Raider Church

Fact #1: Jesus died by crucifixion.

Fact #2: Jesus disciples believed that he rose from the dead & appeared to
them.

"Therefore, having received orders and complete certainty caused by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and believing in the Word of God, they went with the Holy Spirit's certainty, preaching the good news that the kingdom of God is about to come."
- Clement Bishop of Rome (1st Century) - Letter to church in Corinth in 95AD

"For they did not love the present age, but him who died for our benefit and for our sake was raised by God." Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna (2nd Century) - Letter to Philippian Church

“Because of envy and jealousy, the greatest and most righteous pillars have been persecuted and contended unto death. Peter, who because of unrighteous envy endured, not one or two, but many afflictions, and having borne witness went to the due glorious place.”
- Clement Bishop of Rome (1st Century)

Jesus, who has both once risen Himself, and led His disciples to believe in His resurrection, and so thoroughly persuaded them of its truth, that they show to all men by their sufferings how they are able to laugh at all the troubles of life, beholding the life eternal and the resurrection clearly demonstrated to them both in word and deed."
- Origen - Christian Theologian (2nd century)

"It may be taken as historically certain that Peter and the disciples had experiences after Jesus' death in which Jesus appeared to them as the risen Christ." - Gerd Ludemann (Atheistic NT Scholar)

LIARS make bad MARTYRS.

Fact #3: Paul, the church persecutor, was suddenly changed.

“If testimony affirming an event or saying is given by a source who does not sympathize with the person, message, or cause that profits from the account, we have an indication of authenticity.”
- Dr. Habermas (NT Scholar & Professor)

“That Paul is beheaded has been written in their own blood. And if a heretic wishes his confidence to rest upon a public record, the archives of the empire will speak, as would the stones of Jerusalem. We read the lives of the Caesars: At Rome Nero was the first who stained with blood the rising faith. Then is Peter girt by another, when he is made fast to the cross. Then does Paul obtain a birth suited to Roman citizenship, when in Rome he springs to life again ennobled by martyrdoms.”
- Tertullian (Christian Author - 2nd Century)

Fact #4: James, the skeptic & brother of Jesus, was suddenly changed.

“Convening the judges of the Sanhedrin, he (high priest) brought before them the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ, whose name was James, and certain others. He accused them of having transgressed the law and delivered them up to be stoned.” - Josephus

“Watergate involved a conspiracy to cover up, perpetuated by the closest aides to the President of the United States-the most powerful men in America, who were intensely loyal to their president. But one of them, John Dean, turned state's evidence, that is, testified against Nixon, as he put it, "to save his own skin"-and he did so only two weeks after informing the president about what was really going on-two weeks! The real cover-up, the lie, could only be held together for two weeks, and then everybody else jumped ship in order to save themselves. Now, the fact is that all that those around the President were facing was embarrassment, maybe prison. Nobody's life was at stake. But what about the disciples? Twelve powerless men, peasants really, were facing not just embarrassment or political disgrace, but beatings, stonings, execution. Every single one of the disciples insisted, to their dying breaths, that they had physically seen Jesus bodily raised from the dead. Don't you think that one of those apostles would have cracked before being beheaded or stoned? That one of them would have made a deal with the authorities? None did."
-Chuck Colson

LIARS make bad MARTYRS.