The feature article in the December 1999 issue of Life magazine presented a generally accurate picture of the first 2,000 years of Christianity.  It portrayed Jesus and His ministry favorably, acknowledged the phenomenal growth of the apostolic church, and dated the Gospels as written between AD 60 and 85.  But the article never mentioned the resurrection of Jesus, without which there would have been no Christianity.

If the apostles had not been convinced that Jesus rose from the dead, they would not have been transformed from a band of cowards into bold witnesses willing to suffer and die for the message they proclaimed.

An unbeliever once admitted to me that something must have happened to convince the apostles that Jesus had conquered death. But the man was so committed to the idea that a resurrection from the dead is impossible that he refused to accept it.

That response, though, is illogical. The apostle Paul asked people who had a similar attitude, "Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?" (Acts 26:8). Why indeed! Believing the gospel is a reasonable step of faith. It is a hearty "Amen!" to Peter's triumphant declaration, "This Jesus God raised up, of which we are all witnesses!"  — Herbert Vander Lugt