I also see that Sea Breeze trotted out the 12 ‘facts’ about the ‘resurrection’ again after I preemptively refuted with a previous link to another thread 🤦♂️ . So here is the content from the previous thread (note that Sea Breeze has altered the wording but not the import in the list in this thread):
1. Jesus died by crucifixion.
Probably. It is possible that an eclipse at or around the time of his death may have enhanced superstitions that Jesus was in some way divine.
2. He was buried.
According to the narrative, he was placed in a tomb, not buried. What actually happened to his body is unknown.
3. His death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope.
Amazing. Sad event made people sad.🙄 This is just padding to get the special number 12.
4. The tomb was empty (the most contested).
No actual evidence for this apart from contradictory stories from decades later.
5. The disciples had experiences which they believed were literal appearances of the risen Jesus (the most important proof).
That people ‘believed’ something isn’t ‘proof’ of anything, and the details of what they believed happened are only available in embellished stories written decades later. Even in the stories, the disciples don’t initially recognise the person as Jesus. 🙄
6. The disciples were transformed from doubters to bold proclaimers.
Wow. Superstitious people became convinced of something. Many things were taken as portents at the time so an eclipse, earthquake, or even a shadow could have made them think Jesus was back.
7. The resurrection was the central message.
Arguably, but the purported value of the ransom was really the more important aspect. The claim that Jesus was resurrected actually diminishes the value of the ‘sacrifice’, since he supposedly got a massive reward for a comparatively bad weekend.
8. They preached the message of Jesus’ resurrection in Jerusalem.
Sect based on superstition spread in a time when superstition was even more rife than it is now. Nothing remarkable about this.
9. The Church was born and grew.
Sect based on superstition developed further. Still nothing remarkable about this.
10. Orthodox Jews who believed in Christ made Sunday their primary day of worship.
Entirely wrong. Sunday became the primary day of Christian worship many years later due to ‘pagan’ influence when Christianity had spread beyond a Jewish religion and the majority of Christians were gentiles.
11. James was converted to the faith when he saw the resurrected Jesus (James was a family skeptic).
This is a tradition only.
12. Paul was converted to the faith (Paul was an outsider skeptic and opposer).
Paul’s version of his conversion contradicts the version in Acts, particularly the details about where he went immediately after, indicating that at least one version is unreliable. JWs (and other groups) today tell stories of formerly ‘violent opposers’ who converted, so Paul’s actual conversion to Christianity isn’t remarkable. Paul reports having visions on more than one occasion, at times not even knowing whether he was ‘in the spirit’, (and also alludes to ‘a thorn in the flesh’) which could suggest an underlying psychiatric or other condition (e.g., epilepsy, ergotism, syphillis etc) that could exacerbate superstitious beliefs.
