LAUREN GREEN: 3 questions about Easter every Christian should and can answer

Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It is the cornerstone of Christianity. The religion stands oregon falls connected this foundation.

Theologians accidental determination are 3 questions astir Easter that Christians should beryllium prepared to answer: Was Jesus God? Was He crucified? Did He Rise from the dead? Every different item astir Jesus's life, ministry, arrest, proceedings and decease sentence, are secondary successful examination to those 3 questions.

Theologian and writer Dr. Lee Strobel said helium erstwhile talked to Hugh Hefner, the proprietor of Playboy mag and an agnostic, astir Jesus. He asked him, "What if the resurrection were true, that Jesus really roseate from the dead? Hefner said, "Well, yeah, that would alteration everything?" Then Strobel asked, "Have you ever investigated the Resurrection?" Hefner answered, "No."

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That parallels the civilization astatine large's beliefs astir organized religion. Researcher George Barna said the top spiritual menace contiguous is "syncretism." In different words, decorator religion, wherever radical make a fusion of antithetic religions, without bowing down to anyone of them. While a survey astatine Cornell University recovered that young radical contiguous are creating their ain idiosyncratic faith; a 'spiritual not religious' signifier of self-worship.

It's the benignant of spiritual individualism that doesn't inquire questions astir the halfway tenets of immoderate faith.

Was Jesus God? Was He crucified? Did He Rise from the dead? (iStock)

But are those 3 questions astir Easter answerable? Yes, says Strobel.

"As an atheist trained successful instrumentality and journalism... I spent 2 years of my beingness investigating this stuff," says Strobel... "and coming to the decision that successful airy of the avalanche of humanities information for the Resurrection of Jesus, it would person taken much religion for maine to support my atheism than to go a Christian."

Strobel has written a bid of books based connected investigating the claims of Christianity. The best-seller, "The Case For Christ," was the archetypal of many. His latest book, "Seeing the Supernatural," explores the plethora of the mysteries of the unseen spiritual realm, similar angels and demons, mystical dreams, near-death experiences... and of course, the Resurrection.

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On an occurrence of my "Lighthouse Faith" podcast, Strobel says the Resurrection arsenic a supernatural and divine event, hinges connected Jesus being the Son of God, adjacent to God, the Word of God made flesh, and God incarnate. Why? Because Jesus said. "The Son of Man is going to beryllium delivered into the hands of men. They volition termination him, and aft 3 days helium volition rise."

So...

1. Was Jesus God Incarnate?

In the New Testament Gospel accounts of Jesus' life, it's beauteous wide Jesus claimed to beryllium God. Theologian and writer Rick Renner, successful his book, "Easter: The Rest of the Story," highlights immoderate cardinal events of Holy Week that assistance reply that question. On Thursday aft the Last Supper, Jesus and the Apostles spell to the Garden of Gethsemane. There, hundreds of Roman soldiers descend connected the Garden to apprehension Jesus. The Gospel of John recounts that Jesus said to them, "Whom bash you seek? ‘They answered , "Jesus of Nazareth. "In astir English translations, Jesus responds, "I americium he."

Easter cross (iStockphoto)

But Renner says, "The (actual) Greek says, ‘ego eimi,’ which is, I AM. It's the aforesaid words that God identified himself with to Moses successful Exodus section three."

On a caller occurrence of my "Lighthouse Faith" podcast, Renner talked astir immoderate of the chartless facts astir that country successful the Garden, similar however galore Roman soldiers did it instrumentality to apprehension 1 man? And who was that mysterious younker wrapped successful lone a towel that ran distant bare aft being chased?

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Renner says determination are different places successful the Bible wherever it's wide that Jesus acts and says things with the benignant of authorization that lone idiosyncratic believing helium was God would accidental and do. Jesus tells His followers, "Very genuinely I archer you... earlier Abraham was born, I am!  "Again, the words God uses to place Himself successful the Old Testament and his claims to person been successful beingness agelong earlier the patriarch Abraham was born. And this celebrated verse, "I americium the way, and the truth, and the life. No 1 comes to the Father but done me."

Jesus's declaration of divinity is what sealed His fate. It angered the prevailing spiritual leaders, who past pressured the civilian authorities to bash distant with him. They had him arrested. He was beaten and past crucified connected a cross.

2. Did Jesus Die connected the Cross?

Strobel says contempt Dan Brown's wide fashionable fabrication "The Da Vinci Code," and different conspiracy theorists who postulate that Jesus didn't dice connected the transverse and someway helium survived... the grounds proves otherwise.

Says Strobel, "We person not lone accounts successful the New Testament, we've besides got 5 past sources extracurricular the Bible that speech astir His execution. In fact, nary little of a root than the Journal of the American Medical Association, which is simply a secular, scientific, peer-reviewed aesculapian journal, carried an probe into the decease of Jesus and said, quote, 'clearly the value of the humanities and aesculapian grounds indicates that Jesus was dormant adjacent earlier the coiled to his broadside was inflicted'. So, Jesus intelligibly was dead."

3. Did Jesus Rise From the Dead?

Strobel says 1 of the cardinal issues astir the Resurrection is that the accounts are rather aboriginal successful the humanities timeline. Skeptics accidental that the resurrection was a fable concocted by Jesus' followers. But legends instrumentality about100 to 200 years to develop.

Author Lee Strobel says 1 of the cardinal issues astir the Resurrection is that the accounts are rather aboriginal successful the humanities timeline. (iStock)

Says Strobel, "We person a study of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, including named eyewitnesses and groups of eyewitnesses including 500 astatine erstwhile who saw him alive, that has been dated backmost by scholars to wrong months of the decease of Jesus. That is simply a quality flash successful past history."

In comparison, the archetypal 2 biographies of Alexander the Great were written 400 years aft his life... and they are mostly considered reliable, says Strobel. "So present we've got thing that goes close backmost virtually to the scene."

And that pesky bare tomb is simply a caput scratcher. Did his disciples bargain the assemblage and perpetuate a prevarication astir his raising from the dead? The fact, says Strobel, that everyone admits the tomb was empty, corroborates eyewitness accounts.

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Says Strobel, "We person nary less than 9 past sources wrong and extracurricular the New Testament confirming and corroborating the condemnation of the disciples that they encountered the risen Jesus. That is an avalanche of humanities data."

So what? What quality does it marque if the Resurrection is true?

Former acold lawsuit execution detective J. Warner Wallace says it makes each the quality successful the world. Wallace, a erstwhile atheist, utilized his forensic skills to effort to debunk Christianity and came distant a staunch believer. He saw successful the 4 Gospel accounts of the Resurrection not a bid of discrepancies, but 4 antithetic eyewitness accounts of the aforesaid event. If the 4 writers had said the nonstop aforesaid thing, conscionable similar successful immoderate execution investigation, Wallace says helium would person known determination was a cover-up.

Says Warner, "The grounds broke done my philosophical naturalism, and the Gospels passed each the tests we usage to measure eyewitness accounts."

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But determination is 1 much upland to climb. To judge Jesus is God, that helium died connected a transverse and was supernaturally resurrected... tin each beryllium intelligence facts. But to bow down and worship Jesus arsenic your Lord and Savior due to the fact that connected that transverse helium defeated decease and bridged the eternal chasm betwixt God and humanity... that takes a batch more.... that takes leap of faith.

HAPPY EASTER!

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