Our Resurrection: Hope or Hoax?

Many people today believe that the idea that we can be resurrected is a hoax. If it is then all that we believe is in vain. Paul said: "12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." 1 Cor 15:12-19 (ESV)

Paul's statement about the resurrection is as clear as any other biblical teaching; all of Christianity hinges on the reality of the resurrection of Christ. Yet, some today would have us believe that belief in the resurrection of Christ is a leap of faith. I submit that it takes very little faith at all to believe in the resurrection of Christ if you simply look at the evidence. No one in history has ever given a satisfactory explanation of the evidence in favor of Christ's resurrection. The only way to believe the resurrection is a hoax is to ignore the evidence or distort it.

Once we accept the resurrection of Christ as a reality, it is a very small step to believe that we too can be resurrected. This is our hope.

If you would like to examine some of the evidence in support of the resurrection, let me recommend some resources.

Josh McDowell's book, The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, is an excellent resource. Chapter 9, "The Support of Deity: The Resurrection-Hoax or History?," is dedicated to examining the evidence in favor of the resurrection. It also combats some inadequate views of the resurrection.

An free online resource is provided by Dr. Danny Akin. Dr. Akin is the President of the Southeasthern Baptist Theological Seminary--an outstanding theologian and scholar. He has both a manuscript and an audio version of a lecture he presented on the subject of the resurrection. Download the manuscript (PDF). Download the Mp3. Visit Dr. Akin's website.