The full twelve Habermas facts

Gary Habermas's database, which began in 1975 and now exceeds 5,000 academic publications on the resurrection, identified twelve facts accepted by overwhelming majorities of working specialists. The site uses the six core ones as the load bearing minimum.

The twelve in full: 1. Jesus died by crucifixion. 2. He was buried. 3. His death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope. 4. The tomb was discovered to be empty within a few days. 5. The disciples had experiences which they believed were literal appearances of the risen Jesus. 6. The disciples were transformed from doubters who feared the consequences to bold proclaimers. 7. The resurrection was the central message of early Christian preaching. 8. The proclamation was begun in Jerusalem. 9. The Christian church was born and grew on this proclamation. 10. Sunday became the principal day of worship for the early church. 11. James, the skeptical brother of Jesus, was converted when he believed he saw the resurrected Jesus. 12. Paul was converted by an experience he believed to be an appearance.

Why fact 10 matters. Early Christians were Jews. The Sabbath had been the day of worship for fifteen hundred years. The shift to Sunday, which the New Testament associates with the day of resurrection, required a decisive theological reason. The simplest explanation: the day was understood as the day Jesus rose. Corroborating data, not load bearing on its own, but it adds to the cumulative case.

Acceptance ratings. Facts 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12 approach universal acceptance among specialists. Fact 3 is near universal. Facts 8 and 11 are strong majority. Fact 4 (the empty tomb) is the weakest at approximately 75 percent acceptance. The site uses the six (1, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12) where consensus is tightest.

Reading

• Gary Habermas, The Risen Jesus and Future Hope, 2003.
• Gary Habermas and Michael Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, 2004.