JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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"My faith began with and was grounded on what I thought was revealed in the
Bible. When, particularly, I came to the New Testament, the Gospels and other
writings of the men who had been friends of Jesus Christ seemed to me to make
an overwhelming case, merely as a matter of strict evidence, for the fact therein
stated. . . .
The same approach to the cardinal test of the claims of Jesus Christ, namely,
His resurrection, has led me as often as I have tried to examine the evidence to
believe it as a fact beyond dispute."56
--Lord Caldecote, Lord Chief Justice of England
Philosophers
"Our Savior's resurrection is truly of great importance in Christianity, so great
that His being or not being the Messiah stands or falls with it."57
--John Locke, 18th century British Philosopher
Historian
"I have been used for many years to study the histories of other times, and to
examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I
know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and
fuller evidence of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than the
great sign which God hath given us that Christ died and rose again from the
dead."58
--Thomas Arnold, Chair of Modern History, Oxford University
"What does the critical historian do when his evidence points very strongly to
the reality of an event which contradicts his expectations and goes against the
naturalistic view of reality? I submit that he must follow his critically analyzed
sources. It is unscientific to begin with the philosophical presupposition that
miracles cannot occur. Unless we avoid such one-sided presuppositions,
historical interpretation becomes mere propaganda.
We have a right to demand good evidence for an alleged event which we have
not experienced, but we dare not judge reality by our limited experience. And
I would suggest that we have good evidence for the resurrection of Jesus of
Nazareth."59
--Ronald Sider, Professor of History, Eastern College
Educator
"Had the crucifixion of Jesus ended his disciples' experience of him, it is hard to see
how the Christian Church could have come into existence. That church was founded
on faith in the Messiahship of Jesus. A crucified Messiah was no Messiah at all. He