The Case For Christ

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a car, drive to Lynchburg, and make my two o'clock appointment with Habermas himself THE TWELFTH INTERVIEW: GARY HABERMAS, PH.D, D.D. Two autographed photos of hockey players, shown in flat-out combat on ice, hang on the walls of Habermas's austere office. One features the immortal Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks; the other depicts Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, the brawling, toughas-nails forward for the Philadelphia Flyers. "Hull is my favorite hockey player," explains Habermas. "Schultz is my favorite fighter." He grinned, then added, "There's a difference." Habermas -bearded, straight-talking, rough-hewn-is also a fighter, an academic pit bull who looks more like a nightclub bouncer than an ivory tower intellectual. Armed with razor-sharp arguments and historical evidence to back them up, he's not afraid to come out swinging. Antony Flew, one of the leading philosophical atheists in the world, found that out when he tangled with Habermas in a major debate on the topic "Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?" The results were decidedly one-sided. Of the five independent philosophers from various colleges and universities who served as judges of the debates content, four concluded that Habermas had won. One called the contest adraw. None cast a ballot for Flew. Commented one judge, "I was surprised (shocked might be a more accurate word) to see how weak Flew's own approach was.... I was left with this conclusion: Since the case against the resurrection was no stronger than that presented by Antony Flew, I would think it was time I began to take the resurrection seriously." One of five other professional debate judges who evaluated the contestants' argumentation techniques (again Habermas was the victor) felt compelled to write, "I conclude that the historical evidence, though flawed, is strong enough to lead reasonable minds to conclude that Christ did indeed rise from the dead.... Habermas does end up providing 'highly probable evidence' for the historicity of the resurrection 'with no plausible naturalistic evidence against it. Habermas, therefore, in my opinion, wins the debate." After earning a doctorate from Michigan State University, where he wrote his dissertation on the Resurrection, Habermas received a doctor of divinity degree from
Emmanuel College in Oxford, England. He has authored seven books dealing with Jesus rising from the dead, including The Resurrection of Jesus: A Rational Inquiry, The Resurrection of Jesus: An Apologetic; The Historical Jesus; and Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? The Resurrection Debate, which was based on his debate with Flew. Among his other books are Dealing with Doubt and (with J. P. Moreland) Beyond Death: Exploring the Evidence for Immortality. In addition, he coedited In Defense ofMiracles and contributed to Jesus under Fire and Living Your Faith: Closing the Gap between Mind and Heart. His one hundred articles have appeared in popular publications (such as the Saturday Evening Post), scholarly journals (including Faith and Philosophy and Religious Studies), and reference books (for example, The Baker Dictionary of Theology). He's also the former president of the Evangelical Philosophical Society. I don't mean to suggest by my earlier description that Habermas is unnecessarily combative; he's friendly and selfeffacing in casual conversations. I just wouldn't want to be on the other side of a hockey puck-or an argument-from him. He has an innate radar that helps him zero in on his opponent's vulnerable points. He also has a tender side, which I would discover-quite unexpectedly-before our interview was over. I found Habermas in his no-nonsense office at Liberty University, where he is currently distinguished professor and chairman of the Department of Philosophy and Theology and director of the master's program in apologetics. The room, with its black file cabinets, metal desk with simulated wood top, threadbare carpet, and folding guest chairs, is certainly no showplace. Like its occupant, it's free from pretension. "DEAD PEOPLE DON'T DO THAT" Habermas, sitting behind his desk, rolled up the sleeves of his blue button-down shirt as I turned on my tape recorder and started our interview. "Isn't it true," I began with prosecutorial bluntness, "that there are absolutely no eyewitnesses to Jesus' resurrection?" "That's exactly right-there's no descriptive account of the Resurrection," Habermas replied in an admission that might surprise people who only have a casual knowledge of the subject.
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The Case For Christ By: Lee Strobel
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CONTENTS Introduction: Reopening th
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assistance; Chad Meister and Bob an
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"Check out the evidence yourself,"
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make mistakes. Looking through thos
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ooks, college professors, family me
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and yanked the trigger. The gun roa
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Blomberg's books include Jesus and
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granted that exception, the rest of
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that gave meaning to a period of hi
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crowd of journalists that once corn
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merely emphasizing that 'he was a f
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Holocaust. But it has been the Jewi
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was written before Paul was put to
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which is cited by Christians as the
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they couldn't find one. They questi
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going to be returning during their
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actually, scrolls of papyrus-were r
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3. THE CHARACTER TEST This test loo
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about Mark and Luke saying that Jes
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ever met him yet because of their i
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"In addition, we can learn through
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us the full story about Jesus? I lo
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But the most eye-popping cache of d
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Theological Seminary and both a mas
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"Quite so," he replied. "And this i
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Papyrus number two contains large p
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the fidelity with which this materi
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author of I John was inspired to wr
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sources for the history of Jesus. T
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'hurch had already determined. You
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text-what has all this done to your
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4: THE CORROBORATING EVIDENCE Is th
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the case against Harry Aleman? The
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"Now," I said a little pointedly, "
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feats and was a teacher of such peo
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the Baptist was more important beca
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Pliny the Younger became governor o
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a Jewish mob by executing Jesus, ot
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would know that first, Jesus was a
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asked. Yamauchi pondered the questi
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and the truth will make you free."
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question of whether the New Testame
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Herodium, all in Israel, over an ei
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People thought Josephus was wrong,
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to thirty-two countries, fifty-four
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Still, there were some matters I ne
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ancient historians or geographers m
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thought might challenge him. So the
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McRay tossed me the article in whic
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For Further Evidence More Resources
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commentator Paul Harvey likes to sa
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to me, 'Well, Greg, it looks like t
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miracles - walking on water, raisin
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history is based on single sources.
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proximity to the event, the less ch
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athed in its blood and guts. Then t
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it fits well with the Gnostic mind-
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But your love goes beyond that. You
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elying on the news media in reporti
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Theological Seminary, where I found
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Testament formed his people and set
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elationship between a child and his
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there's still no non-messianic Jesu
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had always done-to intervene and se
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Marshall, I. Howard. The Origins of
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146 THE CASE FOR CHRIST Shock; Can
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Granted, as we look back through hi
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feeling intoxicated, just as if the
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I laughed. "I told you it was an in
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it's quite another to embody the ch
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Now, Jesus claims to be God. But do
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saying, 'Who can forgive sins but G
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type of thing. That's getting Close
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"If you're going to quote Colossian
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eternal suffering for those who rej
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e done for all to see. And no one w
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followed by the 'new man.' Trouble
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Page 170 and 171: would respond. 1. The Coincidence A
Page 172 and 173: issued a decree for the Jewish peop
Page 174 and 175: For Further Evidence More Resources
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Page 186 and 187: A QUESTION FOR THE HEART Convincing
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Page 200 and 201: "Jesus said in Matthew 12:40, 'For
Page 202 and 203: Essentially, he said a major argume
Page 204 and 205: the empty tomb. In other words, the
Page 206 and 207: But I had heard the tapes of the de
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Page 212 and 213: convinced," he insisted indignantly
Page 214 and 215: willing to be interviewed. Now, sto
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Page 218 and 219: MARKS MISSING CONCLUSION When I fir
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Page 224 and 225: death in 1995. And do you know what
Page 226 and 227: Ask Timothy McVeigh. He may have th
Page 228 and 229: eaten, imprisoned. And finally, mos
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Page 240 and 241: IS THERE CREDIBLE EVIDENCE FOR JESU
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Page 246 and 247: Evidence? By November 8, 1981, my l
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Page 250 and 251: case for Christ is conclusive. The
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NOTES INTRODUCTION: REOPENING THE I
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Press, 1996), 196-97. 10. Paul L. M
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1. Leland H. Gregory 111, "Fop Ten
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The Case For Christ

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