Question I
Can we trust the gospels?
Are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John eyewitness testimony to the resurrection, or accounts written decades later by people who never knew Jesus? Everything else rests on this.
Two scholars, one question, and the evidence for the most contested event in history.
The Cornerstone
The resurrection has always been understood as the cornerstone of the Christian faith and an event of history. The apostle Paul himself wrote that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, the Christian faith is in vain. If the resurrection really happened, there is a strong case that Christianity is true.
Yet there are real reasons to doubt the claim. Our earliest accounts come from decades later, written by people who did not know Jesus, and they are hard to reconcile. More than that, a resurrection is a supernatural event, and many historians argue that history, by its nature, cannot establish a miracle.
So two scholars step into the ring. Dr. Mike Licona argues that the resurrection is the best historical explanation of the evidence. Dr. Bart Ehrman argues that it cannot be established as history at all. Watch the debate. Listen to the arguments. Choose a side.
Format
Live debate, recorded
Runtime
~6 hours · 16 lessons
Access
Lifetime, watch anytime
For
Dr. Mike Licona
Against
Dr. Bart Ehrman
Moderator
Megan Lewis
On the Table
These are the cruxes the debate turns on, the places where the case for the resurrection is built, and the places a skeptic pushes back hardest.
Are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John eyewitness testimony to the resurrection, or accounts written decades later by people who never knew Jesus? Everything else rests on this.
If Jesus was taken down alive or revived in the tomb, that is remarkable, but it is not a resurrection. What can scholars establish about the crucifixion and the death itself?
An empty tomb is strong evidence, but only if Jesus was decently buried in the first place. Ehrman is not convinced by the Joseph of Arimathea burial; Licona makes the case for it.
Multiple appearances are reported in the gospels, in Paul, and in Acts. Do the sightings hold up to historical scrutiny, and why did some of Jesus’ own followers doubt?
A Pharisee who persecuted the church became its greatest missionary after claiming to see the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. What does a skeptic do with a conversion like that?
The famous Minimal Facts argument says a handful of points nearly all scholars grant make the resurrection the best explanation. Licona knows the case intimately; Ehrman disputes that the facts are as undisputed as it needs.
Bart Ehrman · Arguing against James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies Emeritus · University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he taught from 1988 until his retirement in 2025. Recognized internationally for his scholarship on the New Testament and early Christianity, Professor Ehrman has written or edited thirty-three books, including six New York Times bestsellers. His college-level textbook The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings has remained the best-selling text in the field for more than twenty-five years. His scholarly works have been published by Oxford, Harvard, Yale, and other premier academic presses, and his books have been translated into twenty-seven languages, reaching millions of readers worldwide.
Beyond the classroom, Professor Ehrman is a widely recognized public scholar. He has produced nine acclaimed courses for The Great Courses, in addition to numerous online courses available through BartEhrman.com. His books and courses have sold more than two million copies.
He also writes for his charitable blog, The Bart Ehrman Blog, which has raised millions for organizations addressing poverty, homelessness, and hunger. In addition, he hosts the weekly podcast Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman, available on YouTube and all major podcast platforms, where he brings cutting-edge biblical scholarship to a global audience.
The Other Voices
You may know Bart Ehrman. Here is the scholar arguing the opposite conclusion, and the moderator keeping the two of them honest.
A New Testament scholar and leading evangelical specialist on the resurrection, author of The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach. After ten years studying the question he became more convinced than ever that Jesus rose.
Assyriologist, public educator, and the voice of Digital Hammurabi and the Misquoting Jesus podcast. She keeps the debate fair, focused, and moving.
Position statements, rebuttals, and cross-examination. You hear the strongest version of each argument, then watch it tested by the other side.
The full debate, recorded and on demand. Pause, rewind, and revisit the arguments as often as you like.
The recording includes the audience question-and-answer session, where both scholars respond to the hardest questions put to them.
No background required. Hear both scholars at full strength, weigh the evidence yourself, and decide which case you find more convincing.
Common Assumption
The empty tomb is an undisputed historical fact.
In the debate
It only counts as evidence if Jesus was given a proper burial to begin with. Ehrman is not convinced by the burial narrative, and presents his case; Licona argues the tomb was real, and empty.
Common Assumption
All the disciples died for their belief in the risen Jesus.
In the debate
It is often said that the disciples’ martyrdoms prove their sincerity. But which of Jesus’ earliest followers actually died for the faith is far less certain than the popular claim suggests.
Common Assumption
The “minimal facts” prove the resurrection.
In the debate
The argument rests on points nearly every scholar is said to grant. Licona makes that case directly; Ehrman challenges just how undisputed those facts really are.
Common Assumption
If you can’t prove it as history, it didn’t happen.
In the debate
Whether the discipline of history can rule on a miracle at all is itself contested. That methodological question, as much as the evidence, divides the two scholars.
The complete debate, position statements through final Q&A, yours to keep and rewatch for life, on any device.
Downloadable guides that lay out the arguments, the key terms, and the evidence on each side, so you can follow and review the debate point by point.
MP3 downloads of the full debate. Listen on your commute, during a walk, or whenever you’re away from a screen.
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It was recorded live and is now available on demand. You get the complete debate, position statements, rebuttals, and the audience Q&A, to watch whenever you like, as many times as you like.
Dr. Mike Licona argues for the historical resurrection of Jesus. Dr. Bart Ehrman argues against the claim that it can be established as history. Megan Lewis of Digital Hammurabi moderates.
Not at all. Both scholars make their cases in plain terms, and the moderator keeps the discussion accessible. Whether you are a believer, a skeptic, or simply curious, you can follow every step of the argument.
Yes. The format is built for it: each scholar gives a position statement, responds to the other, and answers questions. You hear the strongest version of both cases and decide for yourself.
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