The Jesus Conflict Debate: Did Jesus rise from the Dead?

What do you believe about Jesus? Is he a good man? Is he a prophet? Or is he, as Christians believe, actually divine? Did Jesus Christ really rise from the dead? Is there evidence that Jesus rose from the dead? While maintaining a love and respect for each other regardless of beliefs, there is a conflict between faiths. In particular, the questions of, "Who is Jesus," or "Who is the last Prophet," have been contended upon by many different religions. This event seeks to have a discussion on those very questions between scholars from various faith backgrounds. Each speaker will be given an opportunity to lend their faith's viewpoint on the question of Jesus, and in addition the audience will be given the opportunity to ask questions directed at any of the speakers at the end of the event. Representing the Muslim perspective was Shabir Ally: Shabir Ally has earned a B.A. in Religious Studies from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, with a specialization in Biblical Literature, and an M.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Toronto with a specialization in Quranic Exegesis. He is now in his fourth year of Ph.D studies in Quranic Exegesis at the University of Toronto. He is the president of the Islamic Information & Dawah Centre International in Toronto where he functions as Imam. He travels internationally to represent Islam in public lectures and interfaith dialogues. He explains Islam on a weekly television program called "Let the Quran Speak. Representing the Christian side was Rev. Tony Costa: Rev. Tony Costa has earned a B.A. and an M.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Toronto. He is currently a Ph.D candidate with the University of Pretoria. Tony has been a guest on various television programs such as 100 Huntley Street, the Michael Coren Live Show, the Arlene Bynon Show on Prime Time, and On The Line with Christine Williams. The Topic of Debate: Who is Jesus? Who is the Last Prophet? Shabir Ally (www.Shabirally.com) vs. Tony Costa (www.freewebs.com/tonycosta) (McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, October 2007)