It may come to one’s surprise that current scholarship holds that the disciples, James (Christ’s skeptical brother), Paul (the former Pharisee and early church persecutor), and Peter were certain that the “risen” Christ had appeared to them, convincing them that he had been raised from the dead (1).

Gary Habermas has examined 3400 academic articles authored by critical scholars over the last half-century on the historical Jesus and found that the resurrection appearances are one of several facts that “are so strongly attested historically that they are granted by nearly every scholar who studies the subject, even the rather skeptical ones” (2).

This is the view of scholars holding to various ideologies and it is therefore not the conclusion drawn by conservative Christian scholars who might be thought to have the greatest investment in the resurrection of Christ. A few scholars are worth mentioning. Historian Gerd Ludemann claims that on the basis of historical evidence “It may be taken as historically certain that Peter and the disciples had experiences after Jesus’s death in which Jesus appeared to them as the risen Christ” (3). According to James Crossley, “the resurrection appearances are some of the hardest, best evidence we have” (4). Rudolph Bultmann conceded that “All that historical criticism can establish is that the first disciples came to believe the resurrection” (5). Bart Ehrman states that,

“Historians, of course, have no difficulty whatsoever speaking about the belief in Jesus’ resurrection, since this is a matter of public record. For it is a historical fact that some of Jesus’ followers came to believe that he had been raised from the dead soon after his execution” (6).

What are some of the reasons for these views?

Early and Independent Attestation

One of the criteria used by historians to determine what’s likely historical is early and independent attestation. As a criterion, this considers those sources which are early (dated to within close proximity of the events they describe) and independent (that the narratives described come from the author himself and were not borrowed or derived from other earlier sources).

The resurrection appearance narratives of Christ to his disciples are recorded in sources referring to early events, such as the sermon summaries of Acts. The resurrection was the central message of the early church as narrated by the author of Acts (1:21-22; 2:22, 24, 32; 10:39-41, 43a; 13:30-31, 34a, 37; 17:2-3, 30-31; 24:21; 26:22-23). This suggests that the resurrection teaching was present at the beginning and not a later development attributed to the early Christians.

There are also early source materials, one of which is a creed the Apostle Paul received that dates within five years of Christ’s crucifixion. According to Ludemann, this creed can be dated to just three years of Christ’s crucifixion,

“…the elements in the tradition are to be dated to the first two years after the crucifixion of Jesus…not later than three years…the formation of the appearance traditions mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:3-8 falls into the time between 30 and 33 C.E.” (7)

This creed is in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 and is possibly the earliest material in the New Testament. The content is informative. It records that a number of people including Peter, the disciples, 500 witnesses, James, and Paul had experiences where the resurrected Christ appeared to them, convincing them that he had been raised from the dead.

Paul also made at least two trips to Jerusalem during his ministry after his conversion. According to Galatians, he interviews the disciples about the gospel and later writes that they preach the same message (1 Cor. 15:11). This suggests that the disciples, Paul, and possibly other anonymous Christians were preaching the resurrection from the earliest moments post the death of Christ.

The resurrection was an early teaching of the church. It was taught by Paul, the disciples, and by the church in Acts at the beginning. This presents a strong challenge to claims that the resurrection teachings were a product of later Christian theology or is explainable by mythological or legendary embellishment that accrued over time.

Multiple and Independent Attestation

The New Testament contains several sources that independently attest to Christ’s resurrection appearances. All four canonical gospels independently attest to the resurrection. The appearance to Peter is independently attested by Luke and the appearance to the Twelve by Luke and John. We also have independent witness to Galilean appearances in Mark, Matthew, and John, as well as to the women in Matthew and John (8).

Paul himself attests to the resurrection throughout his authentic epistles, one of which, as we already noted, contains a very early creed. Likewise, early sermons are reported in Acts that confirms that the resurrection message was central to early preaching.

There is also independent attestation from extra-biblical Christian writings. Clement of Rome says that Christians have “complete certainty caused by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ… (9)” Clement was writing quite early, likely at the same time as the book of Revelation (around 95 CE). Likewise, Polycarp, around 110 CE, refers to the resurrection and the beliefs of the disciples (10).

Clement and Polycarp are significant voices as they were contemporaries of the disciples and knew them. Irenaeus says that Clement “had seen the blessed apostles, and had been conversant with them,” and that “Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna… (11)” Likewise, Tertullian writes that “Polycarp was placed therein by John; as also the church of Rome, which makes Clement to have been ordained in like manner by Peter” (12). As such, Clement and Polycarp affirm that the resurrection was taught by the disciples themselves.

Historians are dealing with a fairly significant number of source materials that reference the resurrection appearances of Christ. There are eight of these in the form of Mark, Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, Paul, Clement of Rome, and Polycarp. Of these, several are early: Mark’s gospel and Paul’s creed (1 Cor. 15:3-8), and the message was evidently at the heart of the earliest Christian teachings (Acts 2 and the Apostle Paul).

James, Christ’s Skeptical Brother, Experiences Resurrection Appearances

James was the skeptical brother of Christ who converted after being convinced that he witnessed the risen Christ. What is surprising is that James was presented as a skeptic who rejected his brother initially (Mark 3:21; 6:2-4, 6; John 7:5; 19:25-27). According to Ludemann, “James had no religious link with his brother during Jesus’ lifetime” (19).

In a striking turn of events, however, James is later seen with the disciples. He also becomes a leader in the early church founded by his brother. He is also martyred for his efforts. James is recorded as being among the disciples after Christ had appeared to him (Acts 1:14) and was an important figure in the early church given that he is mentioned first in the list of disciples by Paul (Gal. 2:9). Evidently James went from a skeptic to a disciple and then to a leader in the church.

There are good reasons to accept James’ conversion as a historical fact. It would seem to satisfy the criterion of embarrassment. This criterion is tool historians use that says that the early New Testament writers would not have made up an embarrassing detail or story that would have made them look foolish if it had not actually occurred. As a rule of thumb, when writers invested in a historical figure, movement, or cause mention details that are embarrassing to themselves, their leader, and their movement, it is likely to be historical and suggestive of an honest attempt to report events as they happened. One discovers this within the context of James’ conversion. According to theologian Chris Price,

“Remarkably, James didn’t believe in his brother during Jesus’ earthly ministry, an embarrassing detail the Gospel writers wouldn’t have made up. In fact, John 7:5 just states, “For even his own brothers didn’t believe in him.” But we also know as a matter of history that James becomes a leader in the early church (Galatians 1, Acts 15), worshiping his brother as messiah and Lord to the point of eventually dying for that belief” (20).

That James rejected his brother of whom he later came to believe was truly the Messiah would have been an embarrassment for him. He would have felt foolish and embarrassed, perhaps cringing when remembering his initial rejection of Christ. However, James somehow put his doubt behind him to become an important figure in the early church. It is good to note that James’ rejection of Christ wasn’t trivial, as Habermas writes that “For it to be remembered over many decades, James’ unbelief was probably rather staunch” (21).

We also have Christ’s appearance to James in Paul’s creed of 1 Cor. 15: 3-7, which, as we noted, is accepted to be within three to five years of Christ’s crucifixion. Ludemann finds the creed an important piece of evidence to understanding Christian origins, saying that “Because of 1 Cor. 15:7 it is certain that James ‘saw’ his brother” (22). Paul also had direct access to James and spoke with him regarding the gospel on at least two occasions (Galatians 1-2).

James was also willing to suffer and even die for his faith in the risen Christ. It is likely that he did in fact die a martyr, as recorded by the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius. According to Flavius, James “the brother of Jesus, who was called the Christ… was delivered to be stoned” (23). This passage, which constitutes the second reference to Christ in Josephus’ writing, is “universally acknowledged” (24). There is also further corroboration of James’ death by Hegesippus, a church historian writing around 165 to 175 CE, who also confirms that James was stoned (25). The church historian Eusebius quotes Josephus, Hegesippus, and Clement of Alexandria regarding the martyrdom of James (26).

James’ death for his belief that Christ had appeared to him would suggest his sincerity. It is a struggle for ulterior motives to explain his change. For example, one might argue that James only claimed to have seen the risen Christ so that he could heighten his chances of becoming a leader in the early church. But if that was so then we would expect him to recant in the face of being stoned to death. Neither did becoming a member of the early church come with material benefits. It certainly was not desirable for those pursuing materialistic ends and a reputation. No member in the early church was going to become rich or famous. In fact, to the contrary, the early Christian sources and Roman sources are clear that the Christians at the time were suppressed, persecuted, threatened, and sometimes murdered. Given these factors, it is more likely that the church would attract members who were sincere in their belief in Christ. It is thus more likely that James was sincere that he witnessed the risen Christ, which motivated him to lead the church and eventually perish for his efforts. The late biblical scholar Reginald Fuller found James conversion so striking in light of these details that, “It might be said that if there were no record of an appearance to James the Lord’s brother in the New Testament we should have to invent one in order to account for his post-resurrection conversion and rapid advance” (27).

Paul, the Early Church Persecutor, Experiences a Resurrection Appearance

The Apostle Paul was previously known by the name Saul and his testimony is similar to James’. Saul, we learn from the early Christian writings and from his own admission, played a role in the early persecution of the Christian movement that just begun to grow after Christ’s death. Having later converted to this movement and also having changed his name to Paul, Paul expresses shame and embarrassment for his role in the persecution of the early Christians. He refers to himself as “the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Cor. 15:9). Indeed this is a striking and very honest statement from Paul given his leadership role in the church at the time of writing this letter. Basically, Paul is saying that he does not deserve to be a follower of Christ due to the crimes he committed against Christ in the early persecutions. In light of this, it would seem we are dealing with a sincere individual with regards to Paul.

However, there is an important distinction between the conversion testimonies of James and Paul. James was a skeptic and an unbeliever in Christ. Paul was skeptical but also an active persecutor of the early church. Paul witnessed the murdering and persecution of early Christians, and he approved of it. The author of Acts speaks of how “Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison” (8:3). Paul also approved of the stoning of Stephen, who has the unfortunate reputation of probably being the first martyr in Christian history (Acts 8:1-2). Clearly then Paul’s opposition was deep and radical to the point of wishing to eliminate the blasphemous Christian message entirely.

That Paul persecuted the early church is well attested historically. Paul himself admits to this in several of his authentic epistles (1 Cor. 15:9-10; Gal. 1:12-16, 22-23; Phil. 3:6-7), and is confirmed by Luke’s attestation in the book of Acts. Paul’s persecution of the early church is therefore independently attested in two sources and comes from Paul himself.

The persecution also satisfies the criterion of embarrassment. As we noted in the words of 1 Corinthians 15:9 above, Paul felt shame for the role he played in the persecution, which would have been a source of embarrassment to him as a leader of the church. In fact, so much so that he thinks it is unjustified for others to see him as a Christ-follower. It is highly unlikely that Paul would have attributed to himself this very unpleasant and embarrassing narrative had it not been what he attempted to do at some point.

Paul’s authentic epistles constitute the strongest historical evidence for his conversion. Scholarship divides Paul’s letters into two main categories: authentic and disputed. The authentic letters are those legitimately authored by Paul himself, from his own hand or through dictation to a scribe. Those letters that are disputed concern authorship attributed to Paul but were likely authored by someone else. Although both disputed and authentic letters matter, particularly important are the latter for gaining insight into Paul.

Paul’s conversion is detailed in the book of Acts. According to Acts, Paul (then Saul) was journeying with a company to Damascus to persecute Christians there. Christ appears to Paul in a vision while on the road and asks him why he is persecuting him (meaning the church). Paul then “fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” (9:4). Paul was subsequently blinded for three days and had to be led into Damascus by the hand where, after being prayed for by someone claiming to be sent by God, he received his vision once again (9:1-22). This was the seed of Paul’s conversion. According to Bart Ehrman, “Paul was undoubtedly the most important convert in the history of the Christian religion” (3). Paul also speaks about this experience. In Galatians, he refers to how God “was pleased to reveal his son to me” (1:16) and he includes himself on the list of people Christ had appeared to in his resurrection body (the early creed of 1 Corinthians 15).

Like James, Paul lived a new life as a Christ-follower with a willingness to suffer and be persecuted. It is a striking transition all things considered. Paul went from a position of power as a persecutor to a follower and leader who had little power. This reflects in Paul’s experiences of various abuses and eventual martyrdom. Paul was incarcerated and endured beatings (2 Cor. 11:24-27), the Jews with whom he spoke tried to kill him (Acts 9:29), he was persecuted (Acts 13:50, 1 Cor. 4:12, 2 Cor. 4:9, 2 Tim. 3:11, Phil. 1:12-30), stoned and dragged out of the city (Acts 14:9), beaten with rods (Acts 16:22), endured trial (Acts 18:12), verbally abused by crowds (Acts 21:36, 22:22), and incarcerated (2 Tim. 2:9). Clement of Rome also refers to these experiences: “[Paul] after being seven times thrown into captivity, compelled to flee, and stoned… and suffered martyrdom under the prefects” (32). Polycarp also attests to Paul’s martyrdom (33), as does Tertullian, according to whom we learn that “Paul was beheaded”) (34), and Eusebius who quotes Dionysius of Corinth and Origin concerning Paul’s martyrdom (35).

A good number of independent sources present Paul’s willingness to suffer hardship and pain for his newfound faith: Paul’s authentic letters (2 Corinthians; Philippians), a disputed letter (2 Timothy), Acts, and Clement of Rome.

The Appearance to the 500

We have noted several times the early creed Paul picked up and relayed to his readers in Corinth, which scholars date to within a few years of Christ’s crucifixion. The creed is relevant to the resurrection because it speaks of various appearances. In it, Dan Wallace explains, Paul “defends physical resurrection as part of the passed-on tradition he received when he became a Christian, beliefs he reports in the AD 50s but that reach back to his conversion in the 30s” (36).

The creed speaks of the resurrected Christ appearing to a group of 500 people. Without rejecting this detail because it mentions a supernatural event, many would agree that its reliability depends on Paul’s trustworthiness as a writer and as a member of the Christian movement. We already noted Paul’s sincerity in his conversion and through his various reflections. In light of that, there is little reason to doubt Paul’s sincerity in his passing down of this creed and its claim that 500 people witnessed the resurrected Christ.

A few additional reasons compel us to accept this creed. Most compelling is that a detail such as this, which is an extraordinary one (even for people open to miracles), would subject Paul’s reputation to scrutiny. If it turned out that he was lying about Christ’s appearance to the 500 people (or any of the others listed in the creed), it would have likely been discovered. One would think that someone within a group of 500 would at some point discover they are being used in a fabrication and object to it. Paul’s reputation was on the line, yet reputation was crucial to his role as a teacher and leader of the early Christian movement. Given, as we noted, that Paul was already ashamed at his reputation of once having been a persecutor of the church, it is unlikely that he would subject himself to further risks of damaging his reputation by fabricating lies about Christ appearing to so many people. Wallace explains,

“It is agreed upon by all teaching scholars in the western world (6000+) that Paul believed that Jesus appeared to these more than 500 eyewitnesses… Paul’s credibility was on the line with many false teachers in Corinth and so if these more than 500 could not be corroborated it would have greatly hurt Paul’s reputation” (39).

The Disciples and Peter’s willingness to suffer for the risen Jesus

We can now look at some of the evidence pointing to the conviction of the other disciples and Peter that Christ appeared to them after his death.

Here it is important to acknowledge Peter’s denial of Jesus during his ministry. According to the gospels, Jesus foresaw Peter’s denial (Mark 14:29-31; Matt. 26: 33-35, Luke 22:33-34, John 13:36-38) and later, after Jesus is captured, Peter does deny him (Luke 22:54-57, Mark 14:69-70; Matthew 26:73-75; John 18:13-27). This event passes the criterion of independent attestation as it is reported in two independent gospels. Peter’s denial also satisfies the criterion of embarrassment as he would later become a leader in the early church. It is unlikely that the gospel authors would make an important leader of the church deny the very person it is built upon if the denial did not actually happen. It was surely a shameful and embarrassing event for Peter who denied Jesus out of fear for his life to then later become a bold proclaimer of Jesus’ message.

It is further important to acknowledge the prior state of the disciples before Jesus’ appearance to them. We read that the disciples went into hiding behind locked doors following the arrest and crucifixion (John 20:19) and were afraid to publicly talk about Jesus (John 7:13). During Jesus’ arrest, the disciples fled (Mark 14:50; Matt. 26:56). However, the disciples also evidence a striking transformation. We find them proclaiming the risen Jesus in the book of Acts with the resurrection being their central message. Consequently, both Peter and John are imprisoned for this (Acts 4), and in Acts 5 the apostles are arrested, imprisoned, and flogged. Acts 12 speaks of the martyrdom of James (the brother of John) and another imprisonment of Peter. Stephen was stoned to death after his witness before the Sanhedrin (Acts 6-8). Persecution of Christians is further attested in other sources, for example, in Tacitus account of the statewide persecution of Christians under Emporer Nero in 64 CE (Annals 15.44:2–5) and Suetonius (Nero 16.2). Although persecution was sporadic and local, from this point forward Christians could be arrested and killed for their beliefs. According to the book of Revelation, John is said to be in Patmos where he was possibly exiled to (1:9). As we saw above in the context of Paul, Clement of Rome attests to the persecution and martyrdom of both Peter and Paul. Clement writes that “Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labors and when he had at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him” (41). Ignatius writing around 110 CE says that “on this account [of experiencing the risen Jesus] also did they [the disciples] despise death” (42). Sometime later Origen argues that the disciples would not have despised death if they did not in fact experience the risen Jesus (43). According to scholar Sanders “Many of the people in these lists [of witnesses] were to spend the rest of their lives proclaiming that they had seen the risen Lord, and several of them would die for their cause” (44). According to Gary Habermas, “Virtually no one, friend or foe, believer or critic, denies that it was their convictions that they had seen the resurrected Jesus that caused the disciples’ radical transformations. They were willing to die specifically for their resurrection belief” (45).

Eleven sources testify to the willingness of the apostles to suffer and risk death for their belief in the resurrection: Luke, Paul, Josephus, Clement of Rome, Clement of Alexandria, Polycarp, Ignatius, Dionysius of Corinth, Tertullian, Origen, and Hegesippus. New Testament scholar Craig Keener writes that “These disciples plainly believed that Jesus had risen; and not only that, but that they had seen him alive” (46). Eight sources testify to the disciples’ proclamation that Jesus rose from the dead and had appeared to them: Paul (including 1 Cor. 15:3-8), Sermon Summaries (Acts 2), Mark, Matthew, Luke, John, Clement of Rome, and Polycarp.

Christianity’s Uniqueness Based on the Resurrection of Jesus:

When one contrasts the Christian movement with other movements an interesting image emerges. Other movements of the time claiming the coming of a Messiah were stopped in their tracks when their leaders were killed by the ruling authorities. This was the fate of movements led by figures such as Judas the Galilean (6 CE), Simon bar-Giora (70 CE), and Bar Kochbar (135 CE). However, the Jesus movement survived the death of its founder. Jesus was put to death in a shameful manner on the cross and later, rather than his movement dying with him there, one finds the resurrection proclamation being spread by his followers (48). Scholar Luke Timothy Johnson rightly remarks that “Some sort of powerful, transformative experience is required to generate the sort of movement earliest Christianity was” (50). Christians will argue that the resurrection of Christ is the only factor that can adequately explain why the Jesus movement continued to exist beyond the death of Jesus himself when, if it were to follow the pattern of other failed Messiahs, it should have died with him on the cross.

The Unlikely Conception of a Resurrected Messiah.

The early conception of a resurrected Messiah calls out for explanation given the first-century Jewish context in which it emerged. The general Jewish concept of a resurrection was an event that would occur in the future at the general resurrection. The general resurrection is the resurrection of all people and it did not hold that one person would be resurrected before others. Jewish scholar Vermes writes that “But above all… neither they [the disciples] nor anyone else expected a resurrection” (51). The resurrection of a single individual in Jesus is therefore a striking teaching for this context. Theologian William Craig explicates,

“The disciples would have been completely un-Jewish to adopt language of resurrection from the dead to express their experience, and there were other categories of Jewish thought and vocabulary that could have been used to express their experience, and resurrection – which had reference solely to the raising up of the dead body in the tomb to new life – was not one of them” (52).

Likewise scholar N. T. Wright states that,

“Nobody was expecting this kind of thing; no kind of conversion-experience would have generated such ideas; nobody would have invented it, no matter how guilty (or how forgiven) they felt, no matter how many hours they pored over the scriptures. To suggest otherwise is to stop doing history and to enter into a fantasy world of our own” (53).

Jewish beliefs about the afterlife precluded anyone’s rising from the dead to glory and immortality before the general resurrection at the end of the world (54). In light of this, it must have been the case that the disciples and early Christians had an experience of what they believed to have been the resurrected Jesus.

Conclusions

It is time to draw conclusions. Firstly, the vast majority of historians and scholars agree that the disciples, Peter, Paul, and James were convinced that the risen Jesus had appeared to them. We observed why this is the case. Particularly, we saw how the conversions based on the appearances satisfied several criteria, including early and independent attestation, and the criterion of embarrassment. The resurrection proclamation was also preached early as demonstrated in the early creed, Paul’s authentic and disputed epistles, and the sermons in the book of Acts. The conversions and willingness to suffer by James, Paul, and the disciples were noted, as were the martyrdoms. The best explanation is that these people had experiences of a resurrected Jesus who appeared to them convincing them that he had been raised from the dead. The final points reviewed the early Christian resurrection conception’s uniqueness in the context of the Jewish background.

References:

1. Habermas, G. The Minimal Facts Approach to the Resurrection of Jesus: The Role of Methodology as a Crucial Component in Establishing Historicity. Available.

2. Habermas, G. & Licona, M. The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. p. 44.

3. Ludemann, G. 1995. What Really Happened? p. 80.

4. Crossley, J. 2015. Unbelievable? New Testament listener Q&A – Gary Habermas & James Crossley

5. Bultmann, R. quoted in Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Myth (p. 42) by Robert Segal.

6. Ehrman, B. 1999. Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium. p. 231.

7. Ludemann, G. 1994. The Resurrection of Jesus: History, Experience, Theology. p. 38.

8. Craig, W. The Resurrection of Jesus. Available.

9. Clement, 1 Clement, 42.

10. Polycarp, To the Philippians, 1,2,9, and 12.

11. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.3.3

12. Tertullian, The Prescription Against Heretics, 32.

13. Antiquities, 18:3.3.

14. Feldman, L. 1997. Josephus, Judaism and Christianity. p. 55–57.

15. Craig, W. 2009. Independent Sources for Jesus’ Burial and Empty Tomb. Available.

16. Howell, M & Prevenier, W. 2001. From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods.

17. Habermas, G. & Licona, M. The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. p. 59.

18. Sanders, E quoted in A Serious Way of Wondering (p. 44) by Reynolds Price.

19. Ludemann, G. 1994. ibid. p. 109.

20. Price, C. 2015. Making Sense of Resurrection Data. Available.

21. Habermas, G. 2003. The Risen Jesus and Future Hope. p. 22.

22. Ludemann, G. 1994. Ibid. p. 109.

23. Josephus, F. 95 AD. Antiquities, 20.9.1.

24. Feldman, L. quoted in A Rabbi Looks at Jesus of Nazareth (p. 129) by Jonathan Bernis.

25. Hegesippus, fragments from His Five Books of Commentaries on the Acts of the Church, 1.

26. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 2.23.

27. Fuller, R. 1980. The Formation of the Resurrection Narratives. p. 37.

28. Hengel, M. 1977. Crucifixion.

29. Ehrman, B. 2006. Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene: The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend. p. 101.

30. Collated by Stegmann, R. 2015. New Testament Foundations. p. 85.

31. Price, C. 2015. Ibid. Available.

32. Clement, 1 Clement, 5.

33. Polycarp, Epistle to the Philippians, 9.

34. Tertullian, Scorpiace, 15.

35. Eusebius quotes Dionysius of Corinth in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 2.25.8 writing that “I have quoted these things in order that the truth of the history might be still more confirmed.” Eusebius also quotes Origin regarding both Peter and Paul’s martyrdom in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 3.1.1-2

36. Bock, D. & Wallace, D. 2010. Dethroning Jesus: Exposing Popular Culture’s Quest to Unseat the Biblical Christ.

37. Moreland, J. 1987. Scaling the Secular City: A Defense of Christianity. Chapter 6.

38. Price, C. 2015. Ibid. Available.

39. Wallace, D. 2015. Fact Checking Dan Barker From our Recent Debate. Available.

40. Craig, W. Visions of Jesus: A Critical Assessment of Gerd Lüdemann’s Hallucination Hypothesis. Available.

41. Clement, 1 Clement, 5.

42. Ignatius, To the Smyrnaeans, 3.

43. Origen, Contra Celsum, 2:56; 2:77.

44. Sanders, E. 1995. The Historical Figure of Jesus. p. 279-280.

45. Habermas, G. The Resurrection Appearances of Jesus. Available.

46. Keener, C. 2009. The Historical Jesus of the Gospels. p. 342.

47. Craig, W. 2012. Stephen Law on the Non-existence of Jesus of Nazareth. Available.

48. Wright, N. Jesus Resurrection and Christian Origins. p. 615–635.

49. Bock, D & Wallace, D. 2010. Ibid.

50. Johnson, L. 1997. The Real Jesus. p. 136.

51. Vermes, G. 2011. Jesus the Jew: A Historians Reading of the Gospels. p. 40.

52. Craig, W. Doctrine of Christ (part 18). Available.

53. Wright, N. 2003. Christian Origins and the Question of God, III: The Resurrection of the Son of God. p. 707.

54. Craig, W. The Resurrection of Jesus. Available.