Evidence for the Resurrection - Well I Know 500 People Who Saw It...

What is is about a Christian's inability to critically examine a claim? Is it an inability, or rather an unwillingness, just in case the claim turns out to be bogus?

Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the tenets of Christianity are without substance. A Christian believes (faithfully) that Jesus was the divine son of God, that he was sacrificed to save us from our sins, and that he rose from the dead in a miraculous event. Never mind for a moment that any of that does not make a jot of sense, even if it were true.

The paucity of evidence for this claim seems not to worry your average Christian. Outside of the Bible, there are no contemporary accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. Even the Gospels were written some 70 - 140 years after the supposed resurrection of Christ.

A claim often touted by Christian supporting the historicity of the resurrection is the number of witnesses to the sight of Christ after the crucifixion. Paul the Apostle appeals to his audience that there were over 500 people witness to Christ's resurrection, many of whom were alive at the time of Paul's appeal.

1 Corinthians 15:6 "After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep."

Over 500 eye-witness accounts testifying that they saw the living body of Christ. Who can possibly doubt this claim?

Nothing has been found in the historical record substantiating ANY of these eye-witness accounts, other than Paul's appeal to his audience that these people existed. He's actually saying "If you don't believe me, go ask them for yourself."

Well for a start, can anyone name any of them or where they lived?

Secondly, why did not one of them run home and write about it? Or tell a contemporary about the event, who then might have put the story to paper?

This seems to settle the matter for your average Christian. Paul says there were eye-witnesses, and that's good enough "evidence" for me.

Sorry but it's not good enough. It's not even close.

Imagine you were testifying at a murder trial and under cross examination you told judge and jury that you knew of eye-witnesses who actually saw the murder take place.

"Fantastic, case proven beyond reasonable doubt" says the prosecutor.

The defense attorney might be tempted to ask "Can you name any of these eye-witnesses so we can call them to testify?"

"Well no I can't name any of them, but believe me they saw it happen." you reply.

You've heard the expression "laughed out of court" before I take it?

Were every single one of these alleged 500 eye-witnesses illiterate and/or mute? Why did not one of them write an account of this miraculous event?

Surely some would have run home and said "You'll never believe what I saw this morning honey..."

If 500 eye-witness accounts of the resurrection of Jesus actually happened, surely someone, somewhere would have managed to record this event for posterity?

Clearly not. But to a Christian the simple claim by Paul the Apostle in a letter he wrote is enough evidence to support their fantasies.

The trouble is, a Christian wants it to be true. If it's not, then they have some issues to deal with. You want the truth? A Christian can't handle the truth... which is strange since they are always telling us about God's Truth.

Deceptive "Rapture" Doctrine Dupes Millions - How's That News?

From Christian Newswire Monday April 26, 2010

Oh the irony is strong with this one.  Steve Wohlberg, TV producer, radio host and bestselling author explains, "Look carefully, all New Testament verses quoted to promote the secret rapture doctrine--1 Thess. 4:17; 1 Cor. 15:52; Matt. 24:40—don't teach it at all. They really apply to the highly visible, loud, earthshaking Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and not to the novel and unbiblical notion of 'disappearing Christians' seven years before the end."

The "The Rapture" is the concept where millions of Christians believe that they will fly up into the sky to be taken to heaven in Jesus' arms.  Wohlberg disputes this stating that it has no Biblical support and then explains the history of The Rapture and how it became a Christian meme.

Of course Wohlberg is absolutely correct on this matter.  Where Wohlberg is wrong, is that he doesn't seem to understand the the whole idea of a divine Jesus and his Second Coming (weather permitting) is also complete fantasy.

Wohlberg has written a book with words and everything, more details here.

Second Coming Delayed Due to Bad Weather

CHURCH CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Rain and overcast skies prevented Jesus Christ from returning to Earth on Monday, and God's Mission Control instructed Jesus to spend another millennium circling the world awaiting better weather.

God's Mission Control prayed up the disappointing news after passing up two second coming attempts.

''The folks really prayed it hard down here. There was a lot of cause for optimism ... but at the end of the day the clouds remained too low and too thick." a spokesperson for God's Mission Control said.

''We appreciate everything you've done,'' replied Jesus via a message burned into a piece of toast, ''and I'm hopeful for better weather sometime during next millennium.'' He urged prayer controllers to get some rest.

Clearer skies are expected sometime in the next millennium. If the clouds linger, however, God's Mission Control will try for the backup second coming site at the Creation Museum in Kentucky. The first second coming opportunity is at 7:34 a.m., shortly after sunrise.

Jesus and his flaming sword in his mouth will  remain in heaven for the moment. In the meantime he's wrapping up a resupply mission to the International Church Station.

If Jesus aims for KY, it should provide a rare visual treat for early raptured risers in Chicago and Indianapolis -- indeed, all along Jesus' second coming flight path.  His streaking, glowing trail will be visible from below, weather permitting, as Jesus flies across western Canada, and the central and southeastern United States.

The first second coming attempt would have Jesus zooming over Vancouver Island and southern Alberta, down over the northern border of Montana and North Dakota, Minnesota near Minneapolis and St. Paul, then Chicago and Indianapolis, eastern Kentucky and eastern Tennessee, the western side of the Carolinas, eastern Georgia and, finally, out over the Atlantic into Church Canaveral.

The last time a returning Jesus flew over so much of the United States was in 2007. No further re-second comings like this are planned as the Jesus program draws to a close. God's Mission Control has tried to keep continental flyovers to a minimum for public safety reasons.

Typically, a Jesus returns from the southwest, zooming up over the South Pacific, Central America, and the Gulf of Mexico. God's Mission Control changed Jesus' flight path before liftoff on Easter Monday 33AD, to maximize Jesus' heaven time and reduce fatigue.

A touchdown at the Creation Museum in KY would eliminate an expansive flyover. Instead, Jesus would come in from the north and head down the West Coast.

The volcanic eruption in Iceland, at least, was not interfering with God's Mission Control effort to bring Jesus home. The second coming path does not go anywhere near the European airspace threatened by volcanic ash.

Jesus undocked from heaven on Saturday, leaving behind tons of saved souls so paradise can operate for years to come. Jesus' biggest contribution to the mission was as the savior of many right wing Republicans souls.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/19/science/AP-US-Space-Shuttle.html

Jesus Versus Satan (a joke) (honest)

Jesus and Satan were having an on-going argument about who was better on the computer. They had been going at it for days, and frankly God was tired of hearing all the bickering.
Finally fed up, God said, "THAT'S IT! I have had enough. I am going to set up a test that will run for two hours, and from those results, I will judge who does the better job."
So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.

They moused.
They faxed.
They e-mailed.
They e-mailed with attachments.
They downloaded.
They did spreadsheets!
They wrote reports.
They did every job known to man.
Jesus worked with heavenly efficiency and Satan was faster than hell.

Then, ten minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, rain poured, and, of course, the power went off..
Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld.
Jesus just sighed.
Finally the electricity came back on, and each of them restarted their computers. Satan started searching frantically, screaming:
"It's gone! It's all GONE! "I lost everything when the power went out!"

Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of his files from the past two hours of work.
Satan observed this and became irate.
"Wait!" he screamed. "That's not fair! He cheated! How come he has all his work and I don't have any?"
God just shrugged and said,
JESUS SAVES

I Finished 2nd In a Race - Jesus Must Hate Me...

The guy who won was busy thanking Jesus for his victory while all I could do was wallow in my own self pity at my loss.  Jesus must really love that guy to help him to win, and I lost, so Jesus must not like me very much.

Which brings me to my main point.  I demand a re-run of the race, but this time my opponent is not allowed the assistance of a divine supernatural omnipotent being.  I mean, what chance have I got against that?  None!!!  And that's cheating in my book, and my book is not the Bible.  I ran the race fair and square without asking for assistance from an invisible hand.

I've changed my mind, I don't want a re-run.  My victorious opponent must be disqualified as he clearly had help.  I would like to propose to all sports regulators that anyone admitting help from God or Jesus with their victory immediately be disqualified for cheating.

They would be disqualified for using performance enhancing drugs after all wouldn't they?  And if a divine omniscient being with a big beard is not performance enhancing, then I just don't know what is!