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145-618: The resurrection of Jesus ( Biblical Greek : ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ , romanized:  anástasis toú Iēsoú ) is the Christian event that God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion , starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lord . According to the New Testament writing, Jesus was firstborn from the dead , ushering in the Kingdom of God . He appeared to his disciples, calling

290-623: A stress accent system , and the monophthongization of several diphthongs: The Koine-period Greek in the table is taken from a reconstruction by Benjamin Kantor of New Testament Judeo-Palestinian Koine Greek. The realizations of most phonemes reflect general changes around the Greek-speaking world, including vowel isochrony and monophthongization, but certain sound values differ from other Koine varieties such as Attic, Egyptian and Anatolian. More general Koine phonological developments include

435-633: A "celestial body", made of a finer material than the flesh. In the Epistle to the Philippians Paul describes how the body of the resurrected Christ is utterly different from the one he wore when he had "the appearance of a man", and holds out a similar glorified state, when Christ "will transform our lowly body", as the goal of the Christian life – "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (I Corinthians 15:50), and Christians entering

580-410: A "legendary materialization" of the visionary experiences, "borrowing the traits of the earthly Jesus." Yet, according to Dunn, there was both "a tendency away from the physical ... and a reverse tendency towards the physical." The tendency towards the material is most clear, but there are also signs for the tendency away from the physical, and "there are some indications that a more physical understanding

725-480: A "massive realism" to them, as seen for example in Luke having Jesus insisting that he was of "flesh and bones", and John having Jesus asking Thomas to touch his wounds. Dunn contends that the "massive realism' ... of the [Gospel] appearances themselves can only be described as visionary with great difficulty – and Luke would certainly reject the description as inappropriate." According to Dunn, most scholars explain this as

870-560: A Christian philosopher at Oxford University, the question " 'Did Jesus rise from the dead?' is the most important question regarding the claims of the Christian faith." According to John R. Rice , a Baptist evangelist, the resurrection of Jesus was part of the plan of salvation and redemption by atonement for man's sin . According to the Roman Catechism of the Catholic Church, the resurrection of Jesus causes and

1015-467: A belief in a bodily resurrection. Other texts range from the traditional Old Testament view that the soul would spend eternity in the underworld, to a metaphorical belief in the raising of the spirit. Most avoided defining what resurrection might imply, but a resurrection of the flesh was a marginal belief. As Outi Lehtipuu states, "belief in resurrection was far from being an established doctrine" of Second Temple Judaism . The Greeks traditionally held that

1160-734: A belief in the resurrection of the soul alone, which was then developed by the Pharisees as a belief in bodily resurrection, an idea completely alien to the Greeks. Josephus tells of the three main Jewish sects of the 1st century AD, that the Sadducees held that both soul and body perished at death; the Essenes that the soul was immortal but the flesh was not; and the Pharisees that the soul

1305-614: A biblical basis for Christian apologetics is God's entreaty in the Book of Isaiah : "Come now, let us reason together." Other scriptural passages which have been taken as a basis for Christian apologetics include Psalm 19 , which begins "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands," and Romans 1 , which reads "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." There are

1450-522: A bodily resurrection meant a new imprisonment in a corporeal body, which was what they wanted to avoid – given that, for them, the corporeal and the material fettered the spirit. James Dunn notes that there is a great difference between Paul's resurrection appearance, and the appearances described in the Gospels. Where "Paul's seeing was visionary ... , 'from heaven'", in contrast, the Gospel accounts have

1595-422: A case for the historicity of the resurrection of Christ per current legal standards of evidence or undermining the pagan myth hypothesis for the origin of Christianity. Regarding evidence for the historicity of the Book of Acts , A. N. Sherwin-White states that: For Acts, the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming. Acts is, in simple terms and judged externally, no less of a propaganda narrative than

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1740-420: A commonly held tradition, though Mark may have added to and adapted that tradition to fit his narrative. Other scholars have argued that instead, Paul presupposes the empty tomb, specifically in the early creed passed down in 1 Cor. 15. Christian biblical scholars have used textual critical methods to support the historicity of the tradition that "Mary of Magdala had indeed been the first to see Jesus", most notably

1885-399: A locked room, which Endsjø interprets as something like a resurrection. Smith argues that Mark has integrated two traditions, which were first separate, on the disappearance (from the tomb, interpreted as being taken to heaven) and appearance (post-mortem appearances), into one Easter narrative. According to Géza Vermes , the story of the empty tomb developed independently from the stories of

2030-635: A more complex reality: for example, when the author of the Book of Daniel wrote that "many of those sleeping in the dust shall awaken", religion scholar Dag Øistein Endsjø believes he probably had in mind a rebirth as angelic beings (metaphorically described as stars in God's Heaven, stars having been identified with angels from early times); such a rebirth would rule out a bodily resurrection, as angels were believed to be fleshless. Other scholars hold that Daniel exposes

2175-450: A more open pronunciation than other Koine dialects, distinguished as open-mid /ɛ/ vs. close-mid /e/ , rather than as true-mid /e̞/ vs. close-mid /e̝/ as has been suggested for other varieties such as Egyptian. This is evidenced on the basis of Hebrew transcriptions of ε with pataḥ/qamets /a/ and not tsere/segol /e/ . Additionally, it is posited that α perhaps had a back vowel pronunciation as /ɑ/ , dragged backwards due to

2320-535: A number of men and women gained physical immortality as they were translated to live forever in either Elysium , the Islands of the Blessed , heaven, the ocean, or literally right under the ground. While some scholars have attempted to trace resurrection beliefs in pagan traditions concerning death and bodily disappearances, the attitudes towards resurrection were generally negative among pagans. For example, Asclepius

2465-644: A rabbinic style, that he received and has passed on to the church at Corinth. Geza Vermes writes that the creed is "a tradition he [Paul] has inherited from his seniors in the faith concerning the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus". The creed's ultimate origins are probably within the Jerusalem apostolic community, having been formalised and passed on within a few years of the resurrection. Hans Grass argues for an origin in Damascus, and according to Paul Barnett, this creedal formula, and others, were variants of

2610-562: A simplified form of Ionic . The view accepted by most scholars today was given by the Greek linguist Georgios Hatzidakis , who showed that despite the "composition of the Four", the "stable nucleus" of Koine Greek is Attic. In other words, Koine Greek can be regarded as Attic with the admixture of elements especially from Ionic, but also from other dialects. The degree of importance of the non-Attic linguistic elements on Koine can vary depending on

2755-442: A span to allow the mythical tendency to prevail over the hard historic core. Moral apologetics states that real moral obligation is a fact. Catholic apologist Peter Kreeft said, "We are really, truly, objectively obligated to do good and avoid evil." In moral apologetics, the arguments for man's sinfulness and man's need for redemption are stressed. Examples of this type of apologetic would be Jonathan Edwards ' sermon " Sinners in

2900-533: A variety of Christian apologetic styles and schools of thought. The major types of Christian apologetics include historical and legal evidentialist apologetics, presuppositional apologetics, philosophical apologetics, prophetic apologetics, doctrinal apologetics, biblical apologetics, moral apologetics, and scientific apologetics. Biblical apologetics include issues concerned with the authorship and date of biblical books, biblical canon , and biblical inerrancy . Christian apologists defend and comment on various books of

3045-460: A very important source of information on the ancient Koine is the modern Greek language with all its dialects and its own Koine form, which have preserved some of the ancient language's oral linguistic details which the written tradition has lost. For example, Pontic and Cappadocian Greek preserved the ancient pronunciation of η as ε ( νύφε, συνέλικος, τίμεσον, πεγάδι for standard Modern Greek νύφη, συνήλικος, τίμησον, πηγάδι etc.), while

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3190-544: A work that is now known as Meditations . Koine Greek continues to be used as the liturgical language of services in the Greek Orthodox Church and in some Greek Catholic churches . The English-language name Koine is derived from the Koine Greek term ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος ( hē koinḕ diálektos ), meaning "the common dialect". The Greek word κοινή ( koinḗ ) itself means "common". The word

3335-552: Is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity . Christian apologetics have taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in the early church and Patristic writers such as Origen , Augustine of Hippo , Justin Martyr and Tertullian , then continuing with writers such as Thomas Aquinas , Duns Scotus , William of Ockham and Anselm of Canterbury during Scholasticism . Blaise Pascal

3480-520: Is a term used for present tense verbs that are used in some narrative sections of the New Testament to describe events that are in the past with respect to the speaker. This is seen more in works attributed to Mark and John than Luke . It is used 151 times in the Gospel of Mark in passages where a reader might expect a past tense verb. Scholars have presented various explanations for this; in

3625-536: Is also attested by archaeological finds from Jehohanan , a body of an apparently crucified man with a nail in the heel which could not be removed who was buried in a tomb. Contra a decent burial, Martin Hengel has argued that Jesus was buried in disgrace as an executed criminal who died a shameful death, a view which is "now widely accepted and has become entrenched in scholarly literature." John Dominic Crossan argued that Jesus's followers did not know what happened to

3770-447: Is found in a wide variety of early texts, and probably has its historical roots in the earliest stages of Christianity. According to Israeli religion scholar Gedaliahu Stroumsa , this idea came first, and later, docetism broadened to include Jesus was a spirit without flesh. It is probable these were present in the first century, as it is against such doctrines that the author of 1 and 2 John seems to argue. The absence of any reference to

3915-501: Is historical. Dale Allison argues for an empty tomb that was later followed by visions of Jesus by the Apostles and Mary Magdalene, while also accepting the historicity of the resurrection. While he acknowledges contradictions in the Gospels' narratives, he argues that they agree on the important themes and that the differences are inconsequential when judging the historical event as a whole. Allison has endorsed David Graieg's work on

4060-408: Is no mention of an open pit or shallow graves in any Roman text. There are a number of historical texts outside the gospels showing the bodies of the crucified dead were buried by family or friends. Cook writes that "those texts show that the narrative of Joseph of Arimethaea's burial of Jesus would be perfectly comprehensible to a Greco-Roman reader of the gospels and historically credible." Early on,

4205-405: Is not described in any of the canonical gospels, but all four contain passages in which Jesus is portrayed as predicting his death and resurrection, or contain allusions that "the reader will understand". The New Testament writings do not contain any descriptions of a resurrection but rather accounts of an empty tomb and appearances of Jesus. One of the letters sent by Paul the Apostle to one of

4350-581: Is often mentioned as Common Attic . The first scholars who studied Koine, both in Alexandrian and Early Modern times, were classicists whose prototype had been the literary Attic Greek of the Classical period and frowned upon any other variety of Ancient Greek . Koine Greek was therefore considered a decayed form of Greek which was not worthy of attention. The reconsideration on the historical and linguistic importance of Koine Greek began only in

4495-606: Is perhaps the best known modern, English speaking Eastern Orthodox apologist. Among the Evangelicals there is the Anglican C. S. Lewis (who popularized the argument now known as Lewis's trilemma ). Among Protestant apologists of the 19th century there was William Paley who popularized the Watchmaker analogy . In the first half of the 20th century, many Christian fundamentalists became well known apologists. Some of

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4640-616: Is popular in Calvinist circles. Others include William Lane Craig , Douglas Groothuis , Josh McDowell , Hugo Anthony Meynell , Timothy J. Keller , Francis Collins , Vishal Mangalwadi , Richard Bauckham , Craig Evans , Darrell Bock , Frank Turek , John F. MacArthur , R.C. Sproul , Michael R. Licona , Ravi Zacharias , Allister McGrath and John Lennox . The original Greek apologia ( ἀπολογία , from Ancient Greek : ἀπολογέομαι , romanized :  apologeomai , lit.   'speak in return, defend oneself')

4785-648: Is pronounced / k ɔɪ ˈ n eɪ / , / ˈ k ɔɪ n eɪ / , or / k iː ˈ n iː / in US English and / ˈ k ɔɪ n iː / in UK English. The pronunciation of the word koine itself gradually changed from [koinéː] (close to the Classical Attic pronunciation [koi̯.nɛ̌ː] ) to [cyˈni] (close to the Modern Greek [ciˈni] ). In Modern Greek,

4930-591: Is rendered in a reconstructed pronunciation representing a hypothetical conservative variety of mainland Greek Koiné in the early Roman period. The transcription shows raising of η to /eː/ , partial (pre-consonantal/word-final) raising of ῃ and ει to /iː/ , retention of pitch accent, and retention of word-initial /h/ (the rough breathing ). περὶ peri ὧν hoːn Θισ[β]εῖς tʰizbîːs λόγους lóɡuːs ἐποιήσαντο· epojéːsanto; Christian apologetics Christian apologetics ( Ancient Greek : ἀπολογία , "verbal defense, speech in defense")

5075-834: Is sometimes used for the Greek written by the Greek Church Fathers , the Early Christian theologians in late antiquity. Christian writers in the earliest time tended to use a simple register of Koiné, relatively close to the spoken language of their time, following the model of the Bible. After the 4th century, when Christianity became the state church of the Roman Empire , more learned registers of Koiné also came to be used. Koine period Greek differs from Classical Greek in many ways: grammar , word formation , vocabulary and phonology (sound system). During

5220-488: Is the model of the resurrection of all the dead, as well as the cause and model of repentance , which the catechism calls "spiritual resurrection." Summarizing its traditional analysis, the Catholic Church states in its Catechism: Although the Resurrection was an historical event that could be verified by the sign of the empty tomb and by the reality of the apostles' encounters with the risen Christ, still it remains at

5365-581: Is true. To remedy this, we must begin by showing that religion is not contrary to reason; that it is venerable, to inspire respect for it; then we must make it lovable, to make good men hope it is true; finally, we must prove it is true." Christian apologetics continues in modern times in a wide variety of forms. Among Catholics there are Bishop Robert Barron , G. K. Chesterton , Ronald Knox , Taylor Marshall , Arnold Lunn , Karl Keating , Michael Voris , Peter Kreeft , Frank Sheed , Dr. Scott Hahn , and Patrick Madrid . The Russian Orthodox Seraphim Rose

5510-548: The Antiquities of the Jews , a 1st-century account of Jewish history by Josephus , believers of the resurrection are discussed. However, this reference to the resurrection is widely believed to have been added by a Christian interpolator . Within the non-canonical literature of Gospel of Peter , there is a retelling of the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus's followers expected God's Kingdom to come soon, and Jesus's resurrection

5655-515: The Criterion of Embarrassment in recent years. According to Dale Allison , the inclusion of women as the first witnesses to the risen Jesus "once suspect, confirms the truth of the story." N. T. Wright emphatically and extensively argues for the reality of the empty tomb and the subsequent appearances of Jesus, reasoning that as a matter of "inference" both a bodily resurrection and later bodily appearances of Jesus are far better explanations for

5800-579: The Gospel of Matthew , an angel appeared to Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb, telling her that Jesus is not there because he has been raised from the dead, and instructing her to tell the other followers to go to Galilee, to meet Jesus. Jesus then appeared to Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" at the tomb; and next, based on Mark 16:7, Jesus appeared to all the disciples on a mountain in Galilee, where Jesus claimed authority over heaven and earth, and commissioned

5945-646: The Septuagint , the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible , and the Greek New Testament . The teaching of these texts was aimed at the most common people, and for that reason, they use the most popular language of the era. Other sources can be based on random findings such as inscriptions on vases written by popular painters, mistakes made by Atticists due to their imperfect knowledge of Attic Greek or even some surviving Greco-Latin glossaries of

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6090-541: The Tsakonian language preserved the long α instead of η ( ἁμέρα, ἀστραπά, λίμνα, χοά etc.) and the other local characteristics of Doric Greek . Dialects from the southern part of the Greek-speaking regions ( Dodecanese , Cyprus , etc.), preserve the pronunciation of the double similar consonants ( ἄλ-λος, Ἑλ-λάδα, θάλασ-σα ), while others pronounce in many words υ as ου or preserve ancient double forms ( κρόμμυον – κρεμ-μυον, ράξ – ρώξ etc.). Linguistic phenomena like

6235-681: The transcendental argument for the existence of God . Clark held that the Scriptures constituted the axioms of Christian thought, which could not be questioned, though their consistency could be discussed. A consequence of this position is that God's existence can never be demonstrated, either by empirical means or by philosophical argument. In The Justification of Knowledge , the Calvinist theologian Robert L. Reymond argues that believers should not even attempt such proofs. In his book Science Speaks , Peter Stoner argues that only God knows

6380-411: The "one basic early tradition that Paul "received" in Damascus from Ananias in about 34 [AD]" after his conversion. [3] For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, [4] and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, [5] and that he appeared to Cephas , then to

6525-460: The Apostles, Jesus appeared to the apostles for forty days and commanded them to stay in Jerusalem, after which Jesus ascended to heaven, followed by the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the missionary task of the early church. In Judaism, the idea of resurrection first emerges in the 3rd century BC Book of Watchers and in the 2nd century BC Book of Daniel , the later possibly as

6670-558: The Bible. Some scholars who have engaged in the defense of biblical inerrancy include Robert Dick Wilson , Gleason Archer , Norman Geisler and R. C. Sproul . There are several resources that Christians offer defending inerrancy in regard to specific verses. Authors defending the reliability of the Gospels include Craig Blomberg in The Historical Reliability of the Gospels , Mark D. Roberts in Can We Trust

6815-528: The Biblical texts, gave the impetus to the belief in the exaltation of Jesus as a "fulfillment of the scriptures", and a resumption of the missionary activity of Jesus's followers. Scholars of Jesus as a historical figure tend to generally avoid the topic, since many believe the matter to be about faith, or lack thereof. The conviction that Jesus was raised from the dead is found in the earliest evidence of Christian origins. The moment of resurrection itself

6960-544: The Catholic Church. Creationist apologetics aims to defend views of origins such as Young Earth creationism and Old Earth creationism that run counter to mainstream science. Young Earth creationists believe the Bible teaches that the Earth is approximately 6,000 years old, and reject the scientific consensus for the age of the Earth . They apply a literal interpretation to the primordial history in Genesis 1–11 – such as

7105-436: The Christian faith". It provides the foundation for that faith, as commemorated by Easter , along with Jesus's life, death and sayings. For Christians, his resurrection is the guarantee that all the Christian dead will be resurrected at Christ's parousia (second coming). Secular and liberal Christian scholarship asserts that religious experiences, such as the visionary appearances of Jesus and an inspired reading of

7250-677: The Contemplative Life and more explicitly in Josephus ' Against Apion . Christian apologetics first appear in the New Testament (e. g. Paul's preaching on Mars Hill in Acts 17:22–31). During the subapostolic age Christianity was already competing with Judaism as well as with various other religions and sects in the Greco-Roman world. Christian apologetics can be first seen in the ''Preaching of Peter'' ( Gospel of Peter ), but

7395-518: The Four). This view was supported in the early twentieth century by Paul Kretschmer in his book Die Entstehung der Koine (1901), while Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff and Antoine Meillet , based on the intense Ionic elements of the Koine – σσ instead of ττ and ρσ instead of ρρ ( θάλασσα – θάλαττα , 'sea'; ἀρσενικός – ἀρρενικός , 'potent, virile') – considered Koine to be

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7540-426: The Gospels, liable to similar distortions. But any attempt to reject its basic historicity, even in matters of detail, must now appear absurd. Roman historians have long taken it for granted.... The agnostic type of form-criticism would be much more credible if the compilation of the Gospels were much later in time.... Herodotus enables us to test the tempo of myth-making, [showing that] even two generations are too short

7685-413: The Gospels? Richard Bauckham , Craig Evans and Darrell Bock . Experiential apologetics is a reference to an appeal "primarily, if not exclusively, to experience as evidence for Christian faith." Also, "they spurn rational arguments or factual evidence in favor of what they believe to be a self-verifying experience." This view stresses experience that other apologists have not made as explicit, and in

7830-502: The Greek rationalist tradition. In the 2nd century, apologetics was a defense or explanation of Christianity, addressed to those standing in opposition and those yet to form an opinion, such as emperors and other authority figures, or potential converts. The earliest martyr narrative has the spokesman for the persecuted present a defense in the apologetic mode: Christianity was a rational religion that worshiped only God, and although Christians were law-abiding citizens willing to honor

7975-601: The Hands of an Angry God ." The Four Spiritual Laws religious tract (Campus Crusade for Christ) would be another example. C. S. Lewis, Norman Geisler, William Lane Craig and Christians who engage in jurisprudence Christian apologetics have argued that miracles are reasonable and plausible wherever an all-powerful Creator is postulated. In other words, it is postulated that if God exists, miracles cannot be postulated as impossible or inherently improbable. Philosophical apologetics concerns itself primarily with arguments for

8120-556: The Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Paul, writing to the members of the church at Corinth, said that Jesus appeared to him in the same fashion in which he appeared to the earlier witnesses. In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul described "a man in Christ [presumably Paul himself] who ...

8265-496: The New Testament , W.F. Howard argues that the heavy use of the historical present in Herodotus and Thucydides , compared with the relatively infrequent usage by Polybius and Xenophon was evidence that heavy use of this verb tense is a feature of vernacular Koine, but other scholars have argued that the historical present can be a literary form to "denote semantic shifts to more prominent material." The term patristic Greek

8410-478: The Resurrection appearances, which also argues that early Christians remembered Jesus as having physically risen from the dead. Graieg argues that Paul in First Corinthians remembered Jesus as having bodily risen from the dead and that the resurrection was of core importance to early Christians using a methodology based on memory theory. Graieg argues that Jesus physically rose from the dead and that he

8555-582: The Roman authorities to make arrangements for Jesus’s hurried burial." James Dunn states that "the tradition is firm that Jesus was given a proper burial (Mark 15.42-47 pars.), and there are good reasons why its testimony should be respected." Dunn argues that the burial tradition is "one of the oldest pieces of tradition we have", referring to 1 Cor. 15.4; burial was in line with Jewish custom as prescribed by Deut. 21:22–23 and confirmed by Josephus War ; cases of burial of crucified persons are known, as attested by

8700-449: The Roman period, e.g.: Καλήμερον, ἦλθες; Bono die, venisti? Good day, you came? Ἐὰν θέλεις, ἐλθὲ μεθ' ἡμῶν. Si vis, veni mecum . If you want, come with us. Ποῦ; Ubi? Where? Πρὸς φίλον ἡμέτερον Λύκιον. Ad amicum nostrum Lucium. To our friend Lucius. Τί γὰρ ἔχει; Quid enim habet? Indeed, what does he have? What is it with him? Ἀρρωστεῖ. Aegrotat. He's sick. Finally,

8845-455: The Saviour was on earth, but also after his death, they were alive for quite a while, so that some of them lived even to our day. ( Church History iv. 3. 2) One of the first comprehensive attacks on Christianity came from the Greek philosopher Celsus , who wrote The True Word ( c.  175 CE ), a polemic criticizing Christians as being unprofitable members of society. In response,

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8990-455: The Trojan prince Ganymede , and princess Orithyia of Athens , whose mysterious disappearances were seen as the result of their being swept away to a physically immortal existence by the gods, Heracles whose lack of bodily remains after his funeral pyre was considered proof of his physical immortalization, and Aristeas of Proconnesus who was held to have reappeared after his body vanished from

9135-584: The Yehohanan burial; Joseph of Arimathea "is a very plausible historical character"; and "the presence of the women at the cross and their involvement in Jesus's burial can be attributed more plausibly to early oral memory than to creative story-telling." Craig A. Evans refers to Deut. 21:22-23 and Josephus to argue that the entombment of Jesus accords with Jewish sensitivities and historical reality. Evans also notes that "politically, too, it seems unlikely that, on

9280-560: The above imply that those characteristics survived within Koine, which in turn had countless variations in the Greek-speaking world. Biblical Koine refers to the varieties of Koine Greek used in Bible translations into Greek and related texts. Its main sources are: There has been some debate to what degree Biblical Greek represents the mainstream of contemporary spoken Koine and to what extent it contains specifically Semitic substratum features. These could have been induced either through

9425-476: The apostles to the Great Commission of forgiving sin and baptizing repenters , and ascended to Heaven . For the Christian tradition, the bodily resurrection was the restoration to life of a transformed body powered by spirit , as described by Paul and the Gospel authors, that led to the establishment of Christianity. In Christian theology , the resurrection of Jesus is "the central mystery of

9570-552: The author of the Epistle to Diognetus . Augustine of Hippo was a significant apologist of the Patristic era. Some scholars regard apologetics as a distinct literary genre exhibiting commonalities of style and form, content, and strategies of argumentation . Others viewed it as a form of discourse characterized by its tone and purpose. R. C. Sproul, quoting the First Epistle of Peter , writes that "The defense of

9715-405: The best known are R. A. Torrey and John Gresham Machen . Evangelical Norman Geisler, Lutheran John Warwick Montgomery and Presbyterian Francis Schaeffer were among the most prolific Christian apologists in the latter half of the 20th century and into the 21st, while Gordon Clark and Cornelius Van Til started a new school of philosophical apologetics called presuppositionalism , which

9860-719: The body must not be left exposed overnight, but must be buried that day. This is also attested in the Temple Scroll of the Essenes, and in Josephus ' Jewish War 4.5.2§317, describing the burial of crucified Jewish insurgents before sunset. Reference is made to the Digesta , a Roman Law Code from the 6th century AD, which contains material from the 2nd century AD, stating that "the bodies of those who have been punished are only buried when this has been requested and permission granted." Burial of people who were executed by crucifixion

10005-404: The body. According to Crossan, Joseph of Arimathea is "a total Markan creation in name, in place, and in function", arguing that Jesus's followers inferred from Deut. 21:22–23 that Jesus was buried by a group of law-abiding Jews, as described in Acts 13:29. New Testament scholar Dale Allison writes that this story was adapted by Mark, turning the group of Jews into a specific person. Roman practice

10150-416: The church father Origen published his apologetic treatise Contra Celsum , or Against Celsus , which systematically addressed Celsus's criticisms and helped bring Christianity a level of academic respectability. In the treatise, Origen writes from the perspective of a Platonic philosopher, drawing extensively on the teachings of Plato . Contra Celsum is widely regarded by modern scholars as one of

10295-492: The community explain their beliefs and justify positions. Origen 's apologetic Contra Celsum , for instance, provided a defense against the arguments of a critic dead for decades to provide answers to doubting Christians lacking immediate answers to the questions raised. Apologetic literature was an important medium for the formation of early Christian identity. In addition to Origen and Tertullian, early Christian apologists include Justin Martyr , Clement of Alexandria , and

10440-657: The creation and evolution of Koine Greek throughout the entire Hellenistic and Roman eras of history until the start of the Middle Ages. The linguistic roots of the Common Greek dialect had been unclear since ancient times. During the Hellenistic period , most scholars thought of Koine as the result of the mixture of the four main Ancient Greek dialects, " ἡ ἐκ τῶν τεττάρων συνεστῶσα " (the composition of

10585-427: The criticisms, taking the Gospel accounts to be historically reliable. John A.T. Robinson states that "the burial of Jesus in the tomb is one of the earliest and best-attested facts about Jesus." Dale Allison , reviewing the arguments of Crossan and Ehrman, finds their assertions strong, but "find[s] it likely that a man named Joseph, probably a Sanhedrist, from the obscure Arimathea, sought and obtained permission from

10730-462: The death of Jesus as being part of God's plan and purpose, as evidenced in the scriptures. For Paul, it gained a deeper significance, providing "a basis for the salvation of sinful Gentiles apart from the Torah." The phrase "died for our sins" was derived from Isaiah , especially 53:4–11, and 4 Maccabees , especially 6:28–29. "Raised on the third day" is derived from Hosea 6:1–2: Come, let us return to

10875-407: The disciples to preach the gospel to the whole world. In this message, the end times are delayed "to bring the world to discipleship". In the Gospel of Luke , "the women who had come with him from Galilee" come to his tomb, which they find empty. Two angelic beings appeared to announce that Jesus is not there but has been raised. Jesus then appeared to two followers on their way to Emmaus, who notify

11020-469: The early 19th century, where renowned scholars conducted a series of studies on the evolution of Koine throughout the entire Hellenistic period and Roman Empire . The sources used on the studies of Koine have been numerous and of unequal reliability. The most significant ones are the inscriptions of the post-Classical periods and the papyri , for being two kinds of texts which have authentic content and can be studied directly. Other significant sources are

11165-537: The early 20th century some scholars argued that the use of the historical present tense in Mark was due to the influence of Aramaic , but this theory fell out of favor in the 1960s. Another group of scholars believed the historical present tense was used to heighten the dramatic effect, and this interpretation was favored in the New American Bible translation. In Volume II of the 1929 edition of A Grammar of

11310-543: The early Greek churches, the First Epistle to the Corinthians , contains one of the earliest Christian creeds referring to post-mortem appearances of Jesus, and expressing the belief that he was raised from the dead, namely 1 Corinthians 15:3–8. It is widely accepted that this creed predates Paul and the writing of First Corinthians. Scholars have contended that in his presentation of the resurrection, Paul refers to this as an earlier authoritative tradition, transmitted in

11455-451: The earthly body of the recently deceased emperor was replaced by a new and divine one as he ascended into heaven. These stories proliferated in the middle to late first century. The apotheosised dead remained recognisable to those who met them, as when Romulus appeared to witnesses after his death, but as the biographer Plutarch ( c.  AD 46  – c.  120 ) explained of this incident, while something within humans comes from

11600-454: The eleven remaining Apostles, who respond that Jesus has appeared to Peter. While they were describing this, Jesus appeared again, explaining that he is the messiah who was raised from the dead according to the scriptures "and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem". In Luke–Acts (two works from the same author) he then ascended into heaven , his rightful home. In Acts of

11745-540: The emperor, their belief in a single divinity prevented them from taking the loyalty oaths that acknowledged the emperor's divinity . The apologetic historiography in the Acts of the Apostles presented Christianity as a religious movement at home within the Roman Empire and no threat to it and was a model for the first major historian of the Church , Eusebius. Apologetics might also be directed to Christians already within

11890-457: The empty tomb and is no doubt responsible for the introduction of the notions of palpability (Thomas in John) and eating (Luke and John)." Ehrman rejects the story of the empty tomb, and argues that "an empty tomb had nothing to do with it ... an empty tomb would not produce faith." Ehrman argues that the empty tomb was needed to underscore the physical resurrection of Jesus. Géza Vermes notes that

12035-406: The empty tomb and the 'meetings' and the rise of Christianity than are any other theories, including those of Ehrman. Raymond E. Brown concurred, stating "...in my judgment, the evidence for the bodily resurrection of Jesus is strong...", and critiqued skeptical objections. James DG Dunn writes that the majority of scholars of the Bible believe that the evidence shows that the Resurrection of Jesus

12180-423: The end, the concept that the Holy Spirit convinces the heart of truth becomes the central theme of the apologetic argument. A variety of arguments has been forwarded by legal scholars such as Simon Greenleaf and John Warwick Montgomery , by expert forensic investigators such as cold case homicide detective J. Warner Wallace , and academic historical scholars, such as Edwin M. Yamauchi . These arguments present

12325-616: The eve of Passover, a holiday that celebrates Israel's liberation from foreign domination, Pilate would have wanted to provoke the Jewish population" by denying Jesus a proper burial. Andrew Loke , after replying to various objections against the historicity of the guards at the tomb, argues that "the presence of guards at the tomb would imply that Jesus was buried in a well-identified place (contrary to unburied hypothesis)." According to religion professor John Granger Cook, there are historical texts that mention mass graves, but they contain no indication of those bodies being dug up by animals. There

12470-457: The existence of God , although they do not exclusively focus on this area. They do not argue for the veracity of Christianity over other religions but merely for the existence of a Creator deity . Omnipotence and omniscience are implied in these arguments to greater or lesser degrees: some argue for an interventionist god, some are equally relevant to a Deist conception of God. They do not support hard polytheism , but could be used to describe

12615-426: The existence of God, Christian apologists have also attempted to respond successfully to arguments against the existence of God. Two very popular arguments against the existence of God are the hiddenness argument and the argument from evil. The hiddenness argument tries to show that a perfectly loving God's existence is incompatible with the existence of nonresistant nonbelievers. The argument from evil tries to show that

12760-557: The existence of evil renders God's existence unlikely or impossible. Presuppositional apologetics is a Reformed Protestant methodology which claims that presuppositions are essential to any philosophical position and that there are no "neutral" assumptions from which a Christian can reason in common with a non-Christian. There are two main schools of presuppositional apologetics, that of Cornelius Van Til (and his students Greg Bahnsen and John Frame ) and that of Gordon Haddon Clark . Van Til drew upon but did not always agree with,

12905-458: The faith is not a luxury or intellectual vanity. It is a task appointed by God that you should be able to give a reason for the hope that is in you as you bear witness before the world." The verse quoted here reads in full: "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect." Another passage sometimes used as

13050-485: The first explicitly apologetic work comes from Quadratus of Athens ( c.  125 CE ) in which he writes a defense of the faith to emperor Hadrian . Only a fragment, quoted by Eusebius , has survived to our day: But the works of our Saviour were always present, for they were genuine:—those that were healed, and those that were raised from the dead, who were seen not only when they were healed and when they were raised, but were also always present; and not merely while

13195-408: The first god who created many other gods; however, the arguments are only relevant when applied to the first god (the first cause , pure act and unmoved mover ; it is a contradiction a priori to suppose a plurality of "pure acts" or "first causes" or "unmoved movers"). These arguments can be grouped into several categories: Other philosophical arguments include: In addition to arguments for

13340-456: The firstborn as the preeminent son and heir". His resurrection is also the guarantee that all the Christian dead will be resurrected at Christ's parousia . After the resurrection, Jesus is portrayed as calling the apostles to the Great Commission , as described in Matthew 28:16–20, Mark 16:14–18, Luke 24:44–49, Acts 1:4–8, and John 20:19–23, in which the disciples receive the call "to let

13485-471: The future and that Biblical prophecies of a compelling nature have been fulfilled. Apologist Josh McDowell documents the Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Christ, relating to his ancestral line, birthplace, virgin birth, miracles, death, and resurrection. Apologist Blaise Pascal believed that the prophecies are the strongest evidence for Christianity. He notes that Jesus not only foretold, but

13630-432: The gods and returns to them after death, this happens "only when it is most completely separated and set free from the body, and becomes altogether pure, fleshless, and undefiled". Scholars differ on the historicity of the empty tomb story and the relation between the burial stories and the postmortem appearances. Scholars also differ on whether Jesus received a decent burial. Points of contention are (1) whether Jesus's body

13775-618: The greatness of the Creator." The theologian and mathematician Marin Mersenne used celestial mechanics as evidence in his apologetic work, while Matteo Ricci engaged in scientific apologetics in China. In modern times, the theory of the Big Bang has been used in support of Christian apologetics. Several Christian apologists have sought to reconcile Christianity and science concerning

13920-460: The impetus to Christ-devotion and the belief in the exaltation of Jesus. Jesus's death was interpreted in light of the scriptures as a redemptive death, being part of God's plan. The subsequent appearances led to the resumption of the missionary activity of Jesus's followers, with Peter assuming the leadership role in the first ekklēsia (which formed the basis for the Apostolic succession). In

14065-457: The initial stage in the fortition of the second element in the αυ/ευ diphthongs) and the loss of vowel-timing distinctions are carried through. On the other hand, Kantor argues for certain vowel qualities differing from the rest of the Koine in the Judean dialect. Although it is impossible to know the exact realizations of vowels, it is tentatively argued that the mid-vowels ε / αι and η had

14210-536: The integration of educated Christians into the cultural life of the Roman Empire , particularly during the "little peace" of the 3rd century , and of their participation in the Greek intellectual movement broadly known as the Second Sophistic . The Christian apologists of the early Church did not reject Greek philosophy , but attempted to show the positive value of Christianity in dynamic relation to

14355-477: The kingdom will be "putting off the body of the flesh" (Colossians 2:11). Paul opposed the notion of a purely spiritual resurrection, as propagated by some Christians in Corinth, which he addresses in 1 Corinthians. The developing Gospel tradition emphasized the material aspects to counter this spiritual interpretation. Paul's views of a bodily resurrection went against the thoughts of the Greek philosophers to whom

14500-529: The language is referred to as Ελληνιστική Κοινή , "Hellenistic Koiné", in the sense of "Hellenistic supraregional language "). Ancient scholars used the term koine in several different senses. Scholars such as Apollonius Dyscolus (second century AD) and Aelius Herodianus (second century AD) maintained the term koine to refer to the Proto-Greek language , while others used it to refer to any vernacular form of Greek speech which differed somewhat from

14645-403: The literary language. When Koine Greek became a language of literature by the first century BC, some people distinguished two forms: written as the literary post-classical form (which should not be confused with Atticism ), and vernacular as the day-to-day vernacular . Others chose to refer to Koine as "the dialect of Alexandria " or "Alexandrian dialect" ( ἡ Ἀλεξανδρέων διάλεκτος ), or even

14790-513: The long life spans of people such as Methuselah , the Flood , and the Tower of Babel . Among the biggest young Earth creation apologetic organizations are Answers in Genesis , Institute for Creation Research , and Creation Ministries International . Old Earth creationists believe it is possible to harmonize the Bible's six-day account of creation with the scientific consensus that the universe

14935-648: The main of the Greek language. S. J. Thackeray, in A Grammar of the Old Testament in Greek According to the Septuagint (1909), wrote that only the five books of the Pentateuch , parts of the Book of Joshua and the Book of Isaiah may be considered "good Koine". One issue debated by scholars is whether and how much the translation of the Pentateuch influenced the rest of the Septuagint, including

15080-432: The most important works of early Christian apologetics. Other apologists from this period are Aristides of Athens , the author of the Epistle to Diognetus , Aristo of Pella , Tatian , Justin Martyr , Melito of Sardis , Athenagoras of Athens , Theophilus of Antioch , Irenaeus , Origen , Hippolytus of Rome , Tertullian , Minucius Felix , Cyprian , and Victorinus of Pettau . Anselm of Canterbury propounded

15225-413: The most sensible historical explanation for these visions is that Jesus [physically] appeared to the disciples." The belief in the resurrection by Jesus's early followers formed the proclamation of the first ekklēsia (lit. "assembly"). The "visions of the resurrected/exalted Christ" reinforced the impact Jesus and his ministry had on his early followers, and interpreted in a scriptural framework they gave

15370-424: The nature of resurrection, that Paul held to a physically resurrected body ( sōma ), restored to life, but animated by spirit ( pneumatikos ) instead of soul ( psuchikos ), just like the later Gospel accounts. The nature of this resurrected body is a matter of debate. In 1 Corinthians 15:44, Paul uses the phrase "spiritual body" ( sōma pneumatikos ), which has been explained as a "Spirit-empowered body", but also as

15515-426: The notion of meeting and gathering of men, without any particular character. Therefore, etymologizing this word could be needless, or even misleading, when it could guide to false meanings, for example that ἐκκλησία is a name used for the people of God, Israel. The authors of the New Testament follow the Septuagint translations for over half their quotations from the Old Testament. The " historical present " tense

15660-575: The ontological argument in his Proslogion . Thomas Aquinas presented five ways , or arguments for God's existence, in the Summa Theologica , while his Summa contra Gentiles was a major apologetic work. Aquinas also made significant criticisms of the ontological argument which resulted in its losing popularity until it was revived by René Descartes in his Meditations . Blaise Pascal outlined an approach to apologetics in his Pensées : "Men despise religion; they hate it and fear it

15805-457: The opening of ε . Influence of the Aramaic substrate could have also caused confusion between α and ο , providing further evidence for the back vowel realization. The following texts show differences from Attic Greek in all aspects – grammar, morphology, vocabulary and can be inferred to show differences in phonology. The following comments illustrate the phonological development within

15950-399: The period generally designated as Koine Greek, a great deal of phonological change occurred. At the start of the period, the pronunciation was virtually identical to Ancient Greek phonology , whereas in the end, it had much more in common with Modern Greek phonology . The three most significant changes were the loss of vowel length distinction, the replacement of the pitch accent system by

16095-534: The period of Koine. The phonetic transcriptions are tentative and are intended to illustrate two different stages in the reconstructed development, an early conservative variety still relatively close to Classical Attic, and a somewhat later, more progressive variety approaching Modern Greek in some respects. The following excerpt, from a decree of the Roman Senate to the town of Thisbae in Boeotia in 170 BC,

16240-490: The post-Classical period of Greek is defined as beginning with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, when cultures under Greek sway in turn began to influence the language. The passage into the next period, known as Medieval Greek , is sometimes dated from the foundation of Constantinople by Constantine the Great in 330 AD, but often only from the end of late antiquity . The post-Classical period of Greek thus refers to

16385-415: The post-resurrection appearances are often interpreted as being subjective visionary experiences in which Jesus's presence was felt, as articulated in the vision theory of Jesus's appearances . In the twenty-first century, modern scholars such as Gerd Lüdemann have proposed that Peter had a vision of Jesus, due to severe grief and mourning . Ehrman notes that "Christian apologists sometimes claim that

16530-401: The post-resurrection appearances, as they are never directly coordinated to form a combined argument. While the coherence of the empty tomb narrative is questionable, it is "clearly an early tradition." Vermes notes that the story of the empty tomb conflicts with notions of a spiritual resurrection. According to Vermes, "[t]he strictly Jewish bond of spirit and body is better served by the idea of

16675-505: The practice of translating closely from Biblical Hebrew or Aramaic originals, or through the influence of the regional non-standard Greek spoken by originally Aramaic-speaking Hellenized Jews . Some of the features discussed in this context are the Septuagint's normative absence of the particles μέν and δέ , and the use of ἐγένετο to denote "it came to pass". Some features of Biblical Greek which are thought to have originally been non-standard elements eventually found their way into

16820-555: The question of origins. Theistic evolution claims that classical religious teachings about God are compatible with the modern scientific understanding about biological evolution and that the Creator God uses the process of evolution. Denis Lamoureux , in Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution , states that "This view of origins fully embraces both the religious beliefs of biblical Christianity and

16965-527: The region of the Hellenistic world. In that respect, the varieties of Koine spoken in the Ionian colonies of Anatolia (e.g. Pontus , cf. Pontic Greek ) would have more intense Ionic characteristics than others and those of Laconia and Cyprus would preserve some Doric and Arcadocypriot characteristics, respectively. The literary Koine of the Hellenistic age resembles Attic in such a degree that it

17110-431: The risen Jesus in person, and ... his understanding of who this Jesus was included the firm belief that he possessed a transformed but still physical body." In Christian theology , the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus are the most important events, and the foundation of the Christian faith. The Nicene Creed states: "On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures". According to Terry Miethe,

17255-421: The scientific theories of cosmological, geological, and biological evolution. It contends that the Creator established and maintains the laws of nature, including the mechanisms of a teleological evolution ." One of the most influential examples of a Christian-evolutionary synthesis is the work of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin , which was intended as apologetics to the world of science, but was later condemned by

17400-410: The sins of any, they are retained". The shorter version of the Gospel of Mark ends with the discovery of the empty tomb by Mary Magdalene , Salome, and "Mary the mother of James". A young man in a white robe at the site of the tomb announced to them that Jesus has risen, and instructed them to "tell Peter and the disciples that he will meet them in Galilee, 'just as he told you ' " ( Mark 16 ). In

17545-550: The soul of a meritorious man could be translated into a god in the process of apotheosis (divinization) which then transferred them to a special place of honour. Successors of Alexander the Great made this idea very well known throughout the Middle East through coins bearing his image, a privilege previously reserved for gods. The idea was adopted by the Roman emperors, and in the Imperial Roman concept of apotheosis,

17690-429: The spirantization of Γ , with palatal allophone before front-vowels and a plosive allophone after nasals, and β . φ, θ and χ still preserve their ancient aspirated plosive values, while the unaspirated stops π, τ, κ have perhaps begun to develop voiced allophones after nasals. Initial aspiration has also likely become an optional sound for many speakers of the popular variety. Monophthongization (including

17835-411: The stories about the empty tomb were met with skepticism. The Gospel of Matthew already mentions stories that the body was stolen from the grave . Other suggestions, not supported in mainstream scholarship, are that Jesus had not really died on the cross , was lost due to natural causes , or was replaced by an impostor . The belief that Jesus did not really die on the cross but only appeared to do so

17980-570: The story of Jesus's empty tomb in the Pauline epistles and the Easter kerygma (preaching or proclamation) of the earliest church has led some scholars to suggest that Mark invented it. Allison, however, finds this argument from silence unconvincing. Most scholars believe that the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John contain two independent attestations of an empty tomb, which in turn suggests that both used already-existing sources and appealed to

18125-446: The story of the empty tomb conflicts with notions of a spiritual resurrection. According to Vermes, "[t]he strictly Jewish bond of spirit and body is better served by the idea of the empty tomb and is no doubt responsible for the introduction of the notions of palpability (Thomas in John) and eating (Luke and John)." Both Ware and Cook argue, primarily from Paul's terminology and the contemporary Jewish, pagan and cultural understanding of

18270-480: The translation of Isaiah. Another point that scholars have debated is the use of ἐκκλησία ekklēsía as a translation for the Hebrew קָהָל qāhāl . Old Testament scholar James Barr has been critical of etymological arguments that ekklēsía refers to "the community called by God to constitute his People". Kyriakoula Papademetriou explains: He maintains that ἐκκλησία is merely used for designating

18415-421: The twelve. [6] Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. [7] Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. [8] Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. In the Jerusalem ekklēsia (Church), from which Paul received this creed, the phrase "died for our sins" probably was an apologetic rationale for

18560-707: The universal dialect of its time. Modern classicists have often used the former sense. Koine Greek arose as a common dialect within the armies of Alexander the Great . Under the leadership of Macedon , their newly formed common variety was spoken from the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt to the Seleucid Empire of Mesopotamia . It replaced existing ancient Greek dialects with an everyday form that people anywhere could understand. Though elements of Koine Greek took shape in Classical Greece ,

18705-436: The very heart of the mystery of faith as something that transcends and surpasses history. For orthodox Christians, including a number of scholars, the resurrection of Jesus is taken to have been a concrete, material resurrection of a transformed body. Scholars such as Craig L. Blomberg and Mike Licona argue there are sufficient arguments for the historicity of the resurrection. In secular and liberal Christian scholarship,

18850-463: The work of Dutch Calvinist philosophers and theologians such as D. H. Th. Vollenhoven , Herman Dooyeweerd , Hendrik G. Stoker , Herman Bavinck , and Abraham Kuyper . Bahnsen describes Van Til's approach to Christian apologetics as pointing out the difference in ultimate principles between Christians and non-Christians and then showing that the non-Christian principles reduce to absurdity. In practice, this school utilizes what has come to be known as

18995-481: The world know the good news of a victorious Saviour and the very presence of God in the world by the spirit". According to these texts, Jesus says that they "will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you", that "repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in [the Messiah's] name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem", and that "if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain

19140-429: Was a formal verbal defense, either in response to accusation or prosecution in a court of law. The defense of Socrates as presented by Plato and Xenophon was an apologia against charges of "corrupting the young, and ... not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel". In later use 'apologia' sometimes took a literary form in early Christian discourse as an example of

19285-400: Was an active Christian apologist during the 17th century . In the modern period, Christianity was defended through the efforts of many authors such as John Henry Newman , G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis , as well as G. E. M. Anscombe . According to Edgar J. Goodspeed in the first century CE Jewish apologetic elements could be seen in works such as The Wisdom of Solomon , Philo 's On

19430-404: Was caught up to the third heaven", and while the language is obscure, a plausible interpretation is that the man believed he saw Jesus enthroned at the right hand of God. The many Pauline references affirming his belief in the resurrection include: Jesus is described as the " firstborn from the dead ", prōtotokos , the first to be raised from the dead, thereby acquiring the "special status of

19575-409: Was current in the earliest Jerusalem community." According to Wright, there is substantial unanimity among the early Christian writers (first and second century) that Jesus had been bodily raised from the dead, "with (as the early Christians in their different ways affirmed) a 'transphysical' body, both the same and yet in some mysterious way transformed." According to Wright, Paul "believed he had seen

19720-540: Was foretold, unlike in other religions, and that these prophecies came from a succession of people over a span of four thousand years. Many Christians contend that science and the Bible do not contradict each other and that scientific fact supports Christian apologetics. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge... These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for

19865-441: Was immortal and that the body would be resurrected to house it. Of these three positions, Jesus and the early Christians appear to have been closest to that of the Pharisees. Steve Mason notes that for the Pharisees, "the new body is a special, holy body", which is different from the old body, "a view shared to some extent by the ex-Pharisee Paul (1. Cor. 15:35ff)". The evidence from Jewish texts and from tomb inscriptions points to

20010-480: Was indeed buried by Joseph of Arimathea, but in a tomb for criminals owned by the Sanhedrin . He therefore rejects the empty tomb narrative as legendary. New Testament historian Bart D. Ehrman writes that it cannot be known what happened to Jesus's body; he doubts that Jesus had a decent burial, and also thinks that it is doubtful that Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea specifically. According to Ehrman, "what

20155-458: Was killed by Zeus for using herbs to resurrect the dead, but by his father Apollo 's request, was subsequently immortalized as a star. According to Bart Ehrman , most of the alleged parallels between Jesus and pagan deities only exist in the modern imagination, and there are no "accounts of others who were born to virgin mothers and who died as an atonement for sin and then were raised from the dead." From Hellenistic times on, some Greeks held that

20300-448: Was often to leave the body on the stake, denying an honourable or family burial, stating that "the dogs were waiting." Archaeologist Byron McCane argues that it was customary to dispose of the dead immediately, yet concludes that "Jesus was buried in disgrace in a criminal's tomb". British New Testament scholar Maurice Casey also notes that "Jewish criminals were supposed to receive a shameful and dishonourable burial", and argues that Jesus

20445-648: Was originally a vague statement that the unnamed Jewish leaders buried Jesus becomes a story of one leader in particular, who is named, doing so." Ehrman gives three reasons for doubting a decent burial. Referring to Hengel and Crossan, Ehrman argues that crucifixion was meant "to torture and humiliate a person as fully as possible", and the body was normally left on the stake to be eaten by animals. Ehrman further argues that criminals were usually buried in common graves; and Pilate had no concern for Jewish sensitivities, which makes it unlikely that he would have allowed Jesus to be buried. A number of Christian authors have rejected

20590-412: Was remembered by Christians as having risen in a metamorphized form. Religion professor Dag Øistein Endsjø points to how the notion of an empty tomb would fit with the ancient Greek beliefs that any case of immortalization always required absolute physical continuity. A vanished body could consequently be an indication of someone having been made immortal, as seen for instance in the case of Aristaeus ,

20735-496: Was taken off the cross before sunset or left on the cross to decay, (2) whether his body was taken off the cross and buried specifically by Joseph of Arimathea , or by the Sanhedrin or a group of Jews in general, and (3) whether he was entombed (and if so, what kind of tomb) or buried in a common grave. An often noted argument in favour of a decent burial before sunset is the Jewish custom, based on Deuteronomy 21:22–23, which says

20880-617: Was the first event of the Endtime. As Borg and Crossan note, "For Mark the kingdom of God is already here because the Son of Man is already present". Biblical Greek language Koine Greek included styles ranging from conservative literary forms to the spoken vernaculars of the time. As the dominant language of the Byzantine Empire, it developed further into Medieval Greek , which then turned into Modern Greek . Literary Koine

21025-675: Was the medium of much post-classical Greek literary and scholarly writing, such as the works of Plutarch and Polybius . Koine is also the language of the Septuagint (the 3rd century BC Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible ), the Christian New Testament , and of most early Christian theological writing by the Church Fathers . In this context, Koine Greek is also known as "Biblical", "New Testament", "ecclesiastical", or "patristic" Greek. The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote his private thoughts in Koine Greek in

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