What are some eyewitnesses to the resurrection that I can quote?

[q54332]

Are there some eyewitnesses to the resurrection that I can quote to people that want that type of information, I know the bible obviously has that but let’s say they don’t care about it and want something outside the bible. What would you show them? I know people always say we have 500 eyewitnesses to the resurrection and I just want to know a couple that I can quote and use. Any help on this would be greatly apprenticed

 

[Vico]

Are there some eyewitnesses to the resurrection that I can quote to people that want that type of information, I know the bible obviously has that but let’s say they don’t care about it and want something outside the bible. What would you show them? I know people always say we have 500 eyewitnesses to the resurrection and I just want to know a couple that I can quote and use. Any help on this would be greatly apprenticed

St. Paul, epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:5-8

5 And that he was seen by Cephas; and after that by the eleven.
6 Then he was seen by more than five hundred brethren at once: of whom many remain until this present, and some are fallen asleep.
7 After that, he was seen by James, then by all the apostles.
8 And last of all, he was seen also by me, as by one born out of due time.

Luke 16 (The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus)

29 And Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. 30 But he said: No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will do penance. 31 And he said to him: If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe, if one rise again from the dead.

 

[Thom18]

We included the eyewitness accounts in Scripture, so there’s not going to be much, if anything, outside of it.

 

[porthos11]

Are there some eyewitnesses to the resurrection that I can quote to people that want that type of information, I know the bible obviously has that but let’s say they don’t care about it and want something outside the bible. What would you show them? I know people always say we have 500 eyewitnesses to the resurrection and I just want to know a couple that I can quote and use. Any help on this would be greatly apprenticed

You point out the logical fallacy of excluding the New Testament writings as valid sources. Before the Bible was the Bible, these writings were normal, everyday writings. No one wrote the books of the New Testament intending that one day they would become part of a canonical religious compilation on par with Tanakh. These books are literature and deserve to be treated as such, even if they did eventually become the New Testament.

These books became part of the New Testament precisely because of their accurate witness to the Resurrection.

Treat the New Testament books on the same level as other writings of the time, and you have your eyewitness testimony there. You do not even at that point have to insist on divine inspiration. Do not grant the demand that because a book is in the New Testament, it is automatically excluded or lacks credibility.

 

[womanatwell]

I agree with the other posters that the Bible itself is to be considered a legitimate historical account. There are, however, some other fairly well-known sources. Several are listed here at a web-page by J. Warner Wallace, who is an apologist known for researching Christ’s validity as though he were investigating a cold case as a detective (which he was). He became Christian in this process. Though these sources might not be direct eyewitnesses, they have left definite historical traces. This is the link:

Is There Any Evidence for Jesus Outside the Bible? | Cold Case Christianity

The ancient non-Christian interpretations (and critical commentaries) of the Gospel accounts serve to strengthen the core claims of the New Testament.

coldcasechristianity.com

 

[Pattylt]

The difficulty is that most of the testaments in that article is only proof that there were Christians. They aren’t direct testimony of Jesus.

Even Paul’s claim of 500 witnesses is a problem as we have nothing from any of them…just Paul claiming there were 500…did he count them?

The only eye witnesses of Jesus are the claims in the Gospels. There is no external material of the claim. It’s an article of faith. I’m sorry but if someone won’t accept the Bible as evidence, you have nothing else. It’s really not surprising, we have no evidence of thousands of people that lived back then yet, we people did live in the area.

 

[Freddy]

The difficulty is that most of the testaments in that article is only proof that there were Christians. They aren’t direct testimony of Jesus.

Even Paul’s claim of 500 witnesses is a problem as we have nothing from any of them…just Paul claiming there were 500…did he count them?

Probably not. I believe he wrote that line when he was in Ephesus (nearly 2,000 km from Jerusalem). Nice round number isn’t it…

Someone must have seen him.
Yeah, dozens. Maybe even a hundred.
I heard it was at least a hundred.
At least. Probably a lot more.
A lot more. A few hundred I’d guess.
So I’ll put…500?
At least.
So more than 500?
Sound about right to me.

 

[Pattylt]

Duplicate post error…

 

[womanatwell]

If we compare the Bible to biographies of Alexander the Great, we see that a few original fragments of information about Alexander survive, but the main surviving biographies are written about 200 years after his death. From Wikipedia HERE: “Most primary sources written by people who actually knew Alexander or who gathered information from men who served with Alexander are lost, but a few inscriptions and fragments survive.” Yet experts study and compare the later biographies and draw conclusions about Alexander.

Though no originals of the New Testament manuscripts exist, very early copies do. The earliest undisputed papyrus fragment of a Gospel was discovered in Egypt. This copy was from the book of John, widely believed to be first written by one of Christ’s close disciples. The fragment is dated from 117 to 138 AD. The original is thought to have been written before 100 AD. Christ died around the year 30 AD.

In a letter to a group of believers (1 Corinthians), the Apostle Paul spoke of 500 eyewitnesses who saw Christ after His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:6). Some of the witnesses were still alive when Paul wrote it. This book of the Bible is therefore estimated to be written within about 25 years of Christ’s life.

Those who knew Jesus preached to others. A man named Polycarp is considered a disciple of the Apostle John. Polycarp was acquainted with Papias, who became a church chronicler. Irenaeus and Eusebius, other very early Christian writers, quoted information from Papias. The popes started in line with the Apostle Peter, then to Linus, with the list of popes HERE. Jesus was not forgotten at any stage of time after His death and resurrection

 

[FiveLinden]

These books became part of the New Testament precisely because of their accurate witness to the Resurrection.
[/quot

 

[o_mlly]

I believe he wrote that line when he was in Ephesus (nearly 2,000 km from Jerusalem).

So what? How is the truth in any historical document dependent on where the author wrote it? Silly.

Paul is evangelizing the Greeks who demand wisdom and, as such, are skeptical of extraordinary claims. Paul would be a fool to give his adversaries any easily disprovable evidence. If Paul were fabricating the resurrection story, he would not claim 500 witnesses, many of which are still living. Rather, he would have claimed far fewer and mostly dead.

 

[Freddy]

Freddy:

I believe he wrote that line when he was in Ephesus (nearly 2,000 km from Jerusalem).

So what? How is the truth in any historical document dependent on where the author wrote it? Silly.

Paul is evangelizing the Greeks who demand wisdom and, as such, are skeptical of extraordinary claims. Paul would be a fool to give his adversaries any easily disprovable evidence. If Paul were fabricating the resurrection story, he would not claim 500 witnesses, many of which are still living. Rather, he would have claimed far fewer and mostly dead.

Do you think that some intrepid investigative reporter fron the Palestine Post would be searching for these people to validate the story? The more people who it is claimed saw Jesus the more impressive the resurrection sounds. The very fact that it was brought up in this thread is an indication of that. ‘Look, over 500 people saw him. It must be true…’

 

[Dan_Defender]

Nothing will convince the skeptics of course. But there is also the Shroud of Turin, the Mandylion of Edessa and Veronica’s veil as witnesses to Jesus.

 

[o_mlly]

Do you think that some intrepid investigative reporter fron the Palestine Post would be searching for these people to validate the story? The more people who it is claimed saw Jesus the more impressive the resurrection sounds. The very fact that it was brought up in this thread is an indication of that. ‘Look, over 500 people saw him. It must be true…’

Do you think people are so gullible as to believe without evidence? Do you think that Paul’s preaching of Christ and Him crucified did not threaten the power of some over others? Do you know how and why Paul was executed? So, yes, there were many who were motivated to prove Paul wrong, just as there are today.

 

[Freddy]

Freddy:

Do you think that some intrepid investigative reporter fron the Palestine Post would be searching for these people to validate the story? The more people who it is claimed saw Jesus the more impressive the resurrection sounds. The very fact that it was brought up in this thread is an indication of that. ‘Look, over 500 people saw him. It must be true…’

Do you think people are so gullible as to believe without evidence?

Well, there are lots of people who believe that Jesus was seen by more than 500 people. And there’s no evidence for that. So I suppose you could be right.

 

[o_mlly]

Well, there are lots of people who believe that Jesus was seen by more than 500 people. And there’s no evidence for that. So I suppose you could be right.

Your flip-flop in demanding a “rabbit-in-the-rock” to disprove evolution is not missed. All you have to do is show us evidence of Jesus’ earthly remains.