Was Jesus Raised from the Dead?
Was Jesus Raised from the Dead?
We addressed this question is some detail in the last chapter. Although brief, eight lines of evidence were suggested, accepted by the vast majority of scholars. Additionally, many more detailed arguments were referenced in the notes.1 These separate strands produce a tight, detailed historical argument for the resurrection. Such data have changed the contemporary critical view in the direction of this event. Truly, nothing of this nature exists in other religious literature.
Here we simply want to add an addendum to that discussion. All lines of evidence argue that Jesus' disciples thought that they had seen the risen Jesus. Scholars who otherwise differ strongly on the import of these appearances are agreed that the disciples thought they had seen Jesus.
Although it would not be the traditional Christian answer, I simply want to make the point here that if Jesus was raised from the dead and appeared to his followers, either in a transformed body, or even as a glorified spiritual being he would still actually have been raised from the dead. Thus, the Talpiot hypothesis, even if true, decisively fails to disprove Jesus' resurrection. All the data show that Jesus was seen again after his death, and since natural theses have failed,2 the resurrection is strongly warranted. But unfortunately for the Talpiot view, their position fails on its own merits, for dozens of reasons.
How did Jesus appear?
Even by postulating the prospect of a spiritual resurrection, the Talpiot Hypothesis fails. Not only have they not ruled out an actual resurrection, as just mentioned, but an incredible amount of data point to Jesus being raised bodily, in the same body that was crucified, although there were definitely some incredibly wonderful changes. Here we will be able only to list some of these arguments.3 It is crucial to bear in mind that we are only asking about the mode of Jesus' appearance. The entire argument turns on what the early sources taught with regard to what was seen. Simply asked, did they think Jesus' raised body appeared? Or was he a disembodied, glorious spirit?4