If Jesus rose from the dead, it’s game, set, match.
Christianity is true—period! Why? Because when Jesus’s critics
challenged him for a sign to confirm his claims, he offered the sign of his
resurrection from the dead (Matt. 16:1-4 // Luke 11:29-390; John 2:18-22). So
if Jesus rose, he did so to confirm his claims. I now felt a freedom to
investigate these other matters with an open mind because even if the answer
turned out differently than I had hoped, Christianity is still true. . . . I do
want to suggest that many people are bothered by Gospel differences far more
than they should be. Since Jesus rose from the dead, Christianity is true. And
it remains true even if it turns out there are errors and contradictions in the
Gospels Once I understood that principle, a lot changed for me. Many things
that had troubled me either no longer did or did to a much lesser extent. (Michael
R. Licona, Jesus, Contradicted: Why the Gospels Tell the Same Story
Differently [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Academic, 2024], 5, 6)
The bottom line: Contradictions offer a challenge to the
historical reliability of the Gospels and to some versions of the doctrine of
biblical inerrancy. However, they do not necessarily call into question the
truth of the Christian faith. So if Ehrman’s rhetoric troubles you, take a deep
breath and relax. Things are not nearly as horrible as Ehrman and others would
have us believe. If you are a Christian who worries every time someone brings
up a Gospel difference or something in the Old Testament disturbs you, remember
this principle: since Jesus rose from the dead, Christianity is true—period!
You will be keeping matters in their proper perspective. And you will sleep
better at night. (Ibid., 7, italics in original)
Embracing a flexible view of inerrancy should by no means
result in giving up the Bible and Christianity. Christianity is true because
of the person of Jesus and his resurrection. If Jesus rose from the dead, it’s
game, set, match. Christianity is true—period! Thousands became
followers of Jesus during the decades before any of the New Testament
literature was written. If none of the New Testament literature had ever been
written, Christianity would still be true. We just would not know much about
Jesus. (Ibid., 215-16)
