I have a particular reason for believing the resurrection to be literally true, that is, that Jesus was raised from the dead; and that is the unfailing testimony of all 11 apostles. Not once did any one of them deny that Jesus had been raised from the dead, an extraordinary, scandalous proposition in the first century (as it has remained to this day).

I was in the middle of the Watergate cover-up. Think about this: The 12 most influential men in America, sitting around the desk of the President of the United States, found themselves in what was later charged to be a criminal conspiracy. The first time the President of the United States really understood that a crime was committed was when his General Counsel, John Dean, briefed him on March 21, 1973, saying, “There’s a cancer growing on your presidency.” Within two weeks, the cover-up began to unravel. John Dean went to the prosecutors and made a bargain. He was followed by others. Most of us began to think how to protect ourselves. So while the Watergate conspiracy and cover-up continued for more than a year, it was actually doomed once one of the men around the President broke and turned states’ evidence.

You will never persuade me, at least, that 11 men, utterly powerless, beaten and persecuted for their faith, one of them crucified upside down, another one in exile, could for 40 or 50 years maintain a lie. I saw when I served President Nixon how quickly people attempt to protect themselves.

People will give their lives for something they believe to be true. They will never give their lives for something they know to be false. Had they not seen the resurrected Christ with their own eyes, the Apostle Peter would have been the likeliest candidate to become the John Dean of the first century church.