Justin Brierley, host of the Unbelievable radio show, tweeted about this lecture.

This is a long form explanation of the resurrection argument that Dr. Craig makes in all of his debates on the existence of God. The speaker introduction goes for 6 minutes, then Dr. Craig speaks for 35 minutes, then it’s a period of questions and answers with the audience. The total length is 93 minutes, so quite a long period of Q&A. The questions in the Q&A period are quite good.

Introduction:

• Many people who are willing to accept God’s existence are not willing to accept the God of Christianity
• Christians need to be ready to show that Jesus rose from the dead as a historical event
• Private faith is fine for individuals, but when dealing with the public you have to have evidence
• When making the case, you cannot assume that your audience accepts the Bible as inerrant
• You must use the New Testament like any other ancient historical document
• Most historians, Christian and not, accept the basic minimal facts supporting the resurrection of Jesus

Fact #1: the burial of Jesus following his crucifixion

• Fact #1 is supported by the early creed found in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 15)
• Fact #1 is supported by the early Passion narrative which was a source for Mark’s gospel
• Fact #1 passes the criterion of enemy attestation, since it praises one of the Sanhedrin
• Fact #1 is not opposed by any competing burial narratives

Fact #2: on the Sunday following his crucifixion, Jesus’ tomb was found empty by some women

• Fact #2 is supported by the early Passion narrative which was a source for Mark’s gospel
• Fact #2 is implied by the early creed found in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 15)
• Fact #2 is simple and lacks legendary embellishment, which argues for an early dating
• Fact #2 passes the criterion of embarrassment, because it has female, not male, witnesses
• Fact #2 passes the criterion of enemy attestation, since it is reported by the Jewish leaders

Fact #3: Jesus appeared to various people in various circumstances after his death

• Fact #3 is supported by the early creed found in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 15)
• Fact #3 is supported by multiple, independent reports of the events from all four gospels
• Fact #3 explains other historical facts, like the conversion of Jesus’ skeptical brother James

Fact #4: the earliest Christians proclaimed their belief in the resurrection of Jesus

• Fact #4 explains why the earliest Christians continued to identify Jesus as the Messiah
• Fact #4 explains why the earliest Christians were suddenly so unconcerned about being killed

Dr. Craig then asks which hypothesis explains all four of these facts. He surveys a number of naturalistic hypotheses, such as the hallucination theory or various conspiracy theories. All of these theories deny one or more of the minimal facts that have been established and accepted by the broad spectrum of historians. In order to reject the resurrection hypothesis, a skeptic would have to deny one of the four facts or propose an explanation that explains those facts better than the resurrection hypothesis.

I listened to the Q&A period while doing housekeeping and I heard lots of good questions. Dr. Craig gives very long answers to the questions. One person asked why we should trust the claim that the Jewish leaders really did say that the disciples stole the body. Another one asked why we should take the resurrection as proof that Jesus was divine. Another asks about the earthquake in Matthew, which Mike Licona and I doubt is intended to be historical, but is more likely to be apocalyptic imagery. Dr. Craig is also asked about the Jewish scholar Geza Vermes, and how many of the minimal facts he accepts. Another questioner asked about the ascension.

You can see this evidence used in an actual debate, against a historian who disagrees with Dr. Craig. That post contains a point by point summary of the debate that I wrote while listening to it.

If you are looking for a good book to read on this topic, the best introductory book on the resurrection is “The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus” and the best comprehensive book is “The Resurrection of Jesus“.