1. How do we know the Resurrection really happened? It helps to understand that the Gospels were written 40 to 70 years after the events they describe. In the years after the events of Jesus’ death the stories were passed on by word of mouth in different communities of Christians. Naturally, some of the events and details vary

2. Each Gospel was written within in particular Christian community of the first century. Each community was involved in a journey of faith and the Gospel writers arranged their accounts of Jesus’ life to best serve the faith needs of the community This does not mean that each given event never happened, but only that various memories of the event were handed down in various communities

3. Bible stories are not meant be literal, factual history like a newspaper. The Bible is a collection of stories of religious truth carried and handed on by God’s people Details of a story might be somewhat inconsistent, even so such a story can still reveal a truth.

4. We cannot prove that the Resurrection took place. Belief in the resurrection comes down to faith, not proof However this does not mean that there is no good evidence. Lets look at some of the evidence

5. The inconsistencies make the Gospels more not less believable If the disciples had “stolen” the body and made the story up they would have been concerned with getting the facts and story straight

6. An interesting feature of the Resurrection stories adds credibility to them In all accounts women are the first to hear and spread the news that Jesus had been raised. Even though Jesus respected women, in the society of the time women were not valued as reliable witnesses to anything. Their word was not taken seriously If the followers of Jesus were trying to pull a hoax they would not have developed an account that so prominently featured women.

7. Many people died as martyrs rather than deny belief in the risen Jesus. The sense of conviction in hundreds of people, with the power of their faith passed on to generations after them would not likely have been the result of a mass hallucination.

8. The proclamation of the early Church The early Church made no attempt to explain the events of the Resurrection. Instead they the Gospels simply proclaimed the story