*Why* do you believe in the Resurrection?

[RollTide1987]

What do you mean?
They left their lives as they knew them and followed him for years, doing as he said and listening to him and believing in him and helping him spread his thoughts and ideas to people.

.

He means that before the Apostles saw the Risen Christ they were hiding in fear for their very lives. Their master had just been crucified as a common criminal, something that was not supposed to happen to the supposed Messiah. They were essentially following a heretic and, because of this fact, could be executed for heresy as well. But then, quite suddenly, they came out of hiding and started talking about the Risen Christ and proclaiming His gospel to the multitude. Something between the time of the crucifixion and the time of Pentecost moved these men to come out of hiding and preach as if they had no fear in them at all.

Most skeptics who are well-versed in scripture and the history behind it will admit that these men, at the very least, believed they saw the Risen Christ.

 

[Took2Long]

What do you mean?
They left their lives as they knew them and followed him for years, doing as he said and listening to him and believing in him and helping him spread his thoughts and ideas to people.

.

What you say about all the apostles is not true. St. Paul never knew or traveled with Jesus in His earthly time. Paul only met a resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus. You can try and more easily explain away what those that knew Christ did in His earthly time, but the same cannot be said for St. Paul. Something moved Paul to do all he did. He walked thousands of miles spreading the word and teachings of Jesus Christ. He wrote most of the New Testament, much of which was written from a jail cell. He met a martyr’s death at the hands of the axman. He was not influenced by Jesus Christ before He was nailed to the cross. He is the most difficult of the early saints to dismiss as part of some larger conspiracy. He only knew a resurrected Christ. Still, he did as much-some would say more- than the other followers of Christ had done. Couple that with what others on this thread have already said, and it becomes very compelling evidence to many of us. I reflect on what each of the saints have done to help bring me to Christ, especially as All Saints Day approaches.

Many try and dismiss the divinity of Christ. It is in some ways more difficult to dismiss the utter humanity of the early saints. Human nature tells us that they would give in to the temptation to deny their “story” to save themselves if it was a fallacy. The fact that they did not deny it, speaks volumes. Instead, they suffered hardship and death for the teachings of Christ. We can’t explain that away easily. It is even more difficult to explain away with St. Paul, for the reason that I’ve already stated-he only met a resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus. If he wasn’t defending truth, he had no reason to continue all the way to his death.

 

[CarmelJerome]

The idea of the empty tomb is really a beautiful, inspiring story. I really wish I could just embrace it again…

But I’m really not persuaded by the evidence at this time. I’m starting to fear there is nothing that is going to persuade me … which leaves me with no choice other than rejecting Catholicism or making a leap of faith and hoping the Church is right about these things…and that will be the topic of my next thread.

Thanks guys.

The Resurrection is not about the empty tomb but about the living Lord -  an empty tomb would have only left the disciples in greater misery because they would have lost the place where they could venerate their beloved teacher. An unjustly slain teacher would have inspired a very different sort of faith - and an empty tomb without the forty days of instruction followed by the Ascension would have made no impression at all beyond the personal tragedy involved. 
  Mere dreamlike or visionary experiences would not have given the triumphant, constant, durable, indefatigable power to the Apostles. Not only is the relentless activity of the Church in the face of rejection by their own people, who had long been victims of persecutions, an index of the force of the experience of the Risen Lord; it testifies likewise to the promise of the

reality of Pentecost.
The final proof of the Resurrection is less the martyrdom the apostles endured, but the quality of the martyrdom.Joy and eagerness, rather than grim determination, are the signs of Christian martyrdom, and this joy has always been the hallmark of those who suffer for the confession of the One who rose, ascended and will return.

 

[savedbygrace71]

It’s overly simplistic for what you are looking for, I know. But Thomas is why.

“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

 

[Michael19682]

So many reasons to believe.
2 or 3 in his name.

youtube.com/watch?v=cXppKdV0Ut0

(Road to Emmaus Trailer)

 

[Magdalena59]

I would really recommend William Lane Craig’s “Reasonable Faith”

For me it comes down to two things.

1). God can do anything

1. the apostles scattered around the world and stuck to their stories to death. It’s not like they were in a cult group, they were on their own and separate and not one of them changed their story.

Good answer. That is how I see it too. When you are in a group, you might, possibly be all able to stick to a story but even then it would be hard for everyone to keep it straight if it wasn’t true.

They were are off alone, though, and by themselves, so to stick to a belief such as the resurrection, you know they were absolutely positive in what they believed . Also, the horrible deaths they all died, the cruelness, the torture. I believe they knew what they knew and they knew it was true and knew what they had to do.

I also, like William Lane Craig.

 

[CrossofChrist]

They were are off alone, though, and by themselves, so to stick to a belief such as the resurrection, you know they were absolutely positive in what they believed . Also, the horrible deaths they all died, the cruelness, the torture. I believe they knew what they knew and they knew it was true and knew what they had to do.

And even if you take away their deaths, it’s still incredible. I mean, they went out, some to Asia, some to Europe, some to Africa, and if its all a story, why suffer the isolation and humiliation of a seemingly stupid message? Why stick to it with an inner drive and sincere care for others?

 

[Sy_Noe]

The idea of the empty tomb is really a beautiful, inspiring story. I really wish I could just embrace it again…

But I’m really not persuaded by the evidence at this time. I’m starting to fear there is nothing that is going to persuade me … which leaves me with no choice other than rejecting Catholicism or making a leap of faith and hoping the Church is right about these things…and that will be the topic of my next thread.

Thanks guys.

The bottom line and truth is that it does take faith and belief. I’d argue not only in terms of the Resurrection but for other religious or spiritual matters as well. We can believe we know. But if you are waiting for absolute certain proof and evidence to persuade you or to know with certainty, you’re going to have to wait until whichever occurs first. Either you die or until the 2nd Coming occurs if as Christians believe in faith it does. Because none of us were there. So in the meantime we can only walk by faith not by sight. In the end it is up to you the leaps you find yourself able to take but I wish you well and peace.