Journeys / Curious, or no faith / Step 4 of 8
On this page
- What the earliest sources say
- Why “they wanted it to be true” doesn’t fit
- If it’s true, it changes everything
Quick answers to related questions
All 8 steps in Curious, or no faith You’re on step 4
Jerusalem, the third day
A few women go to a tomb at dawn to finish a burial. They find it empty.4
When they tell the apostles, the men think it’s nonsense.5
Notice that. The first people to doubt the Resurrection were the apostles.
01The record
What the earliest sources say
Around AD 56, Paul writes down a summary he says he received: Christ died, was buried, rose on the third day, and appeared to Peter, the Twelve, and more than five hundred people, most still alive.16
“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,”
That’s within living memory. If you doubted it, you could go and ask.
Okay, but people see what they want to see, right?
02The objection
Why “they wanted it to be true” doesn’t fit
The Catechism points out that the disciples weren’t primed to believe: they were crushed and scared, and even then some still doubted.23
The empty tomb on its own isn’t proof, but it was the first sign, and it matters.4 The encounters with the risen Jesus are what changed them.8
Frightened fishermen became the boldest people in Jerusalem. Something happened to them.
So if it’s true, what does it change?
03The stakes
If it’s true, it changes everything
The Resurrection is a real event with historical traces, and also something bigger than history: Jesus isn’t just revived, He’s alive in a new way.1910
And Paul is blunt: if Christ is not risen, our faith is empty.1112
If He’s alive, where do you find Him now? Next: why a Church.
Your move
Try this, this week
- Read Luke 24:1-12. Watch who believes and who doesn’t.
- Read 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. Count the witnesses.
- Ask yourself what would explain the change in the disciples.
You’ll need
- Ten minutes.
- A Bible or the Bible reader here.
Remember The first skeptics were the apostles.
If this is hard
If you’re not convinced, say so honestly. Thomas did, and Jesus met him right there, wounds and all.
Only one thing to do
Your one next step
Watch the video, then read Luke 24 in one sitting. It’s the shortest road to the question that matters most.
Next: why a Church at all?Step 4 of 8 · Curious, or no faith
If He’s alive, where do you find Him now?
Step 5: Why a Church at all?Take it with you
Printable one-page cardDownload card (A4 PDF)Download card (US Letter PDF)Short link: stoneandincense.com/go/cu4
Your real next step
This page can’t give you the sacraments. A parish can.
We’re just pointing. People walk with you. Find a Catholic parish near you, go to a Mass, or just ask a priest for ten minutes. You don’t need to have it figured out.
Notes
How we know · 12 sources for this page
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 639. vatican.va
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 643. vatican.va
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 644. vatican.va
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 640. vatican.va
- Luke 24:11, World English Bible. read the chapter
- 1 Corinthians 15:6, World English Bible. read the chapter
- 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, World English Bible. read the chapter
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 642. vatican.va
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 646. vatican.va
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 647. vatican.va
- 1 Corinthians 15:14, World English Bible. read the chapter
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 651. vatican.va
Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America Copyright © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. – Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with Permission. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright © 1997, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops – Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Scripture: World English Bible, Catholic edition (public domain), modern verse numbers; Douay-Rheims numbers in brackets where they differ. Early Christian writers: Ante-Nicene Fathers (1885, public domain). Video: “Bishop Barron on the Resurrection of Jesus,” Bishop Robert Barron, supporting material, not a teaching source.
Scenes marked “Imagine” are an invitation to picture the moment, not a historical record. Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words; our wording is not an official Church text. Report an errorCorrections.