As promised, here's some additional debunking of the "Jesus Tomb" theory. Cameron and Jacobovici claim that Jesus' bones once were in this tomb. What they're really saying is that the bodily Resurrection of Jesus, the lynchpin of the Faith, didn't happen. Here's a Q and A on the Resurrection I composed which shows that it was a historical event:
Q. Did Jesus Really Rise From the Dead?
A. Yes. Jesus rose bodily, physically from the dead. This is of paramount importance, for if this did not historically occur, Christianity is false, as St Paul himself admits: “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Cor. 15:14). But Paul goes on to say, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead” (1 Cor. 15:20).
Q. So, what’s the evidence?
A. One would have to begin with the fact that Christ died and was buried. He died a very public death for all to see on the cross. The Roman soldiers, who were brutally efficient killing machines, made double sure of it by piercing Jesus’ heart with a spear.
Jesus was then buried in the tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea, a leading member of the Sanhedrin, the Jerusalem council that condemned Jesus to death (Joseph was not present when this happened and condemned their action). This is important because it means that the location of Jesus’ tomb was known to friend and foe alike. The apostles never could have said after Easter, “He is risen! He has left the empty tomb behind!” if it were not so. All the enemies of Christianity would have had to do was go to the known site of Joseph’s tomb, open it up, produce the corpse of Jesus, and, boom, Christianity’s dead. The fact that they could not is eloquent testimony to the reality of the empty tomb of the risen Christ.
Q. Didn’t the apostles steal the body? Isn’t that the real reason the tomb was empty?
A. It’s funny that you ask this, because that was the lie concocted by the enemies of Christ to account for why the tomb was empty. Even the Gospels mention this (Matt. 28:11-15). The religious authorities bribed the guards who were guarding the tomb to say that the apostles stole the body. Note that both sides, Christians and their opponents, admit the reality of the empty tomb on Easter. The question is how it got that way.
The argument that the disciples stole the body is ludicrous on several counts. Most compelling among them is this: the apostles died for their belief in the Resurrection. Now, many people are willing to die for what they believe to be true, but no one is willing to die for what they know to be a lie. The apostles, of course, were in a unique position to know whether or not Jesus had really been resurrected.
But the same apostles who scattered to the hills when Jesus was arrested (Peter even denying he knew Jesus), fearing for their own lives, are transformed after Easter. They boldly face death now, in order to preach that Christ was raised from the dead, and that they had encountered him. All of the apostles except one were martyred in horrific ways for their belief in the Resurrection. They had nothing to gain and everything to lose. They would not have willingly gone to their deaths if it were not a fact. The only thing that could explain such a change in them is the reality of the Resurrection.
Q. Maybe they only thought they saw the risen Jesus, but they were hallucinating.
A. Any medical expert will tell you that this does not fit the category of hallucinations. For one thing, you can’t share a hallucination with someone. You can’t catch it like you can catch a cold. They are by nature individual occurrences.
But, after the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to many individuals and groups of people over a period of 40 days in various circumstances and places before ascending to heaven, , including an appearance to over 500 people at once (1 Cor. 15:6)! St Paul says that most of the people who saw this were still alive – thus, this could be verified. 500 people can’t share a hallucination.
Also, Jesus’ resurrection appearances stressed his physicality. He said, “Touch me and see! A ghost does not have flesh and blood, as you see that I have”, even eating food in their presence to prove that he was solid and physical in his resurrected body (e.g. Luke 24:36-43; Acts 10:39-41).
The disciples all knew that this was not a “vision” in their minds. Jesus was physically resurrected, and that this was a reality outside their minds that could be seen and touched by others. Plus, the hallucination theory does not explain the reality of the empty tomb.
This is only the tip of the iceberg of evidence that Jesus rose bodily from the dead on Easter morning. Catholics can be confident in the historical reality of this event, which is the foundation of our faith.
A. Yes. Jesus rose bodily, physically from the dead. This is of paramount importance, for if this did not historically occur, Christianity is false, as St Paul himself admits: “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Cor. 15:14). But Paul goes on to say, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead” (1 Cor. 15:20).
Q. So, what’s the evidence?
A. One would have to begin with the fact that Christ died and was buried. He died a very public death for all to see on the cross. The Roman soldiers, who were brutally efficient killing machines, made double sure of it by piercing Jesus’ heart with a spear.
Jesus was then buried in the tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea, a leading member of the Sanhedrin, the Jerusalem council that condemned Jesus to death (Joseph was not present when this happened and condemned their action). This is important because it means that the location of Jesus’ tomb was known to friend and foe alike. The apostles never could have said after Easter, “He is risen! He has left the empty tomb behind!” if it were not so. All the enemies of Christianity would have had to do was go to the known site of Joseph’s tomb, open it up, produce the corpse of Jesus, and, boom, Christianity’s dead. The fact that they could not is eloquent testimony to the reality of the empty tomb of the risen Christ.
Q. Didn’t the apostles steal the body? Isn’t that the real reason the tomb was empty?
A. It’s funny that you ask this, because that was the lie concocted by the enemies of Christ to account for why the tomb was empty. Even the Gospels mention this (Matt. 28:11-15). The religious authorities bribed the guards who were guarding the tomb to say that the apostles stole the body. Note that both sides, Christians and their opponents, admit the reality of the empty tomb on Easter. The question is how it got that way.
The argument that the disciples stole the body is ludicrous on several counts. Most compelling among them is this: the apostles died for their belief in the Resurrection. Now, many people are willing to die for what they believe to be true, but no one is willing to die for what they know to be a lie. The apostles, of course, were in a unique position to know whether or not Jesus had really been resurrected.
But the same apostles who scattered to the hills when Jesus was arrested (Peter even denying he knew Jesus), fearing for their own lives, are transformed after Easter. They boldly face death now, in order to preach that Christ was raised from the dead, and that they had encountered him. All of the apostles except one were martyred in horrific ways for their belief in the Resurrection. They had nothing to gain and everything to lose. They would not have willingly gone to their deaths if it were not a fact. The only thing that could explain such a change in them is the reality of the Resurrection.
Q. Maybe they only thought they saw the risen Jesus, but they were hallucinating.
A. Any medical expert will tell you that this does not fit the category of hallucinations. For one thing, you can’t share a hallucination with someone. You can’t catch it like you can catch a cold. They are by nature individual occurrences.
But, after the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to many individuals and groups of people over a period of 40 days in various circumstances and places before ascending to heaven, , including an appearance to over 500 people at once (1 Cor. 15:6)! St Paul says that most of the people who saw this were still alive – thus, this could be verified. 500 people can’t share a hallucination.
Also, Jesus’ resurrection appearances stressed his physicality. He said, “Touch me and see! A ghost does not have flesh and blood, as you see that I have”, even eating food in their presence to prove that he was solid and physical in his resurrected body (e.g. Luke 24:36-43; Acts 10:39-41).
The disciples all knew that this was not a “vision” in their minds. Jesus was physically resurrected, and that this was a reality outside their minds that could be seen and touched by others. Plus, the hallucination theory does not explain the reality of the empty tomb.
This is only the tip of the iceberg of evidence that Jesus rose bodily from the dead on Easter morning. Catholics can be confident in the historical reality of this event, which is the foundation of our faith.
4 comments:
An interesting attempt to defend the literalist approach to this story. I've heard all of this evidence before and, given the highly constructed nature of the scriptural "accounts" on which it is based, it really doesn't meet the test for validity in anything but a faith context. In fact, I would suggest that we find a different word to replace "evidence".
My agreement or disagreement with your views aside, I lament the fact that we, as Catholics (and, indeed, as Christians) tend to get hung up on things that take us away from the real message of Christianity. For me, the real power of the story is the life of a man with a clear message on how to turn our lives around so that we're actually "facing God". He was so convinced of the message that he was willing to die for it.
Arguing over whether the resurrection is meant to be taken literally or figuratively does nothing to draw us closer to the message of Jesus.
Thanks for taking the time to write, Anonymous, and for checking out the blog. Obviously, it's tough in a short, non-technical post to make a complete defense of the bodily Resurrection of Christ, why it is central to the faith, and how it helps us to understand the true message of Christ.
I can recommend some books that may interest you, though. As to the veracity of the Gospels' testimony to the Resurrection, Richard Bauckham has just put out a book called "Jesus and the Eyewitnesses", which shows that the Gospels did not go through an endless editing process, but rely substantially on the testimony of the eyewitnesses to the life, death, and Resurrection of Christ.
One can actually determine the historical reliability of Jesus' life, death, miracles, and Resurrection without reference to the Scriptures at all as inspired documents, but using only the historically attested facts about Jesus accepted by the majority of scholars, Christian or not. For this approach, see "The Historical Jesus", by Gary Habermas.
"The Resurrection of the Son of God" by N.T. Wright shows that "resurrection" was always thought of in a bodily sense by the Jews - what the early Christians claimed they experienced was not a "vision", which was an acceptable category of Jewish religious experience. They could have claimed that they had experienced the risen Jesus in a "spiritual" sense, but they went the hard way by proclaiming a bodily resurrection. This is certainly what they proclaimed happened to Jesus.
Actually, every single time the early Church proclaimed the message of Jesus, it always involved his death and bodily Resurrection - simply look at any recorded sermon in the Acts of the Apostles, or Paul's letters, not to mention the Gospels.
Jesus' Resurrection is not only always described in a bodily sense each time, but the early Church saw the Resurrection as God's seal of approval on Jesus' person and message, and the fact that his death on the cross was indeed salvific. The bodily Resurrection of Jesus is also the only explanation that makes sense of the historical facts that we have. Without it, there is no message of Jesus at all, for if it didn't happen, as St. Paul writes, "our preaching is useless, and so is your faith".
As a Catholic, you'll also want to check out what the Catholic Church actually teaches about the bodily Resurrection of Jesus, which is nicely summarized in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, especially in paragraphs 638-658, available online at vatican.va.
I hope you find these books helpful in your journey. God bless!
Thanks for this Cale. I've actually read much of what you have suggested in my own personal and theological studies. I'm also intimately familiar with the Catholic Church's stand on this. But I will read the other references that you provided.
I guess my main point is that arguing about the physical resurrection, the authenticity of the miracle stories, the virgin birth, etc is rather exhilarating and intellectually stimulating but, for me, it doesn't really affect the way I live my life on a daily basis.
The richness of the gospel narratives, the letters of Paul, and the Acts of the Apostles do, however, offer a great deal of inspiration, hope and advice for daily living.
Despite what the Catholic Church and other denominations proclaim, I tend to believe that the resurrection story and post-resurrection experience of the early Church is a powerful testament to the intimacy that Jesus had with the Divine...so much so that we proclaim him a Son of God. Now that's powerful stuff!
BTW, I'm writing as "anonymous" not to hide behind anything, but so as not to influence your opinions of what I am writing in any way.
Keep up the good work; you have put a great deal of time into this site, and I appreciate the effort to bring a strong voice to the 'net.
Hi again, and thanks for the encouragement!
I appreciate what you said about the difference Christ has made to your daily life. There is truly much inspiration to be found in the Scriptures.
I guess, for me, the reason I can trust Christ's message in my life is that the Father would not raise a heretic from the dead - to do so would only serve to validate that person's message in the eyes of others.
But since God did raise Jesus, I see this as God the Father's divine vindication and validation of Jesus' person and message - in fact, his message practically is his person, as God the Son - "I am the way, the truth, and the life; and no one comes to the Father except through me" (Jn. 14:6).
This, to me, is exactly why I can trust in the veracity of his message and its relevance to daily life.
I truly appreciate your feedback and the fact you took the time to write. And, also, let me know what your thoughts are on those books. You can email me by clicking on my profile.
Pax, Cale
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