Gary Habermas is one of the world’s leading scholars on the resurrection. His website and other published materials (such as his book, The Historical Jesus) are outstanding, being first class resources for anyone facing the “latest” regurgitated challenges to the resurrection and related topics.

But I recently discovered another reason to visit his website; the Historical Resurrection Quiz. The quiz is multiple-choice-based and focuses on the historical sources, challenges and arguments concerning the resurrection. The quiz is broken up into levels of various difficulty, requiring you to attain a particular level of knowledge before moving on the next (more challenging) level. All answers are scored and bonus questions at the end of each round is an opportunity to score more points. I found it to be both fun and educational.

Adam was watching me play the first time through and each time I got one wrong he would provide helpful encouragement such as, “Oh you got one wrong, you’re not a real Christian”. Despite his encouragement, I managed to get to level 8 before I had to stop, so I didn’t quite get to finish the quiz. The questions do get harder with each level, though there is some repetition and “dummy” answer options to help narrow down the choices.

Hint: For those of you who do not prescribe to the fake-it-till-you-make-it school of learning and are actually prepared to research your answers rather than fudge your way through via a series of failed multiple guesses, I believe that the answers to many of the questions can be found in the online articles @ www.garyhabermas.com that Gary and Mike (Licona) used to compile the quiz. In other words, the answers to all the questions are available via free downloadable resources from his site.

Here are a few sample questions from the quiz:

  • Why is the Minimal Facts approach effective?
  • True or False: If Jesus did not rise from the dead, Christianity is false and we should live accordingly.
  • What is the role of evidence in any investigation into Christianity?
  • What is the principle of Enemy Attestation?
  • What is the Jerusalem Factor argument for the empty tomb?
  • What is the Minimal Facts method?
  • The fact that Jesus’ disciples sincerely believed that he had risen from the dead and had appeared to them helps to eliminate at least two opposing theories. What are they?
  • Regarding the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection, what distinguishes the disciples from Muslim terrorists, who also willingly suffered and died for their beliefs?
  • Which two Apostolic Fathers report that the apostles were dramatically impacted by Jesus’ resurrection?
  • Nine ancient sources attest to the disciples’ claim to have seen the Jesus risen from the dead. These can easily be presented in three categories. What are they?
  • How many sources attest to the willingness on the part of the original disciples to suffer and die for their beliefs?
  • True or False: The willingness of the disciples to suffer and even die for their beliefs establishes the truth of their beliefs.

By the way, if you answered True for that last one, then you’re not a real Christian. ;)