Central Miracles: Part 2

This post is a lot like the one from the other day, but focuses on the resurrection, rather than the incarnation.

The format of this argument is basically disjunctive syllogism again (A or B- not B, therefore A). In this case, A is the resurrection, and the other possibilities are B, C, and D, which Nash shoots down.

So, if A didn't happen, what are other possibilities (assuming we still have eyewitnesses claiming to have seen him)?

B. Jesus didn't really die. Maybe he faked his death with the help of the disciples. 

Answer:
What about the spear in his side? Water and blood? The water has to do with breaching the pericardium, suggesting that major organs were hit. It's hard to fake something like that with a bunch of eyewittnesses.

Also, what really kills people who are crucified? Exhaustion? Exposure? Blood Loss? Nope. Suffocation does. Hanging from your arms makes it impossible to breathe. Even if the disciples had slipped Jesus something to make it look like he had died, he would have suffocated. The only way to breathe on a cross like that is to push up with your feet. Being incapacitated because of a drug like that makes muscle usage like that impossible.

And finally, with enemies like the Romans, you can be confident that they made darn sure he was dead. He was a threat that needed eliminated. It's unlikely that the guards would have been so ignorant as to let Jesus slip by alive.

C. Someone stole the body to make it look as though he had resurrected.
We know the tomb was empty- historical accounts back that up. Maybe friend or foe took the body.

Answer:
Those considered friends of Jesus were scared out of their minds after the resurrection. They've been following this radical leader- who's publicly been a threat to the Roman order of things, and now he's dead. The Romans were coming after them. They weren't plotting or scheming- they were hiding- trying to stay alive. Besides, even if they had gotten to the tomb to steal the body- the Roman soldiers were guarding it. Those guard's very lives depended on keeping that tomb secure. Its not like a bunch of disciples could have just strolled in.

As for his enemies stealing it- they couldn't have. Why? First off, it was NOT to their advantage to make it look like Jesus really was who he'd been claiming to be. It would make them look awful. If Jesus had just resurrected, well, then the Roman soldiers had just killed God incarnate. Making it look like they had just killed the Christ wouldn't have been to their advantage. And, lets say for a second that maybe they did take the body for some odd reason- when the time came and people were claiming that Christ had resurrected- they could have just produced the body. They could have been like, "Ha! This is your 'resurrected' Christ". But they didn't. Why? Because they didn't steal the body.

D. Maybe those eyewitnesses were hallucinating. 

Answer:
Going into the science of this sort of thing- a group hallucination doesn't make any sense. Hallucinations are person relative, and have to do with chemical imbalances in your brain. The chances that every single person to see Jesus alive after rising was having the same hallucination- let alone at the same time- is completely absurd. There's no way. And if someone were to say that it was possible- well, then I'd call that a miracle, and Jesus's incarnation and resurrection aren't so unlikely.


So, A, B, C, or D. Not B- Jesus really did die. Not C- no one stole the body. And it doesn't look like D holds any water either. So, A. Jesus Christ was dead, and rose from the grave. Pretty cool stuff.

Tomorrow we get into Jesus as the only Savior. Stay tuned. :)