Miracles, Part 5: The Transformation of the Disciples
The remarkable change in the attitudes and belief systems of the disciples themselves also provides evidence that something amazing had happened. We will look first at two of the least likely to have been converted without having witnessed an extraordinary event: the Apostle Paul and James, the half brother of Jesus.
How do we explain the conversion of a hostile skeptic like the Apostle Paul? We are told that in Jerusalem, he was "ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison" (Acts 8:3). In addition, "still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, [he] went to the high priest and asked for letters to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem" (Acts 9:1-2). Within a matter of days after his departure for Damascus to carry out his threats, Paul was preaching that Jesus was the Christ and the Son of God in the Damascus synagogues (Act 9:19-22). What could have happened?
Paul testified that he had encountered the risen Christ en route to Damascus (Acts 26:12-18). Paul describes this event simply and humbly in the concluding verse of the creed, 1 Corinthians 15:8: "Last of all, as to one untimely born, [Christ] also appeared to me." Keep in mind that this is the only direct, first person, eyewitness claim of this sort in the New Testament. So even if we reject the gospel narratives, we must still account for the conversion claim of Paul. There is no evidence in the biblical text of any antecedent history that would incline Paul to such a conversion, since he seemed to be a quite committed and well-adjusted anti-Christian bigot, comfortable in his own legalistic Judaism, even by his own self-assessment (Phil 3:5-11).
Therefore, to so suddenly and radically switch sides and embrace such a foreign religious worldview, thereby jeopardizing all he had previously lived for, required a momentous event which Paul must have interpreted as authentic. He had bet his life on his claim, echoed in the Corinthian creed, that Jesus had appeared to him. How extraordinary was the conversion of Paul? Imagine militant anti-religion atheist and Neo-Darwinist biologist Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, suddenly preaching that Jesus Christ is the Son of God risen from the dead. No wonder Festus asked Paul if he had lost his mind (Acts 26:24)!
What about James, the brother of Jesus. The Gospels suggest that Jesus’ brothers were less than enamored with their eldest step-brother, mocking him and even considering him crazy (John 7:1-5; Mark 3:20-21). If Jesus were still in the tomb, what would have possibly compelled James to become not only the senior pastor of theJerusalem
And what of the others who had been with Jesus and claimed that they had seen him after his death? After the arrest of Jesus, the Scriptures tell us that his most loyal followers cowardly fled and remained in hiding after their Master's crucifixion, shaking in their boots (John 20:19). Then, only a short time afterward, we find them boldly testifying, in the face of intense persecution, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God risen from the dead. History tells us that the Church spread like wildfire as a result of what these early witnesses claimed, and Church tradition tells us that the majority of them went to their death for their testimony (Martyrdom of the Apostles). It may be true that many have died for what they have believed, but these men died proclaiming that they had actually seen Jesus alive after his crucifixion. Would they have suffered persecution and death for what they all knew to be false? Would you?
The cumulative case we have presented in this series has led mainstream critical scholars to accept that the disciples really experienced something. But what was it? Maybe they thought that they were witnessing something that had objectively happened to Jesus when in fact they were experiencing something subjectively happening to themselves. Perhaps the tomb was not empty after all, and they were experiencing a group hallucination or a vision of some kind rather than witnessing a real bodily resurrection from the dead. We will address this question in our next entry entitled "Was the Resurrected Jesus for Real?"
Blessings,
Arnie Gentle
How do we explain the conversion of a hostile skeptic like the Apostle Paul? We are told that in Jerusalem, he was "ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison" (Acts 8:3). In addition, "still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, [he] went to the high priest and asked for letters to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem" (Acts 9:1-2). Within a matter of days after his departure for Damascus to carry out his threats, Paul was preaching that Jesus was the Christ and the Son of God in the Damascus synagogues (Act 9:19-22). What could have happened?
Paul testified that he had encountered the risen Christ en route to Damascus (Acts 26:12-18). Paul describes this event simply and humbly in the concluding verse of the creed, 1 Corinthians 15:8: "Last of all, as to one untimely born, [Christ] also appeared to me." Keep in mind that this is the only direct, first person, eyewitness claim of this sort in the New Testament. So even if we reject the gospel narratives, we must still account for the conversion claim of Paul. There is no evidence in the biblical text of any antecedent history that would incline Paul to such a conversion, since he seemed to be a quite committed and well-adjusted anti-Christian bigot, comfortable in his own legalistic Judaism, even by his own self-assessment (Phil 3:5-11).
Therefore, to so suddenly and radically switch sides and embrace such a foreign religious worldview, thereby jeopardizing all he had previously lived for, required a momentous event which Paul must have interpreted as authentic. He had bet his life on his claim, echoed in the Corinthian creed, that Jesus had appeared to him. How extraordinary was the conversion of Paul? Imagine militant anti-religion atheist and Neo-Darwinist biologist Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, suddenly preaching that Jesus Christ is the Son of God risen from the dead. No wonder Festus asked Paul if he had lost his mind (Acts 26:24)!
What about James, the brother of Jesus. The Gospels suggest that Jesus’ brothers were less than enamored with their eldest step-brother, mocking him and even considering him crazy (John 7:1-5; Mark 3:20-21). If Jesus were still in the tomb, what would have possibly compelled James to become not only the senior pastor of the
And what of the others who had been with Jesus and claimed that they had seen him after his death? After the arrest of Jesus, the Scriptures tell us that his most loyal followers cowardly fled and remained in hiding after their Master's crucifixion, shaking in their boots (John 20:19). Then, only a short time afterward, we find them boldly testifying, in the face of intense persecution, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God risen from the dead. History tells us that the Church spread like wildfire as a result of what these early witnesses claimed, and Church tradition tells us that the majority of them went to their death for their testimony (Martyrdom of the Apostles). It may be true that many have died for what they have believed, but these men died proclaiming that they had actually seen Jesus alive after his crucifixion. Would they have suffered persecution and death for what they all knew to be false? Would you?
The cumulative case we have presented in this series has led mainstream critical scholars to accept that the disciples really experienced something. But what was it? Maybe they thought that they were witnessing something that had objectively happened to Jesus when in fact they were experiencing something subjectively happening to themselves. Perhaps the tomb was not empty after all, and they were experiencing a group hallucination or a vision of some kind rather than witnessing a real bodily resurrection from the dead. We will address this question in our next entry entitled "Was the Resurrected Jesus for Real?"
Blessings,
Arnie Gentle
Posted by Arnie Gentile at 4/19/2011 3:58 PM 
Categories: Miracles and the Resurrection
Tags: Paul Christian Apologetics Resurrection disciples Apostles James Jesus Christ Defending Christianity
Categories: Miracles and the Resurrection
Tags: Paul Christian Apologetics Resurrection disciples Apostles James Jesus Christ Defending Christianity
What are you proving here? This post assumes that the apostles even existed. Who argues that they existed and saw Jesus, but weren't "transformed"? Nobody.
While you're at it, you should argue that Humpty Dumpty did indeed fall because they couldn't put him back together.
Reply to this
Greetings, Imposter,
Thanks for your question. Keep in mind that I am building a cumulative case for the resurrection, and this is but one piece. I started dealing with the question of miracles in general, and have been moving forward toward the resurrection since then. You might want to pick up the series from the beginning.
Actually, that Jesus and the Apostles existed is a matter of historical fact. The evidence is quite substantial, and there is no historical controversy about this matter even among skeptics (except for those at the distant fringe of academia). The controversy rages over the veracity of the resurrection, the nature of the resurrection (e.g. visionary or bodily), and other issues, but not over the bare existence of these men. This is a given.
For more on the historical data for the existence of Jesus and his followers, see my four part series on Jesus in secular sources, in particular, Josephus. The last article in the series links to other extra-biblical literary evidence besides Josephus. You will find the series under the category of Historical Apologetics.
As for Humpty Dumpty, I think he was pushed.
Many blessings, and thanks for visiting.
Arnie Gentile
Reply to this