In this book Gary Habermas, and co-author Mike Licona, attempt to provide a historical case for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, using what is termed the "minimal facts" approach. The book defines a "minimal fact" as a fact for which:
The authors attempt to prove that using only such facts, a reasonable person must conclude that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
Like many, I assume, upon first hearing about a "historical case for the resurrection", I was extremely skeptical that such an argument could ever be compelling. But, after having listened to Habermas, and reading this book, I now believe that the argument is so compelling, that it lags behind only the Old Testament prophecies of Christ as the strongest evidence for the veracity of Christianity.
Click to Expand Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Unwrapping the Gift: Evangelism and the Resurrection of Jesus, lays out the fact that the truthfulness and relevance of Christianity hinges entirely on the veracity of the resurrection of Jesus, citing passages such as 1 Corinthians 15:14-20, which includes the frank statement "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins".
Habermas also points out that the resurrection of Jesus makes Christianity unique amongst world religions, in that it is a historical claim, which can be investigated, and if confirmed, verifies the truth of the religion:
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus - Chapter 1
Anyone can claim anything. Jesus asserted that he was speaking truth from God. When someone makes such a lofty claim, critics rightly ask for the evidence. Jesus' critics asked him for a sign, and he said he would give them one - his resurrection. It is the test by which we could know that he was telling the truth.
Such a historical test of truth is unique to Christianity. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, he was a false prophet and a charlatan whom no rational person should follow. Conversely, if he did rise from the dead, this event confirmed his radical claim.
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus - Chapter 1
Of course, the test of Jesus' resurrection is not very useful, if we cannot determine whether it actually occurred. Is there enough evidence for a rational person to be justified in concluding that Jesus' resurrection was a real event in history? Christians should be delighted to find that the evidence for Jesus' resurrection is extremely compelling, even when using only a small collection of strongly attested historical facts to support the event.
Chapter 2 - History 101, gives an overview of the historical method, and lists five principles which are relevant to examining any historical event, including the resurrection:
Chapter 3 - A Quintet of Facts (4 + 1): The First Two, advances the first two minimal facts - that Jesus died by crucifixion, and that Jesus's disciples believed that He rose and appeared to them.
Supporting the first fact - that Jesus died by crucifixion - Habermas notes that the crucifixion is attested to by:
Supporting the second fact - that Jesus's disciples believed that He rose and appeared to them - Habermas notes that the creed recorded in 1 Corinthians 15 is an extremely early witness to the fact that the core of the message of Jesus's original disciples included the resurrection, and Christ's post-resurrection appearances to them:
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus - Chapter 3
One of the earliest and most important (creeds) is quoted in Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church (circa 55 AD). He wrote in 15:3-5, 'For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.'
Several factors mark this as an ancient creed that was part of the earliest traditions of the Christian church and that predate the writings of Paul. In fact, many critical scholars hold that Paul received it from the disciples Peter and James while visiting them in Jerusalem three years after his conversion. If so, Paul learned it within five years of Jesus' crucifixion and from the disciples themselves. At minimum, we have source material that dates within two decades of the alleged event of Jesus' resurrection and comes from a source that Paul thought was reliable.
Habermas also notes the transformation of the disciples following the crucifixion, their willingness to suffer and die for their witness, and why that is meaningful in light of others who suffer and die for other opposing beliefs:
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus - Chapter 3
There is a virtual consensus among scholars who study Jesus' resurrection that, subsequent to Jesus' death by crucifixion, his disciples really believed that he appeared to them risen from the dead. This conclusion has been reached by data that suggest that (1) the disciples themselves claimed that the risen Jesus had appeared to them, and (2) subsequent to Jesus' death by crucifixion, his disciples were radically transformed from fearful, cowering individuals who denied and abandoned him at his arrest and execution into bold proclaimers of the gospel of the risen Lord. They remained steadfast in the face of imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom. It is very clear that they sincerely believed that Jesus rose from the dead.
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus - Chapter 3
No one questions the sincerity of the Muslim terrorist who blows himself up in a public place or the Buddhist monk who burns himself alive as a political protest. Extreme acts do not validate the truth of their beliefs, but willingness to die indicates that they regarded their beliefs as true. Moreover, there is an important difference between the apostle martyrs and those who die for their beliefs today. Modern martyrs act solely out of their trust in beliefs that others have taught them. The apostles died for holding to their own testimony that they had personally seen the risen Jesus. Contemporary martyrs die for what they believe to be true. The disciples of Jesus died for what they knew to be either true or false.
A skeptic may reply, 'How do you know that they willingly died for their beliefs? What if they were arrested and executed against their will and perhaps even recanted under torture before they died?' This is a fair question. From the early martyrdoms of Stephen and James the brother of John - as well as the imprisonments and sufferings of Peter, Paul, and others - the disciples became well aware that publicly proclaiming Jesus as risen Lord in certain times and places made suffering and, perhaps, martyrdom inevitable. Therefore, to continue on this path, fully aware of the probable outcome, was to demonstrate a willingness to endure suffering and martyrdom, regardless of whether these were actually experienced.
Further, Habermas notes that many early sources bear witness to the fact that the original disciples of Jesus suffered and died for their faith:
Therefore, we have extremely early testimony to the fact that Jesus's original disciples preached the resurrection, and that they suffered mightily testifying to their own eyewitness of it.
Chapter 4 - A Quintet of Facts (4 + 1): The Last Three, advances the last two minimal facts - that the church persecutor Paul was suddenly changed, and that the skeptic James, brother of Jesus, was suddenly changed. It also covers the "+1", or bonus minimal fact - which, despite the fact that it has strong evidence, doesn't quite reach the criteria of scholarly acceptance to be classified as a true "minimal fact" - that the tomb was empty.
Supporting the third fact - the church persecutor Paul was suddenly changed - Habermas begins by establishing that the fact that Paul persecuted the early church is multiply attested:
Habermas then comments on the significance of his conversion:
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus - Chapter 4
We must now ask the question: What caused this change in Paul? Why did one who persecuted Christians suddenly become one? Both Paul himself and Luke report that it was because he believed firmly that he had experienced an encounter with the risen Jesus. Paul's conversion is so interesting because he was an enemy of the church when he claimed to have seen the risen Jesus. Thus, Jesus' resurrection is testified to by friends and also by a foe.
His belief that he had witnessed the risen Christ was so strong that he, like the original disciples, was willing to suffer continuously for the sake of the gospel, even to the point of martyrdom. This point is well documented, reported by Paul himself, as well as Luke, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Tertullian, Dionysius of Corinth, and Origen. Therefore, we have early, multiple, and firsthand testimony that Paul converted from being a staunch opponent of Christianity to one of its greatest proponents.
Supporting the fourth fact - the skeptic James, brother of Jesus, was suddenly changed - Habermas begins by pointing out that the Gospels record that Jesus had at least four brothers, "James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon, plus unnamed sisters" (Matthew 13:55-56, Mark 6:3), and that the James who was active in the early church was the Lord's brother (Galatians 1:19). Josephus (37-100 AD) also mentions "the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ, whose name was James".
He then establishes his case for the post-resurrection conversion of James based on four points:
Based on these facts, Habermas contends that James was converted by the personal encounter with the Lord after He rose that is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:7.
Supporting the fifth "bonus" fact - the tomb was empty - Habermas gives three arguments:
Regarding this last point in particular, Habermas cites early Jewish sources:
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus - Chapter 4
Sooner let the words of the Law be burnt than delivered to women. (Talmud, Sotah 19a)
The world cannot exist without males and without females - happy is he whose children are males, and woe to him whose children are females. (Talmud, Kiddushin 82b)
But let not the testimony of women be admitted, on account of the levity and boldness of their sex, nor let servants be admitted to give testimony on account of the ignobility of their soul; since it is probable that they may not speak truth, either out of hope of gain, or fear of punishment. (Josephus, Antiquities 4.8.15)
Any evidence which a woman [gives] is not valid (to offer), also they are not valid to offer. This is equivalent to saying that one who is Rabbinically accounted a robber is qualified to give the same evidence as a woman. (Talmud, Rosh Hashannah 1.8)
Also, Habermas points out that the disciples stealing the body of Jesus makes no sense, in light of everything covered in the discussion on minimal fact #2, which established that His disciples sincerely believed that Christ rose from the dead, and appeared to them.
Having reached the end of the "proofs" section of this book, we can summarily list the minimal facts that Habermas is arguing from:
Out of these five minimal facts, I find the death of Christ, the sincerity of the disciples, and conversion of Paul to be the most compelling (#1-3). I don't believe that the conversion of James can be dogmatically stated to be after the resurrection, though it's probably the most likely scenario. Also, the fact that the tomb was empty gets more compelling the more one thinks about it, but I don't believe that it's quite to the level of the first three facts, which I find very robust, and I believe these first three should be seen as incontrovertible by any reasonable person.
Chapters 5 through 13 cover responses to the various objections to the case for the resurrection presented in Chapters 1 through 4. I skimmed this section, but ultimately, didn't really spend much time on it, because I wasn't troubled by the responses enough to read Habermas's rejoinder to them.
The first four chapters of this book accomplish what they set out to do - make a robust, rational, and historical case for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. These first four chapters are so strong, and so important, that they warrant this book's recommendation, and stellar rating.
It's also worth noting that the first volume of Habermas's magum opus, On the Resurrection - Volume 1, Evidences, covers the arguments offered here in much greater detail, for any of those interested in further reading.