12 Historical Facts (most critical scholars believe these 12 items):
(Gary Habermas – leading scholar in the world on the resurrection)
1. Jesus died by crucifixion.
2. He was buried.
3. His death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope.
4. The tomb was empty (the most contested).
5. The disciples had experiences which they believed were literal appearances of the risen Jesus (the most important proof).
6. The disciples were transformed from doubters to bold proclaimers.
7. The resurrection was the central message.
8. They preached the message of Jesus’ resurrection in Jerusalem.
9. The Church was born and grew.
10. Orthodox Jews who believed in Christ made Sunday their primary day of worship.
11. James was converted to the faith when he saw the resurrected Jesus (James was a family skeptic).
12. Paul was converted to the faith (Paul was an outsider skeptic).
The leading contemporary atheist scholar in the world, Antony Flew, agrees in these 12 facts. These facts are established in eyewitness accounts, presented in books in the NT books, from the original disciples: Matthew, Peter, and John. Paul was also an eyewitness, though not an original disciple. James, brother of Jesus, also saw Jesus resurrected who wrote the book of James. Very close to eyewitness accounts who traveled with Paul were Luke and Mark, and Mark had close association with Peter and Barnabas. Mark and Luke wrote the other two gospel accounts. At any rate, no scholars doubt Paul’s eyewitness data, so we can begin with Pauline data.
