Jesus Was Probably Resurrected By God

Note how I do not have to show that Jesus probably was not raised from the dead, I only need to undermine my opponent's arguments in favor of that notion. The Burial Of JesusPro asserts that Jesus was buried in a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea. People get buried all the time, so this fact alone does nothing to warrant any supernatural claim (perhaps it does in the cumulative case). It is not even a fact that is accepted by all people of expertise. James Tabor and and Simcha Jacobovici write:"The gospel of John indicates that the initial burial of Jesus near the place of crucifixion was a hasty emergency measure in the late afternoon prompted by the nearness of the Sabbath/Passover holiday at sundown on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion (John 19:41-42). It was a burial of necessity and opportunity. This particular tomb was chosen because it was unused and happened to be near the place of crucifixion. The idea that this tomb belonged to Joseph of Arimathea makes no sense. What are the chances that Joseph of Arimathea would just happen to have his own new family tomb conveniently located near the Place of the Skull, or Golgotha,where the Romans regularly crucified their victims? " - James Tabor and and Simcha Jacobovici[1]James F. McGrath states:"The idea that Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus’ andburied Jesus in his own tomb (whether immediately after the crucifixion, as some Gospels claim, or at a later point as Tabor believes) is found only in the Gospel of Matthew, and so is of dubious historical value. " - James F. McGrath[2]Jesus may have been buried, but Pro hasn't actually established the details of this burial. This is problematic for his overall case. The Empty TombThis "fact" of an empty tomb has 75% of scholars in the field convinced[3]. While this is impressive, there is still that 25%. If it was really deserving of being called a fact then we should see 97% -100% of experts in the field agreeing with it. To say 25% of scholars to not believe in it leaves room for sufficient doubt is an understatement. Either way, even if more scholars believe in the empty tomb than not, its hard to see how this actually raises the probability of a supernatural resurrection, over a natural explanation. Peter Kirbry argues extensively against the empty tomb story[4], as does historian Richard Carrier[5]. 75% percent of scholars agreeing with this fact doesn't seem to mean that it is a fact. It is argued very heavily and is not viewed as a fact according to all scholars. Pro has to do more to establish this as a fact. Witnesses Of Jesus After Apparent DeathThis is purely psychological. When a huge figure dies it usually entails people of claiming to experience them after their death (they are usually hallucinating, or seeing people that look like the figure). After Elvis Presley died, multiple people claimed to have witnessed him after his death[6]. After 2 Pac died, numerous people claimed to see him after his death (and still do):"One week after Tupac was pronounced dead, over 1,000 people phoned the police in Haiti saying they saw Shakur…"[7]Obviously, Elvis and 2 Pac are dead (their deaths are better documented than the death of Jesus, and more recent as well) and did not get raised from the dead. Jesus doesn't seem any different. Just because multiple people claimed to see him after he died doesn't mean anything. People make similar claims about important people and this happens today, and it's psychological with regards to having a huge and impactful figure just leave reality for good. People cannot cope with it, and create their own realities. I do not find this section convincing. Also, the Syrian Christians believed Judas Didymos Thomas was the twin brother of Jesus:"In the Book of Thomas the Contender, a text detailing the dialogue between the risen Jesus and Judas Thomas before Jesus' ascension, Jesus calls him 'brother,' 'twin,' and 'friend. '"[8]If Jesus had a twin, then there is another explanation for the post death appearances. The Disciples Believed Jesus Has RisenEven if they had every reason not to, and still believed in the resurrection, that wouldn't seem to indicate that the event probably happened. Perhaps these "sightings" (which I already undermined) fed into their belief. Also, its not clear that they had every predisposition not to believe in the resurrection. Perhaps they were embarrassed because Jesus didn't meet the requirements they thought the messiah was supposed to, so they made up "belief" in the resurrection to save face. Additionally, even if they truly believed something; that doesn't lead much credence to it being true. 5 co-workers of a man named Travis Walton all truly believed that they saw an alien space craft shoot a beam of light at their friend Travis. They all passed the lie detector tests[9], and had no reason to make it up (this incident ruined ruined Steve Pierce's life[10]). Of course, this doesn't mean that there probably exists an alien space craft. Willing to die for beliefs is common. Suicide bombers die all of the time for what they believe in. ConclusionPro claims that he maintains that a supernatural explanation is the best explanation. He does not provide an argument to support this. Also, I questioned some of his "facts". Pro has not met his burden of proof. It has not been proven that God probably raised Jesus from the dead. I will end this round with a quote:"It doesn't take a miracle to get a corpse out of a cave. " - Chris Hallquist[11]Sources[1] . http://jesusdiscoverybook.com...[2] . http://www.patheos.com...[3] Gary Habermas and Michael Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2004[4] . http://depts.drew.edu...[5] . http://www.infidels.org...[6] . http://en.wikipedia.org...[7] . http://thadrill.com...[8] . http://www.netplaces.com...[9] See the polygraph report on November 13, 1975 by polygraph examiner Cy E. Gilson, Department of Public Safety. Facsimile: page 1 and page 2[10] You-Tube[watch? v=P4fSCzT0yzI][11] . http://www.patheos.com...