It is, of course, impossible to exaggerate the importance of the historicity of what is commonly known as the Resurrection.

If, after all His claims and promises, Christ had died and merely lived on as a fragrant memory, He would only be revered as an extremely good but profoundly mistaken man. His claims to be God, His claims to be Himself the very principle of life, would be mere self-delusion. His authoritative pronouncements on the nature of God and Man and Life would be at once suspect.

Why should He be right about the lesser things, if He was proved to be completely wrong in the greater?

from Your God is Too Small: A Guide for Believers and Skeptics Alike

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Gender-inclusive version:

It is, of course, impossible to exaggerate the importance of the historicity of what is commonly known as the Resurrection.

If, after all His claims and promises, Christ had died and merely lived on as a fragrant memory, He would only be revered as an extremely good but profoundly mistaken man. His claims to be God, His claims to be Himself the very principle of life, would be mere self-delusion. His authoritative pronouncements on the nature of God and Mortals and Life would be at once suspect.

Why should He be right about the lesser things, if He was proved to be completely wrong in the greater?

from Your God is Too Small: A Guide for Believers and Skeptics Alike