Apologists Nick Peters and Joel Furches explore the plausibility of Christianity’s central claim

The holy grail of New Testament studies is the answer to the question of Jesus’ resurrection. Every story and doctrine in the New Testament hinges on this one question. If Jesus rose, then it is most likely the case that his claim to be the Son of God is true. From this it follows that he has conquered sin, ascended to heaven and will come again to judge the living and the dead. If true, the resurrection would also lend weight to the biblical narrative that the world is meant to enter a new creation inaugurated by that self-same resurrection. If, on the other hand, Jesus did not rise from the dead, then he is an interesting figure to study, but his life is little more than a historical curiosity.

This collection of bold claims may seem to be a bit too ambitious. Jewish scholar Pinchas Lapide, for instance, holds that Jesus did rise from the dead, but does not believe he is the Messiah or any of the Christian claims about him. But Lapide seems to stand alone… (Register to read the rest of the article)