When the dead come back to life they are called Zombies. Zombies can only be killed by a shot to the head.

The Lord be with you, Peter,

"The Church owes the world a consistent and reasonable account of the faith to which it bears witness."

The church owes nothing to the world - the church owes everything to God.

Yes, the spiritual resurrection is of greater value, but why must it be an either-or? why grovel before secularists and their science in denial of the physical resurrection of Christ? Is this what you teach your flock, Peter, undermining their simple and straightforward faith? If so, then it is not serving them but is due to your spiritual weakness, in which case you may consider taking a rest from the ministry.

Of course there's a soul or spirit being. And evidenced by children born without one, being stillborn.

Three days after I buried Mum, her spirit appeared to me for a few scant seconds, as a being composed of eflugent light. (moonlight shining on silver) And a customary conspiratorial wink and a blown kiss enough to identify who she was.

Even so, I needed a few days and some old black and white photos of her taken when she was a very young and attractive young woman, to be sure of who it was who came back long enough to "say" goodbye?

Then there were those reported experiments by some french scientists, who placed newly minted cadavers on a scientifically precise scale to observe any discernible changes and apparently noted, that in each and every case; and around forty minutes after the final breath, all the corpses suddenly weighed just a few ounces lighter; and just not explained by normal dehydration which is slow and progressive.

I drowned as a kid and remember an out of body experience. And read numerous accounts of similar experiences in "life after life?"

Similarly, I opened death's door recently when I had a stroke. And saw a desolate place just too awful to adequately describe, overseen by an intensely evil entity, who asked time and again, what I wanted?

And whatever it was offering, I had no other choice than decline, and indeed hark back to my boyhood and forgotten prayers, the most fervent I've ever uttered in my life, given the state of unimaginable terror this entity created in me.
Sure, it could have all been the product of a damaged brain, or conversely, an actual experience.

As for resurrection? I believe that may be routinely misinterpreted reincarnation. "Truly truly, I say to you, to reach the kingdom of heaven, you must be born again.

And if you include karma and reincarnation, our world with all its sham, drudgery, misery, horror, injustice and folks seemly favoured by unearned serendipity, suddenly makes perfect sense that includes perfect inescapable, divine justice?
Rhrosty.

I appreciate hearing your experience Rhrosty.

I think the great hope of the resurrection of Christ does not come solely in His conquering of the grave, which is in itself remarkable, but the promise that we, as children of God can have that same experience for ourselves. There are multiple evidences in scripture to show that the early Christian writers believed in a resurrection for all men, not simply of the Christ.

If that is the case, and I believe that it is, it should be the greatest message of hope to the world. Death is not the end, there is life after death.

Peter,

You wrote "A useful place to begin is to compare the resurrection with the crucifixion. We understand the crucifixion. The man Jesus was crucified "under Pontius Pilate", as the creed states. It was an historical event open to observation by all people. Jesus was given a second name "Christ" that refers to him being crucified."

I would appreciate if you have the time, watching the YouTube video linked below, you can skip the start and just watch the section (part I of the video between minutes 4.28 to 31.55).
http://youtu.be/pTbIu8Zeqp0

The evidence show completely debunks religion in its entirety and the so called figure of Jesus and therefore your assumptions, what you have written above and the entire article you have put forward.

I look forward to your response.

Jeez,I thought that Sells last posting hit the bottom of the barrel for its sheer dim-witted silliness,or the fact that it had almost nothing whatsoever to do with either human or Divine Reality.

But I was obviously wrong because this essay has nothing whatsoever to do with Reality - zilch. Neither human or Divine Reality as it may have been in Palestine 2000 years ago (whenever and wherever that was), nor human and Divine Reality in the now time of the "21st" century.

It is pure make-believe fantasy and as such wins the Booby prize for Sells worst ever essay.