Jesus Christ Jesus Christ. - Did the Resurrection Happen . . . Really?: A Dialogue on Life, Death, and Hope

[ A DIALOGUE ON LIFE, DEATH, AND HOPE ]

COFFEE HOUSE

CHRONICLES

DID THE
RESURRECTION
HAPPEN REALLY?

JOSH MCDOWELL
AND DAVE STERRETT

M OODY P UBLISHERS
C HICAGO

2011 by J OSH M C D OWELL and D AVE S TERRETT

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, aretaken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

All Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

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All Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

All Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McDowell, Josh.
Did the resurrection happenreally? : a dialogue on life, death, and hope / Josh McDowell and Dave Sterrett.
p. cm. (The coffeehouse chronicles; 3)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8024-8768-1
1. Jesus ChristResurrection. 2. Jesus ChristCrucifixion. 3. Jesus ChristHistoricity. I. Sterrett, Dave. II. Title.
BT482.M325 2011
232.5dc22 2010042289

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To
Dr. Robert Saucy,
my professor and mentor for three years. Who always challenged me to love Jesus, study the Scriptures, and pursue Truth.
Josh

To
Dr. Gary Habermas, my professor of Theology.
Dave

CONTENTS

TENSION ON CAMPUS was thick. The administrators of Opal University could not remember a more volatile season. Factions among the student body were growing militant, and violence seemed a real possibility.

Politics and social issues were always volatile topics among students, but strained relations had boiled over when one of the Opal instructors presented a strong case for the historical Christ during a debate with two visiting scholarsan atheist and an agnostic. The ensuing weeks had seen nonstop confrontations, sometimes ugly, between religious and atheist groups on campus.

Jamal Washington, the instructor who presented the historical Christ at the debate, was a doctoral student who taught several undergraduate courses in the school of religion. He was also thought to be responsible for the faith conversions of emeritus religion professor, Dr. William Peterson, and several students from the atheist club.

One month after the debate, Dr. Peterson delivered a stirring lecture on the deity of Christ, and even more students came to believe that Jesus was the Son of God. It was after Dr. Petersons lecture that Jamal received his first piece of hate mail.

The unsigned letter was on his office floor one morning, evidently slipped under the door. Jamal didnt seem too worried about it. He viewed the controversy as harmless hot air stirred up by a few opinionated student leaders. While the atheist club members certainly didnt agree with Washington and Peterson, they werent hostile.

Brett, an agnostic and former leader in the atheist club, was beginning to question his own skepticism. His family, well educated and academic, had a history of investigating new ideas before embracing them, and Brett was taking his time with this Jesus thing. No one would ever accuse Brett of an emotional conversion to anythingespecially religious faith.

Earlier in the week, at Nicks invitation, Brett had attended a class taught by Dr. Peterson. Though emeritus, Dr. Peterson frequently filled in for his former colleagues in the religion department. The topic of Jesus resurrection had come up in class, and Brett decided to stop by the religion hall to ask Dr. Peterson a few questions. The resurrection was a key issue in his pursuit of truth.

Brett was within a block of the religion hall when he noticed students running from the building. Must be afire drill, he thought. But something wasnt right. Nobody runs during fire drills. Then he heard screaming. Brett was a premed major and wired for action, and the screaming kicked him into response mode. Gotta go! he shouted as he flipped his phone closed, shoved it in his pocket, and took off at a run toward whatever was happening.

Students were pouring from the religion hall, screaming and running in every direction. As Brett approached, one girl stumbled and collapsed on the lawn not twenty feet in front of him. It actually looked like there was blood all over her T-shirt. Brett crouched beside her. She was breathing in short gasps and seemed frantic to get back up.

Where are you hurt? Brett shouted amidst the chaos. What happened?

Im shot! she screamed. Hes shooting everyone!