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It tested my faith. Had I been deceived by the propaganda of childhood nativity plays, school assemblies and an ocean of wishful thinking?

It was then I turned back to the bible and a close examination of the resurrection story because if this was flawed every cathedral raised to the glory of God, every work of art, symphony, poem inspired by Him - indeed the creativity of generations - counted for nothing. If the resurrection was invention then all was lost.

I read books, debated with priests and prayed long hours but insight finally came through a short TV interview I saw featuring the late, great Lord Soper.

He was asked how the church took off in first century Palestine. He answered simply: "Because their friend came back to them."

It was like the vital clue in an Agatha Christie novel, the tiny component that connected the circuit.

It was so simple. The proof of the resurrection lay in the body language of the eyewitnesses. The apostle Peter did not go back to his fishing nets and his family after the death of Jesus. He went to Rome and died a martyr's death. You don't change your life plans on a lie.

Peter had seen the extraordinary - a man raised from the dead - and he spent the rest of his life proclaiming it. Death is conquered, allelluiah!

Faith isn't blind. It is based on a great historical event which changed the destiny of mankind. It is a pre-eminent message and it says everything about the love of God for his people.

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