As we work our way through 1 Corinthians 15, one of the most important chapters of the NT, the apostle Paul raises a question in verse 12-19.  “How do some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?”  Apparently, there were a handful of members in that congregation who were wavering in their convictions, swayed by the popular philosophers and intellectuals of their day.  They considered themselves much too enlightened and sophisticated to believe a dead man could rise from the grave.  No one likes to be considered unsophisticated, so they were tempted to make the resurrection into a metaphor or dismiss it altogether.  Could we still retain some form of our Christian faith without the doctrine of the resurrection?  The apostle answers emphatically “no!”  If we try to brush aside the empty tomb, our entire faith unravels.