THE MAIN PROBLEM WITH OBJECTION #5

The main problem with Objection #5 is that a key premise of the core argument for this objection is FALSE. Specifically, the key premise (E) is FALSE. Here, once again, is the core argument for Objection #5:

E. IF the Swoon Theory is true, THEN sometime after Jesus had been crucified, the eleven remaining disciples each had experiences that they believed were experiences of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus in which Jesus appeared to those disciples to be a half-dead, staggering sick man who was badly in need of a doctor.

D. It is NOT the case that sometime after Jesus had been crucified, the eleven remaining disciples each had experiences that they believed were experiences of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus in which Jesus appeared to be a half-dead, staggering sick man who was badly in need of a doctor.

THEREFORE:

A. The Swoon Theory is FALSE.

Premise (E) is FALSE because the Swoon Theory does NOT assert nor imply this historical claim:

The eleven remaining disciples each had experiences that they believed were experiences of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus.

The only thing required by the Swoon Theory is that SOME of the eleven remaining disciples (not all eleven) had experiences that they believed were experiences of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus, and that this persuaded those disciples that God had raised Jesus from the dead, and that their belief in the resurrection of Jesus was the primary basis for this belief becoming widely held among early Christian believers.

It is also clear that the Swoon Theory does NOT assume nor imply that ANY of the eleven remaining disciples had experiences that they believed were experiences of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus in which Jesus appeared to the disciple(s) to be a half-dead, staggering sick man who was badly in need of a doctor.

The reason why Kreeft and Tacelli are inclined to believe (E) is that they assume the following claims to be true:

Ten of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples each had experiences on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified, about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified, that they believed were experiences of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus.

IF Jesus had survived his crucifixion without any divine intervention and a number of very serious injuries and wounds had been inflicted on Jesus when he was crucified (i.e. by being severely scourged prior to being crucified, and by having a crown of thorns with many long and sharp thorns that pointed inward towards his head shoved forcefully onto his head, and by having both of his hands/arms nailed to the cross, and by having both of his feet nailed to the cross, and by having a spear thrust deeply into his side while he was on the cross, creating a large wound in his side), THEN Jesus would have been a half-dead, staggering sick man who was obviously badly in need of a doctor on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified (about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified).

IF Jesus was a half-dead, staggering sick man who was obviously badly in need of a doctor on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified (about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified) and ten of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples each had experiences on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified, about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified, that they believed were experiences of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus, THEN ten of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples each had experiences on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified, about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified, that they believed were experiences of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus in which Jesus appeared to those disciples to be a half-dead, staggering sick man who was badly in need of a doctor.

They are also assuming similar historical claims about the disciple named Thomas:

On the Sunday of the second weekend after Jesus had been crucified, Jesus’ disciple Thomas had an experience that Thomas believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus.

IF Jesus had survived his crucifixion without any divine intervention, THEN Jesus would have been a half-dead, staggering sick man who was obviously badly in need of a doctor on the Sunday of the second weekend after Jesus had been crucified, as a result of a number of very serious injuries and wounds inflicted on Jesus when he was crucified (i.e. by being severely scourged prior to being crucified, by having a crown of thorns with many long and sharp thorns that pointed inward towards his head shoved forcefully onto his head, by having both of his hands/arms nailed to the cross, by having both of his feet nailed to the cross, and by having a spear thrust deeply into his side while he was on the cross, creating a large wound in his side).

The key premise (E) is FALSE because the Swoon Theory does NOT assert nor imply any of the above historical claims.

One obvious way to attempt to get around these problems would be to explicitly assert the various historical assumptions above as premises of the argument, without making the FALSE claim that these historical claims are assumed or implied by the Swoon Theory. If these historical assumptions were spelled out as explicitly-stated premises, then one could argue that it is the COMBINATION of these various historical claims with the Swoon Theory that results in an absurdity, not just the Swoon Theory by itself.

There is a similar issue with the other key premise of the core argument for Objection #5, premise (D):

D. It is NOT the case that sometime after Jesus had been crucified, the eleven remaining disciples each had experiences that they believed were experiences of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus in which Jesus appeared to be a half-dead, staggering sick man who was badly in need of a doctor.

The reason Kreeft and Tacelli are inclined to believe key premise (D) is that they make some historical assumptions about the eleven disciples:

The eleven remaining disciples of Jesus were transformed (sometime after Jesus had been crucified) from fearful doubting cowards into fearless and confident believers in Jesus as the divine lord and as the resurrected conqueror of death and who boldly preached the resurrection of Jesus in the face of threats and persecution, having been transformed as the result of experiences that took place sometime after Jesus had been crucified, experiences that they believed were experiences of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus.

IF the eleven remaining disciples of Jesus were transformed (sometime after Jesus had been crucified) from fearful doubting cowards into fearless and confident believers in Jesus as the divine lord and as the resurrected conqueror of death and who boldly preached the resurrection of Jesus in the face of threats and persecution as the result of experiences that took place sometime after Jesus had been crucified, and that they believed were experiences of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus, THEN those experiences of the eleven remaining disciples were NOT experiences in which Jesus appeared to the disciples to be a half-dead, staggering sick man who was badly in need of a doctor.

ADDITIONAL PREMISES THAT MIGHT HELP FIX THE ARGUMENT FOR OBJECTION #5

If we take all of the above historical assumptions and assert them as explicitly-stated premises in a revised version of the Objection #5 argument against the Swoon Theory, that might produce an argument that would avoid the main problems in the core argument of Objection #5. Here are the main relevant premises that would need to be added to construct such a revised version of Objection #5:

10. Ten of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples had experiences on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified, about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified, experiences that they believed were experiences of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus.

11. IF Jesus had survived his crucifixion without any divine intervention, THEN Jesus would have been a half-dead, staggering sick man who was obviously badly in need of a doctor on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified (about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified) as a result of several very serious injuries and wounds inflicted on Jesus when he was crucified (by being severely scourged prior to being crucified, by having a crown of thorns with many long and sharp thorns that pointed inward towards his head shoved forcefully onto his head, by having both of his hands/arms nailed to the cross, by having both of his feet nailed to the cross, and by having a spear thrust deeply into his side while he was on the cross, creating a large wound in his side).

12. On the second weekend after Jesus had been crucified, Jesus’ disciple Thomas had an experience that Thomas believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus.

13. IF Jesus had survived his crucifixion without any divine intervention, THEN Jesus would have been a half-dead, staggering sick man who was obviously badly in need of a doctor on the second Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified as a result of several very serious injuries and wounds inflicted on Jesus when he was crucified (by being severely scourged prior to being crucified, by having a crown of thorns with many long and sharp thorns that pointed inward towards his head shoved forcefully onto his head, by having both of his hands/arms nailed to the cross, by having both of his feet nailed to the cross, and by having a spear thrust deeply into his side while he was on the cross, creating a large wound in his side).

14. The eleven remaining disciples of Jesus were transformed (sometime after Jesus had been crucified) from fearful doubting cowards into fearless and confident believers in Jesus as the divine lord and as the resurrected conqueror of death and who boldly preached the resurrection of Jesus in the face of threats and persecution, having been transformed as the result of experiences that took place sometime after Jesus had been crucified, experiences that they believed were experiences of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus.

15. IF the eleven remaining disciples of Jesus were transformed (sometime after Jesus had been crucified) from fearful doubting cowards into fearless and confident believers in Jesus as the divine lord and as the resurrected conqueror of death and who boldly preached the resurrection of Jesus in the face of threats and persecution, having been transformed as the result of experiences that took place sometime after Jesus had been crucified, and that they believed were experiences of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus, THEN those experiences of the eleven remaining disciples were NOT experiences in which Jesus appeared to the disciples to be a half-dead, staggering sick man who was badly in need of a doctor.

SPECIFIC HISTORICAL CLAIMS IMPLIED BY THE ABOVE ADDITIONAL PREMISES

Claims (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), and (15) imply MANY specific historical claims, which would all need to be shown to be historical FACTS in order for a revised version of Objection #5 to be successful. Here is a list of some of the relevant specific historical claims:

JESUS1: Jesus was severely scourged shortly before he was crucified.

JESUS2: A crown of thorns with several long sharp thorns pointing inward was shoved forcefully onto Jesus’ head shortly before he was crucified, resulting in several serious wounds to Jesus’ scalp.

JESUS3: Both of Jesus’ hands/arms were nailed to the cross when Jesus was crucified.

JESUS4: Both of Jesus’ feet were nailed to the cross when Jesus was crucified.

JESUS5: A Roman soldier forcefully thrust a spear deep into Jesus’ side while Jesus was on the cross.

JESUS6: IF Jesus had survived his crucifixion on Friday and (JESUS1), (JESUS2), (JESUS3), (JESUS4), and (JESUS5) were all true, THEN Jesus would have been a half-dead, staggering sick man who was obviously badly in need of a doctor on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified (about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified).

JESUS7: IF Jesus had survived his crucifixion on Friday and (JESUS1), (JESUS2), (JESUS3), (JESUS4) and (JESUS5) were all true, THEN Jesus would have been a half-dead, staggering sick man who was obviously badly in need of a doctor on the Sunday of the second weekend after Jesus had been crucified.

PETER1: Jesus’ disciple Peter had an experience on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified, about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that Peter believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus.

PETER2: Before Jesus’ disciple Peter had an experience on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified, about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that Peter believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus, Peter was a fearful doubting coward.

PETER3: Soon after Jesus’ disciple Peter had an experience on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified, about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that Peter believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus, Peter became a confident believer in Jesus as the divine lord and as the resurrected conqueror of death and boldly preached the resurrection of Jesus in the face of threats and persecution.

PETER4: IF Jesus’ disciple Peter had an experience on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified, about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that Peter believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus and if Peter was a fearful doubting coward before that experience and soon after Peter had that experience Peter became a confident believer in Jesus as the divine lord and as the resurrected conqueror of death and boldly preached the resurrection of Jesus in the face of threats and persecution, THEN Peter’s experience on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that Peter believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus was NOT an experience in which Jesus appeared to Peter to be a half-dead, staggering sick man who was badly in need of a doctor.

The same four premises about Peter above would need to be re-iterated about each of the other eleven disciples, except for Thomas, since according to Kreeft and Tacelli, Thomas did not have such an experience on the first Sunday following the crucifixion of Jesus, but did have such an experience on the next Sunday.

For example, the same four specific historical claims would need to be stated about Jesus’ disciple John, and shown to be historical FACTS:

JOHN1: Jesus’ disciple John had an experience on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified, about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that John believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus.

JOHN2: Before Jesus’ disciple John had an experience on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified, about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that John believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus, John was a fearful doubting coward.

JOHN3: Soon after Jesus’ disciple John had an experience on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified, about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that John believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus, John became a confident believer in Jesus as the divine lord and as the resurrected conqueror of death and boldly preached the resurrection of Jesus in the face of threats and persecution.

JOHN4: IF Jesus’ disciple John had an experience on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified, about 48 hours after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that John believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus and if John was a fearful doubting coward before that experience and soon after John had that experience John became a confident believer in Jesus as the divine lord and as the resurrected conqueror of death and boldly preached the resurrection of Jesus in the face of threats and persecution, THEN John’s experience on the Sunday of the weekend after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that John believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus was NOT an experience in which Jesus appeared to John to be a half-dead, staggering sick man who was badly in need of a doctor.

Four similar historical claims about the disciple Thomas would also need to be explicitly stated and shown to be historical FACTS, but some revision would be needed in each of the statements to reflect the idea that Thomas’ alleged experience of the “risen” Jesus took place on a Sunday one week after when the other ten disciples had this experience:

THOMAS1: Jesus’ disciple Thomas had an experience on the Sunday of the second weekend after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that Thomas believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus.

THOMAS2: Before Jesus’ disciple Thomas had an experience on the Sunday of the second weekend after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that Thomas believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus, Thomas was a fearful doubting coward.

THOMAS3: Soon after Jesus’ disciple Thomas had an experience on the Sunday of the second weekend after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that Thomas believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus, Thomas became a confident believer in Jesus as the divine lord and as the resurrected conqueror of death and boldly preached the resurrection of Jesus in the face of threats and persecution.

THOMAS4: IF Jesus’ disciple Thomas had an experience on the Sunday of the second weekend after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that Thomas believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus and if Thomas was a fearful doubting coward before that experience and soon after Thomas had that experience Thomas became a confident believer in Jesus as the divine lord and as the resurrected conqueror of death and boldly preached the resurrection of Jesus in the face of threats and persecution, THEN Thomas’ experience on the Sunday of the second weekend after Jesus had been crucified, an experience that Thomas believed was an experience of seeing a living and physically embodied Jesus was NOT an experience in which Jesus appeared to Thomas to be a half-dead, staggering sick man who was badly in need of a doctor.

CONCLUSION

Since four specific historical claims about each of the eleven disciples need to be stated and shown to be historical FACTS, that means that at least 44 specific historical claims about the eleven disciples need to be stated and each must be shown to be a historical FACT.

Furthermore, there are at least seven specific historical claims about Jesus (see above) that need to be stated and shown to be historical FACTS. So, a total of at least 51 specific historical claims would need to be stated as part of a revised argument for Objection #5, and each of those 51 historical claims would need to be shown to be a historical FACT. Kreeft and Tacelli have made no significant effort to show ANY of these claims to be historical FACTS.

Finally, I am fairly confident that NONE of these 51 claims can be shown to historical FACTS, so I am certain that MOST of these claims will never be shown to be historical FACTS. Any attempt to fix or repair the main problems with the argument for Objection #5 is doomed to FAIL because such an argument unavoidably rests upon dozens of DUBIOUS historical claims.