The Historical Case for Jesus' Resurrection | #39 Dr. Mike Licona
Michael R. Licona
88.3
29 June 2025
14 November 2025
Dr. Mike Licona, professor of New Testament Studies at Houston Christian University, joins me to discuss the philosophy of history, whether a historian can determine if an event like the resurrection of Jesus happened, and then, if they can, whether the evidence is in fact sufficient to conclude that two-thousand years ago, Jesus rose from the dead.
Dr. Licona's book, "The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach": https://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Jesus-New-Historiographical-Approach/dp/0830827196/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fka7MH4TO6jPxMyIoKjOHjA0dwAOhQESoGWLypgaaXN901gIcxbAf1sGFUyEvThQjrhdXOS7xlrywR-Zj-ylHpHqKF6dqMiUL2O1zdVL65lvvA6jLb0hDaqmjTnMQVwX7ycxEtNJyOc8fLG6oU3wrO5LeO__HRigqEzy3pqTEepG6XVKKxYMgPI0UIHCHrA2gcTycvNA8t4sAmGer6scgEqsUa0U8qKQPvYPJojIKFkgh1AGr3vuF24GbGwbAmdFTD2JWIv2ID_Df49ydXYrYbOcUFvGtXr82yG_tK9sNEQ.0ENDPakfjXIg_GpW7Qw8hyK49WcB-hHuRsJEwvM5TM4&qid=1751082912&sr=8-2
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EPISODE CHAPTERS:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:15 Is the resurrection history or theology?
00:05:29 Methodological naturalism
00:24:46 Shouldn't we always prefer a natural explanation?
00:37:05 Bias in conservative New Testament scholarship
00:42:57 The historical case for the resurrection.
00:47:05 Was Jesus' tomb found empty?
00:49:53 What did the early disciples believe?
00:56:32 Did Paul teach a "spiritual" resurrection?
01:04:55 Alternative #1 - Someone stole the body.
01:08:48 Alternative #2 - The disciples hallucinated.
01:19:23 Alternatives #3 - Aliens raised Jesus from the dead.
