The Bible and History on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ - Is There a Conflict?
The cornerstone of Christianity is the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus. In this article, I will try to examine the nature of this claim, break down both the metaphysical and the historical aspects of this claim, and will attempt to show that there is no conflict between the claim of the Bible and that of history. Is the resurrection of Jesus something that Christians can only believe in faith, or is it an actual historical event that happened? I will attempt to provide a reasonable answer to this question.
Essentially, one of the core claims of Christianity is this – that God raised Jesus from the dead, thus proving to the world that Jesus is who He claimed to be: the Almighty God. This claim has two parts, a metaphysical part and a historical part. The metaphysical part of the claim is that God raised Jesus from the dead. The historical part of the claim is that Jesus is risen from the dead.
Metaphysical part: God raised Jesus from the dead.
Historical part: Jesus is risen from the dead.
There is no way we can prove metaphysical claims using history or science, as these claims are by nature beyond history or science. The moment you mention God, you are invoking metaphysics. Faith is required in order to believe in metaphysical claims. It is only by faith we can believe that ‘God raised Jesus from the dead.’ Therefore, we read in the Bible in Romans 10:9 that ‘if you confess with your mouth Jesus as the Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.’ As you can see, to become a Christian is purely based on an act of faith.
But since there is a historical part to this claim, we should be able to examine it just as we examine any other historical claim. For this part, no faith is required, just like no faith is required to believe that Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. Of course, you will need faith in the process by which we examine and validate historical events, but that is the same faith you need in order to believe any historical claims or matters. Also, this is an objective and falsifiable claim, as opposed to some subjective claim.
It is a historical fact that Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilot and he was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Another historical fact is that on the third day, His tomb was empty. The origin of the Christian belief is another historical fact in that the type of resurrection the apostles claimed Jesus experienced was not the type of resurrection that was prevalent in Jewish literature. His disciples claimed that He had appeared to them on several occasions after his resurrection, and at one time even to a group of about 500 people. The best probable explanation for the above-mentioned historical facts is that Jesus IS risen from the dead. Thus, the resurrection of Jesus appears to be a very well-attested historical fact. If you are interested in a detailed analysis of this claim, please read my article at the link below.
If the resurrection of Jesus is an actual historical event, then the metaphysical claim that God raised Him from the dead is not a claim that is hanging in thin air with zero support. In fact, the apostle Paul argues in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 14 like this – If Christ is not risen, our entire Christian faith is in vain. In other words, what makes the metaphysical claim valid is the historical credibility of the resurrection of Jesus. In the absence or invalidity of such a historical claim, the metaphysical claim becomes a mere faith claim without any basis (blind faith). But if the historical claim is true, then it provides a very good basis for the truth of the metaphysical claim.
In summary, we have seen that the central claim of Christianity, that God raised Jesus from the dead, is a metaphysical claim that rests upon a very solid historical foundation. Contrary to many people’s notion that the Christian faith is a blind faith, a blind trust in the unknown, we have seen that the Christian faith is actually founded on a historical fact. Thus, we have sufficient reason to conclude that there is no conflict between the Bible and history when it comes to the claim of the resurrection of Jesus.
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