What do you think was the most significant event in human history? Unquestionably, the greatest event was the faint sound of a heartbeat in a cold lifeless body in a tomb two thousand years ago. The sound of blood rushing through the heart of Jesus of Nazareth is a sound which will undoubtedly thunder throughout eternity owing to its profound implications. The apostle Paul asserted that without this event, “your faith is futile and you are still in your sins,” (1 Cor 15:17) and “we are of all people most to be pitied,” (1 Cor 15:19). But did this event really happen in history? Can we even know?
In this course, we will examine the public evidences for the ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. We will begin by focusing on evidences, both those internal to the Bible as well as external secular sources, corroborating the gospel accounts and the book of Acts. We will then explore how those sources contribute to the evidential case for the resurrection of Jesus. Finally, we will explore how the ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus is the culmination and climax of the Hebrew Scriptures and how Jesus’ fulfilment of Messianic prophecy itself is an evidence of Jesus’ identity. The course does not assume a prior knowledge (beyond a basic familiarity with the gospels), but even someone with a prior background in apologetics (i.e. the discipline of defending the faith) will get something out of this course. There will be plenty of opportunity for Q&A and open discussion so feel free to bring your toughest questions.
This CoaH course will be taught by Dr. Jonathan McLatchie. He is a Christian writer, International speaker, scholar, debater, assistant Professor of Biology at Sattler College & founder of the Apologetics Academy. He and his wife, Katharina, are members at CoaH Somerville. Check out his website at jonathanmclatchie.com.
This course will be held virtually on Zoom on Sunday nights at 7:30. Sign up here!
Syllabus:
Week 1: Internal evidences for the reliability of the gospel accounts (part 1).
Week 2: Internal evidences for the reliability of the gospel accounts (part 2).
Week 3: External evidences for the reliability of the gospel accounts.
Week 4: Internal evidences for the reliability of Acts.
Week 5: External evidences for the reliability of Acts.
Week 6: Evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.
Week 7: The evidence of Messianic prophecy (part 1): Messianic convergence.
Week 8: The evidence of Messianic prophecy (part 2): Intricate harmonies.