Something for agnostics, atheists, and other unbelievers to consider….

The truth of Christianity stands or falls on the physical resurrection of Christ. If Christ was not physically resurrected, then Christianity is a hoax. If he was resurrected, then Christianity is true and the Bible is proven true. If Jesus came forth from the grave, then the writers of Bible were certainly not lying about what they witnessed and observed. Paul made this point at the Areopagus when he told the men of Athens:

Acts 17:31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

God gave proof by raising Jesus from the dead is the message. Luke carefully investigated the events and said that Jesus was with his Apostles for forty days after the resurrections and before his ascension. Jesus gave them many convincing proofs that he was alive during this time and they also witnessed his ascension. It is either true or Jesus was not raised from the dead. If it is not true, I believe there are but two possibilities to consider:

(1) All of the Apostles and other eyewitnesses lied and went to great lengths to dispose of the body and establish a false religion…. For wealth, fame, and prosperity this would certainly be possible. Many false teachers have gained wealth and fame since Jesus walked on earth. However, the Apostles were persecuted, suffered, thrown in jail and most were killed for the gospel. Is it possible that people would go through this for a lie? Would a group of people suffer and die to promote something they knew to be a lie. There is zero chance of this being the case.

(2) All of the Apostles and other eyewitnesses were delusional….. They were so crazy that they all believed it were true and all of them promoted and suffered for a figment of their imagination. It is possible that one person or possibly even two or three could become so delusional, but to believe that many people were all out of their mind is absurd.

For the resurrection of Jesus to have not occurred requires many Apostles and disciples lying to bring suffering, persecution and death on themselves, or all of them being delusional. Neither of these possibilities make much sense; therefore, I would urge unbelievers to consider this carefully before dismissing the truth of Christianity.