What is the Minimal Facts Argument?
Did you know that the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is so strong that most Christian apologists only argue from historical facts accepted by the most skeptical of skeptics? It’s true. Most apologists argue with one arm tied behind their back and still win debates against secular and non-secular scholars with regularity. Dr. Gary Habermas developed this handicapped method of advocating for the resurrection of Christ, and he calls it the Minimal Facts Argument (MFA).[1]
Why would they do that? Why not use all the evidence?
“There is a mountain of historical evidence affirming the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.”
There is a mountain of historical evidence affirming the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. This evidence includes biblical and extra or non-biblical source material from Christian, Jewish, and Greco-Roman sources. However, the field of Biblical Criticism is ripe with overly biased scholarship. This means that someone arguing for the resurrection in the academic world has to be excessively conservative with how evidence is used and described. Thankfully, we don’t have to be as conservative here at FTRM. However, because I am presenting material with the MFA, I’ll explain the resurrection argument using MFA before adding more beef to it at the end of this series.
My goal is to encourage believers that their faith in the risen Jesus is well-founded. God has been gracious, having left us so much evidence for the resurrection in His Word and through other sources. Jesus lived the life scripture says He did; He died the way scripture says, and He rose the way scripture says He did. Christianity is true!
One last thing before I lay out a skeleton form of the MFA. I study under Dr. Mike Licona at Houston Baptist University, so my theory and arguments will be very similar. I will also link his ministry, Risen Jesus, which has oodles of resources, including lots of lectures and debates Dr. Licona has given.[2]
The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14-15, “14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true the dead are not raised.” Paul has hung the Christian faith on a single event in history, the resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection is genuinely unique among worldviews because a 21st-century person can reasonably validate if Jesus rose from the dead. If you were efficient with your time, you could decide whether Christianity is true in a few weeks. That is because Christianity is virtually the only worldview whose existence hangs on a single historical event.
Six Facts to Stake Your Entire Life On
The six facts I am about to list enjoy the rarest of things in historical Jesus studies; consensus opinion. All but the most liberal of scholars will agree that all six of these facts are knowable and trustworthy. These six are:
- Jesus died by crucifixion.
- Followers of Jesus believed they had real experiences with a risen Jesus.
- After encountering the risen Jesus, these followers were willing to suffer and die to tell people about the risen Jesus.
- Facts 1-3 were taught corporately very soon after the crucifixion.
- James, the brother of Jesus, who did not believe in Jesus’ deity during his ministry, was converted upon encountering the risen Jesus.
- Paul, one of the chief persecutors of early Christianity, also converted to Christianity after encountering the risen Jesus.
Over the next three weeks, I will provide evidence that supports each of the six facts I presented above. The reader is free to make up your mind about if the evidence is as strong as I claim. And to be fair, I will also show the leading opposition arguments that try to explain the six facts of the MFA. Spoiler alert – my favorite of the opposing views is the Jesus Twin Theory.
Implications of the Evidence
Because enough evidence exists for these six facts to be considered trustworthy by most scholars, one must form a hypothesis to deal with this evidence. The very best hypothesis by some distance is the resurrection of Jesus. Non-Christians do not accept the resurrection hypothesis because they don’t want to deal with the theological implications that come with admitting that Jesus rose from the dead.
“…dead people don’t come back to life by natural processes.”
A secular person will look at this evidence and dismiss it out of hand because dead people don’t come back to life by natural processes. They are right; dead people, especially those crucified, do not come back to life due to natural processes. I am not arguing that. Instead, I am submitting that Jesus was raised by His Father through the Holy Spirit. I believe there is good evidence for the existence of a creator within the natural process we see displayed in our universe. If you haven’t read my first submission in the Historical Jesus series, I present a compelling argument for a creator. You can check that out here. Historical Jesus Series: Part 1.
I have found that reading history about Jesus and the early church can be edifying and challenging. Please feel free to send me an email, drop a comment below or holler at me on social media if you have thoughts or questions you would like to share. Thank you for reading!
[1] I would not do Dr. Habermas justice if I cited just one of his shorter articles, so I’ve linked a 12 pager on Minimal Facts, but I strongly recommend surfing his website. Just a warning, his website is addictive. http://www.garyhabermas.com/articles/Habermas_Minimal%20Facts%20STR%202012.pdf
[2] Dr. Licona is generally considered one of the top scholars on the resurrection of Jesus in the world. Risen Jesus – A Ministry of Mike Licona
