Q&A — Do they teach against the non-negotiables (Trinity, grace through faith, virgin birth, etc.)? Not explicitly — most are present but the Trinity and virgin birth are rarely discussed

Q&A question from Karl Wellborn

Smith misidentified Egyptian deities; the figures at the bottom are canopic jars, not gods with the names Smith assigned

Specific errors in Smith's interpretation of the facsimile

After the Craig debate, Ehrman changed position and now denies the burial — Mike argues this is ad hoc motivated reasoning

Mike's analysis of Ehrman's intellectual development post-debate

Carrier teaches that in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul describes events that occurred in outer space — a cosmic/celestial resurrection rather than an earthly one

Carrier's interpretation of the Pauline resurrection kerygma

Isaiah 53:10-11 — 'prolonging his days' is a resurrection prophecy, not a failed prediction

Ra claims Jesus's days were never prolonged as Isaiah 53 predicts

A majority (though not full consensus) of scholars accept that Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea and that the tomb was subsequently found empty. Winger treats this majority position as significant in building the resurrection case.

Jim's claims about crucifixion: we have only one ancient source for Roman crucifixion practices; the cross was a straight pole (stauros = stake), not a T-shape; and Romans never removed crucifixion victims — they left them to be devoured by scavengers, making burial and an empty tomb impossible

Sixth and final major claim Mike refutes

Refutation of 'Romans never removed crucifixion victims': Josephus explicitly records that in Jerusalem, Jews were permitted by Romans to take down crucified bodies and bury them before sunset — directly supporting the Gospel burial account

Mike counters the 'no burial possible' claim with Josephus

Matt Dillahunty's claim: Paul only gives us death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus

Mike cites a specific claim by Matt Dillahunty (paraphrased) that Paul's writings tell us virtually nothing about the historical Jesus other than death, burial, and resurrection.

Women as named eyewitness sources at the death, burial, and empty tomb of Jesus

The Gospel pattern of naming women at the passion events as eyewitness sourcing.

Jewish practice of marking and remembering spiritual leaders' burial sites

Why Jesus's grave would be noted and remembered

Acrosolia tomb type - archaeologically confirmed matches Gospel descriptions

Physical archaeology of 1st century Jerusalem tombs

Burial on day of preparation before Sabbath - corroborated across Gospels

Internal consistency of burial timeline

Women observing the burial - multiply attested detail

Additional corroboration of historical memory

Roman crucifixion burial practice rebutted by Josephus and archaeological evidence

Addressing main historical objection to empty tomb

Joseph of Arimathea - multiply attested, named, testable, criterion of embarrassment

Joseph as historical figure validating burial account

Q&A: If an atheist accepts that a creator God exists, why should that God be the Christian God? Answer: cosmological arguments narrow the field to monotheism; historical evidence for the resurrection identifies Christianity specifically

Q&A question from Emily Towler about identifying which God among creation stories

Refutation of Paulogia's claim that Romans denied honorable burial to crucifixion victims: Josephus explicitly says Romans made an exception for Jews

Mike provides a specific example of responding to a resurrection objection

Hegesippus account continued: James thrown from Temple pinnacle, stoned, and killed by a fuller's club; "forgive them for they know not what they do" echo; his burial near the Temple

The detailed narrative of James's death in Hegesippus

Twitter response 5: Contemporary writings of life, death, resurrection with originals — we have near-contemporary documents, especially 1 Corinthians 15

Fifth respondent example; Mike pivots to addressing 1 Corinthians 15 as key early evidence.

The cumulative case for the resurrection: what evidence we actually have

Mike assembles the positive evidence for the resurrection after dismantling the slogan's objections.

Undesigned coincidence within Luke: women from Galilee thread through Luke 8, 23, and 24

McLatchie presents an intra-Gospel undesigned coincidence within Luke demonstrating the authentic, non-fabricated character of the resurrection narrative.

Paul quotes Psalm 16:10 in Acts 13, arguing Jesus's body did not decay — therefore the resurrection was physical and bodily, not merely visionary

Paul's bodily resurrection theology inferred from Acts 13

Baptism represents identification with the death and resurrection of Christ — Romans 6:3-4

Part 1: establishing what baptism means before asking who should receive it.

Endorsement circle comparison: Simmons is endorsed only within hyper-charismatic circles; the resurrection was affirmed even by hostile witnesses like Paul.

Second distinction in the Simmons-vs-apostles credibility argument.

Cremation does not threaten resurrection or salvation

Anonymous questioner facing financial hardship asks if cremation prevents resurrection or constitutes sin. A nearby pastor told the questioner that cremation is pagan and only burial is biblical.

Burial symbolism matters even though cremation is permissible

Mike affirms cremation is acceptable but argues for the value of burial symbolism and honoring the dead.

Mark 9:41-42: Whoever gives a cup of water to a believer won't lose their reward; whoever causes a believer to stumble, it'd be better to have a millstone hung around their neck and be cast into the sea. Galatians 6:10: do good to all people, ESPECIALLY to the household of faith. The church's primary charitable focus should be caring for fellow believers.

Rewards for blessing believers, judgment for harming them

When did the New Cov. Begin?: Did the New Covenant officially begin at Jesus’ last supper, death, burial, and resurrection…or at His ascension (alluded to in John 20: 17)?

Q&A question: When did the New Cov. Begin?

The three women witnesses (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome) are named only at this point in Mark's narrative, precisely when Peter disappears. Mark systematically uses named witnesses when Peter is absent — suggesting these women functioned as eyewitness guarantors of the crucifixion, burial, and empty tomb accounts.

The women replace Peter as named witnesses at the passion; Mark's literary structure as historical indicator

Salome is present at the death scene and the empty tomb, but absent from the burial scene (only the two Marys watch where Jesus is laid). This inconsistency would have been smoothed over in a fabricated account. The simplest explanation is she wasn't there for the burial — a subtle but significant mark of historicity.

The inconsistency of Salome's appearances as evidence of historical accuracy rather than legend

The claim that Jesus was never buried in a known tomb (made by scholars like Bart Ehrman) is a minority position that, if true, would undercut the empty tomb argument for the resurrection. Winger's goal is to show the burial is historically well-supported and that Ehrman's case relies on selective use of sources.

Why the burial of Jesus matters for the resurrection argument; Ehrman's challenge introduced

The Digesta (summary of Roman law, ~500 AD appealing back to Augustus) states that "the bodies of those condemned to death should not be refused their relatives" for burial — and this was the general rule, not the exception. Ehrman presents a selective picture by quoting only sources showing executions without burial, ignoring Roman legal provisions that allowed it.

Roman law (Digesta) as evidence that burial of crucified persons was permitted and practiced

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 required that anyone executed by hanging be buried the same day so as not to defile the land. According to Dr. Craig Evans, the Sanhedrin was specifically tasked with ensuring proper burial of executed persons in Jerusalem to maintain ritual purity — meaning even the enemies of Jesus had religious motivation to bury him promptly.

Jewish law and Sanhedrin practice as evidence for burial; Deut. 21:22-23 and the purity argument

Pilate demonstrably cared about Jewish sensitivities — he removed Roman standards from Jerusalem when Jews protested, and Rome generally allowed subject peoples to maintain their customs (Josephus, Against Apion 2.73). The argument that Pilate would ignore Jewish burial customs for crucified victims contradicts the historical pattern of Roman governance in Judea.

Pilate's demonstrated sensitivity to Jewish customs undermines Ehrman's argument

Philo's "Against Flaccus" (§83) records a Roman governor in Egypt allowing crucified persons to be taken down and given to relatives for burial during a festival — showing there were documented exceptions to any general policy of leaving bodies on crosses, and that burial was sometimes permitted on special occasions across the Roman world.

Philo's "Flaccus" as evidence of Roman burial exceptions for crucified persons