Ecclesian's document regarding evidence and facts with my comments.

Evidence That Supports Jesus' Resurrection

Christianity stands upon the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. No one has ever disproved Jesus' resurrection, and of those who have truly studied Jesus' resurrection, many have come face to face with historic facts that support the bodily resurrection of Christ.

Mike: This is tantamount to lying.  The so-called historic facts are flimsy and cannot be conferred with any external evidence.  The ridiculous proposition that states “no one has ever disproved Jesus’ resurrection” is the same as saying no one has ever proved the resurrection or no one has ever proved God exists.  It is a statement that lacks credibility because it is only a half-truth.  It’s also like saying no one has ever proved Mohammed didn’t do miracles.  It’s like saying no one has ever disproved that David Koresh isn’t Jesus.  Ridiculous!

I suppose we have to ask what constitutes historic facts.  Most other religions use the same flimsy, so-called facts to support their arguments.

The historian must not try to know what is truth, if he values his honesty; for if he cares for his truths, he is certain to falsify his facts.
Henry Adams

That generations of historians have resorted to what might be called "proof by haphazard quotation" does not make the procedure valid or reliable; it only makes it traditional.
Lee Benson

Everyone falsifies history even if it is only his own personal history. Sometimes the falsification is deliberate, sometimes unconscious; put always the past is altered to suit the needs of the present. The best we can say of any account is not that it is the real truth at last, but that this is how the story appears now.
Joseph Freeman

Historians, it is said, fall into one of three categories:
Those who lie.
Those who are mistaken.
Those who do not know.
Anonymous

The historian amputates reality.
Gaetano Salvemini

No historian should be trusted implicitly.
G. Kitson Clark

I believe that history is capable of anything. There exists no folly that men have not tried out.
C. G. Jung

 History is a myth that men agree to believe.
Napoleon

I have many more interesting quotes on my site regarding history.

What are the facts?

Christianity would have been stopped at its beginning if the Romans or Jewish leaders who crucified Jesus could have produced his dead body!!! Since the Jewish and Roman leaders could not produce Jesus' body, we must ask, "Who had the body of Jesus?"

Mike: Again, how ridiculous!  Was there even a body of Jesus?  Was there even a crucifixion?  Why would the authorities have been interested in a body.  We may have given more gravity to the significance of this that any one else gave significance.  Why was the event not recorded in any external documents from the time?

Historic Evidence Supports Jesus' Resurrection

Many have attempted to explain what happened to Jesus' body or that the disciples were experiencing delusion about Jesus' resurrection. Even with all the research and attempted explanations for this historic mystery, no one has ever produced a good answer or proved the whereabouts of Jesus' body.

Jesus' followers went on to proclaim Jesus throughout the known world in their lifetime. Most of the disciples were martyred as enemies of either Judaism or the Roman Empire. As it turns out, Jesus' resurrection made the disciples fanatical in their spreading of the gospel. Jesus' truth could not be stopped. To this end, four profound facts came about because of the disciples' labors that support the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

Mike: Firstly, the resurrection cannot be verified as a fact.  The death of Jesus cannot be verified.  However, the different accounts of the resurrection in each gospel leave me wondering about the authenticity of the story.  So any supposed facts that arise from this unverifiable event are not really facts.

Fact No. One - Sudden Emergence of the Church:

• Suddenly the church came into existence because of the disciples' work. The church appeared suddenly and has since spread across the face of the entire globe.

Mike: There was also a sudden emergence of other religions like Islam and Buddhism.  Would Christians claim that this was because of some divine sanctioning that led to their rapid growth?  These facts don't really prove anything.  If they do then the sudden emergence of other religions must have equal significance.

Fact No. Two - Worship on Sunday, the day of Jesus' Resurrection:

• Jesus' resurrection took place on the Feast of First Fruits, which always occurs on the Sunday following the Passover. So the Feast of First Fruits was prophetic of Jesus' resurrection. The New Testament records show that the early followers of Jesus worshipped on both Saturday, the sabbath, and on Sunday, the day of the resurrection. The reason for the change can only be attributed to the bodily resurrection of Jesus on the Feast of First Fruits.

Mike: Well the early leaders of the new religion could have easily made that one of its ordinances, if you like.  Many are unaware of Constantine's proclamation of Sunday as the official day for every Roman citizen to worship.

Fact No. Three - New Testament Documents Written:

Jesus' followers took up the pen and wrote about his life, works, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. In these documents, we find the most positive words written about Jesus' resurrection, some of which follow:

Mike: I have covered this in other parts of the site.  However, just because someone writes that the stories are not "cleverly invented" doesn't mean that they didn't pass on embellished stories and additions to the facts.  When Peter quotes this he is probably not referring to the gospels as we know it.  Few take this into consideration.  Peter does not say "the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are not cleverly invented stories, because it is possible they were not even in publication when he wrote that. 

1. We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (2 Peter 1:16).

2. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3).

3. After his [Jesus] suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3)

In each of these verses, the disciples reveal how they were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Messiah named Jesus.

Mike: Again other writer reveal so called eyewitnesses of their miraculous displays of their prophets, gods and leaders.  Appealing to ancient books as if these were facts is a large pill to swallow.

Fact No. Four - Martyrdom of the Disciples:

• Would you die for something you knew was not true? The disciples, just like you, would not have died for a lie. So why did most of the disciples go through all the hassles and pain of spreading the gospel to the nations? The only human or logical reason would be that they witnessed the resurrected Jesus, just as they wrote in the New Testament. Death, to the early apostles, was a passage from this world into the presence of God.

Mike: Again I cover this in Dying for a Cause.  Just because someone dies for something, does not ratify it as truth.  Think about the many who have died for Islam, David Koresh, Hitler etc etc.

Explaining Away Jesus' Resurrection

You can create any explanation about the whereabouts of Jesus' body after the crucifixion. However, you must still explain why the disciples spread the gospel throughout the known world and accomplished the four feats noted above. For example, you may believe that Jesus' body was burned and then the disciples conspired to say that Jesus had risen from the dead. Or let your mind create any scenario to explain the whereabouts of Jesus' body. If the disciples created any of these stories or false scenarios about Jesus, eventually someone would have told the truth.

Mike: Not necessarily!  Sometimes the truth does not come out.  Besides when the publication of the gospels began circulation, the alleged event was long gone and possibly a couple of generations away at least.

In addition to these facts, the Bible contains numerous prophecies written centuries before Jesus' birth, which the New Testament proclaims that Jesus fulfilled. (Jesus will completely fulfill many remaining Old Testament prophecies at the Second Coming). Perhaps the most exacting of these prophecies is found in Daniel's time-oriented prophecy that foretold how the suffering Messiah had to appear in human history before the destruction of Jerusalem that occurred in AD 70.

Mike: I cover some of the prophecy stuff in the Prophecy section.  I wont repeat my self.

Thanks for that Ecclesian.  I appreciate the time you have spent collecting some of that.  I look forward to your response.

Mike

Another page on discussion with Ecclesian.