All but four of the major world religions are based on mere philosophical propositions. Of the four that are based on personalities, only Christiantiy claims an empty tomb for its founder. (ETDV, p. 180).

1. Buddha did not rise from the dead.
2. Mohammed died June 8, 632 A.D., at the age of sixty-one, at Medina, where his tomb is annually visited by thousands of devout Mohammedans.

1. Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts Between AD 63 and 70 testifies that what he writes he got from eye-witnesses of the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Luke 1:1-2, Acts 1:1-3). Luke was himself a participator in some of the events which he narrates. It is impossible to suppose that the Early Church did not know its own history; and the very fact of the acceptance by the Church of this book (Luke) is evidence of its accuracy.

2. Paul the Apostle stated in 1 Cor 15:3-8 that there were over 512 witnesses to the fact of the Resurrection and that most of these were still alive at this writing who could confirm his testimony.

3. The Apostle Peter stated that He and the other apostles were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ death and burial and Resurrection (1 Peter 1:16)

4. The Apostle John wrote that they had heard, seen, beheld and handled Jesus’ human life, death, burial and Resurrection (1 John 3:1-3)

5. Josephus, a Jewish historian in Jesus’ period testified in his writings of Jesus’ existence, crucifixion and resurrecton.

6. The Church Father Ignatius (50-115 A.D.) Bishop of Antioch, testified to Jesus virgin birth, humanity, crucifixion and Resurrection.

Simon Greenleaf (1783-1853): wrote two very good volumes on evaluating historical evidence titled:

1. A treatise on the Law of Evidence which is considered the greatest single authority on evidence in the entire literature of legal procedure.
2. An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice. In this classic work the author examines the value of the testimony of the apostles to the resurrection of Christ.

1. What Jesus Went Through In the Crucifixion: His unnatural position made every movement painful; the lacerated veins and crushed tendons throbbed with incessant anguish; the wounds, inflamed by exposure, gradually gangrened; the arteries — especially at the head and stomach — became swollen and oppressed with surcharged blood; and while each variety of misery went on gradually increasing, there was added to them the intolerable pang of a burning and raging thirst; and all these physical complications caused an internal excitement and anxiety, which made the prospect of death that much more desirable.
2. Pilate required four executioners certification of Christ's death before handing Jesus’ body over to Joseph of Arimathea for burial.
3. What Caused Jesus’ Death: James Thompson in his book: The Physical Cause of the Death of Christ explains that the death of Christ was due, not to physical exhaustion, or to the pains of crucifixion, but to agony of mind producing rupture of the heart. His energy of mind and body in the act of dissolution proves beyond contradiction that His death was not the result of exhaustion; the soldier's spear was the means to exhibiting to the world that His death was due to a cardiac rupture: the separation of water and blood (John 19:32-35).
4. Repeated observations and experiments of Piercing With A Knife the side of dead men and animals have led to the following results:

• 1st, no flow of any kind followed the wound, except a slight trickling of blood which occurs when a person dies of natural causes.
• 2nd, a large flow of blood only follows the wound which resultes from victims of drowning and by strychnia.
• 3rd, a flow of water only, succeeded by a few drops of blood follows the wound in victims that die from pleurisy, pericarditis and rupture of the heart.
• 4th, a large flow of water, succeeded by a large flow of blood, follows the wound which is the result of the victim’s death caused by crucifixion. Crucifixion causes a condition of blood in the lungs similar to that produced by drowning and strychnia.

John 19:34 "But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water." (Psalm 69:20)

• 5th, a large flow of blood, succeeded by a large flow of water occurs in a crucified person, who had died upon the cross from rupture of the heart. Jesus died of a ruptured heart while being crucified proved by the flow of blood first than water.

5.Had Jesus been alive when the spear pierced His side, strong spouts of blood would have emerged with every heart beat. Instead, the observer noticed semi-solid dark red clot seeping out, distinct and separate from the accompanying watery serum. This is evidence of massive clotting of the blood in the main arteries, and is exceptionally strong medical proof of death. It is all the more impressive because the evangelist could not possibly have realized its significance to a pathologist. The blood and water from the spear-thrust is proof positive that Jesus was already dead.

1. A scout remaining with the enemy.

2. Desertion.

3. Losing or disposing of one's arms.

4. Disobedience in war time.

5. Going over the wall or rampart.

6. Starting a mutiny.

7. Refusing to protect an officer or deserting one's post.

8. A drafted man hiding from service.

9. Murder.

10. Laying hands on a superior or insulting a general.

11. Leading flight when the example would influence others.

12. Betraying plans to the enemy.

13. Wounding a fellow soldier with a sword.

14. Disabling self or attempting suicide without reasonable excuse.

15. Leaving the night watch.

16. Breaking the centurion's staff or striking him when being punished.

17. Escaping the guard house.

18. And disturbing the peace. [Currie, George. The military Discipline of the Romans from the Founding of the City to the Close of the Republic. An abstract of a thesis published under the auspices of the Graduate Council of Indiana University, 1928]

1. 418 accounts of slayings by the general’s own hand because the weapon bearer lagged in battle.
2. 390 hurling of soldiers of Capitalium cliff for falling asleep on duty.
3. 252 accounts of beatings and reduction in rank for negligence.
4. 218 accounts of punishment due to negligence.
5. 195 accounts of being struck with a weapon for lagging behind.