Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Introduction

The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas and Michael Licona is divided into four parts, each part examining some aspect of the subject of the Resurrection of Christ. Part 1 examines the significance of the subject and why it matters. Part 2 explores the facts regarding the Resurrection and the evidence that is available to prove or disprove the Resurrection. Part 3 examines the rebuttals and arguments of those who wish to deny the Resurrection. Part 4 explains the Resurrection by situating it within the larger context of God’s plan and Who Christ Himself believed Himself to be—a necessary addition to the chapter in the light of recent media, such as The Last Temptation of Christ and other books and films, which posit that Christ struggled with a sense of his own divinity or was not fully aware of His mission or purpose from the beginning. Habermas and Licona make it clear that Christ was always fully aware of Who He was and what His mission was—from the time He stayed behind to teach the elders in the Temple when just a child to the time that He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and undertook His Passion in order to expiate for the sins of mankind. This paper will provide a critical summary of The Case for the Resurrection by summarizing and evaluating the arguments that the authors make, interacting with the key points of the reading, and critically evaluating the positive and negative aspects of the work overall.

Summary

The book first provides the framework for the examination of the facts by setting out the case for why the facts matter in the first place. This is an important framework because it is one that allows the discussion to move forward. If there is no groundwork or no understanding of why the facts need to be examined, the purpose becomes fruitless. Thus, the authors do well to lay this groundwork out first. The authors then move on to examining the facts. They do this by discussing what they call a “quintet of facts” or the 4+1 facts, which prove the Resurrection.[footnoteRef:2] These facts include evidence from historians, eye witnesses, the Church itself, the Bible as an historical artifact, and the fact that no other evidence to the contrary has even been given—only unverifiable claims. The facts are laid out effectively and convincingly. The authors then explore the counter-arguments and these are also examined fairly before they finally move on to a fuller explanation of the Resurrection by examining the Person of Christ and why it makes perfect logical sense to believe in the Resurrection, based on Christ’s works prior to the Resurrection and based on the life of the Church after their Resurrection. The entire schematics of the narrative, viewed from this vantage point, reveal a totally comprehensive, coherent and consistent story. This is the most effective portion of the book in terms of underlying the meaning of the subject. [2: Gary Habermas and Michael Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregell, 2004), 213.]

Why the Book Matters

The authors make the claim that the subject (and the book for that matter) is significant to human history because the central thesis and claim underlying the Resurrection is that all of mankind’s hopes depends upon this one event. If the Resurrection did not take place, then men have no hope and it is very likely that God is dead, just as Nietzsche said in the 19th century. If the Resurrection did take place, it means that the story of Christ is very real and that mankind has to adhere to the teachings of Christ in order to attain Heaven.

The argument is a valid one and a critical one to put in context especially for modern readers. It really does come down to an either/or choice: either Christ was God and did as the Church says He did, or he was not and all his teachings were fanciful and unrealistic and his own death proves as much. If Christ rose from the dead, then everyone who doubted must be like Thomas, understand the reality, and reform—because the way of the Cross is the way of Christ and following that way is all that matters in life. If Christ did not rise from the dead then he was not god and he may be dismissed as a liar and idealist.

As the authors state in the preface, the point of the Resurrection is really most essential for faith to be a...…larger volume and give it the characteristic of being a definitive work or a work that one could point to as a book that is a must-read. As it is, the book is rather light reading and could be used to help one develop better arguments, but more input into the actual events and the actual sources that matter most could have made it even more compelling.

Conclusion

The book by Habermas and Licona effectively treats on the subject of the Resurrection of Christ by getting to the heart of the matter in terms of the evidence, the counter-arguments, and the big picture, and showing why it matters from the ultimate either/or perspective. Either Christ rose from the dead and did as they say He did, or he did not and he was never God in the first place. The Resurrection is thus seen as a point in history that has to be considered fully and exclusively in order for one to know how to live one’s life. The authors show that it has to be considered from an historical point of view because it is a matter of history—because faith does rest on reason and does require man to use logic to arrive at the point where he will assent to the proofs and express faith in Christ. Every reader is like Thomas to some degree: Thomas wanted proof—physical, tangible proof that Christ had risen and he said he would not believe until he could put his finger in the wound and touch it and see that Christ was indeed alive once more. This is exactly what happened, and Thomas was converted. The doubts were removed because he finally was able to see the evidence for himself. The evidence is still there—that is the argument that the authors make. They do it convincingly by pointing to the history of the Church (which never could have survived so miraculously had it not been guided by God and motivated by the Resurrection). The authors are able to make this argument because they can situate the Resurrection within the larger compass of history and show how lies are eventually exposed and how people who go to the deaths for a cause or an idea do so because they know it to be true.

Bibliography

Habermas,…