Top 10 Secular Evidences for the Resurrection
This week, in honor of the world giving lip service to The Resurrection at Easter, your host Fred Williams and co-host Doug McBurney condescend to entertain secular alternatives to the bodily death, burial & resurrection of Jesus Christ by listing the top 10:
This week, in honor of the world giving lip service to The Resurrection at Easter, your host Fred Williams and co-host Doug McBurney condescend to entertain secular alternatives to the bodily death, burial & resurrection of Jesus Christ by listing the top 10:
* Jesus Died by Crucifixion: The resurrection means nothing if Jesus didn’t actually die. But virtually all scholars — even skeptical ones — agree Jesus died by Roman crucifixion. Why?
- The Roman method was brutal and efficient.
- The Journal of the American Medical Association published a medical study affirming death by crucifixion.
- Eyewitness accounts, including Roman historians like Tacitus, confirm it.
* The Tomb Was Empty: The empty tomb is reported in all four Gospels, and it’s confirmed by:
- Jewish leaders never produced the body. Instead, they said, “His disciples stole the body” — confirming the tomb was empty.
* The Disciples Believed They Saw the Risen Jesus: Something transformed a group of cowardly fishermen into bold proclaimers of a risen Christ.
- After Jesus’ death, they were in hiding.
- Then they claimed to have seen, touched, and eaten with the risen Jesus.
- Many of them were martyred — not for what they believed, but for what they claimed to have seen.
* The Rapid Spread of Christianity: How did a tiny, persecuted sect become the largest religion in the world?
- No political power. No money. No military. Just the message: He is risen.
- Within weeks, thousands of Jews — fiercely monotheistic — believed Jesus was Lord and worshipped Him as God.
- That doesn’t happen unless something earth-shaking occurred.
* Testimony of Enemies: Who testified to the resurrection? Not just friends — enemies.
- James, Jesus’ own skeptical brother, didn’t believe in Him during His ministry. After the resurrection, James becomes a leader of the Jerusalem church and is martyred.
- Paul was a violent persecutor of Christians. He had every reason to stop this movement — until he says he saw the risen Jesus himself.
*The First Witnesses Were Women: All four Gospels say women were the first to find the tomb empty. In a culture where a woman’s testimony didn’t even count in court, this detail would never be invented.
- If the story were fabricated, the writers would’ve said Peter or John found the tomb.
- The only reason to include women is because that’s how it happened.
* I Corinthians 15: Paul lists post-resurrection appearances in I Cor 15.
- This shows belief in the resurrection wasn’t a legend that developed decades later — it was immediate.
- He names witnesses: “He appeared to Peter… the twelve… over 500 at once… James… and last of all to me.”
* The Martyrdom of the Apostles: Nearly all of the apostles suffered and many were killed for proclaiming Christ’s resurrection.
- James: Certainly Beheaded in Jerusalem.
- Paul: Likely Beheaded in Rome.
- Peter: Likely crucified (allegedly upside down)
- Thomas: Allegedly Speared in India.
- Tens of thousands of Christian martyrdoms witnessed privately by millions of average people over the past 2,0000 years, (God knows and will bring the record on Judgment Day)
* The Conversion of Saul (Paul): Paul went from persecuting Christians to becoming Christianity’s most influential missionary.
- He lost status, privilege, safety.
- He was beaten, imprisoned, and eventually executed.
- And he writes about meeting the risen Christ with personal conviction and detail.
* Bodily Resurrection from the Dead Fits All the Fact: When you put all the evidence together, there is no plausible alternative theory:
- The Swoon theory? Jesus didn’t just faint — He was executed and His heart pierced.
- The Hallucination theory? Hallucinations are individual — not shared by 500 people.
- The Stolen body? The disciples would’ve had no motive and no success against the Roman guards, (who witnessed the theft while asleep)?
- The Legend theory? Legends take generations. Christ's Resurrection was being preached and believed among hundreds in just days and weeks.