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This is an Article Summary of: Resurrection Claims in Non-Christian Religions: written
by: Gary R. Habermas published in Religious Studies v25.n2 (June 1989): pp 167 (9).
Cambridge University Press. Habermas began with the statement “Non-Christian claims are
often ignored when making references to the resurrection of rabbis, prophets, gurus or
“messiahs” rising from the dead”. The primary emphasis is placed on whether these claims can
themselves be said to be historically based on supernatural occurrences or if these resurrection
claims provide any apologetics basis for non-Christian belief systems.
Over a period of time, Robert Price recently charged that not enough attention has been
paid to non-Christian religious phenomena. Habermas also stated that reports of post-death
phenomena found in other belief systems, citing cases where ancient heroes were said to have
experienced apotheosis (which consists of being taken to heaven and divinized) or where they
supposedly appeared to their followers after death, usually to confront them where all in which
were grounds of being considered the same as Jesus resurrection.
In the past 100 years Habermas stated that the rise of focused attention has been placed
on ancient mythology. It is rather difficult to assess data concerning mythological persons in
historical terms. This article is focused the attention on claims involving actual persons. Julius
Caesar, Augustus Caesar, Apollonius of Tyana, and Antinous are but to mention a few. The
resurrections dealing with Rabbi Judah, Kabir, Sabbatai Sevi, Lahiri Mahasaya and Sri
Yukteswar are also addressed. The accounts of all of these individuals have a common factor of
either being transported to heaven, going to heaven and becoming a star, or appearing to their
followers after their deaths or not dying at all and just disappearing into thin air. Each of these
individuals did something significant in their lives, including completing a compilation, religious
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teacher, Jewish contemporary, Hindu guru to a man that was half man and half god. This article
also made reference to a claim of Buddhist apotheosis about a saintly Buddhist man dying and
coming back to life. He disappeared from the blanket leaving only nails and hair behind. This
story was compared to that of Jesus resurrection. Throughout this article, Habermas stated
several insurmountable problems immediately surface. The sources reporting the data are
relatively late and otherwise questionable. Writings of these instances were written years after
the individual died or disappeared. The credibility of these accounts are all in severe question.
There is nothing that can be related to historically or any proof thereof. Even some of the places
in which these individuals lived are fictitious. Some of these reports concerned “wild and
incorrect claims that the lost ten tribes of Israel had reappeared in Arabia that Mecca had been
destroyed and that certain Christian Churches had sunk into the earth. There are even individuals
that were manic depressive making claims of resurrections and being made stars in the sky years
after the individual has passed.
The fact that some of these claims were made from individuals family members could
have been the reason for seeing their loved one or while practicing meditation their loved one
could have been seen in their minds because of grieving. Just plain misreporting could have been
the result of these claims of resurrection and sightings.” It is not enough simply to report a
miracle”. “It has to be substantiated and proved if it is to provide a basis for one’s belief”.
Non-Christian resurrection claims have not been proved or justified by evidence. To
support a religious system, you need proof, historical documents and more than just one eye
witness account. In today’s society individuals need concrete evidence to be able to wrap their
head around something bigger than themselves. Verbal accounts, eye witnesses, documentation
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and hard facts is what is needed to prove to an individual that something is true. All of which
these accounts do not offer.
In response to the Article Resurrection Claims in Non-Christian Religions article from
Gary R. Habermas. I would like to say that I totally agree with this writer. It is so easy to say this
or that happened. Eye witness accounts can easily be swayed one way or the other if an end
result brings the result that is sought. The importance of a religious belief or association of one
depends on the supporting evidence and historical evidence needed to justify one. In the world
we live in today, it is extremely crucial to be able to back up what you preach in the sense of
witnessing to people who need Christ. I have always made this statement “it is important to
know why you believe what you believe”. We are in an age of “show me” “I have to have proof
before I will even think about believing in anything”. Being able to support your claims and
information you can provide can mean life or death to a fellow soul. This article spoke about an
individual dying and going into heaven then being made a star in the heavens. I am not trying to
be simple minded but I have to admit I laughed out loud a few times while reading this article.
We are living in the end times I believe and we have to bring our A game and have our game face
on at all times. We need to have a list of websites to offer, a plethora of scriptures to support our
claims, our church website with the vision and mission statement on it. Pastors that will make
time to meet new people talk, share and let them know how important they are. Back to the
statement of plethora of scriptures to back up our claims…We need to be ready to defend our
Christian Faith. We have to be ready for debate with atheist, non-believers, and individuals that
have been hurt deeply by other Christians. Our lives have to be a living sacrifice, we have to lead
by example. We have to have that something that others want. We have to be approachable, kind
and compassionate towards everyone. We cannot be hypocrites and expect people want what we
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have. God from the very beginning knew what it would take to justify, prove and document
history. He knew what son of what father would bring about His son. What course of events it
would take to get the end result that He wanted. He gave each of us a purpose to fulfill his will if
we would just embrace it.
God knew how to make the bible and Jesus irrefutable. The four gospels is the perfect
example of that. Matthews’ account was to show Jesus was the King of the Jews. Marks’ account
was for showing of Jesus as God’s servant. Luke’s account was for showing Jesus was the
perfect man, or son of man. Johns’ account was for showing Jesus as man’s perfect God. Each of
these disciples wrote their gospel according to the audience they were going to reach. Each of the
disciples had to appeal to a multiple of audiences.
The 4 Gospels took up over ½ of the New Testament. The Gospels gave single eye
witnesses from each book. Making that 4 witnesses to the same miracle. Over 36 individual
miracles occurred in the New Testament. These four books were filled with the signs, wonders
and miracles with account of four disciples.
1 Peter 1:3 - Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead,
Romans 10:9 - That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe
in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Luke 24:1-53 - Now upon the first [day] of the week, very early in the morning, they
came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain [others] with
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them. John 11:25 - Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in
me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Acts 17:31 - Because he hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in
righteousness by [that] man whom he hath ordained; [whereof] he hath given assurance unto all
[men], in that he hath raised him from the dead.
Romans 8:11 - But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he
that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that
dwelleth in you.
1 Corinthians 15:1-58 - Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I
preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
Romans 6:4 - Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ
was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness
of life.
Is there a book with day to day instruction on how to live your life? Is their one Savior
that died to give us a way back to the Father? Are there countless historical documents that
support Christianity? Is there a God that came to earth as a man to atone for all our short
comings? Is there a hope that we can look to in this dying world? Is there an unconditional love
that we all can tap into? Is there a way we can escape death? Is there an account of 33 years that
people can attest to?
Yes there is. It is the Bible, Jesus and God. No other.
