Last time we offered a few quotes representative of the Founding Fathers Christian beliefs and the belief in a very involved God, even among Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson--who many claim simply believed in a God that wasn't very involved in our daily lives.  These Christian beliefs, as John Adams put it, provided the basis for our Constitution.  In fact, Alexander Hamilton concluded in 1787 after the Constitutional Convention, that due to the many competing interests represented, our constitution would never have been formed, save the "finger of God."

But as we asked at the end of our last blog post: what about Jesus himself?  Was he just a great moral teacher whose lessons happen to provide a great foundation for a free country?  Or was he truly, as he claimed, the only way to God?

Before you put Jesus back in the "great teacher" box, consider this: he claimed to be not of this world; he claimed to be from God, he claimed to be God in the flesh, he claimed to be the only way to God, and Jesus claimed to be the fulfillment of hundreds of years of prophecy concerning the promised Savior of mankind. 

In the words of Chronicles of Narnia author C.S. Lewis, Jesus leaves us with three options about his true identity, none of which are great teacher.

1) If Jesus believed all the incredible things that he claimed about himself, and the New Testament is rife with examples of each assertion, and Jesus didn't know that he was wrong, then he was quite possibly nuts. Again, Jesus claimed to be God and from God and not of this world. 

Or, if Jesus claimed to be God in the flesh and from God and he knew it wasn't true, then Jesus was a liar and a charlatan who wanted a following. Therefore, Jesus fudged a few things and rode the backs of ignorant Jewish peasants into the history books. 

Or Jesus was truly everything he claimed to be, including the only acceptable payment for the judgment of God which we all deserve because of the many ways in which we miss God's mark.

But how could we know for sure?  Thankfully, Jesus offered one evidence above all else of what he claimed: he would prove what he said about himself by rising from the dead. 

In fact, Jesus did rise from the dead and was seen by over 500 witnesses.  Indeed, Jesus made many appearances after He rose from the dead, even eating with some of his disciples.

But what does all that matter?  Can't I just follow Jesus without believing he literally rose from the dead? Couldn't he have rose in the sense that he lived on in his followers' hearts, or that his teachings are still with us today?

Let's allow Paul, one of Jesus' first century followers and one the major authors of the New Testament answer that one:
  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised;
and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.
  For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died believing in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

God spoke through Paul very clearly. If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead then Christians do not simply live with hope and then die in peace, without consequence.  No, if Christ did not literally, bodily raise from the dead proving he was God, then Christians die separated from God and are the most pathetic people of all.

Read our next post for the rest of the story...