Comments on: Holy Week - Part II

By: Marie

Marie — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:15:38 +0000

I appreciate your insight and encouragement. Having reread my blog a couple of times now I realize that possibly it came across “exclusive” (to use a concept Keller talks about) and judgemental towards “nonbelievers” ie, seekers of God. Thats not what was intended. I am a Christian. However, during a period in my life I had serious doubts and struggles with my faith. As I have sought out answers to the questions I had, I came upon a book by Lee Strobel, “The Case for Christ.” In his book he talks of his own skepticism with the belief in a God and how Christ was the answer for humanity. As I was rereading “The Reason for God” I was able to refer back to some of the information from “The Case for Christ.” to find support for what Keller was talking about in chapter 13 (which I mentioned in my comment to your post). Specifically in relation to the reliability of the early writings from both the scriptures and secular documents that referred to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not to mention the large number of people he appeared to prior to ascending into Heaven. Again, thanks for your encouraging words and may God continue to bless you and your family during this Easter season.

By: Doug Meikle

Doug Meikle — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:44:28 +0000

Marie, there are a couple of things going on here at the same time.

Many people approach the resurrection thinking that “those things dont happen” and therefore, by definition, exclude that posssibility (i.e. that there was indeed a resurection) and try to find another way of explaining the fact that Christianity had to come from somewhere. Thus Keller’s point, if not the resurrection then where?

Second of all, if we allow that there might be a resurrection it changes how we look at the world. The resuurection makes our world pliable and changeable in ways that are actually pretty encouraging (if you ask me). It is not just that we know God can act, it is that we know that “the world can change”. That is to say, that the world can respond to efforts for change, and it doesn’t necessarily need to go to hell in a handbasket. Christians should always be optimistic people because of the fact of the resurrection.

The challenge for Christian people is to see the resurrection for what it is. It is not just a verdict on you and I (first condemnation and then exaltation) it is something that should shape every experience. That’s a fight for the Christian who is surrounded by influences in the opposite direction.

By: Marie

Marie — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:20:55 +0000

I enjoyed reading chapter 13, of “The Reason for God”, by Tim Keller, where he discusses the resurrection. He asserts that if one does not accept or believe in the reality of the resurrection how can one explain the birth of the Christian Church. …”The resurrection also puts a burden of proof on its nonbeliervers. It is not enough to simply believe Jesus did not rise from the dead. You must then come up with a historically feasible alternate explanation for the birth of the church. You have to provide some other plausible account for how things began.”
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15: 3-6: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Chist 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. 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 died.

What makes this such a bold assertion from Paul is that the letter was a “public document written only 15 to 20 years after the resurrection of Christ”. Many of the 500 people who saw this miraculous event were still alive and anyone could question them about it. For those of us who weren’t there with the disciples it’s good to think about why the resurrection is credible.