As many of you know, this year I helped my dad update his classic, "More Than a Carpenter." We added a chapter on the New Atheists as well as included responses to common objections to the Christian faith (such as the Da Vinci Code and the so-called Gospel of Judas) that have arisen since "More Than a Carpenter" was first released in 1977.

One of the fun things in updating the book was learning that it played a key role in Mark Driscoll's decision to become a Christian. Well, since Driscoll is a Calvinist, I guess it wasn't really his decision, but you get the point!

This spring my dad's ministry, Josh McDowell Ministry, is launching a huge campaign entitled, "Reclaiming Easter," to help get the word out about the evidence for the historical Jesus. For the past few months my dad has been working on developing free PowerPoint slides and sermons to go along with the updated "More Than a Carpenter." 

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of those historic events theologians and Christian apologists have worked very hard to "prove."  And rightly so.  No less a biblical authority than the apostle Paul says the faith of all who follow Christ is "futile" if Christ has not been raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:17).  So it's not enough to believe Jesus is some kind of life force that fills all people, and it's certainly not acceptable to conjecture that God is going to rescue humanity apart from the risen Christ.  Either Jesus is alive today  and the Christian faith is true, or Jesus is still dead and the Christianity is a joke.

The good news is that there is enough historic evidence to reasonably believe the resurrection of Jesus Christ took place as the Bible describes.  There's the proof of the empty tomb, the proof of hundreds of eyewitnesses, and the proof of transformed believers who sacrificed everything for what they knew to be true.

Holy Saturday is the perfect limbo-day to think about both death and resurrection ... the two sides of the Easter coin .  Pursuant to my previous post about the value of Good Friday, my friend Justine asked if I would share the following lyric.  This is a fairly new song that will be featured on my upcoming cd (to be released this fall) -- more to the point, it's my diary!

As always, I'd be thrilled to hear how it hits you.

MY FAVORITE LIE 

Words (and music you can't hear on a blog) by Carolyn Arends

I'm a caterpillar who will not cocoon

Feels like  a tomb

I haven’t felt the Resurrection goose bumps this year. When April comes around I usually get that surge of revival, that celebratory mood that comes with warmth and seedlings and lilies and sunrises. But this year, I need a reminder why tomorrow is the fulcrum of my entire faith.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, Easter is the biggest deal ever. It’s the counterpoint to Christmas. Instead of stars against a crisp navy blue sky, Easter is the sun shining in the clouds. If Christmas is the promise, Easter is the proof. 

Unlike Christmas, whose placement in the dead of winter has very little emotional competition, Easter has become only one of many feel-good Spring touch points for Americans. After all, the planet is turning on its axis to face the sun. Plants are getting restless.

My friend and I have a saying about science fiction: Dead is not dead.

I wished I had remembered that before I got all tweaked about Derek Reese getting killed off on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Guess who showed up alive and well in last night’s season finale, thanks to a time-traveling John Connor?

Uncle Derek! Yeah!

Not all science fiction abides by the “Dead is not dead” concept, but a lot of it does. Sometimes it’s through time travel (as was the case with Terminator—travel to a time where Derek hadn’t been shot and, voila!, there he is). Sometimes it’s through technology (cloning, Replicator technology, and Cylon technology kept dead characters around on both Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica). Sometimes it’s through powers and forces beyond our human comprehension (I lost track of how many times Daniel Jackson came back from the other side on Stargate: SG-1). And sometimes you don’t know exactly why the dead aren’t dead, but you don’t care—you’re just happy they’re not dead (Lost!).

Yesterday I did what people do in Seattle in April. I got my hands down into the dirt and dug around a bit. I placed some shoots of fresh Geraniums into that dark, wet, rich, soil. I placed the pots on the steps where, strategically situated, they'll get the maximum amount of sunshine. And now we wait.

But of course, we don't JUST wait. There's watering, soil care, fortifying the whole operation with nutrients, and more. All of this is helpful. Someday, blossoms will come. Someday, when we're celebrating graduations, when wearing shoes is the exception rather than the rule, when we're riding our bikes everywhere and eating on the patio every night, there will be bursts of color welcoming each guest who ascends the flower clad stairs to our front door. Someday... but not now.