Eyewitness Testimony to the Resurrection

Often, when Christians argue with atheists about the historical evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus, they bring up eyewitness testimony as a reliable piece of evidence. There are a number of passages in the New Testament which mention that Jesus appeared to his disciples and others after he was crucified. One of the most famous cases is the conversion of Christian persecutor Saul of Tarsus to Paul, Christian evangelist, on the road to Damascus. This is a bit problematical because he had never actually met Jesus in the flesh and there is some question as to whether Jesus appeared as a physical body or a spiritual body.

Another famous story takes place on the road to Erasmus. Several days after the Crucifixion, two disciples were walking on the road to the town of Erasmus. They encounter another traveler who asks them why they are sad (the traveler is Jesus but they are prevented from recognizing him). They tell the traveler about the Crucifixion of Jesus, their Messiah. He is sympathetic and continues walking with them. When they reach Erasmus, the stranger says that he is going to continue on but the disciples persuade him to join them for dinner. During dinner, when he breaks bread, they suddenly realized that he is Jesus, he then disappears.

This is an interesting problem for the eyewitness reports of the resurrection of Jesus. Apparently, they could not recognize someone who they had known intimately for years. On the other hand, the possibility exists that it was not Jesus but some entity that could change their appearance at will. There are other passages in the Bible about disguised Angels and Demons. It looks as if the eyewitness reports in the Bible are not reliable after all if supernatural entities can easily change their appearance.