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Excellent posting by PawPaw Dave":
[D]uring this past Easter season, I saw a two hour TV show involving the Shroud of Turin. A team of graphic experts used cutting-edge 3D software to bring the face of Jesus to light (http://www.history.com/shows/the-real-face-of-jesus). The technology was highlighted via recreations of lifelike sightings of Jesus after his resurrection. The show was well done; the effect of it on me was akin to my initial amazement at the many historical and archeological discoveries over the past century or so. Over an over they provided solid evidence that the people, places and events in the bible were real. I was left with the thought that the resurrection of Jesus was also the literal truth.
There is now a scientific basis to believe that the resurrection of Jesus really happened; that it wasn’t a matter of vision, metaphor or exaggerated poetic license to make a point. Is there also a historical basis?
N.T. Wright is widely regarded as one of the premier scholars involved in the historical study of Jesus. In his book, The Challenge of Jesus, he maintains that Christianity was not just a kingdom of God movement. It was, from the onset, a resurrection movement; the belief in resurrection was unquestionable and not merely a central belief but the central driving force of early Christianity.
N.T. Wright is one of my favorites. Here is a description of The Challenge of Jesus from Publishers Weekly:
Here, prolific Anglican theologian and historical Jesus quester Wright makes accessible to lay readers the arguments he laid out in his scholarly tome Jesus and the Victory of God. But Wright does more than just rehash old arguments; he adds a discussion of the resurrection, absent from Victory, and addresses the prickly problem of relevance. In the first six chapters, Wright tackles many of the questions of the historical Jesus debate: Did Jesus believe the Kingdom of God was "now" or "later"? (Both, says Wright.) Did He know He was God in the same way "that one knows one is hungry or thirsty"? ("It was not a mathematical knowledge…. It was more like the knowledge that I have that I am loved by those closest to me.") What exactly happened on Easter? (Jesus’ body seemed both physical and transphysical.) Wright then addresses how all these historical-cum-theological musings are significant for Christians living in a postmodern world. This superb addition to Wright’s oeuvre will prove fruitful reading for neophytes as well as for those already familiar with his approach. (Jan.)
The On The Path… with Prayers: Christianity spread like wildfire – how come?
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The faith in the resurrection of Jesus-Christ is the corner stone of the Christian faith. Like Paul said in one of his letters, if Christ has not rise from the dead, vain his your faith ! He also said that if the resurrection isn’t true, then we Christians are the worst off.
Talking about the historic reality of the resurrection of Christ, Benedict 16, in his new book about Jesus, said this very interesting remark : “If we consider, from the story of the creation (from Genesis) and from the Decalogue, what is the importance of the Sabbath in the old Testament tradition, then it is evident that only a stong and deeply moving event could have lead to the reject of the Sabbath practice (by the first christians) and his replacement by the first day of the week. Only an event that would have been printed in the souls with extraordinary force could have lead to a change so central in the religious culture of the week. Theological speculations alone would have not been sufficient for this change. The celebration of the Lord’s Day, who, from the beginning, had distinguish the Christian community (from the Jewish community), is for me one of the strongest proof of the fact that, on this first day of the week, something amazing happened : the finding of the empty tomb and the encounter with the Risen Lord.”
I fully agree with this reflection by the pope and I found this piece of evidence very interesting. Historically, there must have been a very extraordinary event to push the Christian to adopt another day of celebration than the Sabbath day. When you know the importance of this day for the Jews of this time, you understand that, indeed, something remarkable happened. And only an important event like the resurrection of Christ could have force the apostles to get out (at the risk of their lives) and proclaim the good news. Christian faith is not based on some ideas or concepts but on a real historical event. There’s no way to explain the emergence of Christianity other than to accept the fact that there was some people (the disciples) who were convince to have seen Jesus alive after his crucifixion and his entombment… And the reality of the empty tomb (and the empty shroud !!!) was important as a sign of this event. Now, the only question left to us is this : Do you believe in their testimony or not ?