Last weekend former NSW Council of Churches President Ross Clifford engaged in a public debate with Dan Barker, a former Christian minister and now atheist.
Barker was in Australia for the Global Atheism Conference. The debate went for an hour over the existence of God, the person of Jesus, and his death and resurrection. Ross observed that there are five crucial facts recorded in the Bible that few people refute:
- Jesus’ death by crucifixion;
- The earliest disciples’ experiences that they thought were appearances of the risen Jesus;
- Their subsequent transformation, to the point of even being willing to die for what they believed;
- The resurrection as the very centre of the church’s early preaching; and
- The conversion and resulting transformation of Paul.
Five crucial facts. This Easter weekend, have another look at the biblical accounts of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and consider its meaning for you.
Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, Sunday 4 April 2010.
