(Dear Atheists who never read to the bottom of this article… Links to Peer Reviewed supporting evidence are at the bottom)
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is single most critical part of the Christian faith and also the single most important argument for it. I may not have an answer for every single question regarding philosophy, various religions, ethics, creation, and evolution (and neither does the other side). I don’t have to know it all because this much is true: If Jesus Christ really literally rose from the dead then the Bible is true. If the Bible is truly the Word of God then that kind of settles the issue of whether God exists and who He is, regardless of any other unanswered questions.
So to help with this goal I have provided links to a short argument for the resurrection and a long argument for the resurrection.
The Short Argument for the Resurrection
Five Reasons to Believe Jesus Rose from the Dead
This is a slightly longer comic strip that illustrates the logical argument for the resurrection provided by Adam4d.com. It’s good if you are sharing with somebody who may not be interested enough to spend an hour watching a video presentation on the scholarly evidence of the resurrection.
The Long Argument for the Resurrection
Gary Habermas: The Resurrection Evidence that Changed Current Scholarship
This is an hour long presentation by New Testament scholar Gary Habermas laying out the scholarly arguments for the resurrection. This textual argument for the Resurrection has a significant impact on New Testament scholarship and really proves that the Resurrection is not a myth that evolved over time but something that all of the original disciples believed they literally saw. My favorite point is that Paul was born within a few years of Jesus’ birth. This means when he writes 1 Corinthians 15 he is writing in a time period where the witnesses really are still alive and is calling on people to call his bluff and talk to the witnesses. It’s not some text decades removed from the event! This is great evidence.
Updated Lecture by Habermas 2018
A lecture by Gary Habermas at my Alma Mater: New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary as part of Defend the Faith 2018. Start this at 32 minutes and it lasts over 1.5 hours with detailed slides in the last 20 minutes or so.
Habermas’ Papers and Articles in Peer Reviewed Journals
For my atheist friends who demand the paperwork on this Resurrection research here is a good starting point.
Here is the archive of useful articles related to Dr. Habermas’ work much of is in Peer Reviews Journals. Here is one main article in a peer reviewed Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus. His Original 1976 PhD paper at Michigan State that earned him his PhD and formed the foundation of this argument for the Resurrection.