IMHO, the 10 short articles are not really good apologetics for
the case of Christ's resurrection. Maybe you can use them to
strengthen the faith of a weak believer, but they won't convince a
critical reader.
1. A Public Execution Assured His
Death
I think this one is mainly used to debunk those who assert that
Jesus did not die from the crucification.
4. Many People Claimed To Have
Seen Him Alive
About AD 55, the apostle Paul wrote that the resurrected Christ had
been seen by Peter, the 12 apostles, more than 500 people (many of
whom were still alive at the time of his writing), James, and
himself (1 Corinthians 15:5-
. By making such a
public statement, he gave critics a chance to check out his claims
for themselves.
The title for reason 4 is misleading. For one thing, Paul DID NOT
see the resurrected Christ himself. What he saw was a vision of
Christ on the road to Damascus. Is this considered seeing him
alive?
A chance for critics check out his claims? How? Whatever the
critics wrote, the church declared as heresy or
non-canonical.
7. Jewish Believers Changed Their
Day Of Worship
The Sabbath day of rest and worship was basic to the Jewish way of
life. Any Jew who did not honor the Sabbath was guilty of breaking
the law of Moses. Yet Jewish followers of Christ began worshiping
with Gentile believers on a new day. The first day of the week, the
day on which they believed Christ had risen from the dead, replaced
the Sabbath. For a Jew, it reflected a major change of life. The
new day, along with the Christian conversion rite of baptism,
declared that those who believed Christ had risen from the dead
were ready for more than a renewal of Judaism. They believed that
the death and resurrection of Christ had cleared the way for a new
relationship with God. The new way was based not on the law, but on
the sin-bearing, life-giving help of a resurrected
Savior.
Ironically, this reasoning might serve to point out how the
believers perverted the teaching of Jesus. For one thing, Jesus
still act like a Jew and follow the Sabbath. Honoring the Sabbath
is one of the 10 commandments, and did not Jesus say if we love
him, follow his commandments? There's absolutely no clear
indication that Jesus intended that the Sabbath be superseded by a
new rest day.
The OT has many verses saying the [10] commandments are eternal and
we must obey them. Read Timothy 3:16. All scripture (referring to
the only existing scripture then, the OT) is profitable for
doctrine, reproof etc.
Come to think of it, the apostle Paul might be the main culprit.
Paul, representing the gentile christian, was not on the best terms
with the Jewish gang, led by James and Peter. You all read about
the debate over circumcision and dietary laws? Who you all support?
The Jewish gang who listened to all of Jesus' parables, seen him
die and alive again ... or the tentmaker Paul who saw the risen
Christ only in a vision?
About the visions, I think it's pretty clear that man can be
transformed overnight without seeing the physical resurrected
Christ. A vision and a voice can turn a christian murderer into the
religion's most determined and prolific preacher.
