Who Moved The Stone?

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a b Morison, Frank (2006). Who moved the stone?. Authentic Media. ISBN 978-1-85078-674-0. (most recent edition – 2006)

Several readers have complained that this book does not answer the question of its title. And yet it does put forth an interesting hypothesis. Matthew 27:64-65 states that on Saturday the Jewish leaders asked Pilate to set a guard at the tomb to prevent anyone from taking the body, and that Pilate (being thoroughly disgusted with the whole affair) told them to post their own guards. Presumably they did. If so, while the Temple Guards were there, perhaps before dawn Sunday morning, something unexpected happened. Perhaps it was they who moved the stone, upon hearing a sound within. Their story is not recorded in Scripture, but they could have made an abrupt and perhaps noisy departure. In Mark's version of the story, when the women arrived shortly thereafter, they found a young man, who told them, "He goeth before you into Galilee." Morison reminds us that Jesus had used the same words Thursday night when leading the eleven disciples to Gethsemane, and says there was also an unnamed young man present (Mark 14:51-52). "If St. Mark withheld his name it must have been for very good and sufficient reason," but maybe this person had been attracted by the guards' departure. Matson (G. Eric and Edith) Photograph Collection in Library of Congress: Copy of Plan of Palestine Water Conduits (copied for A. H. Ross esq. Nom de Plume Fran Morrison) Albert Henry Ross (1 January 1881 – 14 September 1950 [1]), (pseudonym Frank Morison), was an English advertising agent and freelance writer known for writing the Christian apologetics book Who Moved the Stone? and And Pilate Said. The author's observation above points to what may be the greatest challenge for modern readers of the Bible. It's entirely possible for us to absorb the basic thrust of a story without feeling particularly moved, because of a sense of skating on the surface. The accounts are "admittedly brief." (For that reason, the sermons that mean most to me are those that dig into a passage, bring it to life, and expand on its significance.) He subsequently wrote the book And Pilate said — after pursuing research in Palestine, during which he also traced the water supply in ancient Jerusalem. [35] He spent one month in Palestine and received on the ground assistance from the Swedish-born specialist photographer Gastgifvar Eric Matson. Matson, who was a member of the American Colony in Jerusalem, supplied more than fifty photographic plates that are reproduced in the book. [36] He argued in favour of the historical authenticity of the portrait concerning Pilate's role in the trial of Jesus as presented in the four gospels collected in the New Testament. The end of the book included another discussion about the resurrection as an event. [37] Bibliography [ edit ]Less helpful is the cultural absorption of critical theories about the Bible's veracity. Markan priority means supernatural events in later gospels are discounted and the angel at the tomb becomes Mark himself. This is based on the incorrect assumption that meeting angels does not generate fear. Further Bible study would have cured this error. One example of the methodology at work here is the examination of all conceivable alternative explanations for the women's discovery that the tomb was open:

While the Bible records many instances of miracles, in most cases Christian faith doesn't depend for its existence on belief in, or literal interpretation of any one of them, and they don't play a significant role in Christian consciousness; for instance, whether or not Jonah endured three days in the belly of a whale makes no difference in how I live my life. Christianity stands or falls, however, on the claim of one central miracle: that the crucified Jesus of Nazareth literally rose from the dead by the act of God, attesting to the truth of his message and the meaning of his death as a sacrifice for human sin, and inaugurating an ultimate redemption of the world from sin and death. If that can be successfully dismissed as a fraud or a mistake on the part of the disciples, then we're free to dismiss Jesus as a lunatic (as one of my college teachers maintained) or a charlatan in the mold of Jim Jones. But if it can't successfully be dismissed....? J. H. Jowett M.A., D.D.: A Character Study (London: James Clarke, 1911) available at Internet Archive If this book helps anyone to do that, we thank God for it. But I wouldn't recommend this book be used for that end. There is far too much supposition for the book to be of use. The Gospel does not demand us to know every detail in minutiae. Instead, the Gospel is balanced so as to give us sufficient detail that we believe. Ultimately, two facts narrow down the options. First, there was no body and no occupied grave that anyone could point to in rebutting the claim that he had risen. Surely, a lot of people would have had motivation to do so if they could. "Think of the highly placed Sadducees who were prepared to go to almost any length to discredit and overthrow the cause." Secondly, there is no likely scenario in which anyone removed the body and kept quiet about having done so. Finally, there is the utter transformation in the behavior of the disciples. At the time of the Crucifixion they were scattered, frightened, disillusioned. Shortly thereafter they were loudly and fearlessly proclaiming the Resurrection.Ross Clifford, Leading Lawyers’ Case for the Resurrection (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Canadian Institute for Law, Theology and Public Policy, 1996), 120-123. ISBN 1-896363-02-4 Who Moved the Stone" by Frank Morison is an ultimate example of an individual's dedication to delving in to a subject and discovering its truth, or as much of its truth as possible. Morison not only provided the information he uncovered he explained throughout the work the meticulous process he undertook in his research. He also explained his logic and reasoning for the conclusions he formulated. Of course, the subject matter in this case is quite a complex one and made more complicated by the years that have passed since the actual events occurred. The subtitle of Morison's book is "A Skeptic Looks at the Death and Resurrection of Christ," which indicates that Morison had a personal impetus in writing this book. He was apparently personally intrigued by the mysteries surrounding the events of the four days between Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday and compelled to try to determine exactly what took place. See Rev. D. Gardner Miller, “Who Moved The Stone?” Otago Daily Times, August 9 1930, 27.“Talks With Young Men,” Australian Christian Commonwealth, April 27, 1934, 10; “The Triumph of Easter,” Queensland Times, April 16, 1938, 11.“The Glorious Message of Easter: He Is Alive,” Derby Evening Telegraph, Saturday, April 16 1949, 3. Desmond, Kevin (2005). The Least Likely: If God Can Use Them, He Can Use You!. Monarch Books. ISBN 0-8254-6061-1.