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Last Updated:Friday - 09/24/2010

May 1, 2006

Faith is firm, fiction fizzles

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It should be no surprise that author Dan Brown and others have put forward conspiracy theories to explain the disappearance of Jesus' body after the crucifixion. We live in a secular world that does not accept the existence of miracles, let alone that Jesus was the Son of God who died and rose again.

Those who are skeptics about Jesus' divinity and the resurrection seek a naturalistic explanation for the empty tomb. People have been devising such theories for 2,000 years; it's hardly surprising that, in this the most secular of ages, skeptics are again cooking up stories about how the Church has been engaged in a long-standing conspiracy to suppress Jesus' whereabouts after the crucifixion.

Belief in the resurrection is an act of faith. But if you do not have faith, there is still the empty tomb to contend with. The possible explanations are obvious enough.

One, Jesus was not really crucified and did not die on Calvary.

Two, Jesus did die on the cross and his followers stole the body.

Three, Jesus did die, but he "lives on" in the spirit of his followers. Take your pick and then embellish the story with fantasies about Mary Magdalene and "evidence" of conspiracies to create a best-selling novel.

Belief in the resurrection may be an act of faith, but it is eminently more reasonable than the alternatives. Consider this:

  • Jesus' apostles were (almost) all martyred for their faith. But even under great duress, none of them recanted and said they had fabricated the story of the resurrection. Surely few people would give their lives for a made-up story.
  • Most of Jesus' followers did not at first believe in the resurrection and the Gospels made no attempt to hide this. If the resurrection were a conspiracy, why would the Gospels not cover up those original doubts?
  • The apostles were transformed after the resurrection from a group of self-interested ordinary men into dynamic miracle-workers who spread the Gospel to the corners of the then-known world.
  • The test of Gamaliel. The Pharisee Gamaliel told the Jewish council which wanted to persecute the apostles: "If this plan or this undertaking is of men, it will fail; but if it us of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God" (Acts 5:38-39). Unlike other Jewish sects at the time of Jesus, Christianity alone did not die out.
  • The resurrection of Jesus was the central belief of Christianity right from the earliest days and was not a theory slowly conjured up over a period of months or years.

    • Perhaps the greatest testimony to the resurrection is that faith in Jesus has continued to transform millions of lives down through history into the world today. Christianity has had its share of scoundrels - this is not news.

    What is news is that it has produced not only a myriad of great saints, but also drastically changed the lives of millions of simple people through faith in Christ.

    The resurrection is not a simple fact which gives credence to Jesus' teaching and miracles. It is the tipping point of history, one which splits history in two -before Christ and the era under the power of the Holy Spirit.

    Blame it on the resurrection. Christianity has not made heaven on earth. But humanity would be in dire straits if it had not been transformed by the Son of God become human, dying for our sins and rising from the dead.

    Don't let the acclaim accorded the Da Vinci Code and other bogus theories discourage you. Similar false theories have popped up regularly from the time of the apostles. They have not slowed the spread of the faith and its ability to draw people to newness of life. Take heart from Gamaliel. This "undertaking" is of God and it will not be set back.

    - Glen Argan

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