4.1 Opposing theories

Published by 1c15 on 23rd November 201923rd November 2019

Introduction 

Given these 5 facts we’ve discussed, we now want to compare and contrast the various explanations for them. We want to do what the doctor did in explaining the symptoms.

Any good doctor is going to pick a diagnosis that explains all the symptoms, not just a couple. We need an explanation that explains all the facts, not just one or two of them. The explanation can’t be just obviously made up. A good doctor isn’t going to invent a new disease to explain a sore throat and runny nose. Likewise, we aren’t going to invent an explanation like aliens coming down and stealing Jesus’ body just because we want to avoid a conclusion. That’s not going to work. So let’s move on to discussing some popular explanations that have been offered over the centuries

Here’s 3 quick Examples of Opposing theories:

1. One might speculate that the disciples suffered grief hallucinations. But grief hallucinations cannot account for an empty tomb or the conversion of church persecutor Paul, who viewed Jesus as a false prophet and would not have grieved at his death.
2. You can’t argue the disciples were lying about appearances and stole the body from the tomb, since we can establish that they truly believed that the risen Jesus had appeared to them. This would not have been the case if they were lying.
3. We can also rule out the story that the resurrection story was a legend that developed over time and was not actually taught by the disciples, since we can establish the disciples sincerely believed that the risen Jesus had appeared to them and taught it within a very short period of time after his crucifixion.

There are many other refutations of these opposing theories which we’ll get into, but I wanted to give you a preview of the kind of answers we might give to such theories. 

The 5 facts we have covered accomplish two things and it’s worth remembering when presenting a case: 

1. They provide compelling evidence for Jesus’ resurrection
2. They stand as data that must be accounted for by any opposing theory

We will now go into the best opposing theories to date, none of which can stand up to our collection of five facts, thereby leaving Jesus’ resurrection as the best explanation for the known facts, to which we will score and contrast at the end.