Aren skeptical objections to the resurrection old hat? Does the book contain anything new?
Yes, TET contains several arguments and objections that are unique to TET and the essays upon which it is based. For example, Robert Greg Cavin’s chapter is the only essay that considers whether historical evidence is sufficient to prove the resurrection of Jesus, as opposed to the ‘mere’ revivification of Jesus, based upon how Christians themselves distinguish resurrection from resuscitation or revivification. Lowder’s chapter is the only point-by-point rebuttal to William Lane Craig’s numerous arguments in defense of an empty tomb. It, combined with Richard Carrier’s chapter on the burial of Jesus, are also the only essays to argue at length in defense of the hypothesis that Joseph of Arimathea temporarily stored Jesus’ body in his tomb until the Sabbath had passed, at which time he buried Jesus in the graveyard of the condemned. Furthermore, the book is filled with numerous objections to apologists that constitute new points in the ongoing controversy regarding the resurrection.
