We live in a world where facts and truth (two things often confused as the same) are marshalled to throw as much doubt on the divinity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Every aspect of His life and message are attacked and torn down as much as possible and atheism and agnosticism are promoted at nearly every turn as the only stances for “intelligent” people. In this era the Resurrection is derided as being impossible. The common argument made by the modern anti-Christs (actually old lies repeated anew) is summarized nicely here by popular atheist Dr. Michael Shermer:
In between these is Jesus’s Resurrection, which is not impossible but would be a miracle if it were true. Is it?
The principle of proportionality demands extraordinary evidence for extraordinary claims. Of the approximately 100 billion people who have lived before us, all have died and none have returned, so the claim that one (or more) of them rose from the dead is about as extraordinary as one will ever find. Is the evidence commensurate with the conviction? According to philosopher Larry Shapiro of the University of Wisconsin–Madison in his 2016 book The Miracle Myth (Columbia University Press), “evidence for the resurrection is nowhere near as complete or convincing as the evidence on which historians rely to justify belief in other historical events such as the destruction of Pompeii.” Because miracles are far less probable than ordinary historical occurrences, such as volcanic eruptions, “the evidence necessary to justify beliefs about them must be many times better than that which would justify our beliefs in run-of-the-mill historical events. But it isn’t.”
What about the eyewitnesses? Maybe they “were superstitious or credulous” and saw what they wanted to see, Shapiro suggests. “Maybe they reported only feeling Jesus ‘in spirit,’ and over the decades their testimony was altered to suggest that they saw Jesus in the flesh. Maybe accounts of the resurrection never appeared in the original gospels and were added in later centuries. Any of these explanations for the gospel descriptions of Jesus’s resurrection are far more likely than the possibility that Jesus actually returned to life after being dead for three days.” The principle of proportionality also means we should prefer the more probable explanation over less probable ones, which these alternatives surely are.
What Would It Take to Prove the Resurrection?
There are many ways to dismantle the irrationality in this argument. The principle of proportionality is a mathematical principle used to solve problems with four quantities and one of those quantities is unknown. It has nothing to do with the historical reality of the Resurrection. Something may be unique and still 100% happened. Statistics doesn’t say outliers cannot or do not happen, merely that they do not happen all the time. Therefore, even using Shermer’s own assumptions about the uniqueness of the Resurrection, there is no reason to conclude it didn’t happened based on how often you observe resurrections happening. But invoking the principle of proportionality sounds really smart if you’re ignorant or looking to be confirmed in your biases, which is why Shermer uses it.
The rest of Shermer’s arguments are equally nonsensical. There are no scientific, mathematical, philosophical, or rational principles that asserts the Resurrection is an extraordinary event in the sense that he means it as an abnormal and unique violation of the “normal” laws of reality therefore requiring super special and unique evidence from the proof you need for everything else. It is just as likely that the Resurrection occurred and Shermer doesn’t understand the totality of reality and the fulness of possibility. In other words, it is just as likely that he doesn’t know what he is talking about and his assumptions about reality are wrong.
Super special “extraordinary evidence” doesn’t exist anyway. There are only so many types of evidence that can possibly exist and evidence for the Resurrection already appears in those forms of evidence. other than eyewitness statements and events recorded in writing, what evidence could possibly exist for anything that happened in the first century AD? The demand for super special evidence other than those which can actually exist is then a demand for something that literally cannot exist. The inability to provide something impossible then serves as justification for rejecting the evidence that does exist and discounting any other claims because they cannot fulfill some fantasy of impossible “extraordinary evidence.”
Indeed, Shermer’s resort to “extraordinary evidence” is really just intellectual cowardice. Him demanding super special impossible evidence is just him saying, “I get to choose which evidence is acceptable and I will exclude all evidence of the Resurrection in order to justify not believing in it.” These are all irrational arguments made by an irrational man looking to avoid having to consider whether or not he is actually wrong. These arguments just reveals Shermer’s own ignorance of the scriptures and his own biased philosophy of reality. He doesn’t think resurrections are common, therefore they can’t happen. But his opinion tells us nothing about the actual function of reality.
Even the kneejerk rejection of the accounts of resurrections in the Bible is foolish. The texts of the New Testament were not constructed by a single hand or committee promulgating a singular creed for nefarious purposes. The texts of the Bible were written by individual Christian leaders. And in all of the texts of the New Testament, both the Gospels and the Epistles (Paul’s being the texts for which we have the oldest records), the Resurrection is repeatedly talked about. Even in the oldest Gospel test, a fragment of Mark, talks about the Resurrection. Which means that you don’t have just one single witness of the Resurrection (the Bible) you actually have at least six witnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, and Peter). Eventually all their accounts were collected into an anthology text, the Bible. Thanks to Matthew, we know that Jesus alone hasn’t been the only person resurrected. Matthew 27:52-53 makes it clear that many of the Saints who had died were resurrected with Jesus and that these resurrected people were seen by many.
Nevertheless, some have a hard time accepting the testimonies of these witnesses because they were all collected together in the Bible and many people have a hard time thinking of the Bible as anything other than a singular document. Then, there are all the other problems of mental health and motivation. Where the Apostles just superstitious and foolish? Where they conmen looking to deceive men for their own monetary gain? Maybe they were just delusional crazy people having hallucinations about their leader and friend who just died.
Where is the historical evidence outside the biblical texts that Jesus or anyone else was resurrected to give proof that resurrections are historical realities? Surely someone else, anyone else, would’ve talked about it if it had happened, right? Was it all made up later? How do we know it isn’t all a cleverly conceived or desperately hoped for lie? The answers to these questions aren’t just theological, they’re historical. And there is historical proof of the Resurrection.
Enter The Book of Mormon.
A Second Witness
The Book of Mormon is an ancient book of scripture, recording the religious history and experiences of many of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas long before the arrival of Columbus and Roman Catholicism. It begins in 600 B.C. and stretches to approximately 421 A.D., over a thousand years of history. Compiled mainly by the prophet-historian Mormon (hence the name) with some additions by his son Moroni and a few others, the express purpose of the book is, “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD, manifesting himself unto all nations.” And within its pages we find dramatic, powerful, and multiple historical proofs of the actual physical resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Being completely separate from the Old World and the processes that formed modern Judaism and Christianity, the Book of Mormon is a text uniquely positioned to prove or disprove the Resurrection.
This is what it records happening sometime in 34 A.D. as the people of Nephi (commonly called Nephites) gather together at their temple after a series of natural disasters had caused a great deal of destruction and death. They hear a voice speak from the heavens declaring, “Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him.” Then, searching for the source of the voice, they look up and:
they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.
And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:
Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.
And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.
3 Nephi 11:8-11
To make sure they understand that He has both died and come back to life as an actual physical Being, Christ commands that they come forth and actually feel His body:
Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.
And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying: Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God!
And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.
3 Nephi 11:14-17
In these short words, we have a second, indelible witness for the actual, historical Atonement and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was no ghost or mass hallucination, they could feel His actual body and knew with their own five sense that He was a real, physical, being. Untouched by millennia of Christian doctrinal and theological infighting like we see in the Old World, we have a pure record given to us that proves that the Resurrection was and is an actual fact of reality. If you have a hard time imagining what this might have looked like, the Church of Jesus Christ has produced a video dramatization of it which you can watch below.
In this appearance, the Resurrected Lord corrects errors in their doctrines, establishes His church, and, in a particularly memorable event, heals all those who are sick or infirm and blesses their children:
And it came to pass that when he had thus spoken, all the multitude, with one accord, did go forth with their sick and their afflicted, and their lame, and with their blind, and with their dumb, and with all them that were afflicted in any manner; and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him.
And they did all, both they who had been healed and they who were whole, bow down at his feet, and did worship him; and as many as could come for the multitude did kiss his feet, insomuch that they did bathe his feet with their tears.
3 Nephi 17:9-10
and
he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full.
And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.
And when he had done this he wept again; And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them:
Behold your little ones.
And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.
And the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and they know that their record is true for they all of them did see and hear, every man for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five hundred souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children.
3 Nephi 17:21-25
In all these examples, He repeatedly physically interacts with thousands of the Nephites in public while also establishing His identity as the Risen Son of God and Redeemer of Israel. This occasion alone should be enough historical proof of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as an actual fact of reality. But this was not the only time the Resurrected Lord appeared to the Nephites. After this event, the Lord’s chosn leaders of the church are gathered together when:
Jesus again showed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father in his name; and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them, and said unto them: What will ye that I shall give unto you?
3 Nephi 27:2
As part of this visitation, nine of His disciples asked that when they die they would come speedily to where Christ dwells in Heaven. Three others ask for their lives to be extended that they may do even more work spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone. The Lord grants each group their requests. In doing so, it is recorded:
And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he touched every one of them with his finger save it were the three who were to tarry, and then he departed.
3 Nephi 28:12
Again notice how the text makes sure you know that the Resurrection was not a symbolic or spiritual occurrence, but an actual physical fact, emphasized by the Resurrected Jesus touching the nine who wished to come quickly to Him when they died.
Final Thoughts
Anti-Christs like Dr. Shermer have done their work quite well. Approximately 25% of British and American Christians believe the Resurrection did not happen. About 42% of American Christians between ages 18 and 34 do not believe in the actual Resurrection. It is no wonder that the amount of people who identify as Christians is in decline across Europe and North America. The Apostle Paul understood the importance of the Resurrection two millennia ago:
For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.
1 Corinthians 15: 13-14
As (most likely) Sidney Rigdon correctly explained:
For a man to lay down his all—his character and reputation, his honor and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also, counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ—requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God. It requires actual knowledge, realizing that when these sufferings are ended, he will enter into eternal rest and be a partaker of the glory of God.
Lecture 6
For people to have faith enough in Jesus Christ to dedicate their lives to spreading His word and living His commandments they must know that what He taught was true and that what He did was real. They must know that He suffered to atone for their sins, was crucified, and that He was resurrected, ensuring immortality to all and opening the doors of eternal life to all those who would wish it. Otherwise, His teachings are devoid of their power and become nothing more than mere empty aphorisms.
Therefore, the degradation and destruction of faith must be pointed at destroying the truth of His Infinite Atonement. Critical to that is destroying the reality of the Resurrection because without it there is no hope for here or hereafter and we would all be eternally damned. (2 Nephi 9:7-10 and 1 Corinthians 15: 12-19) And if you believe there is no meaning, no hope, and nothing but damnation awaiting, then why believe at all? If there is nothing special about it then why care at all? If it wasn’t real then why should it matter?
Into this great morass of errors, confusion, and lies, comes the Book of Mormon, like a comet shot from the very presence of God. Its second witness of the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ, the Son of God, who literally suffered, died, and physically resurrected again on the third day after His death is the proof the contemporary world needs of the truth and importance of Christianity. Latter-day prophets have taught that the Book of Mormon was written for our day and that its truths would include the things of greatest worth to us today. The Book of Mormon‘s rich and powerful witness to the importance and reality of the Resurrection is one of those essential truths for which it was compiled to testify.
With it in hand we can deepen our knowledge of the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness and have the ability to push back against the errors, lies, and deceptions of the present day with life changing, eternity changing truths. With the Book of Mormon we have the ability to assert the historical and factual basis of eternal truth, the blessings available to us today, and the endless joy that awaits the faithful. We know who Jesus Christ is, that He lives, and that by living His Gospel we will find joy and peace today and boundlessly and everlastingly in the life to come. We know our identity, our purpose, the meaning of life, how to live, the reality of immortality, and the promise of eternal life. We know Who to have faith in and why to have faith in Him. We know that Death and Hell have been conquered and man is free because Christ has won the victory over both.
Thanks to the Book of Mormon we can know without a doubt that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was and is a real historical fact.
Because we know that we can know without a doubt that the Atonement of Jesus Christ was and is a real historical fact.
And that is the greatest Easter message of all.
Incredible!
Hi there,
This article speaks with such authority!
Thank you!