Readings: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 and 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
Books: The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary R. Habermas and Michael Licona, The Case for Easter by Lee Strobel, Jesus Under Fire by Michael J. Wilkins, The Challenge of Easter by N. T. Wright.
Quotes: “There is no evidence for a form of early Christianity in which the resurrection was not a central belief.” –N. T. Wright.
“That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be.” –John Dominic Crossan
“Jesus was publicly executed in Jerusalem. His post-mortem appearances and empty tomb were first proclaimed publicly there. It would have been impossible for Christianity to get off the ground in Jerusalem if the body had still been in the tomb. His Jewish enemies in the Jewish leadership and Roman government would only have had to exhume the corpse and publicly display it for the hoax to be shattered. Not only are Jewish, Roman, and all other writings absent of such an account, but there is a total silence from Christianity’s critics who would have jumped at evidence of this sort.” –Gary R. Habermas and Michael Licona