Our server costs ~$56 per month to run. Please consider donating or becoming a Patron to help keep the site running. Help us gain new members by following us on Twitter and liking our page on Facebook!
Current time: December 13, 2024, 5:17 pm

Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
DEBUNKING THE CONSPIRACY THEORY
#1
DEBUNKING THE CONSPIRACY THEORY
Many people believe that the Apostles knew that Jesus had not really risen from the dead and that they fabricated the accounts of his resurrection. Known as the Conspiracy Theory, this claim, if true, would mean that the Apostles engaged in a secret plan to preach publicly that Jesus had risen from the dead while knowing privately that his resurrection had never happened.

Those who specialize in uncovering conspiracies have identified five factors which help to maintain a successful conspiracy:

  1. A small number of conspirators
  2. A short time frame that the conspiracy must be maintained
  3. Excellent communication between conspirators
  4. Familial connections between conspirators
  5. Little outside pressure or effort to break the conspiracy

Let’s take a look at each of these factors to see how they might or might not apply to a conspiracy concerning Jesus’ resurrection.

Small number of conspirators

A conspiracy depends on secrecy, and the smaller the number of people involved who could “spill the beans”, the more likely it is the secret can be maintained. The ideal number of conspirators is two. In fact, in a perfect scenario, two people would agree together to commit a crime, and then one would kill the other thereby improving the odds of the secret being maintained.

In the case of the resurrection, there were eleven Apostles of Jesus who acted as co-conspirators, as well as many others—possibly hundreds—who claimed not merely to have heard about the resurrections but actually to have seen Jesus after the resurrection. Obviously, a number of this size is not conducive to maintaining a conspiracy effectively. It is possible, but it just doesn’t seem very probable.

Short time frame that the conspiracy must be maintained

In an ideal situation, the conspiracy only needs to be maintained for a short amount of time. The longer the silence must be sustained, the more likely it is that someone will break it.

So, if, as is alleged by some skeptics, the disciples conspired to tell a false tale about the resurrection of Jesus, how long did they maintain their silence about this secret plan? The last Apostle to die was John who died of natural causes around the year AD 95—more than 60 years after the resurrection. Like all of the others before him, John went to his grave preaching the resurrection of Jesus. 60 years is a long time, and again, while it is possible that a large group of disciples could maintain silence for six decades, it is not probable that they could have done without the absolute certainty that they had seen the risen Jesus.

Excellent communication between conspirators

After a conspiracy has been initiated, it is important for the participants to maintain good communication with one another so that they may respond uniformly to questions from outsiders seeking to gain information. Skilled investigators seeking to uncover a conspiracy will usually seek to isolate the parties so that they cannot collaborate on responses to questions. Additionally, an experienced investigator will also attempt to convince one party that another has confessed the truth—even when this confession has not actually happened. This ploy puts pressure on the one being questioned to break the silence. When one conspirator believes that others have already confessed, the odds of breaking the conspiracy are greatly increased.

After persecution of the Church began in Jerusalem, the apostles were scattered in different directions and as far away as India, and in the first century, fast, effective communication between the apostles over long distances was not possible. When each individual apostle was confronted by local authorities, held for questioning and eventually martyred for their beliefs, there was no way for him to know with certainty whether one or more of the other apostles had denied the resurrection. Despite this isolation and the lack of communication among the Apostles, none of them ever recanted or admitted to being part of a conspiracy to teach a false message about Jesus’ resurrection.

Familial connections between conspirators

When close family ties exist between conspirators, there is greater incentive to maintain the conspiracy and protect a loved one. When there are few or no family connections, it is less likelihood that the conspirators will maintain the conspiracy.

Among the apostles, there were some family connections; however, it is also true that some apostles had no relatives among the inner circle. Therefore, though it is possible that individuals who were not related to one another were motivated to maintain the conspiracy to protect others in the group, it is more probable that the lack of blood relations would have weakened the bonds of the group over time. While it is possible that the Apostles had grown close as a group during Jesus’ three-year public ministry, it is not probable that this experience alone would account for the maintenance of an alleged conspiracy when non-family members had not seen each other for decades after the persecution which began in Jerusalem and continued later in Rome had scattered them to various corners of the Roman Empire and beyond.

Little outside pressure or effort to break the conspiracy

When a conspiratorial group faces little or no opposition or challenge, it is easier for the group to remain true to the conspiracy. However, when pressure is brought to bear upon the group or individual members, the chances of maintaining the conspiracy are reduced.

Almost immediately following the day of Pentecost when the Apostles publicly preached the resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem, opposition to the fledgling church began to grow. The apostles were arrested, thrown into prison, questioned by the Jewish leaders, beaten, and ultimately martyred for their belief that Jesus had appeared to them. Yet, despite the sufferings and hardships they endured, the Apostles did not waiver in their preaching of the resurrection of Jesus. Once again, while it is possible that the persecution they endured only served to strengthen their resolve to maintain a conspiracy, it is more probable that the Apostles remained true to their convictions because they knew the resurrection of Jesus to have been a true event.

Summary

We have looked at the five factors that contribute to the success of a conspiracy, and we have seen that while it is possible that a group could successfully conspire to preach falsely that Jesus had been raised from the dead., the fact that none of the five factors seems to apply the Apostles suggests that it would be highly unlikely that the group would be able to take a secret of such great magnitude to their graves. That they did just that indicates that it is more probable than not that the Apostles were telling the truth concerning the appearances of the risen Jesus.
Reply
#2
RE: DEBUNKING THE CONSPIRACY THEORY
Religion is not a conspiracy theory. Religion is merely man's primitive attempt at an explanation that science has far surpassed.

Therefore, fuck your thread.
"Never trust a fox. Looks like a dog, behaves like a cat."
~ Erin Hunter
Reply
#3
RE: DEBUNKING THE CONSPIRACY THEORY
Oh for the sweet love of an alleyway fuck, he's back...Facepalm
[Image: rySLj1k.png]

If you have any serious concerns, are being harassed, or just need someone to talk to, feel free to contact me via PM
Reply
#4
RE: DEBUNKING THE CONSPIRACY THEORY
[Image: maxresdefault.jpg]

I told you guys, that fence wasn't going to hold...
"The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one." - George Bernard Shaw
Reply
#5
RE: DEBUNKING THE CONSPIRACY THEORY
[Image: ph8e0.jpg]
No God, No fear.
Know God, Know fear.
Reply
#6
RE: DEBUNKING THE CONSPIRACY THEORY
This is Randy right now:





While we're all:



Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
Reply
#7
RE: DEBUNKING THE CONSPIRACY THEORY
Oh hai Randy

*reads first two sentences of OP*

Oh bai Randy
Reply
#8
RE: DEBUNKING THE CONSPIRACY THEORY
I don't give a fuck if he did come back to life. Good for him? It's strange for sure, and a shame we can't investigate further, but it's of no consequence. Really, if he was still alive, he was more than likely never dead in the first place. Don't be so naive as to treat the claim as an accurate account. And also remember the ending of the only real account is a forgery, without it it's just a guy spreading rumours.

We're not trying to take your beliefs away from you. But neither are we convinced by gibberish obviously made up accounts with possibly a grain of truth but no more.

Plus, you know, Yahweh is an evil cunt even in his own propaganda. Why should I want anything to do with such a tool even if we pretended he was real?
Feel free to send me a private message.
Please visit my website here! It's got lots of information about atheism/theism and support for new atheists.

Index of useful threads and discussions
Index of my best videos
Quickstart guide to the forum
Reply
#9
RE: DEBUNKING THE CONSPIRACY THEORY
It would certainly, for example, be very desirable, in order to the firm and clear establishment of a miracle, that it should be performed in the presence of the Academy of Sciences of Paris, or the Royal Society of London, and the Faculty of Medicine, assisted by a detachment of guards to keep in due order and distance the populace, who might by their rudeness or indiscretion prevent the operation of the miracle. - Voltaire
Dead Horse
It is very important not to mistake hemlock for parsley, but to believe or not believe in God is not important at all. - Denis Diderot

We are the United States of Amnesia, we learn nothing because we remember nothing. - Gore Vidal
Reply
#10
RE: DEBUNKING THE CONSPIRACY THEORY
Does that make jesus a Zombie or a Vampire? Was he an extra in the Re-animator movie?
Being told you're delusional does not necessarily mean you're mental. 
Reply



Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Best books debunking Christianity KiwiNFLFan 83 18263 January 16, 2020 at 10:21 am
Last Post: Fake Messiah
  a theory about modern xtian deconversion drfuzzy 14 3274 April 29, 2016 at 1:12 am
Last Post: Godscreated
  BBC's Conspiracy Road Trip: Creationism Cyberman 5 1665 March 12, 2016 at 8:45 am
Last Post: Fidel_Castronaut
  Planet Bieber update: Justin debunks the big bang theory TubbyTubby 32 6968 October 1, 2015 at 5:52 pm
Last Post: Crossless2.0
  Debunking the "Dying and Rising Gods" Theory Randy Carson 55 17476 September 22, 2015 at 3:24 pm
Last Post: abaris
  Christians to die out by diminished gene pool theory (sub-species) TubbyTubby 20 3853 August 20, 2015 at 5:18 pm
Last Post: brewer
  Debunking christianity dyresand 3 2147 July 19, 2015 at 11:56 am
Last Post: Metis
  Let's say the multiverse theory is true, how would a Christian insert God...? Mr. Moncrieff 21 7796 March 1, 2014 at 7:15 am
Last Post: Alex K
  Mutations disprove the theory of upward evolution SavedByGraceThruFaith 512 237372 October 12, 2013 at 12:20 pm
Last Post: Kayenneh
  Do you believe in the mythist theory ? viocjit 14 5436 June 4, 2013 at 2:51 am
Last Post: FifthElement



Users browsing this thread: 7 Guest(s)