Israel is the necessary framework to understand Christ’s resurrection. Conversely, Christ’s resurrection proleptically realized the eschatological promise of the covenant.

Acts 2: 23-24 The keynote in Peter’s first sermon on the day of Pentecost: “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” // Psa. 16:8-11

Acts 2: 27 – “For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. Peter saw this fulfilled literally in Jesus’ resurrection from the grave after only three days. He died as the Scriptures revealed He would (according to the Scriptures)”.

You can view the video at –
Resurrection of Christ as Fulfilment of OT Prophecy of Salvation. BADR 5

Biblical Dualism and the Soul Between Death and Resurrection (the Intermediate State)

Death, Resurrection and Life Everlasting DRLE Pt.2

Death involves disintegration of a person’s vital power, cessation of bodily life, and separation of the body and the soul (nepeš): Gen. 35:18; 1 Kings 19:4). Does the soul continue to exist after the death of the person? The monist theologian’s answer is “no”. Monism argues that according to the Bible, a human being is not divided into separate parts, i.e. body, soul, and spirit, but he exists as a unified or holistic self. Since the soul and the body are just different aspects of a person, existence entails bodily existence. There is no possibility of disembodied existence of the soul after death. The purpose of this post is to show that monism contradicts the Bible which ascribes to the disembodied soul some forms of consciousness in the intermediate state between death and final resurrection.¹ Continue reading “Biblical Dualism and the Soul Between Death and Resurrection (the Intermediate State)”

1
This post focuses on the biblical teaching on the soul’s disembodied existence in the intermediate state. For a philosophical defence of the tenability of disembodied existence of the soul, see Paul Helm, “A Theory of Disembodied Survival and Re-embodied Existence,” Religious Studies (1978), pp. 15-26; Richard Purtill, “Disembodied Survival,” Sophia 12 (1973), pp. 1-10.

OT Anthropology. The Constituent Elements of Man. DRLE Pt.1

Death, Resurrection and Life Everlasting – DRLE Pt.1

A. Contemporary Criticism Against Biblical Dualistic Anthropology
Our understanding of death and afterlife depends on what Scripture says about the nature of man. However, the OT presents no systematic discussion of the nature of man, any more than it does of the nature of the triune God. Nevertheless, the Bible often refers to human nature as dualistic, that is, human nature is a combination of two distinct and separable entities, the material body and the immaterial soul which survives death.

However, the contemporary intellectual climate is inimical toward the traditional Christian teaching of dualism. The various objections raised against dualism include the following: 1) The theory of evolutionary psychology and scientific naturalism undermines belief in the human soul. 2) New research in neuroscience and behavioristic psychology claims to have identified direct causal relation (although this at best could be correlation) between brain functions and states of consciousness. This has rendered irrelevant the idea of the faculties of the soul & a fortriori the idea of the soul. Continue reading “OT Anthropology. The Constituent Elements of Man. DRLE Pt.1”