Dr. Mike Licona is an American New Testament scholar, evangelical Christian apologist and Associate Professor in Theology at Houston Baptist University. He has a bit of a specialty in the defense of the authenticity of the resurrection of Jesus. Recently he created some very short videos which address the 10 top myths he here’s from opponents. I have collected all 10 on a single page for viewing convenience:
1 Contradictions in the Gospels
2 Pagan Parallels
I would add 2 further points to this video:
2.1) Pagan religions and Christianity may make similar claims because they are both based on truth. For example many religions recount a global flood.
2.2) Even if Christianity copied bits and pieces or an entire other religion, which I don’t think it did, that wouldn’t preclude it from being true!
3 The Fraud Theory
4 Hallucinations
5 It’s a Matter of Faith
6 Apparent Death Theory aka “Swoon Theory”
7 It Was Mere Legend
8 Science Proves that Resurrections Cannot Occur
I would add that there are plenty of cases of people medically dying and ceasing brain activity but then coming back from the dead. If it can happen to regular people why not Jesus?
9 Not Enough Evidence
I would add that some opponents of Christianity claim that the Bible requires better than normal evidence. Simply beating the 1% significance level of validity is not good enough. Marcello Truzzi coined a phrase which was popularized by Carl Sagan after being slightly altered to, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” I would say the apostle Paul giving up a life of prosperity for a life of suffering which culminated in murder is extraordinary, but some opponents would not agree. For them I would ask, “If I could prove the claims Jesus made were true would you become a follower of Jesus?” If they answer yes I would ask, “How much evidence is good enough and why?” There is plenty of evidence, but an insatiable lust for evidence and continuous moving goal posts is unreasonable.
10 The Lost Gospels
In conclusion the resurrection is the most reasonable explanation for the various evidence out there which has been discussed here and elsewhere. If the resurrection is true then Christianity is nearly fully supported. Few claims are so critical to Christianity as the resurrection.