Disproving Resurrection "Explanations"

Crucifixion Paolo Vernonese 1580

 From the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, people have been attempting to make excuses to explain away this greatly attested fact of history. Some have been pathetically desperate to say that he never existed, but they have to find a minority of crackpot "historians" to support this conjecture. Others have come up with silly ideas, such as, "His disciples sole his body while we were sleeping" (Matt. 28.13). So tell me, how do you know what happened while you were sleeping, Buttercup?

 Using basic logic, the false explanations of the absence of his body do not withstand scrutiny.
Definitions
Sir Karl Popper, the late philosopher of science, devised a falsification criterion that can be used to disprove theories. It is derived from the modus tollens rule of inference, which is of one of these two forms:
Form 1
1) p⇒q
2) ¬q
∴ p
Form 2
1) p⇒¬q
2) q
∴ p
The falsification criterion devised by Karl Popper is an example of form 2 of the modus tollens. It is as follows:
1) Theory T predicts that O will not be observed.
2) O is observed.
∴ T is false.
Examples
Here are a couple examples that are used by the police to either prove or disprove one's innocence in a crime:
Proving Innocence
1) If suspect S is guilty of a murder, then he will not have an alibi for the time of the murder.
2) S has an alibi for the time of the murder.
∴ S is not guilty of the murder.
Proving Guilt
1) If person P was not involved in a crime, then he will not know any details that were not released to the public.
2) P knows a detail that was not released to the public.
∴ P was involved in the crime.
Disproving Resurrection Alternatives
For the last 2000 years, ever since Christianity began, anti-Christians have been looking for ways to explain away the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus by various means. It is important for us to be able to refute these alternative theories, as Christianity stands completely on the death and bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:14-18). Thankfully, as I will demonstrate, the alternative hypotheses that have been proposed can be disproved easily using the Popperian criterion. If you need a refresher on all the details of the Betrayal, Arrest, Trial, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus, they can be found in Matthew 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, and John 18-21.
It is eminently logical for you to continue reading "Using Popper's Falsfication Method to Disprove Resurrection Alternatives".

Popular posts from this blog

Bravado Incarnate

Warning: If you click the links, you will be subjected to strong profanity. Buon giorno. Why is it that atheists cry, "Victory is mine!" like Stewie Griffin, even when they humiliate themselves? Some in my acquaintance could slam their hand in a car door and still claim that they won a debate with the car. One of the most obstreperous atheists (who does not believe in free speech link disabled ) that I have ever encountered took a challenge (for some reason, I get all the credit, but others challenged him as well) to call Matt Slick's radio show, Faith and Reason (now renamed to " Matt Slick Live ". He was angry that the "kiddie pool" at the "Please Convince Me" Weblog was not challenging enough. Surprisingly, he did not scream or use profanity, something that I fully expected him to do. The show was entertaining and interesting, to say the least. Unfortunately, he was typical of Internet atheists: Rude Arrogant Prideful
Read more

Where Does It Stop?

Image
I was going to give these topics a rest, but something came up. On a previous post, Zach made a comment, and I am excerpting it here. His first sentence is an answer to a question I had asked him. Hope you're not embarrassed, but I want to give you a more complete response than the comments section would allow: My lack of belief in the supernatural is pretty much complete - I have never seen any reason to attribute a supernatural cause to phenomena. I suppose I rule out supernatural explanations because once you let one in, where do you stop? I look at an event I do not understand and go immediately to natural causes. Even if I can't figure it out, I still would assume it had a natural explanation. I'm worried that if someone started attributing causes to supernatural events, they would skip over the whole 'natural cause' thing and go straight for the supernatural, because technically everything is potentially explainable by an omnipotent being, no?
Read more

The Amazing Super Powers of the Mighty Atheist™

Image
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Years ago, I wrote "atheist" on Twitter, and one cautioned me about using that word because I risked "calling down the thunder". We know that they can be ornery cusses even on their good days, but I was unaware of the intellectual prowess and wisdom of The Mighty Atheist™, dwarfing that of a mere theist. What I had yet to learn, however, is that they also have super powers that are even magical at times. Now I know better. Christians and creationists, I hope you heed this warning! Graphic modified from  Clker clipart As with other super powers, those of The Mighty Atheist™ are difficult to categorize. Not all atheists and evolutionists have the same powers to the same degree, and there is no special school for gifted atheists under a professor so they can develop their abilities. Like logical fallacies, powers often blend and overlap. Let's saddle up and ride over yonder to Deception Pass where the atheists, atheopaths, anti-crea
Read more