Over a thousand years ago, a Spanish kingdom was under attack by foreign invaders. For many years, one small fort withstood all assaults, thanks to a remarkable leader called El Cid. When their great leader died, his followers had an idea. They dressed his body in his armor, tied a sword in his hand, and placed his corpse on his horse. With El Cid's body in the lead, the Spanish forces charged. But they were quickly defeated, for this act fooled no one. A desperate trick that collapsed led to despair instead of victory.

There will always be those who insist that this was the strategy of the early church, a dead leader, dressed in armor, propped up on a horse with sword in hand. "Tell people," the chief priests said to the soldiers following Christ's resurrection, "that his disciples came …