A debate on whether the resurrection of Jesus Christ can be considered fact or fiction.
This paper discusses how, by utilizing the best-established facts surrounding this topic, the question as to what really happened after Jesus Christ was crucified at Golgotha can be addressed with some certainty, while allowing room for much speculation. It looks at how a majority of contemporary Christian scholars, who study the Holy Bible and, especially, the New Testament, genuinely believe that the disciples saw the risen Jesus after his crucifixion, whereas the lack of hard data to support this belief leads others to believe that the story is, in fact, a myth.
“In support of the information that Paul, Peter and James supplied about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is clear that the disciples experienced some kind of visual manifestation, for “it is almost impossible to dispute that at the historical roots of Christianity lie some visionary experiences. . . understood as appearances of Jesus, raised by God from the dead” (West, 235). But is it truly as clear as West maintains? Could the apostles have possibly fabricated all the material with the intention that it serve as the basis for their new religion, being Christianity? Logically, any new religion must have converts and the information provided to these converts must be strong and infallible, for without a solid foundation to lie upon, the entire structure will collapse.”