Resurrection of Jesus - Historicity and Origin of The Narrative

Historicity and Origin of The Narrative

The earliest Christians proclaimed Jesus as the risen Christ. The first Christians may be defined as those followers of Jesus who, after his crucifixion, proclaimed him as the risen lord. The earliest Christian scriptures place Jesus' resurrection at the center of religious faith. The preaching and letters of Apostle Peter in the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of Paul declared that Jesus died, was raised by God and the apostles are witnesses to this resurrection.

Géza Vermes who considers the Resurrection one of the fundamental and intriguing concepts of the Christian faith has presented eight possible theories to explain the Resurrection of Jesus. These theories fall between two extremes, ranging from a total denial of the Resurrection to absolute belief in it. The six variants include the theft of the body, recovery from a coma and a spiritual non-bodily resurrection. Vermes dismisses the "two extremes", stating that they "are not susceptible to rational judgment".

Various arguments against the historicity of the Resurrection have been presented, e.g. the number of other historical figures and gods with similar death and resurrection accounts. According to Peter Kirby, "many scholars doubt the historicity of the empty tomb." However according to a survey done by Gary Habermas; 75% of both conservative and non-conservative New Testament scholars accept arguments in favor of the empty tomb. Robert M. Price claims that if the resurrection could, in fact, be proven through science or historical evidence, the event would lose its miraculous qualities. Helmut Koester writes that the stories of the resurrection were originally epiphanies and that the more detailed accounts of the resurrection are secondary and not based on historical records.

According to R. A. Burridge, the majority consensus among biblical scholars is that the genre of the Gospels is a kind of ancient biography and not myth. E.P. Sanders argues that a plot to foster belief in the Resurrection would probably have resulted in a more consistent story, and that some of those who were involved in the events gave their lives for their belief. James D.G. Dunn has stated that, while the apostle Paul's resurrection experience was "visionary in character" and "non-physical, non-material", the accounts in the Gospels are very different.