Part Five: Questions about Jesus Christ and Being His Disciple
Part 5
QUESTIONS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST AND BEING HIS DISCIPLE
The historical Jesus—His life, ministry, message, miracles, and movement—is, arguably, the most widely addressed idea of human history. One cannot properly address, at least in any spirit of thoroughness, the big questions of life and worldview without encountering Jesus. Of course, He is more than an idea or a theory. For the Christian, He is our very Hero, our Lord, our Savior, our Sage, our Master, Teacher, Prophet, and Risen and Exalted One. But what if all of this is a fabrication, a myth spun by early Christians that plagiarized pagan mythology allusions? What if the historical evidence for Jesus’ resurrection is not strong but weak? What if the resurrection accounts in the gospels are a late revision influenced by Pauline theology?
The nine questions of this part explore the above questions and more, confronting them with reason and precision. The topics of the historical Jesus and His bodily resurrection from the dead are not only a central concern for Christianity, but they are also among the more notable topics that Dr. Craig has spent decades researching, studying, and engaging critics at some of the highest levels of scholarship and debate. Moreover, Dr. Craig is one of the few notable Christian scholars who intentionally connects the case for Jesus’ resurrection with natural theology arguments for God. Why? Because he is not content to present a mere “generic God.” Moreover, if Jesus was actually raised from the dead, that’s pretty compelling evidence to think that God must exist, don’t you think?
Our view of Jesus is integral to our view of what it means to follow Him in our Father’s world. Our view of Him in the world will be reflected in who we are in the world. Jesus did not come to merely inaugurate another religion. He came to bring and announce life-giving life. That life is meant to influence all that we do and say for His name’s sake. Even the “ordinary” and “common” are swept up and enlivened as subjects for His purposes. As the nineteenth-century Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper is famous for declaring, “There is not one square inch of the entire creation about which Jesus Christ does not cry out, ‘This is mine! This belongs to me!’” So with that recognition, the totality and all-encompassing scope of Christ’s Lordship, questions about marriage, productivity, priorities, and maintaining physical stamina can find their meaningful place. But not just them alone, but also questions about how to deal with spiritual failure, the role of doubt in the life of faith, what even is a reasonable faith, and so much more, gain a context and receive a hearing under the reign of Christ in our hearts.
By interacting with the questions and answers of Part Five, you can benefit in the following ways.
In section 1, you can come to discern
• Why connecting pagan mythology to Jesus is problematic.
• What it means for Jesus to be “the Son of God.”
• How the witness of pre-Pauline tradition for the empty tomb is powerful.
• Why the argument for the resurrection of Jesus is not deductive but an inference to the best explanation.
In section 2, you can come to wisely know
• How to deal with doubts and their place in our life and worldview.
• How to protect against spiritual failure.
• How to courageously face ridicule and rejection.
You can discover further background to these issues, grow your understanding, and become even more skillful in your communication of what you learn by interacting with some of these valuable resources:
Dig Deeper into Dr. Craig’s Work
BEGINNER
Craig, William Lane. On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook Publishers, 2010. Chapters 8–10.
Craig, William Lane. “Evidence for Jesus’ Resurrection.” Lecture at Southampton Civic Hall, UK., October 24, 2011. http://bit.ly/EvidenceForJesusResurrection.
Craig, William Lane. “Who Does Jesus Think He Was?” National Faculty Leadership Conference, Washington, D.C. (2008). http://bit.ly/WhoJesusWas.
INTERMEDIATE
Craig, William Lane. Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2003. Chapters 29–31.
Craig, William Lane. Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics. 3rd ed. Wheaton: Crossway, 2008. Chapters 5–8.
Craig, William Lane. “Craig v. Ehrman: Is There Historical Evidence for Resurrection?” College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass., March 28, 2006. http://bit.ly/CraigEhrman.
Craig, William Lane. “Craig v. Lüdemann: Did Jesus Rise from the Dead,” Boston College, Mass. 1997, http://bit.ly/CraigLudemann
ADVANCED
Craig, William Lane. Assessing the New Testament Evidence for the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen, 2002.
Supplemental Recommended Resources
BEGINNER
Groothuis, Douglas. On Jesus. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 2003.
Koukl, Greg. Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009.
Moreland, J. P. and Klaus Issler. In Search of a Confident Faith. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2008.
Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.
Willard, Dallas. Renovation of the Heart. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002.
INTERMEDIATE
Boyd, Gregory. Cynic, Sage, or Son of God? Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1995.
Copan, Paul and William Lane Craig, eds. Come Let Us Reason: New Essays in Christian Apologetics. Nashville: B&H Publishers, 2012. Chapters 7–11.
Copan, Paul and William Lane Craig, eds. Contending with Christianity’s Critics. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2009. Chapters 7–12.
Copan, Paul and Ronald Tacelli. Jesus’ Resurrection: Fact or Figment? Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2000.
Craig, William Lane and Chad Meister, eds. God Is Great, God Is Good. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2009. Chapters 12–13.
Groothuis, Douglas. Christian Apologetics. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2011. Chapters 19–22.
Sweis, Khaldoun A. and Chad V. Meister. Christian Apologetics: An Anthology of Primary Sources. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012. Chapters 26–28, 33–39.
ADVANCED
Craig, William Lane and J. P. Moreland, eds. The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology. Malden, Mass.: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2009. Chapters 9, 11.
Eddy, Paul Rhodes and Gregory A. Boyd. The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007.
Evans, Craig. Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2006.
Green, Joel B., Scot McKnight, and Howard Marshall, eds. Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1992.
Keener, Craig S. Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts. Vols. 1–2. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011.
Keener, Craig S. The Historical Jesus of the Gospels. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2009.
Wright, N. T. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003.