I don't understand how you take the virgin birth story as a literal fact, but then you make Jesus coming back to life a scientific impossibility? So, from those verses in Acts, show me how it was meant to be allegorical. And here are a few from Luke's gospel:
Luke 24 1-7
…the women … found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus… suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them…. the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”
Verses 22-23
…some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.
Verses 36-39
Jesus himself stood among them … He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
It sure seems like he's telling facts, things that really happened. Are they true? Do they make sense? No, they are ridiculous. They sound like superstitious religious myth. But, Christians believe them, and Baha'is don't believe it as fact. But, the resurrection of Jesus is the most important thing in Christianity. Like Paul said, that if Jesus hasn't been raised, then Christians should be the most pitied. They believed it, and they died believing it. So do you really think early Christians would they have given their lives if the resurrection was only an allegory?
Isn't it somewhat misleading of God to "inspire" people to write these things as if they were real events? Then, almost 2000 years later, tell them the truth... that Jesus didn't come back to life. It was only a "spiritual" resurrection?
Only a spiritual resurrection? What matters is that through the Teachings of Jesus we too can be resurrected. We can have spiritual life and not be spiritually dead. Through Christ the church was raised to new life.
Many Christians believe the resurrection is proof of Jesus' Divinity because only God has power over death. The Baha'i perspective, though different, also provides proof of Jesus sovereignty over death, in particular the death of the soul. Jesus' spiritual effect on the lives of His followers and the establishment of the Church demonstrates the power of His love and affirms the claims of His sovereignty. HIs Glorious Being and his Divine Perfections prove that He is a manifestation of God.
The physical resurrection is not necessary to prove Jesus' Divinity or Power to impart eternal life. Other world religions believe that God is All-Powerful including the power to provide eternal life.
The true meaning of the resurrection?
Jesus came from heaven:
John 3:13, John 6:38, John 6:41-2
The risen body of Christ is the Church:
Roman 12:5 'one body in Christ'
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 'baptised into one body'
1 Corinthians 12:25 'no schism in the body'
1 Corinthians 12:27 'you are the body of Christ'
Colossians 1:18 'He is the head of the body'
Ephesians 2:5-6 'members of His body, and His flesh'
The spiritual resurrection:
1 Corinthians 15:42-4 'it is raised in a spiritual body'
1 Corinthians 15:50 'flesh and blood can not inherit the kingdom'
Were the apostles of Christ misguided in this matter, and misled others?
No
Do the scriptures lie?
No. The apostles were guided by God's unerring spirit.
Lets consider Christ's manner of speech throughout His ministry. He used words and phrases with literal meanings to convey spiritual messages and truths. How do we understand verses such as
'unless one is born again he can not see the kingdom of God' (John 3:3) or 'unless
you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink HIs blood, you have no life in you'? (John 6:53). When the apostles spoke of Christ as being risen they spoke as Christ spoke. The use of symbols is necessary to convey truths that can not be readily understood with literal speech. The symbolic verses are also God's way of testing the hearts of His true followers.
Mathew 13:10-17
"And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them."
