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Revision as of 05:10, 23 December 2001 by Wesley (talk | contribs) (Revised... ahhh, better read it if you care.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the name associated with the belief that God literally raised Jesus Christ from the dead after his Crucifixion.
As one of the miracles mentioned in the New Testament, the Resurrection is arguably the foundational belief of Christianity. Saint Paul said that if it didn't really happen, then Christians were to be pitied above all men. (I Corinthians 15:19) Christians have lived and died the death of martyrs in hope of the resurrection, both in hope of Christ's resurrection in the past and in hope of their own in the future.
Some New Testament references that describe this event are:
- Acts 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
- 1 Cor 6:14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
- Gal 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
- 1 Pet 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God
Some of the earliest records of the resurrection outside the New Testament are found in the writings of Josephus (37 - 110), Ignatius (50 - 115), Polycarp (69 - 155) Justin Martyr (100 - 165), and Tertullian (160 - 220).
Some historians have questioned the historicity of the events related by the New Testament. One of the first to do so was Edward Gibbon (1737 - 1794). See The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire for an extensive quote from that work in which Gibbon wonders why no contemporary historians noticed three hours of darkness in the middle of the Roman Empire.
Other religions have claims of resurrection, such as Mithraism, Greek worship of Adonis, Egyptian worship of Osiris, the Babylonian story of Tammuz and rural religious belief in the Corn King.
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