Is the Resurrection for Real?

I Corinthians 15:13-14 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 

Taken out of context, these two verses (I Corinthians 15:13-14) seem to say the 
opposite of what they DO say in the context of the entire passage (I Corinthians 
15:1-22ff*). The problem that Paul was addressing is that some in Corinth were 
evidently preaching that there was NO bodily resurrection of the dead, although 
they were preaching that Christ DID rise from the dead. Who they were and why 
they were preaching this we are not told.

Paul is saying ***IF***
1- There is NO resurrection (as they were falsely preaching) ***THEN****
2- Not even Christ has been raised;
3- And therefore our preaching is useless;
4- And your faith is in vain;
5- And that would make us false witnesses about God because we've been 
preaching Christ's resurrection;
6- Because if there is no resurrection then God didn't raise Christ either;
7- And IF Christ was not raised from the dead, your faith is meaningless and you 
are still in your sins;
8- THEN those who have died in Christ are lost also;
9- And we would have hope only for this life;
10- And we're to be pitied more than everyone else.

**********************************BUT*************************************
This argument is invalid because CHRIST HAS BEEN RAISED FROM THE 
DEAD BY GOD!
Therefore:
The opposite is TRUE.
 ********IF*************
1- There IS resurrection from the dead (so the Corinthian preachers were 
WRONG) ***THEN****
2- Then Christ HAS been raised
3- And therefore our preaching is USEFUL
4- And your faith is NOT in vain;
5- And that would make us TRUE witnesses about God because we've been 
preaching Christ's resurrection;
6- Because if there is resurrection then God DID raise Christ from the dead;
7- And IF Christ was raised from the dead, your faith is MEANINGFUL and you 
are SAVED from your sins;
8- THEN those who have died in Christ are NOT lost also;
9- And we have hope for this life AND the life to come;
10- And we're to be ENVIED more than everyone else.

Paul then goes on to explain that since death came through Adam, a man, then resurrection comes through a man, Christ Jesus, and as in Adam all men died, in Christ all will be made alive.

The Resurrection is the linch pin of the Christian faith. Without it we would only 
have a leader who had some good ideas, but died before he could do much 
about them, like many other "saviors" the world has known. And He would also 
be made out to be a liar, because He said He would rise from the dead (Matthew 
16:21; 17:9; 17:22-23; 20:18,19; 26:32 for just a few).

So then the credibility of the Savior and the witnesses to the resurrection comes 
into play, and the evidence they present should be seen as evidence in a court of 
law. 

Now if you argue resurrection out of existence by contending that miracles are a 
violation of natural law, therefore miracles can't happen, then you will see their 
testimony as nonsense.

Of course you'd have to define what you mean by "natural law" and then justify 
why this law is a stable standard to judge by, as what science knows as "natural 
law" continually changes as more evidence as how nature works is uncovered.

But consider this: if God made the universe, and called it "good", what 
happened? Either He has a very strange sense of good, or something has 
corrupted that good. If something has corrupted that good, as is asserted in the 
Bible, then the "natural law" that applies now must also have been corrupted. 
Suppose that what we consider "miraculous" was commonplace in the 
uncorrupted order of things? And what we consider to be miracles are not only 
possible, but also LIKELY, where the true natural law is uncorrupted?


Now there is another piece of evidence to consider, and that is the silence of 
hostile witnesses. There has been nearly 2,000 years to come up with a body (or 
the remains thereof) and none has been produced. Even the Romans and 
Jewish leaders of the day who were eager to DISPROVE the Resurrection could 
not produce any evidence to the contrary.  The Romans even posted a guard at 
the tomb, and were unable to stop the resurrection. It is highly unlikely that a 
band of scruffy disciples with only 2 swords could resist the will of Rome!

And these same scruffy disciples "filled the world" with their teaching of the 
Resurrection and those contemporaneous to the event could not disprove it.

Another thing to consider is that eleven of the original apostles, along with 
thousands of believers gave their life based on belief in this Resurrection. And 
the twelfth apostle, John the Revelator, died in exile on Patmos for his faith. 
You've got to ask yourself: what did they see, and what do believers continue to 
see, that I'm not seeing?

Josh McDowell in "Evidence that Demands a Verdict" has a whole chapter 
dedicated to this subject, entitled "the resurrection - hoax or history?"

He says this:

"After more than 700 hours of studying this subject, and thoroughly investigating 
its foundation, I have come to the conclusion that the resurrection of Jesus Christ 
is one of the "most wicked, vicious, heartless hoaxes ever foisted upon the minds 
of men, or it is the most fantastic fact of history." "

"Jesus has three basic credentials: (1) The impact of His life upon history; (2) 
Fulfilled prophecy in His life, and (3) His resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus 
Christ and Christianity stand or fall together. A student at the University of 
Uruguay said to me: "Professor McDowell, why can't you refute Christianity?" I 
answered: "For a very simple reason. I am not able to explain away an event in 
history - the resurrection of Jesus Christ." "

And he goes on to give a lengthy explanation of his thesis and proof for it. So my suggestion is to read this book, written by a former atheist. 

This passage involves a teaching technique, where Paul plays "devil's 
advocate" and argues the opposite argument to his primary one. It's like 
scattering diamonds on black velvet, so that the sparkle of the diamond - it's 
purity and truth - are made more evident by contrast with the darkness.

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1 Corinthians 15:1-22 

1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 
2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 
3-5 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 
6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 
7-8 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 
11 Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. 
12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 
13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 
14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 
15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 
16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. 
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 
21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 
22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 

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