A very nice reply, Richard.

I agree with all your reasons but at different levels. I suspect that the "aesthetic" argument is rather personal and it may not resonate with everyone. Some people would say it is hard to find beauty in Jesus' horrible death. Of course the beauty is in what it accomplished but to an unbeliever it’s a beauty that is hard to swallow.

With regard to your second reason, although all we could really say about the empty tomb is that the body was missing, the argument about the disciples willing to die for Jesus afterwards is more convincing to me.  It is indeed a strong piece of corroborating evidence, yet countless people in history were willing to die for an ideal which was initially thought to be good, but later found to be faulty. In Jesus’ case, however, it does suggest that the disciples were convinced of whom Jesus said he was, given the fact that their faith (more importantly, their life and death) depended on that very specific piece of information. Jesus' resurrection was something that was potentially verifiable because they were very close to him both in space and in time. This is quite different from believing in an ideal which could be a lot more subjective.

Your third reason is the most convincing to me. I like the stories. To an atheist, I would say this:  I accept that there are many fake "miracles" out there, but to reject the existence of miracles requires disproving each and every one of them. Yet a single confirmed miracle is all it takes to prove that miracles exist. If we are willing to look, there are so many instances out there that point to the miraculous, and not giving them due credit is not very scientific. Ignoring credible evidences is not scientific.  In fact, when I was asking myself the question whether God exists, I made a promise to God (then unknown to me) and to myself that if presented with convincing evidences I would not reject or ignore. I was then exposed to numerous evidences of miracles, including some that I witnessed myself. While it is easier to find reasons to dismiss a single account, I found it increasingly impossible to reject numerous accounts from credible sources.

"To an atheist, I would say this: I accept that there are many fake "miracles" out there, but to reject the existence of miracles requires disproving each and every one of them. Yet a single confirmed miracle is all it takes to prove that miracles exist. "

The problem with this reasoning is that the same criterion must hold true for "miracles." We have yet to prove that any did happen, and every single one must be proven.