Ichthus77

This chapter of Groothuis’ Christian Apologetics covers the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus (which is evidence that the Father approves of everything he said and did in his ministry on earth).

The significance of the resurrection:  “Of all the world’s religions, Christianity alone purports to be based on the resurrection of its divine founder.” Matthew 16:21, 12:40, John 2:19-22 (p.526)

Whereas in ch.20 John Frame is quoted to dispel rumors that the virgin birth is stolen from other religions or mythologies, in ch.22 Groothuis quotes Bruce Metzger and J.N.D. Anderson on why the resurrection is not likewise stolen. Perhaps I will combine those two sections into a unique post at some point. However, a) those rebirths symbolized spring, vs. b) resurrection on the 3rd day, and c) mystery religions were not yet well-established at that time.


Paul, writing two early for the theft hypothesis: “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” (1 Corinthians 15:14)

There are other consequences if you read on to verse 19: 1) Christians are false witnesses, 2) Christians are unforgiven, alive or dead, 3) Christians are supremely pitiable, because their hope ends in this life.

The evidence for general theism, and the evidence for the resurrection, are both strong. One may come to Christianity through the evidence for the resurrection alone, without ever knowing the evidence for general theism. However, one may more readily accept the evidence for the resurrection, if one already accepts the evidence for theism, because if there is a God, miracles like the resurrection are more probable.

Groothuis defines a biblical miracle as “an act of divine agency whereby a supernatural effect is produced for the purpose of manifesting God’s kingdom on earth.” (p.532) (Hume misdefined it as a violation of the laws of nature.)

Groothuis defines a law of nature as describing “the basic properties of physical objects in relationship to one another.” (p. 532)

Hume’s Objection

Hume does not argue that miracles are metaphysically impossible, only that natural explanations are always more probable, and no amount of evidence could ever ground a belief that a miracle occurred (this begs the question). He argues that all miracle claims are based on misunderstandings of  prescientific,”ignorant and barbarous nations” who are not credible (however, the disciples were very skeptical, notably Thomas, and in order to identify a miracle, one needs to be able to identify the laws of nature by which they are contrasted).

However, it is not the general probability that ought to be considered for any event, it is that event’s conditional probability–the evidence that makes it more probable, despite its general improbability. As already mentioned, if God exists, this increases the probability (in this case, general) of miracles. The evidence for the resurrection, specifically, increases its conditional probability.

The “cancellation argument” against miracles: Various miracles of various conflicting religions cancel each other out. Answer: miracles do not directly support the truth claims of all religions, and the case for Jesus’ historical resurrection is far stronger than any other miracle claim made by a non-Christian religion.

Jesus was the “kind of person God might raise from the dead” (p538-539). 1) he was accredited by God through miracles, wonders, and signs (Acts 2:22), 2) he was a master teacher, 3) he was a man of compassion, 4) he was a worker of miracles, 5) his life fulfilled OT prophecies, 6) he claimed to be God, 7) he prophesied his own death and resurrection.

The “Minimal Facts” Approach: 

Using only those facts (“minimal facts“) contained in the NT that are accepted by both liberal and conservative critical NT scholars, the resurrection is shown to best explain them over rival hypotheses.

Four minimal facts:
1. Jesus died by crucifixion.
2. Jesus was buried in a known tomb. 
3. The tomb was found empty. 
4. There were postmortem appearances of Jesus.

Jesus died by crucifixion.

“Even if Jesus somehow survived the intense scourging, as well as the agonies of the cross … this would leave completely unexplained why Jesus’ disciples ended up hailing him the resurrected Lord of life.” (p.543)

Jesus was buried in a known tomb.

The two major issues covered in this chapter of Groothuis’ Christian Apologetics are: 1) the “God or a bad man” argument for Jesus’ deity, and 2) the logical coherence of a “Godman” (someone who is both God and man).

The “God or a bad man” argument for the deity of Jesus from p. 507:

1. If Jesus claimed to be divine (in addition to being human), but was not divine, he was a bad man and merely human; that is, he was deceived, or a deceiver.

2. Jesus was not a bad man and merely human; that is, he was neither deceived, nor a deceiver.

3. Therefore, Jesus was divine (in addition to being human).


Objections:

This chapter of Groothuis’ Christian Apologetics shows how Jesus’ beliefs and actions in themselves are an apologetic for a high Christology. Since I cannot reproduce the whole chapter, here are some highlights:

Matthew tells of Jesus’ virgin birth, which means that he is fully human and fully God (his human origin was supernatural and God-ordained), but he did not inherit a sin nature (one of us, but beyond us). John Frame is quoted (and Acts 17:16-34; 1 Corinthians 1-2 and Colossians 2:8 are referenced) to dispel the rumor that his virgin birth is a copycat of other religions or mythologies. In particular, his birth is dissimilar to Buddha’s, as Buddha’s mother was not a virgin, Buddha was not considered supernatural, and that birth narrative was written 100s of years later.

Jesus is the transliteration of Joshua: Jehovah is salvation/Savior. Matthew and Luke (2:10-11) call him “Messiah, the Lord” — Messiah being a title meaning one is anointed by God.  “The Lord” is not used of any OT priests, prophets or kings.


In the public eye, Jesus was a spiritual liberator from demons and death. Reversing death itself was one of Jesus’ most spectacular displays of authority, as was exorcism and healing (Acts 10:38) a display of his power over Satan. 

“When Jesus makes reference to ‘sitting on his throne’ and rendering final judgment, he is indirectly claiming deity, since these prerogatives belong only to God according to Jewish Scriptures.” (p. 489) You can see his claims to deity in his “I AM” statements in John (6:48, 51; 8:12; 10:7,9, 11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5) (not sure why Groothuis does not include John 8:58). He displayed his authority in forgiving sins, proclaiming himself Judge, and speaking confidently. 

Jesus was a master teacher. He did not defer to others (as a typical rabbi would), but spoke on his own authority and left many questioners speechless and amazed. The word he used frequently, “Amen” or “Verily” or “Truly” or “Solemnly” or “Believe me” or “I tell you this” or “Remember this” et cetera) points to his sense of authority, sincerity and certainty (p. 490). Pascal described his teaching this way: “Jesus said great things so simply that he seems not to have thought about them, and yet so clearly that it is obvious what he thought about them. Such clarity together with such simplicity is wonderful.” (p.482)  

His basic worldview: God: “There is one God who is personal; knowable; worthy of adoration, worship, and service; separate from the creation ontologically but involved with creation through providence, prophecy, miracle and supremely in the life of Jesus himself.” (482) He had unique knowledge of God (Matthew 11:27, John 14:5-7). Humanity: Humans are God’s creatures, are more valued than animals and are spiritual beings with much to gain/lose spiritually, and are poisoned by sin. Ethics: The greatest commandment is to love God (faith saves, not works), and the second greatest flows from it: love your neighbor (the Other) as self.

And he practiced what he preached, interacting with the lowest class (tax collectors, sinners, women)–who happened to be very attentive to what he had to teach.

Now, this next piece–that Jesus was a miracle-worker–had me stumped, because Groothuis says Jews didn’t expect the Messiah to be a miracle-worker at the time of Jesus (so the disciples wouldn’t have invented that). That made me wonder why Jesus answered John the Baptist the way he did when John was in prison. I asked him and he said, “They were not expecting it, but Jesus showed that they should have been. He gave the proper–and logically defensible–understanding of the Hebrew Bible (Matthew 5-7).” But it just occurred to me, why did everybody keep asking Jesus for a sign, if they didn’t expect one? I just asked him that, and I’ll update this with his answer when I receive it.

Jesus received worship from others at his birth (Matthew 2:11), when he calmed the storm (Matthew 14:33), when he was risen (Matthew 28:1,9), by women (Matthew 28:17, Luke 24:52), and by the eleven.

His most frequent title he used in reference to himself was “Son of Man“, which carried strong divine and messianic connotations. There are several prophetic references in the Hebrew Bible specifically to the deity of the Messiah (Psalm 2:7-12; 110:1-2; Is. 7:14, Matthew 1:23; Is. 9:6-7; Micah 5:2; Jer. 23:5-6; Malachi 3:1).

“He faced his crucifixion not as an accident or a mistake, but as a necessary part of his mission.” (p. 495) “There would be no Christianity without his resurrection, which is central to the entire New Testament.” (p. 498)

John uses the word “Logos” to refer to the personal God of the universe who has taken on human nature to conquer sin.

Jesus is Savior, not a mere sage. He is the incarnation of God, not a mere avatar. And he is the Messiah, not a mere prophet.

All of the above considered, he said the “Law and the Prophets” spoke of him, giving them his stamp of divine approval. He says “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35, 17:17). He did not come to abolish it, but fulfill it (Matthew 5:17-19; Luke 16:7, 24:25-27; John 5:9). He gave its proper interpretation to overcome temptation (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13) and correct the false shepherds (who nullified it through their human tradition, Matthew 15:1-6). “Jesus equated the Hebrew Bible with the very words of God, as when he said that David’s writing in Psalm 110 was through the Holy Spirit (Mark 12:35-36).” (p. 504)

The NT is a good source of knowledge about Jesus: “The apostles were personally commissioned by Jesus (Luke 6:13; Acts 9; Galatians 1:1), had unique historical experience with Jesus (Mark 3:14; John 15:27) and were given special inspiration as specially designated emissaries of Christ (e.g., 1 John 1:1-3; 2:7, 24; 1 Peter 1:22-25; 2 Thess. 3:6-15). This authority was recognized by the ancient church as the basis of their beliefs and practices (see Acts 2:42).” (p. 505)

A word on “inspiration” — “God, who cannot err, directed the writers of the Bible to write what God intended them to write, and to do so without any kind of error–logical, historical, scientific or moral.” (p. 504)

(discussion index)