The Case For Christ

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death in 1995. And do you know what? It worked for me while I was sitting on the porch, and it still works today. It was a horribly emotional time for me, but I couldn't get around the fact that the Resurrection is the answer for her suffering. I still worried; I still wondered what I'd do raising four kids alone. But there wasn't a time when that truth didn't comfort me. Losing my wife was the most painful experience I've ever had to face, but if the Resurrection could get me through that, it can get me through anything. It was good for 30 A.D., it's good for 1995, it's good for 1998, and it's good beyond that." Habermas locked eyes with mine. "That's not some sermon," he said quietly. "I believe that with all my heart. If there's a resurrection, there's a heaven. If Jesus was raised, Debbie was raised. And I will be someday, too. Then I'll see them both." Deliberations Questions forReflection or Group Study 1. Habermas reduced the issue of the Resurrection down to two questions: Did Jesus die? And was he later seen alive? Based on the evidence so far, how would you answer those questions and why? 2. How influential is the I Corinthians 15 creed in your assessment of whether Jesus was seen alive? What are your reasons for concluding that it's significant or insignificant in your investigation? 3. Spend a few minutes to look up some of the gospel appearances cited by Habermas. Do they have the ring of truth to you? How would you evaluate them as evidence for the Resurrection? 4. Habermas spoke about how the Resurrection had a personal meaning for him. Have you faced a loss in your life? How would belief in the Resurrection affect the way you view it? For Further Evidence More Resources on This Topic Ankerberg, John, and John Weldon. Ready with an Answer. Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House, 1997. Geivett, R. Douglas, and Gary R. Habermas, eds. In Defense of Miracles. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1997. Habermas, Gary, and Antony Flew. Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?
The Resurrection Debate. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987. Habermas, Gary, and J. P. Moreland. Beyond Death: Exploring the Evidence for Immortality. Westchester, Ill.: Crossway, 1998. Morison, Frank. Who Moved the Stone? Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987. Proctor, William. The Resurrection Report. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1998. 14: THE CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE Are There Any Supporting Facts That Point to the Resurrection? No witnesses watched Timothy McVeigh load two tons of fertilizerbased explosives into a Ryder rental truck. Nobody saw him drive the vehicle to the front of the federal building in Oklahoma City and detonate the bomb, killing 168 people. No video camera captured an image of him fleeing the scene. Yet a jury was able to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that McVeigh was guilty of the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Why? Because fact by fact, exhibit by exhibit, witness by witness, prosecutors used circumstantial evidence to build an airtight case against him. While none of the 137 people called to the witness stand had seen McVeigh commit the crime, their testimony did provide indirect evidence of his guilt: a businessman said McVeigh rented a Ryder truck, a friend said McVeigh talked about bombing the building out of anger against the government, and a scientist said McVeigh's clothes contained a residue of explosives when he was arrested. Prosecutors buttressed this with more than seven hundred exhibits, ranging from motel and taxi receipts to telephone records to a truck key to a bill from a Chinese restaurant. Over e.ighteen days they skillfully wove a convincing web of evidence from which McVeigh was woefully unable to extricate himself. Eyewitness testimony is called direct evidence because people describe under oath how they personally saw the defendant commit the crime. While this is often compelling, it can sometimes be subject to faded memories, prejudices, and even outright fabrication. In contrast. circumstantial evidence is made up of indirect facts from which inferences can be rationally drawn. Its cumulative effect can be every bit as strong-and in many instances even more potent-than eyewitness accounts.
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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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himself and being born into humble
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validate the credentials of the aut
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I shook my head, saddened at the th
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throwing Eastern philosophy at them
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though he had done no violence, nor
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that God objectively spoke to my he
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would respond. 1. The Coincidence A
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issued a decree for the Jewish peop
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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
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Page 206 and 207: But I had heard the tapes of the de
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Page 218 and 219: MARKS MISSING CONCLUSION When I fir
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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
Page 252 and 253: Boyd, Gregory A. Cynic Sage or Son
Page 254 and 255: Gruenler-Royce Gordon Cruenler, New
Page 256 and 257: O'Collins-Gerald O'Collins, The Eas
Page 258 and 259: NOTES INTRODUCTION: REOPENING THE I
Page 260 and 261: Press, 1996), 196-97. 10. Paul L. M
Page 262 and 263: 1. Leland H. Gregory 111, "Fop Ten
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The Case For Christ

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