Careful Analysis of Objections to the Swoon Theory: Objection #7 (Who Moved the Stone?)
WHERE WE ARE
Careful argument evaluation is the heart and soul of critical thinking. But in order to do a careful evaluation of an argument, one must first have a clear understanding of the argument that is to be evaluated. Careful argument analysis is usually required in order to obtain a clear understanding of an argument, so having the knowledge, skills, and desire to do careful argument analysis is crucial to being a critical thinker.
I have carefully evaluated nine objections against the Swoon Theory, objections put forward by Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli in Chapter 8 of their Handbook of Christian Apologetics. I arrived at the conclusion that all nine objections FAIL, and thus that their case against the Swoon Theory FAILS, and their case for the resurrection of Jesus FAILS. But in order to be in a position to do this, I had to first do a careful argument analysis of each objection (each objection constitutes an argument against the Swoon Theory).
In this post I will walk through my process of careful argument analysis, step-by-step, showing how the sausage gets made. The process of careful argument analysis that I use here can be applied to almost any text or speech that contains an argument or arguments. This post will focus on Objection #7 against the Swoon Theory.
ANALYSIS OF OBJECTION #7
Objection #7 is the second of three objections that are based on a Gospel other than the Gospel of John (or in addition to the Gospel of John):
OBJECTION #7: WHO MOVED THE STONE?
Here is the first of two paragraphs of Kreeft and Tacelli’s presentation of Objection #7 (Who Moved the Stone?) against the Swoon Theory:
How could a swooning half-dead man have moved the great stone at the door of the tomb? Who moved the stone if not an angel? No one has ever answered that question. Neither the Jews nor the Romans would move it, for it was in both their interests to keep the tomb sealed: the Jews had the stone put there in the first place, and the Roman guards would be killed if they let the body “escape.”
(HCA, p. 183)
IDENTIFICATION STEPS FOR FIRST PARAGRAPH
1. [How could a swooning half-dead man have moved the great stone at the door of the tomb?] – this is a rhetorical question.
2. [Who moved the stone if not an angel?] – this is a rhetorical question.
3. [No one has ever answered that question.]
4. [Neither the Jews…would move it,]
5. [nor the Romans would move it,]
for – this indicates that a reason or reasons are about to be given for a previous claim.
it was in both their interests to keep the tomb sealed – I’m going to separate the two claims that are being made here:
6. [it was in the interest of the Jews to keep the tomb sealed]
7. [it was in the interest of the Romans to keep the tomb sealed]
: – this colon indicates that a reason (or reasons) is about to be given in support of the previous claim.
8. [the Jews had the stone put there in the first place,]
and – I’m going to separate the next claim being made here:
9. [the Roman guards would be killed if they let the body “escape.”]
Here is the second paragraph of their presentation of Objection #7:
The story the Jewish authorities spread, that the guards fell asleep and the disciples stole the body (Mt 28:11-15), is unbelievable. Roman guards would not fall asleep on a job like that; if they did, they would lose their lives. And even if they did fall asleep, the crowd and the effort and the noise it would have taken to move an enormous boulder would have wakened them. Furthermore, we are again into the conspiracy theory, with all its unanswerable difficulties (see next section).
(HCA, p. 183-184)
IDENTIFICATION STEPS FOR SECOND PARAGRAPH
10. [The story the Jewish authorities spread, that the guards fell asleep and the disciples stole the body is unbelievable.]
(Mt 28:11-15) – This functions like a footnote, providing biblical evidence in support of the claim that the Jewish authorities spread this story:
[According to the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 28:11-15), the Jewish authorities spread the story that the guards fell asleep and the disciples stole the body.] – The claim that the Jewish authorities spread this story is NOT relevant for the purposes of this argument, so I will ignore this claim and the evidence provided for it from the Gospel of Matthew. Because this is NOT relevant to the argument, I will not assign a number to this claim. The passage from the Gospel of Matthew does NOT show that this story is unbelievable, which is the primary claim made in statement (10).
11. [Roman guards would not fall asleep on a job like that;]
12. [if they did, they would lose their lives.]
13. [And even if they did fall asleep, the crowd and the effort and the noise it would have taken to move an enormous boulder would have wakened them.]
Furthermore, – this word indicates that another reason is about to be provided for a previous conclusion.
14. [we are again into the conspiracy theory,]
15. [with all its unanswerable difficulties]
(see next section) – an indication that claim (15) is supported by Kreeft and Tacelli’s objections against the Conspiracy Theory in Chapter 8 of HCA:
16. [The next section shows that it has a number of unanswerable difficulties.]
CLARIFICATION STEPS
1. [How could a swooning half-dead man have moved the great stone at the door of the tomb?] – this is a rhetorical question that needs to be re-stated as a claim:
=>1a. A weak and frail half-dead man would have been unable to have moved the great stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
2. [Who moved the stone if not an angel?] – this is a rhetorical question that needs to be re-stated as a claim:
=>2a. An angel moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
3. [No one has ever answered that question.] – this is an unclear statement of a key claim:
=>3a. There is no plausible natural explanation for how the stone was moved from door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
4. [Neither the Jews…would move it,]
=>4a. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem would NOT have moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
5.[nor the Romans would move it,]
=>5a. The Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would NOT have moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
for – this indicates that a reason or reasons are about to be given for a previous claim.
6. [it was in the interest of the Jews to keep the tomb sealed]
=>6a. It was in the interest of the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem to keep the tomb of Jesus sealed on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
7. [it was in the interest of the Romans to keep the tomb sealed]
=>7a. It was in the interest of the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb to keep the tomb of Jesus sealed on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
: – this colon indicates that a reason or reasons are about to be given in support of the previous claim.
8. [the Jews had the stone put there in the first place,]
=>8a. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem had the stone put in place at the door of Jesus’ tomb in the first place.
9. [the Roman guards would be killed if they let the body “escape.”]
=>9a. The Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would be killed if they let Jesus leave the tomb or if they let someone take Jesus’ body from the tomb.
10. [The story that the guards fell asleep and the disciples stole the body is unbelievable.]
=>10a. The story that the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep and that some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb and stole the body of Jesus is unbelievable.
11. [Roman guards would not fall asleep on a job like that;]
=>11a. The Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would NOT have fallen asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
12. [if they did, they would lose their lives.]
=>12a. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified, THEN the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would have been executed for failure to perform their guard duty.
13. [And even if they did fall asleep, the crowd and the effort and the noise it would have taken to move an enormous boulder would have wakened them.]
=>13a. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified and some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples attempted to move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified, THEN the noise from the attempt to move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb would have wakened the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb.
14. [we are again into the conspiracy theory,]
=>14a. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified and some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples attempted to move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified, THEN the Conspiracy Theory is true.
15. [with all its unanswerable difficulties]
=>15a. The Conspiracy Theory has a number of unanswerable difficulties.
16. [The next section shows that the Conspiracy Theory has a number of unanswerable difficulties.]
=>16a. In Chapter 8 of HCA, Kreeft and Tacelli show that the Conspiracy Theory has a number of unanswerable difficulties.
FILL IN STEPS
The logic of Objection #7 is similar to the logic of Kreeft and Tacelli’s general case for the resurrection of Jesus. They eliminate a number of skeptical or natural explanations for the movement of the stone, and then conclude that the only reasonable explanation is the supernatural explanation that an angel moved the stone. Such an elimination-of-alternatives argument assumes that all of the possible natural explanations have been covered and eliminated.
The ultimate conclusion is once again left UNSTATED by Kreeft and Tacelli:
A. The Swoon Theory is FALSE.
I take it that claim (3a) is a key sub-conclusion of their argument:
3a. There is no plausible natural explanation for how the stone was moved from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
All or nearly all of Kreeft and Tacelli’s objections against the Swoon Theory have been reduction-to-absurdity arguments, which can generally be summarized with a modus tollens inference. So, it is reasonable to infer that premise (3a) is part of a modus tollens inference in support of their ultimate conclusion (A):
B. IF the Swoon Theory is true, THEN there is a plausible natural explanation for how the stone was moved from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
3a. There is no plausible natural explanation for how the stone was moved from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
A. The Swoon Theory is FALSE.
I take it that the above argument is the core argument of Objection #7.
Kreeft and Tacelli do not explicitly claim that there are only four possible natural explanations of how the stone was moved from the door of Jesus’ tomb, but the logic of this argument, like the logic of their overall case for the resurrection, requires such an assumption:
C. There are only four possible natural explanations for how the stone was moved from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified: (a) Jesus moved the stone, (b) the Roman soldiers moved the stone, (c) the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem moved the stone, or (d) some (or all) of Jesus’ remaining eleven disciples moved the stone.
If those four natural explanations are the only possible natural explanations, then refuting those four explanations would refute and eliminate all possible natural explanations. So, in addition to premise (C), four other premises are needed in order to show that key premise (3a) is true:
D. Jesus did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
E. The Roman soldiers did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
F. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
G. It is NOT the case that some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
C. There are only four possible natural explanations for how the stone was moved from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified: (a) Jesus moved the stone, (b) the Roman soldiers moved the stone, (c) the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem moved the stone, or (d) some (or all) of Jesus’ remaining eleven disciples moved the stone.
THEREFORE:
3a. There is no plausible natural explanation for how the stone was moved from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
The rest of the explicitly stated claims asserted by Kreeft and Tacelli in this argument provide support for the denials or rejections of the above-mentioned four natural explanations.
Premises (8a), (6a), and (4a) form a chain of reasoning supporting the premise (F):
8a. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem had the stone put in place at the door of Jesus’ tomb in the first place.
THEREFORE:
6a. It was in the interest of the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem to keep the tomb of Jesus sealed on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
4a. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem would NOT have moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
F. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
A similar chain of reasoning is provided to “refute” the theory that the Roman soldiers moved the stone:
9a. The Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would be killed if they let Jesus leave the tomb or if they let someone take Jesus’ body from the tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
7a. It was in the interest of the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb to keep the tomb of Jesus sealed on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
5a. The Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would NOT have moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
E. The Roman soldiers did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
Kreeft and Tacelli also provide various sub-arguments against the theory that the Roman soldiers fell asleep and that some (or all) of Jesus remaining eleven disciples then moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified. Here is one such argument:
12a. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified, THEN the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would have been executed for failure to perform their guard duty.
THEREFORE:
11a. The Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would NOT have fallen asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
10a. The story that the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep and that some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb and stole the body of Jesus is unbelievable.
Here is another such argument:
13a. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified and some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples attempted to move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified, THEN the noise from the attempt to move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb would have wakened the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb.
H. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified were wakened by the noise from the attempt of some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples to move the stone from the door of Jesus tomb, THEN Roman soldiers would have prevented those disciples from moving the stone.
THEREFORE:
10a. The story that the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep and that some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb and stole the body of Jesus is unbelievable.
Here is a third argument for the same conclusion:
16a. In Chapter 8 of HCA, Kreeft and Tacelli show that the Conspiracy Theory has a number of unanswerable difficulties.
THEREFORE:
15a. The Conspiracy Theory has a number of unanswerable difficulties.
THEREFORE:
I. It is NOT the case that the Conspiracy Theory is true.
14a. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified and some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples attempted to move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified, THEN the Conspiracy Theory is true.
THEREFORE:
10a. The story that the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep and that some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb and stole the body of Jesus is unbelievable.
The above three arguments are given to establish premise (10a), and it appears that premise (10a) is a reason in support of the key premise (G):
G. It is NOT the case that some or all of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
DIAGRAMMING THE ARGUMENT
D1. Jesus did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified (unless Jesus experienced a supernatural resurrection).
E. The Roman soldiers did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
F. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
G. It is NOT the case that some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
C. There are only four possible natural explanations for how the stone was moved from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified: (a) Jesus moved the stone, (b) the Roman soldiers moved the stone, (c) the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem moved the stone, or (d) some (or all) of Jesus’ remaining eleven disciples moved the stone.
THEREFORE:
3a. There is no plausible natural explanation for how the stone was moved from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
B. IF the Swoon Theory is true, THEN there is a plausible natural explanation for how the stone was moved from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
3a. There is no plausible natural explanation for how the stone was moved from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
A. The Swoon Theory is FALSE.
8a. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem had the stone put in place at the door of Jesus’ tomb in the first place.
THEREFORE:
6a. It was in the interest of the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem to keep the tomb of Jesus sealed on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
4a. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem would NOT have moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
F. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
9a. The Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would be killed if they let Jesus leave the tomb or if they let someone take Jesus’ body from the tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
7a. It was in the interest of the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb to keep the tomb of Jesus sealed on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
5a. The Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would NOT have moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
E. The Roman soldiers did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
STATED PREMISES:
10a. The story that the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep and that some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb and stole the body of Jesus is unbelievable.
11a. The Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would NOT have fallen asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
12a. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified, THEN the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would have been executed for failure to perform their guard duty.
13a. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified and some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples attempted to move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified, THEN the noise from the attempt to move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb would have wakened the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb.
14a. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified and some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples attempted to move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified, THEN the Conspiracy Theory is true.
15a. The Conspiracy Theory has a number of unanswerable difficulties.
16a. In Chapter 8 of HCA, Kreeft and Tacelli show that the Conspiracy Theory has a number of unanswerable difficulties.
UNSTATED ASSUMPTIONS/PREMISES:
G. It is NOT the case that some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.H. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified were wakened by the noise from the attempt of some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples to move the stone from the door of Jesus tomb, THEN Roman soldiers would have prevented those disciples from moving the stone.
H. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified were wakened by the noise from the attempt of some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples to move the stone from the door of Jesus tomb, THEN Roman soldiers would have prevented those disciples from moving the stone.
I. It is NOT the case that the Conspiracy Theory is true.
L. IF the Swoon Theory is true, THEN Jesus did NOT move the stone from the door at Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after he was crucified.
O. IF the Swoon Theory is false, THEN Jesus did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after he was crucified (unless he experienced a supernatural resurrection).
P. EITHER the Swoon Theory is true OR the Swoon Theory is false.
THEREFORE:
D1. Jesus did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified (unless he experienced a supernatural resurrection).
1a. A weak and frail half-dead man would have been unable to have moved the great stone at the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
J. IF the Swoon Theory is true, THEN Jesus would have been a weak and frail half-dead man on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
K. IF the Swoon Theory is true, THEN Jesus would have been unable to have moved the great stone at the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
THEREFORE:
L. IF the Swoon Theory is true, THEN Jesus did NOT move the stone from the door at Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after he was crucified.
M. IF the Swoon Theory is false, THEN Jesus died on the cross, and thus (apart from a supernatural resurrection), Jesus would have been unable to move the stone from the door of his tomb on the weekend after he was crucified.
N. IF Jesus would have been unable to move the stone from the door of his tomb on the weekend after he was crucified (unless he experienced a supernatural resurrection), THEN Jesus did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after he was crucified (unless he experienced a supernatural resurrection).
THEREFORE:
O. IF the Swoon Theory is false, THEN Jesus did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after he was crucified (unless he experienced a supernatural resurrection).
THE STATED PREMISES OF OBJECTION #7
1a. A weak and frail half-dead man would have been unable to have moved the great stone at the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
3a. There is no plausible natural explanation for how the stone was moved from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
4a. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem would NOT have moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
5a. The Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would NOT have moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
6a. It was in the interest of the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem to keep the tomb of Jesus sealed on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
7a. It was in the interest of the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb to keep the tomb of Jesus sealed on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
8a. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem had the stone put in place at the door of Jesus’ tomb in the first place.
9a. The Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would be killed if they let Jesus leave the tomb or if they let someone take Jesus’ body from the tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
10a. The story that the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep while on duty on the weekend after Jesus was crucified and that some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb and stole the body of Jesus is unbelievable.
11a. The Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would NOT have fallen asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
12a. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified, THEN the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb would have been executed for failure to perform their guard duty.
13a. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep while on duty to guard Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified and some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples attempted to move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified, THEN the noise from the attempt to move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb would have wakened the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb.
14a. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb fell asleep while on duty on the weekend after Jesus was crucified and some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified and stole the body of Jesus, THEN the Conspiracy Theory is true.
15a. The Conspiracy Theory has a number of unanswerable difficulties.
16a. In Chapter 8 of HCA, Kreeft and Tacelli show that the Conspiracy Theory has a number of unanswerable difficulties.
THE UNSTATED ASSUMPTIONS/PREMISES OF OBJECTION #7
A. The Swoon Theory is FALSE.
B. IF the Swoon Theory is true, THEN there is a plausible natural explanation for how the stone was moved from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
C. There are only four possible natural explanations for how the stone was moved from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified: (a) Jesus moved the stone, (b) the Roman soldiers moved the stone, (c) the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem moved the stone, or (d) some (or all) of Jesus’ remaining eleven disciples moved the stone.
D1. Jesus did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified (unless Jesus experienced a supernatural resurrection).
E. The Roman soldiers did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
F. The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
G. It is NOT the case that some or all of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples moved the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
H. IF the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified were wakened by the noise from the attempt of some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples to move the stone from the door of Jesus tomb, THEN Roman soldiers would have prevented some (or all) of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples from moving the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb.
I. It is NOT the case that the Conspiracy Theory is true.
J. IF the Swoon Theory is true, THEN Jesus would have been a weak and frail half-dead man on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
K. IF the Swoon Theory is true, THEN Jesus would have been unable to have moved the great stone at the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after Jesus was crucified.
L. IF the Swoon Theory is true, THEN Jesus did NOT move the stone from the door at Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after he was crucified.
M. IF the Swoon Theory is false, THEN Jesus died on the cross, and thus (apart from a supernatural resurrection), Jesus would have been unable to move the stone from the door of his tomb on the weekend after he was crucified.
N. IF Jesus would have been unable to move the stone from the door of his tomb on the weekend after he was crucified (unless he experienced a supernatural resurrection), THEN Jesus did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after he was crucified (unless he experienced a supernatural resurrection).
O. IF the Swoon Theory is false, THEN Jesus did NOT move the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb on the weekend after he was crucified (unless he experienced a supernatural resurrection).
P. EITHER the Swoon Theory is true OR the Swoon Theory is false.
EVALUATION OF OBJECTION #7
For my careful evaluation of Objection #7 by Kreeft and Tacelli against the Swoon Theory, see the following posts at The Secular Frontier: