fallingblood
Agnostic Theist
Out of all of the supernatural claims made about Jesus, this is one that I have the hardest time with. Just to start out, I do not believe in a physical resurrection of Jesus. The reason being that it defies what we knows happen. People simply do not come back from the dead. Since it is a miracle, it is the least likely thing to occur in that situation.
I've heard a couple of theories on explanations of how the resurrection came into the Jesus tradition. The one that I like the most, at this point, is the idea that in a time of grief, a human can have visions of the dead. We have many documented cases of this phenomena, so it is a logical possibility. It still happens to this day, and even looking at various third world countries (parts of Asia, especially underdeveloped parts of India), there have been cases in which people are believed to have come back from the dead.
The problem with this theory that I see is that multiple people having a vision of Jesus, at the same time, would be unlikely. It is somewhat of a stretch to assume that all of the visions can be explained from this phenomena, especially considering the accounts of him appearing before large groups. My only explanation for this would be something I've seen happen frequently when performing magic. That is the fact that people have a tendency to create a miracle in their minds, and honestly believe it. But I don't think that perfectly fits either.
Another interesting idea that I've considered is the possibility that Jesus did survive the crucifixion. However, just knowing what the crucifixion entailed, I am more apt to believe that he was left on the cross, and later picked apart by scavenging animals.
So what is the most likely explanation for the resurrection of Jesus?
I've heard a couple of theories on explanations of how the resurrection came into the Jesus tradition. The one that I like the most, at this point, is the idea that in a time of grief, a human can have visions of the dead. We have many documented cases of this phenomena, so it is a logical possibility. It still happens to this day, and even looking at various third world countries (parts of Asia, especially underdeveloped parts of India), there have been cases in which people are believed to have come back from the dead.
The problem with this theory that I see is that multiple people having a vision of Jesus, at the same time, would be unlikely. It is somewhat of a stretch to assume that all of the visions can be explained from this phenomena, especially considering the accounts of him appearing before large groups. My only explanation for this would be something I've seen happen frequently when performing magic. That is the fact that people have a tendency to create a miracle in their minds, and honestly believe it. But I don't think that perfectly fits either.
Another interesting idea that I've considered is the possibility that Jesus did survive the crucifixion. However, just knowing what the crucifixion entailed, I am more apt to believe that he was left on the cross, and later picked apart by scavenging animals.
So what is the most likely explanation for the resurrection of Jesus?