SATURDAY MORNING VIBE WRITING

Yesterday was Good Friday. My wife and I watched The Passion of the Christ; it was my first time watching it. It was incredible. Say what you want about Mel Gibson, the man knows how to put a powerful film together.

This morning I’m reminded of what happened to those who tried to disprove The Resurrection of Christ and what happened to them afterward. I’ve provided some of the most famous examples below:

Gilbert West (1703–1756), English poet and Oxford scholar. As a student, he (along with friend Lord George Lyttelton) deliberately set out to disprove key pillars of Christianity by specifically tackling the resurrection. After a year of detailed historical analysis, he became convinced it was true, converted to Christianity, and published Observations on the History and Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1747), presenting a case for its historicity.

Simon Greenleaf (1783–1853), American lawyer, Harvard Law School professor, and author of the foundational A Treatise on the Law of Evidence. An atheist, he accepted a challenge from students to apply his own rules of legal evidence to the Gospel accounts of the resurrection. His thorough examination led him to conclude the testimony was reliable; he converted to Christianity and wrote The Testimony of the Evangelists (1846), arguing the resurrection met the highest standards of courtroom proof.

Lew Wallace (1827–1905), American lawyer, Union general in the Civil War, and governor of New Mexico. Challenged by agnostic Robert Ingersoll to write a book disproving the resurrection (and Christianity more broadly), he conducted extensive research into the evidence. Contrary to his intent, he concluded Jesus rose from the dead; he converted and instead wrote the bestselling novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880), which vividly affirms the resurrection and Christian message.

Frank Morison (pseudonym of Albert Henry Ross, 1881–1950), English lawyer, journalist, and novelist. Influenced by skeptical thinkers, he planned a short book (Jesus—the Last Phase) to demonstrate the resurrection was a myth. His careful historical and legal-style investigation of the events instead convinced him of its reality; he converted and published the enduring bestseller Who Moved the Stone? (1930), which defends the resurrection as historical fact.

Sir Lionel Luckhoo (1914–1997), world-renowned Guyanese defense attorney (Guinness World Record for 245 consecutive murder acquittals). A lifelong skeptic, he spent years (reportedly up to 14) applying his unmatched legal expertise to examine the evidence for the resurrection. He concluded the case was “overwhelming” and compelled acceptance that Jesus rose from the dead; he publicly affirmed the evidence and became a Christian.