Someone I know recently told me about a novel she’d been reading. The plot has an archaeologist searching for the bones of Christ. The novel details the discovery of an ancient skeleton near Jerusalem with marks consistent with death by crucifixion. My friend explained the significance of this hypothetical scenario: if Christ did not rise from the dead, if the tomb was not empty, then our lives would be upended. The political landscape would drastically change. The Catholic Church would collapse. Governments would be toppled by revolutions. My acquaintance was excited by the drama and intrigue of this scenario, but I was aghast!

The strangest part, however, was that she also identified as a faithful Catholic. She saw no issue with leaving aside some parts of Catholicism—what she deemed strange and impossible—while just trying to be a good person. She’s probably not the only Catholic who views Christ as a nice man with good morals, but without all of the talk of sin, suffering, death, and, critically, the Resurrection.

This version of Catholicism without the Resurrection would be like Lent without Easter. At the end of the forty days of Lent, no Easter—only dust. “You are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:19). Moreover, it doesn’t really make sense, logically speaking.

First, the resurrection is Christ’s chief sign of credibility. By rising from the dead, Christ walked the walk and talked the talk. Christ repeatedly foretold his resurrection (e.g., Mark 8:31-33, 9:30-32, and 10:32-34) and he kept his word (Mark 16). Predicting a miracle adds a layer of credibility over simply doing one. If Jesus did not rise as he promised, he would have been delusional or telling lies. In turn, he would certainly be less credible as a teacher—which, strangely, is a status that many people are happy to give him, even if they don’t believe in his divinity. But the disciple would have to ask some important questions: He was wrong that one time about rising. Was he also wrong other times, like when he said, “Whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35)?

This leads to a second issue: if Christ did not rise from the dead “your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Cor 15:17). The Lord’s resurrection causes the life of grace in believers (ST III, q. 56, a. 2, ad 4). Take away the cause, you lose the effect. How could Christ save me from death if even he himself was not saved from death? Jesus would be reduced to a man caught in a lie. The mockery of Jesus on the Cross would be true: “He saved others; he cannot save himself” (Matt 27:42).

Third, to put your faith in a God that speaks falsely is to fall into contradiction. The theological virtue of faith is “founded on Divine truth” (ST II-II, q. 4, a. 8). We believe in divine revelation because the Revealer is truthful. It is a silly contradiction in terms to simultaneously say both “I believe because God is true” and “God isn’t always truthful.” In truth, the Almighty is good for his word and “can neither deceive nor be deceived” (CCC 156). God just doesn’t have it in him to lie: “God is not man, that he should lie” (Num 23:19).

A hypothetical Christianity with a false claim of resurrection would be a pathetic religion to put your faith in. More importantly, to continue believing in such a religion would be incoherent and contradictory. Fortunately, God has spoken to mankind through apostles and prophets, and has spoken his definitive word through the Son, who testified before Pontius Pilate: “For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37). Faith in the Son puts the believer in touch with reality and truth. If the true God has revealed the resurrection of Christ to us through inspired writers—a historical bodily resurrection prophesied centuries before (Ps 16:10; Isa 52:13) and accomplished at the fullness of time (Gal 4:4)—then it proceeds from the Fountain of Truth.

Christian faith is an all-or-nothing affair. The reason for believing at all—God’s authority as First Truth—logically requires that we firmly believe all that has been revealed. To reject even one article of the creed compromises faith (ST II-II, q. 5, a. 3; q. 11, a. 1). That is to say, I would no longer believe because of God’s eminent truthfulness, but because of some criteria of my own choosing (e.g., it is so-called “scientifically” verifiable, or convenient with my moral choices).

A fictional work about a resurrection-less Christianity may make for an interesting page-turner, but if you want a real thriller, read the pages of the Gospel at face value: God sent his Son to redeem the world, to conquer sin and death, and to bring a joyful Easter to the end of our long Lent.

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Photo by Dietmar Rabich (CC BY-SA 4.0)