> Bill Frix wrote:
>
> > If someone could, positively, prove that Jesus did not rise from the
> > dead, Christianity would be worse than a false religion, it would be
> > a mockery of truth. Until then, the presence of the empty tomb is
> > undisputable proof that Christianity is THE only true relationship
> > with an eternal God.
> >
> > I await someone to challenge me on this.
>
> The last statement is certainly open to debate. Consider the
> book by the Orthodox Jew Pinchas Lapide, _The Resurrection of Jesus_
> (Augsburg, 1983). He believes that God raised the Israelite Jesus from
> the dead, saying "I accept the resurrection of Easter Sunday not as an
> invention of the community of disciples, but as a historical event."
> But he does not believe that Jesus is the Messiah - let alone Son of God
> - essentially because the Kingdom of God has not come in its fullness.
> He believes that Jesus and his resurrection can be understood as part of
> God's "preparation for the Messiah" within the framework of Judaism.
So, I suppose the second coming will satisfy him, eh?
Gene