“When considering recent critical responses to the resurrection of Jesus, believers may envision the centuries-old, well-worn alternatives. Did Jesus’ disciples steal His dead body, as mentioned in Matthew? Five such counter-moves are found in the gospels, with three of them even being proposed by believers! The most recent scholarly research has been significantly more open toward Jesus’ healing the sick and predicting His resurrection beforehand, His burial tomb being empty, and even His resurrection appearances. So the latest brand of criticism has often shifted gears, with critics now responding more frequently with what I term metacritiques — comebacks that question the overall resurrection message instead of disputing individual items within the story. Two of these approaches are considered here: (1) resurrections simply do not occur, there is insufficient evidence ever to establish them, and (2) we cannot use the New Testament writings to support the Resurrection because it is a biased or prejudiced text. More than one approach should be used in answer to the first challenge. Naturalism itself should be challenged. If this worldview is going to be utilized as the basis for questioning the Resurrection, then this critical starting point itself must be established first. Regarding the second challenge, something must be wrong with this charge from the start, because critical scholars not only allow well-attested New Testament texts but employ them!”
This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Gary Habermas about his Volume 40 #4 feature article “Changing Attitudes toward the Resurrection of Jesus.”
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Hank Unplugged: The Resurrection with Gary Habermas Part 1
Hank Unplugged: Resurrection with Gary Habermas Part 2
Explaining Away Jesus’ Resurrection: Hallucination
Recent Perspectives on the Reliability of the Gospels
Mythicism and the Public Jesus of History
Why the Followers of Jesus Recognized Him as Divine
Jesus as God in the Second Century
Defending the New Testament Jesus
The Jesus Mysteries: Was the “Original Jesus” a Pagan God?
Jesus and Buddha: Two Masters or One?