Since Most People Are Wrong When They Make Supernatural Claims, Why Didn't God Do Better?
From Risen Jesus by Mike Licona
September 17, 2025 · 1h 46m
About this episode
Dr. Matthew McCormick argues against the historical evidence for Jesus' resurrection, while Dr. Michael Licona defends it in a debate.
Dr. Matthew McCormick, a philosophy professor at California State University, Sacramento, doesn’t believe that there is satisfactory historical evidence to support the idea that Jesus rose from the dead. This is because humans have a high error rate when making claims about the supernatural. Therefore, those who reported Jesus’ post-death appearances were likely wrong. Furthermore, if an all-powerful God wanted people to believe this claim, why didn’t he provide more substantial evidence for us? Why didn’t he do better? In a 2016 debate at Sacramento State University, Dr. Michael Licona faces these contentions from McCormick, arguing that evidence strongly supports theism over atheism and that the existing historical data suggests that Jesus did rise from the death. Which case do you think is better?
People in this episode
Hosts: Mike Licona, Dr. Michael Licona
Guest: Dr. Matthew McCormick
Topics covered
- supernatural claims
- historical evidence
- theism vs atheism
- Jesus' resurrection
- philosophy
- debate
Keywords
- supernatural
- historical evidence
- Jesus
- resurrection
- theism
- atheism
- debate
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: California State University, Sacramento
More episodes of Risen Jesus
- Licona and Pagels on the Gospel of Thomas · March 25, 2026 · 14 min
- Who Wrote the Gospels? Michael Licona vs. Bart Ehrman - Part 2 · March 18, 2026 · 1h 20m
- Who Wrote the Gospels? Michael Licona vs. Bart Ehrman - Part 1 · March 11, 2026 · 1h 2m
- The Resurrection Standoff: Licona vs. Ehrman on the Unbelievable Podcast · October 22, 2025 · 1h 13m
- Do Christians Need to Believe that Jesus was Raised Bodily from the Dead? Licona vs. Patterson · October 15, 2025 · 1h 60m
- After the Crucifixion, was Jesus Resurrected or Rescued? Licona vs. Ally · October 8, 2025 · 2h 2m
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