Resurrection is the solid ground on which the Catholic faith stands.
It is a sine qua non element for the factuality of the Catholic beliefs in
their entirety. Thus it is of great importance to validate its authenticity,
that indeed it took place in time and space.
Jack Zavada enumerates seven (7) proofs of Christ Resuurection.[1]
They are Empty Tomb of Jesus (of which
account can be found in the gospels), the Holy Women Eyewitnesses (Mary
Magdalene and her companions), Jesus' Apostles' New-Found Courage, Changed
Lives of James and Others, Large Crowd of Eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians
15:6.), Conversion of Paul,
and the conviction of the early Christians to die for Jesus. Zavada attempts to
prove the historicity of Resurrection through the effects seen and experienced
by the Apostles and early Christians. He supports his argument with the Gospels,
the Acts of the Apostles, and writings of early Christian Historians such as
the writings of Flavius Josephus, Cornelius Tacitus, Lucian of Samosata, and
the Jewish Sanhedrin.
Pope Benedict XVI, on the second installment of his
book Jesus of Nazareth, presents testimonies that affirm the resurrection of
Christ.[2]
He classified them into two distinct categories namely the confessional
tradition and narrative tradition. The confessional tradition “ crystallizes
the essentials in short phrases that establish the kernel of what took place (regarding the resurrection).” They are
authoritative condensation of shared Christian faith. Christian eyewitnesses
who indeed saw and experienced the Risen Christ make these confessions. Their
confessions are recorded in the Gospels and other New Testament literature. The
Narrative tradition speaks of narrative accounts belonging to various tradition
that can be classified geographically from Jerusalem and Galilee. It is from
these narratives that the confessions presented in the New Testament Literature
are drawn out. However, “they are not binding in every detail in the same way
as the confessions.”
Through these documents and arguments presented by
Zavada and Ratzinger, the authenticity and historicity of the resurrection can
be established. However, resurrection is a truth of faith more than its being
an historical event only. Thus, resurrection may seem to be impossible to the
post modern man and can be simply regarded as a myth belonging to the past. But
to the one who has faith in Christ, resurrection is a TRUTH.
[1] Jack Zavada, Seven Proofs of the Resurrection of Christ,
http://christianity.about.com/od/easter/a/7-Proofs-Of-The-Resurrection.htm,
accessed December 10, 2012.
[2] Joseph Ratzinger, Jesus of Nazareth: From the Entrance into
Jerusalem to the resurrection (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2011) pp 241-277.
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