Failed Resurrection

 

Fail! There is no good evidence for the claim that Jesus resurrected from the dead.

Many scholars have identified the massive evidential problems for the claimed resurrection of Jesus. Below is information that provides a concise evidential foundation for dismissing the event. Carl Sagan famously said, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". The evidence for the most remarkable claim in human history is terribly weak when examined critically. If the accounts of Jesus’s resurrection are false, Christianity fails.

 

Throughout history, people have reported seeing dead people somehow alive again. In most recent memory, Elvis Presley, after his confirmed death, was claimed to be seen in public and very much alive. He was even allegedly photographed in some of these moments! Do Christians believe Elvis is alive? Probably not the majority of them but they do embrace a risen Jesus with far less evidence. The compilation of human mythology provides a long list of dead and resurrected gods, demi-gods and otherwise “divine” humans who were also witnessed resurrected by their adherents. It’s especially interesting to consider the resurrection stories of Horus and Mithras. These myths are older than the Jesus story and share many of the same plot points. Are the early Christians guilty of plagiarism? Below is a partial list of these resurrected beings:

Horus - Egyptian god                             Mithras - Roman god

Baldur - Norse god                                  Aristeas - Greek poet/healer

Alcestus - Greek Princess                  Rameses II - Pharaoh of Egypt

Romulus - First King of Rome          Julius Caesar -  Emperor of Rome

Nero - Roman Emperor                       Heracles - Greek demi-god

 

Christians often claim that early followers of Jesus would not willingly die for their beliefs unless they had seen him resurrected. This is an absurd claim for several reasons. First, the claim that early Christians were brutally persecuted by The Roman Empire, on a large scale, is strongly contested by modern historians. While there may have been some oppression by the authorities, it’s more likely the church made this claim to create martyrs that would be convincing for the fledgling religion. Second, the only apostle martyred in the bible is James (Acts 12:2). All the other apostle martyr claims are church tradition and there are no secular records to support them. Finally, religious zealots continue to martyr themselves to this very day so it’s certainly not evidence of divine truth. This list includes 76 dead Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, who believed David Koresh was the Messiah, 39 Heaven’s Gate cult members who thought a UFO following the Hale-Bopp Comet was coming to take them away, the numerous LDS members who were killed during their exodus to Utah, and millions of muslims who have died in jihad over the ages. Clearly, a person dying for their religious beliefs is not uncommon and is not good evidence for their truth claims.

https://romanempiretimes.com/did-romans-actually-feed-christians-to-the-lions/

 

There is zero physical evidence for the death and resurrection of Jesus. The only evidence is testimonial and it's not even first hand accounts. Testimonial evidence is weak because it is often flawed by human bias and poor memory. It’s disappointing that God allegedly chose to sacrifice and resurrect himself, in a time when there was no technology to record the events. It might have put an end to a lot of silliness. 

 

The authors of the four gospels are anonymous. Most scholars agree the earliest gospel, Mark, was written in 70 CE. Jesus died in 33 CE. This means Mark was written nearly 40 years after Jesus's death! That’s a long time from the original events and plenty of time for the story to be corrupted as it was passed down orally. The Gospels were also written in Greek, which likely none of the apostles understood, so obviously the translations are questionable. It is reasonable to conclude that none of the gospels are first hand accounts of the events they describe. These weaknesses in reporting are significant and greatly affect the trust we can have with the gospel claims. 

 

There are many discrepancies in the gospel resurrection accounts. Some are meaningless, some are suspicious and some are unreconcilable. We will focus on some of the obviously problematic ones: 

 

Mark 16:5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

Matt 28:2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.

Luke 24:3 but when they went in they did not find the body.4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them.

John 20:12 and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.

The gospels are split on the number of angels present at the tomb and when the women encounter them. Mark and Matthew claim one angel. Luke and John claim two angels. Mark, Luke and John say the women encountered the angels inside the tomb, Matthew says the angel was met outside of the tomb. These variations are consistent with fictional story telling, not a factual account of events.

 

Matt 28:2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake,

The text claims there was a “great” earthquake. So great in fact, that none of the other gospels mention it at all. Clearly Matthew is embellishing the story to make an impact on the reader. What else did he and the others embellish for the sake of storytelling?

Matt 28:8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. 

Mark 16:8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid

This is a problematic contradiction for Christians. Did the women report what they discovered or not? Were they afraid or joyful? The translators of Mark were dishonest enough to add an intermediate and long ending in what was a poor attempt to harmonize this disagreement. Regardless, the original contradiction reveals the resurrection story was a developing fiction. 

Luke 24:9 and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 

John 20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 

How many women informed the apostles? Luke says many women did. John says one woman did. This more evidence the resurrection story was a work in progress.

 

Matt 28:1 After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 

Mark 16:2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 

Luke 24:1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

John 20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.

Was the stone rolled back by an angel when the women went to the tomb as Matthew reports or was it already rolled back when the women arrived as the others reported? Get your story straight, gospel writers, if you want us to trust you.

 

1 Cor 15:5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.

Christian apologists love to claim this scripture as evidence for the resurrected Jesus. Guess how many names and testimonies we have from these 500 people.  Zero. Not one. It is just a claim used to convince gullible people. There is no evidence to support it at all.