The Resurrection Does Not Have Any Signs of Being an Invented Story

by Kenneth Francis (April 2018)

The Resurrection, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1635

 

 

he Bible tells us that the “fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’.” (Psalm 14:1) And for the first time since 1956, Easter Sunday (1st April 2018) will coincide with April Fools’ Day. But according to Scripture, only a fool could deny the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

 

 

Despite this, some sceptics have asked, could the appearances be hallucinations? This is unlikely, as hallucinations are primarily personal subjective events, according to distinguished psychologist Dr. Gary Collins. Collins wrote some fifty books and numerous papers on psychology. He said:

 

 

And Philosopher J.P. Moreland also says of the hallucination theory:

 

Since the disciples would not have been in a frame of mind to expect a Messianic resurrection, they would not have been in a state of expectation longing necessary for hallucinations to take place.

 

But even if they had such hallucinations of Jesus, which seems unlikely, they would not have necessarily interpreted them to mean that He had been raised from the dead physically and ascended into the heavens. World-renowned theologian and Bible-scholar, N.T. Wright, says neither in Plato nor Aristotle do we find any suggestion that resurrection [permanent], the return to bodily life of the dead person, was either desirable or possible.

 

 

World-leading philosopher William Lane Craig says:

 

Some sceptics argue that the story of the Resurrection is a made-up story, a hoax turned into propaganda. Propaganda by its very nature is something that is propagated, in this case, by word of mouth.

 

 

Cold Case Christianity describing the five necessary elements of successful conspiracies, and none of these elements were present for the Apostles.”

 

The Apostles were even too scared to give Jesus a proper burial. Instead, Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the same court also involved in sentencing Jesus to death, the Sanhedrin, buried Jesus in his own prepared tomb. Would the disciples have written this? Would it be to their advantage to make up such a story? Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy man from a high court of seventy individuals which presided in Jerusalem.

 

Brian Chilton, a pastor at Cross Examined Ministries, said:

 

J. Warner Wallace has noted in his lectures and books that when a conspiracy is formed, three motivating factors are behind such a move—power, greed, and/or lust. The disciples would hold no power behind claiming the Resurrection as history. They were running around while often being threatened by the Jewish and Roman authorities. As far as greed, they taught that one should not desire earthly possessions, but spiritual ones. Lust was not a factor, either.

 

Pastor Chilton points out that the disciples taught celibacy before marriage and marital fidelity after marriage. And N.T. Wright highlights in his book, The Resurrection of the Son of God, that the disciples had no theological motivation behind claiming that Jesus had risen from the dead as they were anticipating a military hero and a final resurrection at the end of time.

 

Philosopher Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, says:

 

 

 

 

The courageous Irish writer/public speaker, John Waters, sums it up well in First Things when reflecting after his operation recovery in a cancer ward. Identifying the humane, kind care he received from the medical staff, he wrote:

 

 

 

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Kenneth Francis is a Contributing Editor at New English Review. For the past 20 years, he has worked as an editor in various publications, as well as a university lecturer in journalism. He also holds an MA in Theology and is the author of The Little Book of God, Mind, Cosmos and Truth (St Pauls Publishing).

More by Kenneth Francis here.

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