In the early 1900s, German criticism of the Bible and the rationalist movement were sweeping over Western Europe and the United States, carrying with them the belief that nothing can happen apart from natural laws. With that naturalistic belief came a skepticism toward the foundation of Christianity—the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
One who was greatly influenced by such skepticism was English journalist Frank Morison, who came to believe that the story of Jesus rising from the dead was nothing more than a fairy tale for adults.
Morison decided to investigate the facts surrounding Jesus’ supposed resurrection, fully expecting to discover a story full of holes, missing evidence, and illogical conclusions. He then would write a book exposing the myth. This notable journalist wrote of his intent:
I wanted to take this last phase of the life of Jesus, with all its quick and pulsating drama, its sharp, clear-cut background of antiquity, and its tremendous psychological and human interest—to strip it of its overgrowth of primitive beliefs and dogmatic suppositions, and to see this supremely great Person as He really was.¹
But Morison was stunned by what he discovered. He exclaimed, “The book as it was originally planned was left high and dry.”² Morison’s book—Who Moved the Stone?—did finally get written, but it had an entirely different ending than he had intended.
To read more about what Morison and other skeptics encountered when they investigated the resurrection, read “Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?“
If Jesus really did rise from the dead, then he alone must know what is on the other side. What did Jesus say about the meaning of life and our future? Are there many ways to God or did Jesus claim to be the only way? Read the startling answers in “Why Jesus?”
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¹Frank Morison, Who Moved the Stone? (Grand Rapids, MI: Lamplighter, 1958), back cover.
²Morison, preface, 8.