The Atheist Asks

[Rookie]

As y'all know in Apologetics we have to be prepared to give a defense for our faith. I'm posting this out of curiosity on what others people's tactics are when answering for accusations or genuine questions about our faith, whether from atheists, agnostics, other religions, and curious Christians.

But because it sounds better, the series will be called TAA, The Atheist Asks.

So first question,

The Atheist Asks, "How do you know Jesus really rose from the dead, how do you know it's the right tomb?"

 

[Knotical]

First, this question brings into view the infallibility and inerrancy of the bible and the fact that we look to it as the ultimate authority in doctrine and theology. So, since the bible says Jesus rose from the dead we believe it with the help of the Holy Spirit imparting faith and understanding of these truths to us. Secondly, I am not really understanding the second part of the question. God has His own timing for everything, so if God decreed it to be so at a specific time and place that is all we really need to understand.

 

[Rookie]

First, this question brings into view the infallibility and inerrancy of the bible and the fact that we look to it as the ultimate authority in doctrine and theology. So, since the bible says Jesus rose from the dead we believe it with the help of the Holy Spirit imparting faith and understanding of these truths to us. Secondly, I am not really understanding the second part of the question. God has His own timing for everything, so if God decreed it to be so at a specific time and place that is all we really need to understand.

Sorry I missed typed I meant to say tomb. And I really like your answer, but realize an atheist operates on a totally different morality scale than we do. Of course we know God as the way, but in their minds they think their way is the way. So how would you appeal to their minds because no atheist was except an answer simply because the other side believes it. Of course we believe it that's why we're Christians.

 

[hawkman]

The Atheist Asks, "How do you know Jesus really rose from the dead, how do you know it's the right tomb?"

Reply with a question .
Would you live as the apostles lived if Jesus had not risen from the dead ? They knew it was the right tomb .

 

[LeviR]

As y'all know in Apologetics we have to be prepared to give a defense for our faith. I'm posting this out of curiosity on what others people's tactics are when answering for accusations or genuine questions about our faith, whether from atheists, agnostics, other religions, and curious Christians.

But because it sounds better, the series will be called TAA, The Atheist Asks.

So first question,

The Atheist Asks, "How do you know Jesus really rose from the dead, how do you know it's the right tomb?"

The scriptures are for those who believe or are willing to believe they are the inspired words of God.
They’re not for anyone else.

 

[miamited]

Hey Rookie

There were, according to the testimony of the Scriptures, over 500 people who saw Jesus alive after he was placed in the tomb.

However, that answer isn't likely satisfy a skeptic. They're still going to want to know how I, now living 2,000 years later, know that Jesus was alive after his death.

God bless,
Ted

 

[Rookie]

Hey Rookie

There were, according to the testimony of the Scriptures, over 500 people who saw Jesus alive after he was placed in the tomb.

However, that answer isn't likely satisfy a skeptic. They're still going to want to know how I, now living 2,000 years later, know that Jesus was alive after his death.

God bless,
Ted

True, and at the root of it no amount of evidence will be able to satiate those who don't want to believe in Christ.

 

[Who Me]

The Atheist Asks, "How do you know Jesus really rose from the dead, how do you know it's the right tomb?"

Answer. Do you assume that the authorities, were so stupid that they didn't know in what tomb Joseph buried Jesus, that they put guards on the wrong tomb, that no one thought to ask Joseph, " Where did you burry Jesus?"

Other answers. Have you read what historian like Bart Erhman and Greg Habermas have written about the historical accuracy of the bible?

Or
What evidence do you have, that stands up to examination, that shows Jesus did not rise from the dead.

And
As you have no valid arguments to disprove the bible, how do you respond to a being that Rose supernaturally from the dead?

 

[Carry_Your_Name]

The Atheist Asks, "How do you know Jesus really rose from the dead, how do you know it's the right tomb?"

First explore their motives - why do you ask, how does it bother YOU? You know, what apologetics have often overlooked is the relevance of the bible - Yes, I know all it's true, the bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it. But what does that have to do with me, with my day to day punch in, punch out, rinse and repeat life in the 21st century? In regard with the resurrection question, my answer is simple: afterlife. Jesus is the first raised among the dead, the same power that raised him will raise me, and I'll have an eternal afterlife spent with my Lord and Savior, death is not the end, but another beginning.

 

[Runningman]

As y'all know in Apologetics we have to be prepared to give a defense for our faith. I'm posting this out of curiosity on what others people's tactics are when answering for accusations or genuine questions about our faith, whether from atheists, agnostics, other religions, and curious Christians.

But because it sounds better, the series will be called TAA, The Atheist Asks.

So first question,

The Atheist Asks, "How do you know Jesus really rose from the dead, how do you know it's the right tomb?"

We need to be honest and reasonable about the answers we give. They ask questions like this because they already know we can’t provide concrete proof about the resurrection of Jesus. The cards are already stacked in favor of the one asking this question. There isn’t really a direct answer to give to this question other than this is what we believe. If they are looking for a video or an eyewitness of the resurrection, then they are not going to find it.

It isn’t a good idea to make any claims that we have proof of the resurrection. Even just saying "the Bible says so" isn’t really an argument for proof because using the internal witness of a book to prove itself isn’t how proof works. So it’s better to disarm this kind of question by being reasonable about it.

It’s better to provide good reasons why we believe in God and Jesus in the first place, and that may involve sharing some experiences about why we believe what we do.

I would say the Bible already provides a good way to be persuasive about our faith. It tells us to be good and love others. When we genuinely love someone, even a stranger, it’s attractive to them, and your goodness will only bolster your position, even if your position doesn’t have any proof, making it easier to digest or at least tolerate.

 

[miamited]

True, and at the root of it no amount of evidence will be able to satiate those who don't want to believe in Christ.

Hey Rookie

I think that what we need to do, when approached by people with such questions, is to work to turn them to the answer that proves that God does exist. God told Israel that there was a way to know the true and living God. Unfortunately, it was not something that could be proven in that day as it is today.

God told Israel that they can know who is the true God in that what He says will come to pass. Now, when God said that, there weren't a lot of examples that He could give them. The Scriptures were just beginning to be written. They were in the wilderness and if the idea that Moses wrote the Pentateuch while there, then they didn't have many prophecies to look at. They had the awe of having seen God in the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day following and leading them as they walked day by day in the wilderness. They knew there was a God because He was performing great miracles before their very eyes!!

But God is wiser than you or I could ever hope to imagine to be. He caused to be written in His testimony to us that we can prove the true God in that what He says will come to pass. Today we can look back and see all of the many hundreds of prophecies that did come to be just as God has told us that they would. So for me, I would try to turn this conversation around and say something like, "There is a way that you can know that God exists. Would you like me to explain it to you?"

At that point they say yes or no and you go with whichever answer you get. So I say to you. There is a way that you can know that God exists. Would you like me to explain it to you? God Himself has said that you can know the true God in that what He says will come to pass. Why wouldn't we think that's how to convince others that they can know that there is a God who knows the end from the beginning.

God bless,
Ted

 

[LeviR]

We need to be honest and reasonable about the answers we give. They ask questions like this because they already know we can’t provide concrete proof about the resurrection of Jesus. The cards are already stacked in favor of the one asking this question. There isn’t really a direct answer to give to this question other than this is what we believe. If they are looking for a video or an eyewitness of the resurrection, then they are not going to find it.

It isn’t a good idea to make any claims that we have proof of the resurrection. Even just saying "the Bible says so" isn’t really an argument for proof because using the internal witness of a book to prove itself isn’t how proof works. So it’s better to disarm this kind of question by being reasonable about it.

It’s better to provide good reasons why we believe in God and Jesus in the first place, and that may involve sharing some experiences about why we believe what we do.

I would say the Bible already provides a good way to be persuasive about our faith. It tells us to be good and love others. When we genuinely love someone, even a stranger, it’s attractive to them, and your goodness will only bolster your position, even if your position doesn’t have any proof, making it easier to digest or at least tolerate.

The wisdom the Bible contains about the nature of man is amazing and so true. It was true from the beginning and remains true today.
If one wants to know himself and everyone else, there is no better source than the Bible.

 

[WIP]

As y'all know in Apologetics we have to be prepared to give a defense for our faith. I'm posting this out of curiosity on what others people's tactics are when answering for accusations or genuine questions about our faith, whether from atheists, agnostics, other religions, and curious Christians.

But because it sounds better, the series will be called TAA, The Atheist Asks.

So first question,

The Atheist Asks, "How do you know Jesus really rose from the dead, how do you know it's the right tomb?"

I don't actually know it per-se, but I believe it because I believe what the Scriptures say. Now, that doesn't answer the question so I would simply ask them how they know that Christopher Columbus or George Washington or even Elvis Presley really existed. There's no way to prove they existed either unless one believes the records.

It's also interesting to note that Jesus' existence is not just relegated to the Christian Bible. The Quran of all things has record of His existence. There are other known writings from 1st century non-Christian historians that speak of His existence as well as other details that corroborate the events found in the Scriptures.

In the end, though, we will never be able to prove the existence of God or Jesus to an unbeliever. The best we can hope for is to witness and share the gospel, answer any questions they have not allowing ourselves to be drawn into a debate about it, and let the Holy Spirit take it from there. Jesus never said we were to be His attorneys. He said we would be His witnesses, see Matthew 24:14, Luke 24:46-49, Acts 1:8.

 

[LeviR]

I don't actually know it per-se, but I believe it because I believe what the Scriptures say. Now, that doesn't answer the question so I would simply ask them how they know that Christopher Columbus or George Washington or even Elvis Presley really existed. There's no way to prove they existed either unless one believes the records.

It's also interesting to note that Jesus' existence is not just relegated to the Christian Bible. The Quran of all things has record of His existence. There are other known writings from 1st century non-Christian historians that speak of His existence as well as other details that corroborate the events found in the Scriptures.

In the end, though, we will never be able to prove the existence of God or Jesus to an unbeliever. The best we can hope for is to witness and share the gospel, answer any questions they have not allowing ourselves to be drawn into a debate about it, and let the Holy Spirit take it from there. Jesus never said we were to be His attorneys. He said we would be His witnesses, see Matthew 24:14, Luke 24:46-49, Acts 1:8.

I agree with what you say, except I don’t know what you mean by “let the Holy Spirit take it from there”
I’m not a Calvinist so I don’t believe the Holy Spirit brings people to believe apart from the Scripture.

 

[WIP]

I agree with what you say, except I don’t know what you mean by “let the Holy Spirit take it from there”
I’m not a Calvinist so I don’t believe the Holy Spirit brings people to believe apart from the Scripture.

From my Lutheran perspective, and I'll quote from Luther's Small Catechism, "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel." To witness includes sharing the gospel.

 

[Runningman]

The wisdom the Bible contains about the nature of man is amazing and so true. It was true from the beginning and remains true today.
If one wants to know himself and everyone else, there is no better source than the Bible.

Indeed. For Jesus knew what was in a man (John 2:25) and so can we because the Bible already reveals what is in a man (Jeremiah 17:9)

 

[NoahK]

As y'all know in Apologetics we have to be prepared to give a defense for our faith. I'm posting this out of curiosity on what others people's tactics are when answering for accusations or genuine questions about our faith, whether from atheists, agnostics, other religions, and curious Christians.

But because it sounds better, the series will be called TAA, The Atheist Asks.

So first question,

The Atheist Asks, "How do you know Jesus really rose from the dead, how do you know it's the right tomb?"

Christ promised to send the Holy Spirit to all those who accepted Him. He backed up that promise at Pentecost and He backed it up by sending me the Holy Spirit. Ever since I accepted Christ the strength of my faith has steadily increased as well as my understanding of the God Who created me.

 

[Carry_Your_Name]

Here's another reminder - and challenge: if you know for certain that you're dealing with an atheist, try NOT to quote any bible verses and NOT preach any sermons, but use common language, drop cultural references and scientific evidence which you also know for certain that they'd be familiar with, and NEVER, ever show a condescending, pious, holier-than-thou attitude. Actually Jesus understood this, his parables were a strategy not only to conceal heavenly truths from foolish ears, but also to bypass his audiences' psychological barriers and deliver them into their hearts. This is where apologetics fit in, you know.

Unfortunately not every Christian is capable of this, some pastors can knows how to use the bible to explain the bible, the Sola Scriptura principle which is lauded in the church community, but circular reasoning to the unwashed masses, and they end up preaching to the choir, or worse, preaching to the mirror; they can't convince a fellow brother or sister in Christ, let alone atheist. I won't name names, but based on my interactions I know some people on this forum are exactly like that.

 

[Eli1+]

The Atheist Asks, "How do you know Jesus really rose from the dead, how do you know it's the right tomb?"

Many members here have given very good responses on this subject which has been verified by many theologians.

But the short answer before you go into all those details with an atheist would be: Personal Testimonies.
And if the atheist doesn't like that, you can then say :
Why should anyone acknowledge your existence when you say "i'm in pain". Maybe you're lying?

 

[Hawkins]

As y'all know in Apologetics we have to be prepared to give a defense for our faith. I'm posting this out of curiosity on what others people's tactics are when answering for accusations or genuine questions about our faith, whether from atheists, agnostics, other religions, and curious Christians.

But because it sounds better, the series will be called TAA, The Atheist Asks.

So first question,

The Atheist Asks, "How do you know Jesus really rose from the dead, how do you know it's the right tomb?"

This is a Satan's trick for atheists to fall for.

How do you know that you had eggs before the age of two?
How do you know that your own grandpa's grandpa was buried in a tomb or not?

What has been leveraged here is humans' incapability or low capability to get to the past. It sounds as if humans have full capability to get to the past, yet you failed to provide the details. The truth however is, humans lack the ability to get to the past that details are scarcely available, and even cannot be obtained under most circumstances.