How Can Some Of You Say That There Is No Resurrection Of The Dead?

"Well, then, if CHRIST is preached as risen from the dead, how can some of you say, that there is no resurrection of the dead?  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then CHRIST has not been raised.  And if CHRIST  has not been raised, our preaching is

empty, and our belief comes to nothing.  And we become false witnesses of GOD, attesting that HE raised CHRIST, whereas HE could not raise HIM, if indeed, the dead are not raised.  If the dead are not raised, neither has CHRIST been raised.  And if CHRIST has not been raised, your faith gives you nothing, and you are still in sin.  Also, those who fall asleep, in CHRIST, are lost.  If it is only for this life, that we hope in CHRIST, we are the most unfortunate of all people.

But no, CHRIST has been raised from the dead, and HE comes before all those who have fallen asleep." - 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 

(How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  Paul begins with the Resurrection of JESUS as a fact: and from that he then draws consequences: our own resurrection.

We hear it said at times, even among believers that the Resurrection of JESUS is not an historical fact.  This is true in the sense that Resurrection escapes the historical dimension.  We know and we believe it because there are witnesses, and in no other way does history proceed.  Nevertheless there is a vast difference: history deals with testimonies on which we have some ideas: a war, a meeting between two people, an invitation.  On the contrary, for the Resurrection of JESUS, the witnesses can only speak of apparitions of JESUS or meetings with HIM.  This experience led them to believe something much greater: JESUS had begun a life about which we have no idea, even sharing the power of GOD!  We, then, in this very special case, shall believe not only what they saw but also what they believe, and that is in no way comparable with historical processes.  But all the same, JESUS' Resurrection and coming in glory is a fact.

Whoever shares the faith of the apostles has accepted Resurrection as a fact.  Paul immediately goes to the consequences for us: shall we also enter another life?)

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