Jonathan MS Pearce - The Resurrection: A Critical Examination of the Easter Story

THE RESURRECTION

A CRITICAL EXAMINATION

OF THE EASTER STORY

JONATHAN M.S. PEARCE

FOREWORD BY

DAVID FITZGERALD

The Resurrection: A Critical Examination of the Easter Story

Copyright 2021 Jonathan M.S. Pearce

Published by Onus Books

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by UK copyright law.

Cover design: Onus Books

Scripture is taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-0-9935102-8-1

OB 17/30

Praise for this book:

Hitchenss Razor, not Bayess Theorem, is the proper tool to use against the absolute baselessness of the resurrection belief (per David F. Strauss, as quoted in this book). Theres no objective evidence for it. The testimonial evidence is abysmally poor. We should therefore dismiss this superstitious belief for what it is (per Hitchens). However, if you want to take such a belief seriously, read this thoroughly documented terminal case against the resurrection based on the latest research! This is the only book youll need. Pearce is your expert guide on all the essential issues.

John W. Loftus, author of Unapologetic: Why Philosophy of Religion Must End , and editor of The Case against Miracles .

Jonathan MS Pearce puts the resurrection genie back in the bottle (and the body back in the grave). If you are digging for truth, this book is a goldmine!

Dan Barker, author of Godless

This book is the definitive starting point for anyone intent on questioning or defending the resurrection of Jesus. Introductory and aimed at a broad audience, but thoroughly researched, all the key works are here cited and arguments addressed, and with sound reasoning. If this book cannot be answered, belief in the resurrection cannot be defended.

Dr. Richard Carrier, author of Jesus from Outer Space: What the Earliest Christians Really Believed about Christ.

This is a detailed, clear, and very readable survey of the evidence for the Resurrection, and it makes an overwhelming case for the conclusion that the Resurrection did not happen. It's an extraordinary fact that so many smart, educated people have managed to convince themselves that the historical case for the Resurrection is strong, when it is, patently, ludicrously weak.

Dr. Stephen Law, author of Humanism: A Very Short Introduction and Believing Bullshit: How Not to Get Sucked into an Intellectual Black Hole

"An informative, enjoyable and even entertaining read. The Resurrection is clearly written and an especially helpful entry into philosophical questions surround the stories of Jesus resurrection. Pearces critiques of some of the unfortunately popular apologetic arguments are devastating and it is hoped his book will bury them for good."

Dr. James G. Crossley, New Testament scholar and author of Jesus and the Chaos of History: Redirecting the Life of the Historical Jesus

For too long, Christian evangelists have been able to get away with the outrageous claim that the resurrection of Jesus is one of the best-attested facts in history. In this erudite and highly readable account, Jonathan MS Pearce demonstrates with devastating logic and clarity why this claim should be rejected.

David Warden, Chairman of Dorset Humanists and

Honorary Member of Humanists UK

Youd think that a refutation of mythology wouldnt be necessary in the 21st century. But it is, and Pearces corrective is both complete and approachable. Fascinating!

Bob Seidensticker, author at Cross Examined,

Patheos Nonreligious

No rational and honest scholar of religion or theologian who asserts that the resurrection of Jesus was an actual event would be able to do so without addressing the compelling counterarguments presented by Jonathan Pearces The Resurrection. Drawing upon an array of sources and scholarly disciplines, Pearce offers a masterful analysis of the central miracle of Christianity, Jesuss purported return from death. He examines the events leading to the crucifixion, burial by Joseph of Arimathea, women visitors to the tomb, and the post-mortem appearances to demonstrate the irresolvable inconsistencies and contradictions in the gospels where these occurrences are described. All of this makes it difficult to refute the central argument presented in this book: that the entire narrative upon which the Christian faith is anchored is a fiction contrived by others long after the purported date of the crucifixion and related events.

Dr. H. Sidky, Professor of Anthropology, Miami University, and author of Religion, Supernaturalism, the Paranormal and Pseudoscience: An Anthropological Critique

Covering subjects as diverse as epistemology, archaeology, theology, metaphysics, and of course historical analysis, oceans of ink have been spilled to answer one question: is Jesus dead? Fortunately, in one place these various issues can be considered, sometimes just under the surface, but in the end getting to the bottom of the question. The final conclusions about what we can be confident about, what must remain uncertain, and what is just out-of-this-world, are well-addressed to help both a skeptic and a believer alike see why it just isnt likely that Jesus returned from the dead. The attempts to exhume him by this time stinketh, and Pearce shows why that is so.

Dr. Aaron Adair, author of The Star of Bethlehem: A Skeptical View

About the author:

Jonathan M.S. Pearce is a teacher and author from south Hampshire, UK, who has dedicated many years to studying all manner of things philosophical and theological. A philosopher with a marked interest in religion, he became a founder member of the Skeptic Ink Networ k (SIN) before moving to write for Patheos Nonreligious (Pearces blog is A Tippling Philosopher ). As an original member of the Tippling Philosophers, from which his blog title comes (a friendly group of disparate believers and non-believers, and sort-of believers based in Hampshire), he is a big advocate of casual philosophy groups meeting over pints of good ale. He lives with his partner (and wonders how she puts up with him) and their twin boys (and struggles to put up with them). Being diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis, he would like to personally thank God for that gift, though rely more reasonably on science to find a treatment (which he did do, with successful stem cell therapy that has kept him stable for several years a resurrection of sorts, but certainly not a miracle).

Other books by Jonathan MS Pearce:

Free Will? An Investigation into Whether We Have Free Will Or Whether I Was Always Going to Write This Book

The Little Book of Unholy Questions

The Nativity: A Critical Examination

Beyond an Absence of Faith: Stories About the Loss of Faith and the Discovery of Self

13 Reasons to Doubt (ed.)

The Problem with God: Classical Theism under the Spotlight

Did God Create the Universe from Nothing? Countering William Lane Craig's Kalam Cosmological Argument

Filling the Void: A Selection of Humanist and Atheist Poetry

Not Seeing God: Atheism in the 21 st Century (ed.)

As Johnny Pearce:

Twins: A Survival Guide for Dads