Resurrection of Christ: A Historical and Spiritual Fact - Research Paper Example

?Resurrection of Christ: A Historical and Spiritual Fact Introduction There is no denying the fact that the resurrection of Christ happens to be an incident of immense importance in the history of mankind and the imperative to establish its veracity is of pivotal relevance in the context of protecting the spiritual beliefs and aspirations of the entire Christian world. Actually, the resurrection of Christ is the hub around which revolve the fundamentals of Christian faith and theology. It is the resurrection of Christ that binds together a whole range of claims made in the Old Testament and the New Testament. If the unbelieving elements somehow succeed in proving the resurrection a fake or a fraud, the Christianity will fall apart as castle of sand gets helplessly washed asunder by the unforgiving ocean waves.1 For the generations to come, Jesus Christ will stop being a redeemer, a Messiah and a spiritual model to be followed and cherished. This is because this will prove false the most crucial prediction made by Jesus that is He would be raised from the dead. For, there does not lay any doubt to the fact that the promise of salvation to all believing and practising Christians is hinged on an unshakable belief in the veracity of the resurrection of Christ. As per the New Testament: “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).”2 Hence, even an iota of doubt in the resurrection of Christ will be enough to eat into the essentials of Christian faith and Doctrine. Varied sources have tried to trifle the historical and spiritual veracity of the fact of the resurrection of Christ and have put forward the subversive theories and claims like the swoon theory, aspersion that Christ’s body was stolen, that the apostles went to the wrong tomb or hatched a conspiracy or perhaps resurrection was the result of a mass hallucination. This paper intends to systematically deal with these theories and claims and to set them aside by resorting to an approach that is not only logical and based on historical facts, but which is also commonsensical and fairly understandable by anybody. Though, for reasons understandable, resurrection is not a clearly observable phenomenon, but in the light and veracity of the available historical facts, its veracity is amply and clearly observable. Swoon Theory The swoon theory put forward by the detractors of resurrection asserts that when Jesus was crucified, he didn’t actually die on the cross.3 Instead, believing Him to be dead, the Romans took him off from the cross and placed him in a tomb where he later on revived and continued to live.4 Thus, this is how Jesus managed to survive crucifixion and His survivors on seeing Him, in their religious zeal came to the conclusion that Jesus had been raised from the dead. Thus, swoon theory holds the resurrection to be an accident that was later on manipulated to give way to a myth. The very assertion of the swoon theory that the Romans allowed Christ to be left alive on the cross is based on a total misunderstanding of the immaculate nature of the Roman army and the stringent discipline and code of conduct that bound the entire Roman army, right from a soldier to the top generals.5 As per the Roman martial law, the consequences of allowing a prisoner on the death row to escape was a death penalty for the responsible soldiers. The procedures laid down in the Roman martial machinery were very strict to negate the happening of such accidents or mistakes.6 Hence, it could reasonably be held that the Roman soldiers guarding Jesus on the cross were sure that he had died, without a trace of doubt, before they allowed him to be taken off from the cross. It was a practice amongst Roman soldiers to break the legs of the prisoners who were hung on the cross, to hasten their death.7 The very fact that the Roman soldiers did not break the legs of Jesus, as they did in case of the other two prisoners crucified with Him proves beyond doubt that they were sure that Jesus had died and there was no need to break his legs.8 As per John, a Roman soldier pierced the chest of Christ while he lay hung on the cross.9 This proves that the Roman soldiers were acting in a very professional manner while conducting the crucifixion of Jesus and they made it a point to make it certain that He was dead. Besides, John also says that blood and water came out of the heart of Jesus when it was pierced by the Roman soldier. Medically this means that the spear punctured the lungs of Jesus and it is a known fact such a person would have never survived, considering the sophistication of healthcare in the times of Jesus. The post resurrection appearances of Jesus explained in the New Testament, time and again corroborate that Jesus was alive and healthy when he appeared to his disciples after crucifixion. Now, it will be totally ridiculous to assume that an individual who had swooned on the cross and whose heart was pierced with a spear would appear hale and hearty to his disciples. It is even more ridiculous to assume that a swooning, half dead person was able to overpower the Roman guards placed at the tomb and was able to transform his disciples with his battered and pitiable appearance. This line of argument proves beyond doubt that the resurrection of Christ is a fact and reality. The same line of logic also lies to rest the possibility that the Disciples of Christ were able to steal the body of Jesus, by hoodwinking the utterly professional and disciplined Roman soldiers posted at the tomb. Resurrection- A Conspiracy The critics of Christianity have also put up a theory that the resurrection of Jesus was not true, but rather a conspiracy hatched by the disciples of Jesus.10 It is by attributing dubious intentions to the disciples of Jesus that these critics attempt to explain the vanishing of Christ’s body from the tomb and His later appearances to his disciples.11 The essential assertion made by these critics is that the disciples of Jesus hatched a conspiracy and stole His body from the tomb. Then they later on disposed off the body of Jesus and claimed to the humanity that Jesus has risen from the dead. Each of the disciples of Jesus put forth his on individual account of the appearance of the resurrected Christ. The crux of this theory is that the disciples of Jesus were astute liars. Here, even a cursory perusal of the actions and intentions of the disciples of Jesus after His resurrection raises many doubts about the possibility of the conspiracy theory being true. It is a fact supported by the commonsensical interpretation of history that a liar rarely risks one’s life for the sake of one’s beliefs. The very fact that a liar’s personality is based on untruth makes it utterly difficult for one to be a martyr to one’s beliefs. In that context, it is a known fact that six of the disciples of Jesus that are Peter, Andrew, James, Philip, Simon, and Bartholomew were crucified for their belief in Christ. James was stoned and clubbed to death. Paul was beheaded. Matthew and James were killed by the sword, and Thaddeus was killed by arrows. Thomas was killed by thrusting a spear in his body. Now, it rarely happens in a conspiracy that all the people involved in it get ready to lay down their lives for the sake of upholding a lie. So, practically speaking it seems impossible to believe that all the early disciples, who comprised a group of considerable magnitude, turned up willing to uphold the so called falsity of resurrection with their lives. Actually the martyrdom of the early Christians proves the sincerity of their belief in the actual resurrection of Jesus.12 The very character of disciples proves the veracity of resurrection.13 Most of them happened to be honest and simple fisherman and peasants and not cunning and conniving statesmen. Besides, the disciples had no personal motives to hatch a conspiracy. People tend to lie to support and protect personal interests, not to uphold the possible fancies, which tend to yield them nothing and rather tend to put their lives in danger. So, the very martyrdom and unblemished character of the early disciples of Jesus debunks the conspiracy theory. Myth Theory There is another group of Scholars who believe that the gospels have distorted the accounts of the life of Jesus by enveloping them in the earlier existing Pagan myths.14 They believe that the accounts of resurrection given in the Bible are simply the adapted renderings of the previously existing mythical stories and beliefs. In fact such scholars tend to exhibit a patronizing attitude towards Christianity by declaring that though the resurrection of Christ is replete with ample symbolical and spiritual meanings and is of theological relevance, it is not an actual historical fact. However, the experts having insights into the nature and theories of myth do know that the legends and myths do not develop in a time span of days and years, but take centuries and eons to gain a concrete form.15 There rarely exist such examples of myths in the world literature and folklores that are supported by the testimony of the historically valid eyewitnesses. Research has shown that a great number of accounts of Jesus’ resurrection began to appear within a few years of his crucifixion.16 So, practically speaking, the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection received little time to get distorted and altered under the impact of pagan myths existing before Jesus. Besides, going by the very style and wording of the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection given in the New Testament, it is amply clear that they are true and authentic accounts of the events as witnessed by the disciples of Jesus. Nowhere in the New Testament, have the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection resorted to hyperbolic or emotive language, a trait so common to myths and legends. So, the very assertion that the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection are mythical narrations could not be supported by the requisite evidence and facts. Resurrection was a Mass Hallucination Well, if one comes across a dead man walking, it is but natural to assume that one is experiencing some sort of hallucination. This simply fact is cited by many critics and scholars to prove that resurrection was some sort of a mass hallucination.17 Such critics tend to explain away the resurrection of Christ by declaring it to be some sort of collective hallucination. However, a logical dissection of this approach establishes beyond doubt that the resurrection of Jesus was a historical fact and not a mass hallucination. First and foremost, instances of mass hallucination are a rarity and even if the happen, they tend to occur once or twice only. Contrary to this, there were many witnesses to the appearances of resurrected Jesus, who saw Jesus at different times and places. Hallucinations tend to be more of a private experience, depending on personal beliefs and imagination.18 In contrast, the appearance of the resurrected Jesus was a mass phenomenon as reported at many places in the New Testament. At places in the New Testament, especially in the Corinthians, the resurrected Jesus is at times reported appearing before a group of more than 500 people. Now, if Jesus had only appeared before a few people, it could have been attributed to be a mass hallucination. But, a dead man appearing before more than 500 people is as public as it can get. Secondly, hallucinations are based on people’s innate beliefs and the facts they consciously know.19 Most of the early Christens were simple, commonsensical and matter of fact people who previously harboured no ideas about Jesus rising from the dead. In fact many did not expect such a thing to happen, neither Thomas, nor the women who saw resurrected Jesus.20 The resurrected Jesus had to eat something to establish that he was alive. Besides, the disciples are shown as touching the resurrected Jesus in the New Testament. Hallucinations can be seen, but can rarely be touched. Wrong Tomb One theory that appears to be so assumptive is that the disciples of Jesus went to the wrong tomb, and seeing it empty, believed that Jesus had been raised from the dead and was alive. The irony of this theory is that it could simply be negated on the grounds of simple commonsense and logic. The early Christians had enough influential enemies who would have done anything and would have gone to any length to prove that the resurrection of Christ and the claims made by the disciples were a falsity. Even, if the Disciples of Christ went to the wrong tomb, the Romans and the Jews would have gone to the correct tomb and would have produced the dead body of Jesus to refute the claims of resurrection being made regarding Jesus. The true owner of the tomb, Joseph could have also easily solved the mystery of the vanished body of Christ. Conclusion So, it goes without saying that the Christian devout the world over are perfectly logical, sane, just and rational in choosing to base their faith on a historical and spiritual fact that is the resurrection of Christ. Most of the theories challenging the resurrection of Christ are unreasonable, reactionary and unscientific in their content and intentions. In fact, most of such theories and claims are so ridiculous that one can simply puncture a hole into them by the dint of simple commonsense, without being a historian, scientist or a theologian. The final word is that the resurrection is a historical fact that is perfectly verifiable and credible even in the contemporary modern times. Bibliography Brown, Raymond Edward. The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus. New York: Paulist Press, 1973. Bultmann, Rudolf. Jesus Christ and Mythology. New York: Scribner’s, 1958. Craig, William Lane. God? A Debate between a Christian and an Atheist. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Fuller, Reginald. Foundations of New Testament Christology. New York: Scribner’s, 1965. Greeley, Andrew M. The Jesus Myth. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. Kurtz, Paul. The Transcendental Temptation. Amherst, NY: Routledge, 1991. Macquarrie, John. God-Talk. New York: Harper, 1967. Raven, Charles E. Jesus and the Gospel of Love. New York: H Halt & Company, 1931. Swinburne, Richard. The Resurrection of God Incarnate. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2003. The Adventure Bible. New York: Zondervan, 1994. Young, Robin Darling. In Procession before the World. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 2001. Zusne, Leonard. Anomalistic Psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1989. Read More