Two Logical Fallacies Behind Resurrection Skepticism

In attempts to examine the historical Jesus, many scholars have denied the resurrection account as an historical event. Such attempts always appear as taking a centrist approach to examining the life of Jesus, yet it becomes obvious that they are aligned on the side of the skeptics when it comes to the supernatural events in the story of Jesus. However, rejection of the supernatural is seldom supported by any reasons and often commits two logical fallacies: a priori assertion of the impossibility of miracles to occur, and “genetic” attachment of Christianity to ancient myths.  In their reaction to the supernatural in general and the orthodox view of Jesus in particular, a group of 74 scholars called the Jesus Seminar claimed that:  “The Christ of creed and dogma… can no longer command the assent of those who have seen the heavens through Galileo's telescope. The old deities and demons…

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Is It Enough To Lead A Good Moral Life To Go To Heaven?

Let us begin our article by thinking about the scene of the older son in Christ’s parable of the Prodigal Son who was furiously saying...   “Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends” (Luke 15:29)  Now, let’s contemplate his expressions... “I’ve been slaving for you” and “never disobeyed you” …  such an unfair father, right? How can someone be so loyal, so good and just... so perfect and not being “appreciated enough” by his father … Simply, this is the ultimate debate of is it enough to be good to go to heaven? But before we dive into the topic, let us state a few biblical truths that the church had believed in and lived with for 2,000 years now.   First, the question of who…

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Does God Break The Laws Of Nature By Doing Miracles?

This question positions the laws of nature as if they are criminal laws, and as such, breaking them is immoral or unreasonable. Therefore, God cannot do miracles, because He can’t be immoral or unreasonable to contradict Himself.  But that is far from the truth. Moral and civil laws are laws imposed on people to enforce right behaviour. On the other hand, the laws of nature are not imposed on nature. Rather, they are laws that describe how nature behaves normally. The earth doesn’t wake up everyday reading a law that it should revolve around itself every 24 hours, or revolve around the sun every 365 days. It simply does so, and scientific laws aim to explain nature’s normal behavior. By understanding the ordinary behaviour of nature, one can know if a miracle happens, as it doesn’t comply with that ordinary behaviour.  For example, if you wake up one…

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Do Miracles Contradict Science?

The short answer is yes, miracles contradict science. In fact, without contradicting science, they would stop being miracles! The definition of a miracle is “a supernatural event that seems inexplicable by natural or scientific laws,” while science aims to explain naturally occurring phenomena.   But, that doesn’t mean that miracles don’t happen. It also doesn't mean that it is unreasonable to believe in miracles. People who believe in miracles believe so because there is evidence for miracles, even though that evidence is not repeatable. And… it is completely reasonable to believe that an event has occurred based on personal observation, even though that observation occurred only once.   For example, if we were to take a sample of the resurrected people in a cemetery [illustrative image of a cemetery with someone sitting as if recording on paper], the result would be zero. However, if one person became alive after dying…

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