The Christian faith quite literally hangs on the historical fact that Christ was raised from the dead. If Jesus can be found in a tomb, then that means he was not who he said he was. He is not the Son of God, the Messiah, our Saviour or anything but a cooky Jew with a few nice things to say. His words are no more meaningful than Gandhi’s. Jesus may inspire us and encourage us, but he’s not worthy to be worshiped. No churches should be built in devotion to him and certainly no prayers offered in his name.
The New Testament itself makes it clear that if Jesus was not resurrected, this whole thing is pitiful and should be abandoned. This from I Corinthians 15:
If there’s no resurrection, there’s no living Christ. And face it—if there’s no resurrection for Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ—sheer fabrications, if there’s no resurrection.
If corpses can’t be raised, then Christ wasn’t, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It’s even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they’re already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.
So that is why I have concern about this story. Director James Cameron has produced a documentary to be aired on the Discovery Channel on March 4 that claims the body of Jesus has been found in a family tomb in Jerusalem. To be intellectually honest, I’m compelled to listen to what he claims is his evidence. Further, I need to weigh out what scholars say in response to his claims. If the evidence is compelling, then I will be forced to leave Christianity behind. I can see no compelling argument in the Bible that faith is believing the opposite of evidence. That’s just delusion masquerading as religion.
I heard some one ask in regards to Mormonism. “If it weren’t true would you want to know?” and “What would it take for you to know that it was true or not?” For me, this is it. I absolutely would want to know if Christianity weren’t true. I would know it isn’t true if there were some sort of historical evidence that showed Jesus did not raise from the dead.
The Evangelical faith will end if what Cameron says is true. What do you think will happen to the LDS church? Is it true that Mormons believe in Jesus because Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon tell them to? If so will it be business as usual unless Joseph’s first vision is shown to be false?
I think Jesus will actually win this round. There is already some skepticism about Cameron’s claims. You can read more here.
LDS & Evangelical Conversations 
The fundamental truth of Christianity has been proven to my satisfaction. The proof came through instances in my life, following salvation at about age 51, that can only be explained as the work of God. these are not “feel good” prayer answers, burnings in the bosom, visions, or the like. The primary instance is a completely changed life–by which I mean a complete change, to be redundant. A turn around. A moving from being a cad, a lier, a thief, an adulterer, and more, to a Christ centered life. These were were not merely “things” I did. They were me. They described me; they were my characteristics. They were my way of life. That is, until God came alongside and took me in. Now I am none of those things, and don’t want to be. In fact, I have a hard time imagining that I was all those things at one time. How do you explain such a makeover?
It is, quite simply, not possible that Jesus was not resurrected. One more item: All of this happens to us by grace through faith–not my sight. Don’t doubt, my friend. Jesus has withstood many attacks by the world. He can withstand this one, too.
I agree that our personal experiences with the risen savior are the primary way many of us know him. But if he is only “risen in our hearts and minds” (as I’ve heard some more liberal churches claim) then that makes either Jesus or the men who wrote about him liars and therefore not worthy to be trusted.
The Gospel accounts make it clear that for the disciples it did happen by sight not just by faith. If you notice Thomas was not condemned for asking for evidence. He was just told that those who believe without the availability of evidence will be blessed.
But I agree that the transformation that has happened in our hearts leaves me feeling “confident that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”.