Theories people have used to explain away the ressurection of Christ

Theories people have used to explain away the resurrection

The disciples stole the body. This idea originated with the religious leaders in Jesus' day. We find this in Mt.28:11-15.
The problem with this theory is that there is no motive. The disciples gained nothing out of telling of the resurrection except
persecution. They would have to knowingly go against everything that Jesus, as well as they themselves taught. What would
cause someone to die for what they knew was a lie? Also this would leave the dilemma of Paul he changed from being a
persecutor of the church to a strong witness who proclaimed the resurrection. How could the disciples have convinced him, that
he himself had seen the risen Jesus? Furthermore this leaves the 500 witnesses why would they all say they had seen the risen
Jesus, if they had not? How could the disciples have gotten past the Roman guards that were guarding the tomb? In Matthew the
story is, the disciples stole the body while they were asleep. If they were asleep and did not wake up when the huge stone was
rolled away then how would they know the disciples stole the body? This is also very unlikely, since falling asleep would mean
death for the whole unit. Some people try to claim the Jews or the Romans stole the body. Since neither group wanted the story of
the resurrection being spread then why did they not produce the body to silence this movement?

The swoon theory. This theory states that Jesus did not die on the cross. Instead Jesus was merely unconscious when his
body was removed from the cross. The cool air in the Tomb revived him and he got up and went to his disciples. They believed
he had died, hence when they seen him again they believed Jesus had risen from the dead. To accept this theory you must
believe that Jesus survived the flogging, the crucifixion, the thrust to the side with a spear, as well as being wrapped up in 100
lbs. of spices. Then in that shape he moved a stone uphill out of a ravine that weighed 1 1/2 to 2 tons. This accomplished, he
fought his way past the Roman guard then appeared to his disciples as the Lord of life. That takes more faith than believing the
resurrection itself. Still it does not end here, he would have to convince 500 other people besides his disciples that he rose from
the dead. Also he would have to convince Paul the very one persecuting the church. Then he would have to ascend bodily into
heaven on a cloud while they were watching.

The disciples had hallucinations. Some people have claimed that the disciples had hallucinations, so real that they believed
in the resurrection. People under great mental stress as the disciples have hallucinated before, but this still leaves some
problems.

To accept this you would have to believe that more than 500 people hallucinated the same thing. This was not just one short
episode but it lasted 40 days. They touched him, talked with him, and ate with him. Later Paul who was against the church also
hallucinated this same thing. This is not the sort of things that happen during a hallucination. There simply is no other case in
history where this kind of hallucination took place. This still leaves the problem of why didn't the Jews or the Romans simply
produce the corpse of Jesus to prove that he was dead? Several people did go to the tomb and found it empty except for the
grave clothes. Did the whole world also hallucinate the idea that the tomb was empty?

The women went to the wrong tomb. The idea here is that during their time of sorrow and confusion they simply forgot what
tomb Jesus had been laid in. The problem here is that you would also have to say the Roman guards, the Jews, the women, as
well as all of the disciples forgot which tomb Jesus was in. This is very unlikely. Of course even if the whole world was confused
and did not remember what tomb Jesus was laid in, this still does not account for all of the eyewitnesses.

Jesus had an identical twin. The idea here is that Jesus' twin brother was not in Jerusalem during the ministry of Jesus. He
came back home right after Jesus was crucified and pretended to be his brother Jesus. This of course caused everyone to
believe that Jesus rose from the dead. The problem here is the empty tomb. How did this twin brother get past the Roman guard
and steal the body of Jesus? How did he rise into heaven on a cloud while they were watching? We also need to remember that
the risen Jesus still had the wounds from being crucified. He also still had the wound from being thrust by the spear. He offered
these as evidence that it was he himself to Thomas Jn.20:27-29. Most important of all how did he convince his other brothers
James and Jude that he was Jesus? Since they also were half brothers of Jesus, they would certainly know if Jesus had a twin.
Yet they were so convinced they also died martyrs believing and proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus.

THE THEORY THAT FITS ALL 12 OF THE KNOWN HISTORICAL FACTS PREVIOUSLY LISTED.
JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD JUST AS HE SAID HE WOULD

(1-2) Jesus did not survive the crucifixion but actually died and was buried. Jn.19:31-42

(2A) An angel removed the large stone, hence breaking the Roman seal, this scared away the guards. Mt.28:2-15

(3) The disciples lost hope because they believed that Jesus was dead. Lk.24:17-21, Jn.16:20, Mk.16:10-11

(4) The tomb was empty because Jesus rose from the dead. Mt.28:5-7

(5) The disciples of Jesus although they did not at first believe he would rise from the dead, they came to believe in the
resurrection because they seen Jesus alive afterwards, talked with him, touched him and ate with him. They also watched him
bodily ascend into heaven. Lk.24:10-11, Lk.24:39-43,Jn.20:27, Jn.21:9-13, Acts 1:9-11

(5A) The Jews and Romans could not stop this teaching that originated in the very place where he died is because the tomb was
empty and there was more than 500 eyewitnesses that seen Jesus alive after the resurrection. Jn,20:1-8, Acts ch.3-4,
1 Cor.15: 1-8, Cornelius Tactius

(6) The disciples motive for being willing to die for this belief is because they knew it to be true. Rejecting Jesus who they were
convinced was the Christ and God in the flesh at this point would be worse than death itself. Mt.16:16, Jn.1:1&14, Jn.21:24,
Lk.9:25-26

(7,8,9) This was the central teaching of the early church which was growing rapidly even in Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified
and buried. This should have been very difficult if it were not true. Book of Acts

(10) Sunday became a day of worship in the church celebrating the day Jesus rose from the dead. Acts 20:7, 1 Cor.16:2 note the
1st day of the week is Sunday as we seen in Justin's comment.

(11-12) Paul who was an unbeliever before this and who was persecuting the church. He changed totally being willing to be
beaten, persecuted and killed for this belief because Jesus appeared to him also after he rose from the dead. James also a
former unbeliever became a devout follower after he had seen the risen Christ. 2 Cor.11:23-33, Acts 9:1-26, 1 Cor 15:7,
book of James.

HOW THEN SHOULD WE LIVE?
Considering that Jesus is the only religious leader in history to be told about in detail before he was born. Jesus did many
miracles offering them as evidence of who he claimed to be. Predicted his own death and resurrection then actually rose from the
dead. How then should we react?

Jesus said that he was the only way, in which mankind could come to God the Father John 14:6. He said all those who were not
for him were against him Matthew 12:30. Jesus said he is the one who will judge the world John 5:22.
I suggest to you that the only wise thing to do is to commit your life to Jesus. Similarly some people in the Old Testament were
told, "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So
choose life in order that you may live" Deut 30:19. Otherwise if you deny him he will also deny you Luke 12:8-9. If you have
already committed yourself to him then remember that Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
John 14:15. also as Paul said, "whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him
to God the Father" Col 3:17. It is not through any church or by doing good deeds but only through Jesus Christ that you can be
saved Acts 4:12. If you have questions about what it means to be saved please contact us.

RECOMMENDED READING
(A) Of course the most important book you should read is the Bible.

(B) If you would like more information as to why you should believe the Bible I recommend," Evidence that demands a verdict"
Vol.1 by Josh McDowell.

As far as the resurrection itself, I have read and feel comfortable recommending the following books to read for further study.

For a very detailed argument against the false doctrine of a spiritual resurrection of Jesus rather than a physical resurrection
I would suggest reading
(1) "The Battle for the Resurrection", by Norman L. Geisler, 1989, published by Thomas Nelson Publishers

For an easy reading, yet detailed examination of Jesus' crucifixion and evidence for his
resurrection I suggest reading
(2) "The Resurrection Factor", by Josh McDowell.
Also in this category I would list
(3) "Who moved the Stone?", by Frank Morison.

If you would like to read a good debate between a believer and a non-believer of the resurrection of Jesus, I recommend
(4)" Did Jesus rise from the dead?", by Gary R. Habermas and Antony G.N.Flew.

For more information on ancient history concerning the life of Jesus Christ I would recommend reading
(5) "The Historical Jesus, ancient evidence for the life of Christ", by Gary R. Habermas.

For more information on how the testimony of the disciples in the gospel stand in light of legal procedure, I would try reading
(6) "The Testimony of the Evangelists, The Gospels Examined by the Rules of Evidence Administered in Courts of Justice", by
Simon Greenleaf a reprint of his book is put out by Kregel classics .

If you wish to see a good medical perspective of the death of Jesus you should read, "On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ" this
is an article found in
(7) "The Journal of American Medical Association", Vol.255, No.11, March 21, 1986, Pages 1455-1463