It's important for us as Christians to be able to explain why those claims are entirely wrong. Christ's resurrection didn't occur "once upon a time." It was the most important day in history.
The notion that the early Christians didn't think Christ's life, death, and resurrection really happened flies squarely in the face of what they actually said. I will never tire of quoting the prologue to Luke's gospel, where he says he carefully investigated everything and wrote this down so his reader "may know the certainty of the things you have been taught" (Luke 1:4).
John also insisted all of this really happened: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory" (John 1:14). At the end, the book insists again that this was a true story: "This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true" (John 21:24). In his epistle, he continued that claim: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life" (1John 1:1).
Peter claimed this story was true as well:
For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. (2Pet 1:16-18)
I heard a story of a people who had been brought the gospel finally getting a New Testament in their own language. They'd heard Jesus' teaching, stories of his miracles, of his death and resurrection. Then they got to read,
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, ... (Matt 1:1-2)
And they said, "Wait, this really happened?" They thought this was all myth. But myths don't have genealogies. The early Christians were sure Jesus had one, even if what they left behind confuses us a bit. Thus, when Paul insists that Jesus was "descended from David" (eg, Rom 1:3, 2Tim 2:8), he is insisting Jesus really lived. He also insists that he really died and really rose from the dead:
And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1Cor 15:14-19)
It was very important to the early church that all of this is a true story. But when did it happen? Luke helps us out here:
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. (Luke 3:1-2)
He couldn't give us a date like we'd use, but he gave us a lot of information. Combined with other things we know from history and about the practice of Passover, we can work out some likely options. I think the best interpretation of the data shows Jesus rose from the dead on April 5, 33.
That's not once upon a time. It wasn't a day in the "age of legends." It was a spring morning. Thousands of miles away, bison were munching on new bluebonnets in the land that would be called Texas. Babies were born that day. People died that day. It was a real day in history.
Jesus really rose from the dead. At a real time and in a real place. And he said, "Because I live, you also will live" (John 14:19). He defeated death, not just for himself, but for us too.
Christianity isn't based on a fairy tale. We don't have a "once upon a time," but we still get a "happily ever after."
See also:
The Spider-Man Fallacy Fallacy
Image via Pixabay
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