The Alternatives

Throughout Go & Tell, we've looked at alternative explanations for the start of Christianity. I've also encouraged you to go and listen to what your family and friends think. I don't want us to consider this topic merely from an academic point of view, but to empathetically reflect upon what actual people in our lives believe.

Indoctrination is when you're pressured to conform to one point of view. But education is when you thoughtfully explore many points of view. It's vitally important that we are well-informed about alternative explanations to "Jesus bodily rose from the dead"!

Here are some of the more prominent explanations. Often, they are combined to explain different facets of the historical data:

• The apostles lied
• The apostles engaged in cognitive dissonance reduction
• The apostles hallucinated the appearances of Jesus
• The apostles exaggerated their experiences
• The idea of the resurrection is a legendary development
• Jesus' body was stolen by the apostles
• Jesus' body was discarded in a mass grave and never found
• The apostles went to the wrong tomb
• The 'resurrection' story was a remix of mythological death-and-rebirth stories
• We don't know, but Jesus rising from the dead is inherently implausible
• The gospels are contradictory and unreliable
• The teachings of Jesus resonated with desperate people who built communities around a message of hope

Maybe you are a skeptic. I hope you've felt welcome and valued throughout this course.

Maybe you are certain the resurrection is true. Whatever your starting point, here's an invitation to write out your best case against the resurrection.

By doing so, you will be able to better evaluate the case for the resurrection. I really don't want to indoctrinate you. Rather, I want us to seek the truth together.