.

Background

I’m currently blogging about the first chapter of Part 2 of The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas and Michael Licona.

This chapter is numbered as Chapter 3, is titled “A Quintet of Facts (4+1)”, and is subtitled The First Two.

As a refresher, “minimal facts” are facts that:

• Are agreed on by nearly all scholars
• Are strongly supported by the evidence
• Collectively build a strong case for the bodily resurrection of Jesus

You are here

We covered the first minimal fact (“Jesus died by crucifixion”) previously…see post #10 in hyperlinked series outline above.

There is a quite a bit of material regarding the 2nd minimal fact (“Jesus’s disciples believed that He rose and appeared to them“), and this is our sixth post about it. The authors break this fact into two sub-facts:

1. They claimed it
2. They believed it

Today, I’d like to begin discussing the 2nd sub-fact, with God’s help.

Like I’ve been doing throughout this series, I’m generally using Wikipedia and Britannica to verify the authors’ assertions (though the authors cite plenty of sources). When I see the Christian scholars and mainstream, secular encyclopedias agreeing on something, it seems difficult to refute.

The Mothman 

So, we’ve presented good evidence that the disciples really did make resurrection claims; but were those claims true or false? Let’s try a shortcut.

I recently watched some interviews of people claiming to have seen a humanoid flying through the air in West Virginia. I naturally wondered, are they making up stories, or telling the truth to the best of their ability? Note, this is separate from the question of whether flying humanoids are real; I’m only asking if the subjects are being sincere. At the same time, If we have good reason to believe they’re being insincere, then we have good reason to discount their testimony and there’s no need to investigate further; it’s a shortcut.

We can ask the same question regarding the apostles’ resurrection claims; did they really have an experience that convinced them they’d seen the resurrected Jesus? Or were they making stuff up? If the latter, we can reject, with good reason, their resurrection claims.

The one-way test

If those interviewees recanted their Mothman claims when a gun was pointed at their heads, it wouldn’t tell us much about their sincerity level. After all, they may have been sincere in their claims, and only recanted due to mortal fear.

But what if, even at gunpoint, they stuck to their story? That would be good evidence of their sincerity. And the more gruesome the threatened method of execution, the stronger the evidence would be.

So, recanting might not tell us much about their sincerity level, but sticking to their stories certainly would. It’s a test that might not be able to prove insincerity, but it could certainly prove sincerity. It’s a one-way test.

Though those interviewees will never be threatened in this manner, the apostles faced many of these threats. Let’s find out how they reacted!

Out of cruelty, clarity

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica’s article on Peter:

“These sources, plus the suggestions and implications of later works, combine to lead many scholars to accept Rome as the location of the martyrdom and the reign of Nero as the time.” (1)

So, Peter refused to recant, even on pain of, like, decapitation or something? I won’t get into the topic of how exactly he died, but I’ll offer this account from Tacitus on the treatment Christians received at the hands of Nero.

First, take a deep breath.

“Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.” (2)

If this was the world within which Peter took his stand for Jesus, can we at least agree Peter was sincere in his resurrection claims? I don’t think I’m asking too much 🙂

And you probably figured this out already, but Peter had lots of company…God bless, see you next time!

Links:

1. Britannica on Peter
2. Livius on Tacitus