The importance of the creed in 1 Corinthians 15:3ff. can hardly be overestimated. No longer can it be charged that there is no demonstrable early,
56 See Cullmann, The Early Church, pp. 65–66; cf. p. 73; Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, p. 106; Hengel, The Atonement, p. 38; Dodd, Apostolic Preaching, pp. 16–17.
57 Cullmann, Confessions, pp. 72–73.
58 Hans von Campenhausen, “The Events of Easter and the Empty Tomb,” in Tradition and Life in the Church(Philadelphia: Fortress, 1968), p. 44, as quoted by Ladd, I Believe, p.105.
59 Hunter, Jesus, p. 100.
60 Cullmann, The Early Church, p. 64; Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, p. 96; Pannenberg, Jesus, p. 90; Dodd, Apostolic Preaching, p. 17.
61 Dodd, Apostolic Preaching, p. 16.
62 Bultmann, Theology, vol. 1, p. 295; Neufeld, Confessions, pp. 66–67, 146.
63 Cullmann, Earliest Confessions, p. 32; Wolfhart Pannenberg, “A Dialogue on Christ’s Resurrection,” in Christianity Today, 12/14, April 12, 1968, pp. 9–11.
64 Weber, The Cross, p. 58; Hengel, The Atonement, p. 37.
eyewitness testimony for the resurrection or for the other most important tenets of Christianity, for this creed provides just such evidential data concerning the facts of the gospel, which are the very center of the Christian faith. It links the events themselves with those who actually participated in time and space. As such this creed yields a strong factual basis for Christianity through the early and eyewitness reports of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, as will be shown in more detail in the next section of this chapter.
We said earlier that the naturalistic theories fail to account for this data. Additionally, the evidence demonstrates that these witnesses actually did see the risen Jesus, as they claimed. The Known Historical Facts
Because of the testimony of these early Christian creeds, as well as other data, even contemporary critical scholars recognize a certain amount of historical facts surrounding the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. In other words, even treating the New Testament as nothing more than a book of ancient literature, critics have deduced numerous historical facts concerning Jesus’ life. In particular, 1 Corinthians 15:3ff. has played a significant part in this reconstruction.
There are a minimum number of facts agreed upon by practically all critical scholars, whatever their school of thought. At least twelveseparate facts are considered to be knowable history.
(1) Jesus died by crucifixion and (2)was buried. (3)Jesus’ death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope, believing that his life was ended. (4)Although not as widely accepted, many scholars hold that the tomb in which Jesus was buried was discovered to be empty just a few days later. Critical scholars further agree that (5)the disciples had experiences which they believed were literal appearances of the risen Jesus. Because of these experiences,
(6) the disciples were transformed from doubters who were afraid to identify themselves with Jesus to bold proclaimers of his death and resurrection. (7)This message was the center of preaching in the early church and (8)was especially proclaimed in Jerusalem, where Jesus died and was buried shortly before.
As a result of this preaching, (9)the church was born and grew, (10)with Sunday as the primary day of worship. (11)James, who had been a skeptic, was converted to the faith when he also believed that he saw the resurrected Jesus. (12) A few years later, Paul was converted by an experience which he, likewise, believed to be an appearance of the risen Jesus.
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