1 Corinthians was written 20-30 years after the purported event, and the resurrection story that it contains is likely from even earlier. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the verses about Jesus' resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15.
"The account of the resurrection appearances of Jesus in...
Wikipedia says 90-110 AD as the general estimate for date the Gospel of John was written. The Introduction to the Gospel of John in the ESV estimates 85 AD. Generally, Jesus is thought to have died in 30 or 33 AD. Doing some basic math, that puts us at between 52 and 80 years. Of course there...
"None of the authors claims that. So how do you impose that upon authors who never claimed that?"
That is a fair critique. None of them speak very explicitly about being eyewitnesses or about who their sources are. Several do make claims to have been eyewitnesses to an extent, however.
Paul...
OK. Sure, the specific part of 1 Corinthians 15 I quoted says "Christ" not "Jesus." I was not trying to make any kind of claim by saying Jesus. If you read elsewhere in Paul's writings, it is abundantly clear that when he spoke of "Christ," he was referring to Jesus. Even in the same chapter...
By "witnesses," I was not implying that the authors of these texts necessarily claimed to have seen the resurrected Jesus themselves. Perhaps "independent sources" would have been a better term, since Luke and Mark didn't necessarily claim to have seen Jesus risen from the dead. But some of them...
Four accounts of the life of Jesus (Attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). It is possible that Matthew and Luke drew from Mark as a source along with another hypothetical source called Q, so if that is the case, they wouldn't be entirely independent. Paul wrote many letters to Christians...
I totally agree with you that the Bible uses the language of death and resurrection as a metaphor for sin and repentance/redemption. You quoted several instances. Another clear one is Ephesians 2:1-6 (There are many others as well.)
"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you...
Interesting suggestion. I'm not aware of any other records of anyone surviving crucifixion. Also, how could he possibly have recovered so completely that his disciples would have thought he had supernaturally risen from the dead? It would seem that if he somehow managed to survive the cross, it...
That's an interesting idea, and not one I've heard before.
What are your reasons for mistrusting the New Testament texts? Do you hold other first century texts to the same standard? Why do you rule out the possibility of Mary Magdeline having talked to Jesus and Thomas putting his fingers into...
"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...
A few quotes:
"The fact of the death of Jesus as a consequence of crucifixion is indisputable, despite hypotheses of a pseudo-death or a deception which are sometimes put forward."
(Gerd Ludemann, What Really Happened to Jesus: A Historical Approach to the Resurrection, trans. John Bowden...
The Christian claim that Jesus of Nazareth literally rose from the dead is fundamental to Christianity, but is undeniably a very radical claim. There is a certain amount of historical evidence surrounding the life of Jesus, but does the evidence support the claim that Jesus rose from the dead in...