Answering 9 objections to the resurrection of Jesus

I found this post on Eric Chabot’s Think Apologetics blog.

Here is his list of objections:

  1. The Legends Hypothesis
  2. The Naturalistic Objection
  3. We Can’t Use the Historical Method to Determine Whether A Resurrection Took Place
  4. False Testimonies Hypothesis
  5. The Resurrection Story Was Invented From Other Dying and Rising God Stories
  6. The Intramental/Hallucination Hypothesis Objection
  7. The Analogical Objection
  8. The Genre of the Gospels Are Historical Fiction!
  9. The Faulty Sources Objection

Here’s the detail on #4:

There is no reason to distrust the conviction of those that testified to having seen the risen Jesus. As James Warner Wallace points out in his latest book people lie or have an ulterior motive for three reasons:

1.Financial Gain: In this case, we don’t see any evidence for this. The NT shows the disciples/apostles being chased from location to location, leaving their home and families and abandoning their property and what they owned.

2. Sexual or Relational Desire: The NT does not say much about their “love lives.” There are Scriptures that speak to sexual purity and chastity.

3. Pursuit of Power: While Christianity became a state sponsored religion in the 4th century and the Popes became powerful both politically and religiously, there is no evidence (pre 70 AD), for the early disciples pursuing power as they proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus. Just look at Paul’s testimony here:

“I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.” – 2 Cor. 11: 23-27

There are lots of useful links to answer many of the objections. It’s worth reading because Eric is used to having to deal with these objections in his daily work. What you see on the list is what he sees on the ground, dealing with the questions of skeptical students at a major university.

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