Suppose, just hypothetically, that you were satisfied as to all of the following:
That the text of the New Testament, as originally written, has for all practical purposes, been fully recovered, as shown by Bruce Metzger and summarized herein at blog post “The Recovery of the New Testament” (February 18, 2024); and
That the authors of the four Gospels either were eyewitnesses of the deeds and teachings of Jesus, or had immediate access to the eyewitnesses, as shown by Richard Bauckham and summarized herein at blog post “Jesus and the Eyewitnesses” (May 13, 2024); and
That the authors of the Gospels were men of at least ordinary skill and capacity and did their honest best to accurately record the testimony of those eyewitnesses, as shown by Simon Greenleaf and summarized herein at blog post “As to Their Honesty” (April 23, 2024); and
That Jesus’ disciples had experiences which they honestly believed to be embodied appearances of the risen Christ, and that their lives were thoroughly transformed as a result, even to the point of being willing to die for their belief, as shown by Gary Habermas and summarized herein at blog post “He is Risen!” (March 30, 2024).
If you were satisfied as to all of that, would you say that it would be rational to believe that Jesus is alive?
You might. You might even say it would be irrational not to believe that Jesus is alive. Or at least, you might, unless your mind were still under the sway of naturalism – the assumption that miracles don’t happen. For I would say that if God exists, then a miracle can and will happen whenever He wants it to. One cannot, one must not, decide the question without considering the evidence since, if this miracle happened, then miracles do happen.
In posts dating from February 18, 2024, I have published four blog posts summarizing several books which forcefully show that the propositions set forth above are indeed the case. The Disciples believed they saw the risen Christ. They were, as a result of those experiences, transformed from cowering fugitives to irrepressible evangelists. A reliable record of the deeds and teachings of Jesus has come down to us. If you have not read those posts, please do so. Write to me at the address shown at the top of the Home Page with your questions and concerns, and also, if you have found these essays useful, please tell your friends about the website. God bless you.
ps. I want to mention how blessed and privileged I consider myself to be for having encountered the works reviewed in this series of blog posts. I thank my God for the impressive learning, the prodigious industry, and the faithfulness of these authors, and the providence which allowed their works to appear on my desk.
Joshualetter 