The problem with resurrection. For myself, the stories in the New Testament which tell us that Jesus was raised from the dead are scientifically plausible. They are anything but empirical proof but are enough to convince me that the minimum view should be to withhold judgement; they might be true. Personal experience, however, is far more convincing. Twice in my life, with other possibilities, there have been what may be called "appearances" of someone who had died years before, whom, for brief moments, were present before me. These were not "apparitions." They were not ghosts or anything of the kind. They were, in fact, other people who were very much alive in the real world yet who, suddenly and briefly, could be seen from my physical perspective as the deceased I had once known. That is, as I interpreted these appearances, they were -in some sense- communications from another realm where the dead, or some of the dead, live on. Not communications in a spiritualistic sense, there were no messages from beyond, and I certainly had not "summoned" them in any way whatsoever. There were no trances, seances, drugs, or prayerful vigils, etc. On the contrary these took place totally unexpectedly, each time in a very mundane context, simply running an errand in the real world. And, needless, to say, neither appearance was associated with spiritual things as far as I was concerned. I do not attach any religious meaning to either event. They simply happened. As "proof" of anything, these are also minimalist examples. However, when something like this happens to you personally, all arguments about the possibility of some form of resurrection cease. Don't ask me about the details of Christ's resurrection, I do not know what to say except that the post-crucifixion accounts of Jesus' appearances, or some of them, are so similar to what I have experienced that they strike me as accounts of real appearances rather than hallucinations -although a few cases may, indeed, be exactly that. But some seem to me to be accounts of "appearances." In which case the resurrection of Jesus took place even if I really cannot say more about the subject -I do not know what to say. Except to add that this is enough, as far as I am concerned, to accept Christian belief in Christ's resurrection. ----- However, what I simply cannot accept are the other resurrection stories in the Bible, each of which strike me as mythological and nothing more. Moreover, Matthew 27: 52-53 , the story of mass resurrections following the crucifixion, is completely ridiculous. That whole passage is an absurdity. I do not know what to do with the discrepancy between my view of the resurrection of Jesus and stories in the Bible of other resurrections that seem to me to be fictions invented for effect. Billy from the site: Strong in Faith --------------------------------------------------------- Raise the dead Matthew 10:7-8 (KJV) And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. People raised from the dead in the Bible Nine individuals in scripture are clearly presented in the Bible as being raised from the dead. Of these miraculous resurrections, three occur in the Old Testament. At least three individuals were raised from the dead by Jesus. Both Peter and Paul raised a person from the dead and most importantly of all, Jesus himself was resurrected. In addition, an untold number of saints were resurrected at Jesus' crucifixion (_Matthew 27:52-53_ (http://biblia.com/bible/kjv1900/Matthew%2027.52-53) ). Also, it is incredibly possible that Paul himself was resurrected after he was stoned and left for dead (_Acts 14:19-20_ (http://biblia.com/bible/kjv1900/Acts%2014.19-20) ). Below is a descriptive listing of all the resurrections that occurred in the Bible. ====================================== Old Testament Elijah resurrected the son of Zarephath's widow 1 Kings 17:17-24 (KJV) 17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. 22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. 24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth. ---------------------------------------- Elisha resurrected the son of the great Shunammite woman This interesting account is recorded in 2 Kings 4. The Shunammite woman had no children. For a woman to be barren in those days was a great source of shame. The word says that her husband was old, which would imply he was unable to produce seed. However, because the Shunammite woman was genuinely kind and generous to the prophet Elisha, he told her she would have a child in one year's time. God healed her and her husband and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Later on while working out in the fields something disastrous happens to her son (a head injury or possibly heat stroke) and he dies. Â The Shunammite woman hastily went to the prophet Elisha, and she insisted he go to her son and raise him from the dead. 2 Kings 4:35 (KJV) 35 Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. ---------------------------------------- A dead man comes back to life when he touches Elisha's bones Kings 13:21 (KJV) 21 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet. Even after he was dead, the anointing still remaining in Elisha's bones raised someone from the dead. Earlier in _2 Kings 2:9_ (http://biblia.com/bible/kjv1900/2%20Kings%202.9) , Elisha had boldly requested that he receive a double portion of Elijah's anointing. However, after Elisha died it looked like it was too late for him to raise twice as many people from the dead as Elijah. Who would have ever thought that touching Elisha's bones could raise someone from the dead; certainly not the men that were burying him! Clearly the seeds of faith we sow in the brief time we are in this world continue to grow and accomplish things even after we are long gone. ============================================= New Testament Jesus resurrects the widow's son at Nain Luke 7:13-15 (KJV) 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. -------------------------------------------- Jesus raises Jairus' daughter from the dead Matthew 9:25 (KJV) 25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. See also _Mark 5:42_ (http://biblia.com/bible/kjv1900/Mark%205.42) , and _Luke 8:55_ (http://biblia.com/bible/kjv1900/Luke%208.55) ----------------------------------------------------------- Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead John 11:43-44 (KJV) 43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. ------------------------------------- Many saints resurrected at Jesus' crucifixion Matthew 27:52-53 (KJV) 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. ---------------------------------------------- Peter raises a female disciple named Tabitha from the dead Acts 9:36-42 (KJV) 36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. 37 And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. 38 And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. 39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive. 42 And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord. ------------------------------------------------------ Paul raises Eutychus from the dead Acts 20:9-12 (KJV) 9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. 10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. 11 When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. 12 And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted. -------------------------------- A strong possibility that Paul was raised from the dead Acts 14:19-20 (KJV) 19 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. 20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. The scripture doesn't explicitly say that Paul was dead, but at best he was so close to death that the people who stoned him assumed he was dead. Either way this was a truly miraculous healing. One day Paul was being stoned to death and the next day he was marching on over to Derbe which was many (20 to 50) miles away. John 5:28-29 (KJV) 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. 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[RC] The problem with resurrection.
BILROJ via Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community Fri, 25 Mar 2016 15:15:12 -0700
