07 - The Resurrection of Christ

SECTION VII. THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. THE alleged resurrection of Christ is an important feature in his history. In fact, the orthodox defenders of Christianity stake the truth of their entire faith upon the reality of this one event, which is an exceedingly illogical thing to do. For, supposing Christ did rise from the dead, that would be no evidence that the whole system of orthodoxy is true and reasonable. Of course the fallacy in this instance originated with St. Paul, who is reported to have said: "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain" (1 Corinthians 15:14). "What advantageth it me if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." This is really the most irrational and selfish test that was ever submitted to prove the validity of any claim. It makes the usefulness of Christianity to depend not upon its ethical value, but upon a theological dogma. The utter selfishness of the test is apparent, for it puts personal gain before all considerations of general good. If all belief in the resurrection were ignored, should we then have no duties to perform, and no consolation to support us in the battle of life? Would all love for mankind and interest in their welfare cease? Should we have no hearts to gladden, no homes to make happy, and no characters to improve and elevate? The faith that makes the sunshine of existence, the recognition of duty, and the cultivation of virtue to depend upon the belief in a "risen Christ" is low and grovelling in the extreme, and it is thoroughly opposed to the Rationalist view of the nature and capabilities of the manifold energies of the human race. Fortunately, such a sordid and degrading view of life is as false as it is despairing; for, long before the story of the resurrection was heard of, the noblest virtues were fostered and the highest possible happiness was realized; and even to-day it is the same among millions of the human family where the belief does not obtain.

Although, from a Rationalist standpoint, the reality or otherwise of the resurrection of Christ should have no influence upon personal conduct, it may be interesting to inquire upon what grounds the belief in it rests. The account of such a marvelous event as the restoration from death to life of one upon whom the salvation of the world was supposed to depend should be supported by the clearest of evidence. But no such evidence exists, which is very remarkable, if the event were to be considered the strongest proof of the truth of Christianity. We have not the testimony of any eye-witnesses of the resurrection. Early historians are silent in reference to it, and the accounts in the Gospels are inconsistent and contradictory. Even the extraordinary phenomena which are said to have happened at the death of Christ (Matthew 27:50-53) are not mentioned by Seneca and Pliny, although each of them, as Gibbon informs us, "in a laborious work, has recorded all the great phenomena of nature -- earthquakes, meteors, comets, and eclipses -- which his indefatigable curiosity could collect."

Having, then, no historical evidence of the resurrection, let us see if there is any value in what the New Testament says upon the subject. We have not space to present the many contradictions contained in the Gospels as to the incidents which are reported to have occurred at the resurrection; but, if the reader will examine these carefully, it will be found that the four writers differ materially upon the following points: The number of women who went to the sepulchre; the number of "angels" or "men" the women found there; the words spoken by the "angels" or "men;" the giving of the information of what they had seen; to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection; and, finally, where the appearance of Christ after the resurrection took place. Such conflicting statements as are recorded in the four Gospels would not be received as evidence, even upon ordinary matters, in any of our law courts to-day. Some of these allegations must be false, and it is not impossible that none of them are true. Not being able to decide which is correct, we discard them all as being of no evidential value. In Matthew (Matthew 20:18-19) it is recorded that Jesus said "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death; and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge him, and to crucify him, and the third day he shall rise again." Now, if these words were spoken, we may fairly suppose that such definite language would have made a deep impression upon his friends and disciples. But it does not appear to have done anything of the kind, for, as Greg observes: "We have ample proof that no such impression was made, that the disciples had no conception of their Lord’s approaching death -- still less of his resurrection -- and that, so far from their expecting either of these events, both, when they occurred, took them entirely by surprise they were utterly confounded by the one, and could not believe the other. We find them shortly after -- nay, in one instance, instantly after -- these predictions were uttered disputing which among them should be greatest in their coming dominion (Matthew 20:24-27; Mark 9:34-35; Luke 22:25-30), glorying in the idea of thrones, and asking for seats on his right hand and on his left in his Messianic kingdom (Matthew 19:27-28; Matthew 20:21; Mark 10:37; Luke 22:30), which, when he approached Jerusalem, they thought "would immediately appear" (Luke 19:11. Luke 24:21). The four following incidents mentioned in the Gospels strongly corroborate the theory that Christ’s words, that he would "rise again," had no effect upon some of his friends: (1) When the two women visited the sepulchre they took sweet spices to anoint the body (Mark 16:1), which they would not have done if they expected that he would rise from the grave; (2) when Mary Magdalene discovered that the body was gone she thought the gardener had removed it (John 20:15), which is quite inconsistent with the belief that the resurrection had taken place; (3) when the women reported his resurrection to the disciples "their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not" (Luke 24:11), although it is distinctly said that Jesus told them the event would happen; (4) when he was supposed to have appeared, after his resurrection, to the eleven disciples at Galilee "some doubted" (Matthew 28:17), while others thought that "they had seen a spirit" (Luke 24:37). So skeptical were certain of the disciples about the "risen Christ" that it is reported that he "upbraided them with their unbelief" (Mark 16:14). With these Gospel admissions that the story of the resurrection was not accepted as true by many of those who lived at the time it is said to have occurred, of what value is the assertion that the event gained universal assent? Why, not only did some of the Christians disbelieve the story after all possible evidence had been produced (1 Corinthians 15:12), but the great body of the Jews and the Romans had no faith in its truth. The fact that the Jewish Sanhedrim, composed of educated Jews, and the six Roman governors, mentioned in the New Testament, who had every opportunity of judging of the genuineness or otherwise of the story, refused to believe in it, is evidence of its doubtful character. Besides, according to Mosheim, many of the early Christians thought that Christ was not crucified, but that it was Judas; and it was not until the second century, says Charles B. Waite, M.A., in his "History of the Christian Religion," that "the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ, in a material body, appeared." It is evident that the writer of Matthew’s Gospel did not pretend to record contemporary events, for he writes: "This saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day (Matthew 28:15). The case stands thus: The resurrection itself would have been an extraordinary event, one contrary to known natural law, and opposed to all human experience. In its favor we have no testimony either of eye-witnesses or of historians who lived at or near the time Christ is alleged to have risen. The accounts given by the writers of the Gospels upon the subject are too contradictory to be received as evidence; many of the people who, it is said, had been informed that Christ would rise had no idea that he had risen, while the most learned men of the period entirely disbelieved the story. These facts afford abundant evidence that the resurrection is not a demonstrated truth.

Now, let us briefly consider the reasons given by Christian exponents in favor of the belief in this -- to say the least -- improbable and uncorroborated story, which, be it remembered, originated in an ignorant, uncritical, and superstitious age. In the first place, it is contended that, unless we accept the Christian account of the origin and perpetuation of the belief in the resurrection of Christ, we are bound to furnish a better one. Logically, we are not compelled to do anything of the kind; all that really devolves upon us who cannot accept the story is to examine the case for the affirmation, and to show that the reasons given are insufficient to establish the truth of what is affirmed. Christians deny many of the pretensions of Buddha and Mohammed, and they disbelieve the stories of the resurrection of Christ and of Adonis, of Osiris, and of many other ancient "saviours," in whom thousands of sincere devotees have believed. But these very Christians do not deem it their duty to explain how the faith in the miraculous birth, death, and resurrection of these religious heroes originated, and how it was perpetuated. Why, then, are we expected to account for the belief in such an unlikely event as the resurrection of Christ? Superstitions of various kinds, such as the belief in the miracles of the Catholic Church, in the pretensions of Joseph Smith, and in the story of the approaching end of the world, have always been found allied with ignorance and duplicity. These factors, no doubt, played an important part in the origination of the belief that Christ rose from the dead.

While it is not necessary to the position we take that we should furnish a better reason for the existence of the belief in the resurrection than the one supplied by Christianity, the following probable causes may be assigned: (1) The expectation, based upon Christ’s own prediction, that he would rise again. It is true his words failed to impress some, but others of more weak and credulous natures were affected by what he was supposed to have said. (2) The revolt of the Jews against the Roman power which preceded the destruction of Jerusalem. This, no doubt, induced many of Christ’s disciples to think that the end of the world was at hand in accordance with his predictions (Matthew 24:1-2; Mark 13:1-2; Luke 21:5-6), and that he was coming to establish his kingdom, in which they were to be governors (Matthew 19:28). That they were deceived would not alter the fact that these events tended to justify, to their minds, the delusion in which they believed. (3) The disciples suffered from persecution which they might have mistaken for the fulfillment of another of their Master’s prophecies (Matthew 24:9). These three circumstances were calculated to encourage the idea in credulous minds that Christ had been restored to life, and that he would be with them again. Of course, they were disappointed, as the second coming of Jesus was no more a reality than was his resurrection. Besides, resurrections were believed in long before Christ’s time. Ovid’s prophecy, in reference to AEsculapius, was very similar to what has been said about Christ. Here are the words "Once, as the sacred infant she surveyed, The God was kindled in the raving maid And thus she uttered her prophetic tale Hail, great physician of the world! all hail Hail, mighty infant, who in years to come Shall heal the nations and defraud the tomb.

Swift be thy growth, thy triumphs unconfined;

Make kingdoms thicker and increase mankind.

Thy daring heart shall animate the dead, And draw the thunder on thy guilty head Then shalt thou die, but from the dark abode Shalt rise victorious, and be twice a God." The belief in the resurrection has been perpetuated principally through persons accepting the faith without investigation. This has been the cause of the growth of nearly all the superstitions of the world. The fact that the belief in a personal devil, a burning hell, purgatory, and the efficacy of the mass has been retained so long is to be attributed to the lack of free inquiry upon the part of those who have accepted these theological dogmas. The same with the belief in the resurrection. How many of those who regard it as a fact to-day have sought to ascertain what evidence it has in its support? Even the majority of ministers who preach this doctrine can give no other reason for believing in it than because they find that it is taught in a certain book; and most of the laity who endorse the belief that Christ rose from the dead are influenced by the delusion that heaven will be the reward of all who accept the belief, and that hell will be the portion of those who reject it. Even St. Paul, who is the principal witness for the resurrection, believed it on trust and faith, "according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). He also thought that the end of the world would arrive in the time in which he lived, but he was mistaken. Why, then, should he be relied upon in reference to the resurrection? The supposed evidence of St. Paul is worthless to prove that Christ rose from the dead. He was not an eye-witness of the event, and his references to it are most misleading. For instance, he says, Christ was "Seen of the twelve," but Judas was dead (Matthew 27:3-5), and Mathias was not chosen until after the Ascension (Acts 1:26). Then we are told "he was seen of above five hundred brethren;" yet not one of the five hundred has left the testimony that "I saw Jesus." "Last of all," says St. Paul, "he was seen of me." But how did he see him? Let the apostle answer for himself. "I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago (whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell: God knoweth), such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man (whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell: God knoweth)" (2 Corinthians 12:1-3).

Some of the Spiritualists to-day profess to have "visions and revelations;" but rational minds do not accept such "visions and revelations" as matters of fact, to be depended upon to prove anything of importance. Moreover, St. Paul’s idea of a resurrection was that it would be a spiritual one; and he says "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 15:50); but the alleged resurrection of Christ was of his natural body, and, after he had risen, we are told he ate broiled fish just before he ascended up into heaven" (Luke 24:42-43; Luke 24:51-52).

Professor Stewart says; "The existence of the Church, and especially the early institution of the Lord’s Day and of Easter Day, are proofs of the nature and strength of primitive belief as to the resurrection." To this we reply, that the resurrection was not a recognized doctrine of the Church until the second century. But suppose it were, it would not follow that, because the Church believed it, therefore it was true. The Roman Catholics dedicated their Church to the "Holy Virgin;" but is that evidence that Mary, who was the mother of many children, was a virgin? There is St. Peter’s at Rome, although it is a disputed point that Peter ever went to Rome. As to the term "Lord’s Day," Tertullian (A.D. 200) is the first writer who applies to it the resurrection, and we can find no evidence that the two were associated prior to that time. The Professor ought to know that the "Lord’s Day" has no reference to the day when Christ is said to have risen. Many conflicting opinions have been given as to its real meaning. It has been thought to refer to "the Gospel dispensation," to "the Day of Judgment," to the "first day of the week;" but, so far as it can be applied to anything, it is to the Bible Sabbath, which is Saturday, the seventh day of the week, and this was not the day of the supposed resurrection. In reference to Easter, that was of pagan origin, and in Chambers’s "Encyclopedia" (article "Easter") it is said: "With her usual policy the Church endeavored to give a Christian significance to such of the rites as could not be rooted out; and in this case the conversion was practically easy." Christian exponents have a reckless habit of connecting certain events together as if they bore the relation to each other of cause and effect, when, in reality, there is no such relation between them. To claim that the resurrection was a fact because the Church believed it, and because the "Lord’s Day" and Easter have become recognized institutions, is the very height of theological assumption. There is not a shadow of legitimate evidence to support such a claim.

We have dwelt upon this and the previous section at some length, for the reason that the subjects treated are regarded by Christians as affording the greatest proof of the truth of their claims. We trust that, from our examination of the points at issue, our readers will see that at least there are to these, as to most questions, two sides and it is for them to decide for themselves which they regard as the correct one.