DEBUNKING THE CONSPIRACY THEORY

[Randy Carson]

Kevin-

You're either not paying attention or not thinking or both.

It has been said by me and others MANY times that people die for their belief all the time.

What is not common is for people to lay down their lives for what they know to be a lie.

If the apostles made up the story of Jesus' resurrection, then they KNEW is was a lie. No one dies for what they know are lies.

Except that the apostles' deaths are mostly shrouded in mystery, AFAIK.  Judas hung himself/committed suicide due to his betrayal.  Beyond that, it is believed that Peter, Paul, and James were martyred (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostle_(C...e_Apostles).  And there's nothing about the others.

Indeed, your favorite quote mined source, Ehrman, talks about this on his blog (behind a pay wall: http://ehrmanblog.org/were-the-disciples...urrection/), dismissing your line of reasoning as a standard, and flawed, line of apologist reasoning.  "They wouldn't die for a lie" assumes that they were captured, tortured, and then put to death, or faced that as a punishment.  Yet, there's no evidence that the bulk of apostles died like that.  

And, indeed, people do risk themselves for a lie if it's a way to maintain/increase power.  Never forget that religion and politics were the same thing back then.

You seem to be hedging when you wrote, "There's no evidence that the bulk [emphasis added] of apostles died like that." That sounds like an admission that at least some of them undeniably did. Indeed, the death of Stephen by stoning is recorded in the book of Acts authored by Luke in the middle of the first century. The beheading of James, the Apostle, is also recorded in the book of Acts. The death of James, the brother of Jesus (and leader of the Church in Jerusalem (cf. Acts 15)) is recorded by Josephus. The deaths of Peter and Paul was recorded by Clement of Rome (Clement, Letter to the Corinthians, 5) before the end of the first century. Further, since Acts and subsequent non-canonical writings also record arrests, beatings and other unpleasantries heaped upon the earliest followers of Jesus, the pattern of persecution is undeniable. All of this could have been avoided if the disciples had simply gone back to their fishing boats in Galilee.

Finally, you speak of "power" as if the apostles were somehow the lords of some great empire, vast wealth and prestige. Really? The apostles lived out their days travelling on foot from city to city, under constant threat of arrest and death, despised by Jews, mocked by Romans...when and how exactly did the apostles enjoy this "power" of which you speak?