Hello Atheist Friend,
Ever get annoyed arguing with Christians? Frustrated by their endless arguments for God’s existence—feeling like you’ve gone in circles and wasted time? You’re not alone. Christians have been frustrating atheists ever since atheists started doing their atheist thing.
Allow me to help. If you really want to dismantle Christianity and silence a believer, there’s only one thing you need to do: provide better evidence that the resurrection of Jesus Christ didn’t happen. Help them see a more rationale explanation for the evidence. Do that, and you win. Promise.
Why This One Thing Matters
How do I know? Because even the apostle Paul, no small authority for Christians, said this:
“And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” 1 Corinthians 15:14–19
See? Paul lays it all on the resurrection. According to him, if Jesus didn’t rise, then a few unfortunate realities are true:
Christian preaching is useless (v. 14) – If Jesus stayed dead, every sermon ever preached collapses into empty talk.
Christian faith is worthless (v. 14, 17) – Trusting in a dead Savior can’t save anyone; it’s faith in a lie.
Christians are false witnesses about God (v. 15) – If the resurrection didn’t happen, every Christian testifies falsely about who God is and what He’s done.
Christians remain unforgiven, still in their sins (v. 17) – Without the risen Christ, there’s no victory over sin—only guilt and judgment left to face.
Those who have died in Christ are lost (v. 18) – Every Christian funeral becomes a tragedy, not a celebration, because death still wins.
Believers are the most pitiable people alive (v. 19) – If this life is all there is, Christians have wasted theirs chasing a false hope.
Before You Begin Debunking…
Now, before you rush off, avoid repeating the tired and irrational arguments of your predecessors. Don’t claim there are no non-biblical sources that corroborate the resurrection story, that the disciples stole the body, that they hallucinated, forgot the tomb, or that Jesus merely fainted. Those have all been thoroughly refuted. You can see how in this, this, and this video.
So do your homework. Watch the videos linked above and study the evidence Christians give for the resurrection. Surely, with all the “thoughtless” Christians out there, it won’t take you long to come up with a more reasonable explanation for the evidence. Once you do, since the resurrection is the central claim of their faith, you’ll finally help them ditch Christianity altogether
Ready. Set. Go.
A Pilgrim's Friend 
Ah. So ignoring the burden of proof would do it. I see.
Luckily, I don’t care if Christians believe whatever they want. As long as they harm no one and don’t insist on their religion being taught as fact in public schools, I’m fine with them.
the argument isn’t evolution vs creation it’s logic and reason vs superstition and ignorance
Thanks for the comment. In this specific post, the assertion is clear: The most plausible explanation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the resurrection as described by the apostles in the New Testament. That is the only territory I touched on in this post.
Sorry that was supposed to read: “The most plausible explanation for the empty tomb of Jesus Christ is the resurrection as described by the apostles in the New Testament.”
” the assertion is clear”
It is.
And saying “now prove that assertion wrong” is about as sensible as saying “prove Bigfoot doesn’t exist”.
It is the responsibility of the person making the claim or the assertion to provide evidence. It is not the responsibility of the person who doesn’t believe the claim or assertion to prove it wrong.
Ah, yes. Apologies for the misunderstanding.
You’re right, the post didn’t have the evidences of the resurrection explicitly listed, but I linked to various posts putting forth evidence on the last paragraph of the post when I pointed people to do some homework on the subject.
The purpose of this post was more intentioned to point folks to the heart of Christianity and the foundation of it’s claims (i.e. The resurrection).
By the way, the water bear is amazing.
“The purpose of this post was more intentioned to point folks to the heart of Christianity and the foundation of it’s claims”
I was just responding to the point in your post where you explicitly said ‘prove this wrong’. Which, as I said, both assumes that it has been proven and switches around the burden of proof.
“The answer that requires some form of magic will always be unlikely unless or until there is evidence to support the existence of said magic.”
No magic involved here, only the power of God. And yes, there are lots of very good and very diverse arguments (from philosophy, science, history, etc.) for the existence of the Triune God of the Bible. However, if you presuppose the existence of this God and any supernatural realities, then you have completely closed yourself off to any theistic conclusions, no matter how compelling.
“No magic involved here, only the power of God. ”
I know you think it’s different, but it amounts to the same from an outside observer. It was not meant as an insult. I can use the term ‘supernatural’ if you prefer.
” if you presuppose”
That’s the problem. I don’t presuppose the existence of the god you believe in.
I use evidence to determine things, based off its record of success in determining the truth of matters.
I am interested in your thoughts on this interview with Alvin Plantinga. Read it at your convenience. Thanks for your interaction and thoughtfulness, friend. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/is-atheism-irrational/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
I disagree with Plantinga about what he thinks ‘atheism’ means. His argument against atheism is not against an atheism I happen to hold. So, it’s mostly semantics.
I do not believe the claims made by people who believe in a god or gods. I do not think the evidence they have is sufficient to believe in their particular claims.
One can put whatever label on that they wish.
the grave was robbed by the rich people in power to keep the masses happy making them believe the prophecy was true so they would believe in a afterlife and work harder. which is most likely what happened
Thanks for the comment Gary. What masses are you talking about? There was no expectation of a single resurrected Messiah. That’s why Jesus’s own disciples scattered after His death because they didn’t expect Jesus to rise again.
Even if you couldn’t come up with other possibilities (and one clearly clan), the answer that requires some form of magic will always be unlikely unless or until there is evidence to support the existence of said magic.
progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything the time after your death is identical to the time before your birth,death is not a great mystery you’ve already been dead for billions of years and someday you’ll be dead for the rest of time. don’t grieve that you’re not going to live forever in an imaginary utopian afterlife. you haven’t lost eternity because you never had eternity, instead, savor the time you have left, reject delusion and be brave enough to live your life free of the left over insanity of the dark ages called religion. now I answered your question, can we talk
religion asked atheism, why do people love me, but hate you? atheism responded, because you are a beautiful lie and I am the painful truth
Burden of proof? I have an entire library that shows Christians giving proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Anyone can start with The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, Vol. 3) by N.T. Wright. It is arguably the greatest work on the subject. Have fun with your debate.
Do you know what the burden of proof is? (I ask because it’s unclear, not as an insult.) Do you understand that for extraordinary claims, it makes sense to demand extraordinary evidence?
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