“There’s More Than One Way Of Saying I Love You” featuring Lucy Stimpson- Maynard and the Mustard Seed Soul Band from the album “Uplifted”

So last week  I posted the testimony of USA golfer and 2015 Open winner Zach Johnson so delaying  my promise to offer my humble opinion as to whether or not Jesus was raised from the dead- so this blog I am going to make a start.

The internet is full of articles, some claiming that Jesus was raised from the dead and some claiming that He was not.   There have also been many books written on the subject – amongst some famous pro -Resurrection are   “Who Moved the Stone”  by Frank Morison and “The Case for Christ” by Lee Stobel . Those looking to disprove the Resurrection include “Why God Did Not Raise Jesus from the Dead” by Bradley Bowen and “Challenging the Verdict” by Earl Doherty.  Of course I  cannot make up your mind for you – you have to research the matter for yourself but please do not stop after reading one person’s opinion – that would not be valid research and also please check on the authors’ credibility before deciding to believe him/her or not.  An excellently thorough, although long article I read recently giving both sides of the argument can be found on  http://infidels.org/library/modern/jeff_lowder/jesus_resurrection/chap4.html

It is interesting to note that the concluding paragraph states that a rational person may accept or reject the Resurrection. After reading a great deal on the subject, albeit mainly pro- Resurrection  I can say that I personally accept the Resurrection – I believe the arguments for are far stronger than those against.

However is listening to both sides of the argument the whole story?  In a court of law the jury weighs up the evidence for the prosecution and defence and then comes to a verdict. I think weighing up the written evidence was, in part, why I became a believer, however there is, I believe, another consideration. In a court of law you decide with your head not your heart but with the Resurrection it may be that you think the evidence and arguments have led you to say a 60- 40 decision against believing but you still want to believe  and you feel that taking a leap of faith” is the right thing to do. It may be, for example that you have evidence outside the arguments of the theologians – it may be that you have seen people who are atheists and you have seen others that are Christians and you decide that you would prefer, as my brother once put it “to have what Christians have” i.e. a peace – I am, of course, not saying that an atheist cannot have peace but I can categorically say that an atheist cannot have hope of eternal life with God!

So although reading the evidence for believing and for not believing in the Resurrection of Jesus  is important it is not the whole story – it is not all that one has to go on before making a decision whether  to believe or not and next week I will continue to offer my humble opinion on other factors that can influence that decision.