From: reedr@cgsvax.claremont.edu
Subject: Re: DID HE REALLY RISE???
Organization: The Claremont Graduate School
Lines: 40

In article <Apr.10.05.31.46.1993.14368@athos.rutgers.edu>, luomat@alleg.edu (Timothy J. Luoma) writes:
> In article <Apr.9.01.11.16.1993.16937@athos.rutgers.edu>  
> 
> "Suppose you were part of the `Christian consipracy' which was going to  
> tell people that Christ had risen.  Never mind the stoning, the being  
> burned alive, the possible crucifixion ... let's just talk about a  
> scourging.  The whip that would be used would have broken pottery, metal,  
> bone, and anything else that they could find attached to it.  You would be  
> stood facing a wall, with nothing to protect you.   ...
> scream out in agony that your raw back was being torn at again.  You would  
> say to yourself: `All this for a lie?'  And you had 37 more coming.
> 
> "At the third hit you would scream out that it was all a lie, beg for them  
> to stop, and tell them that you would swear on your life that it had all  
> been a lie, if they would only stop...."

No one was ever flogged, beaten, burned, fed to the lions, or killed in any
other way because of a belief in the resurrection - sorry to disappoint you.
The idea of resurrection is one which can be found in a host of different
forms in the religions of antiquity.  The problem was not the resurrection
which was a mediorce issue for a tiny fragment of the Jewish population 
(the Saducees) but was a non issues for everyone else.  The real problem was
that Christians were pacifist and preached there was only one god.  When the
state operates by a system of divinitation of the emperor -  monotheism 
becomes a capital offense.  The Jews were able to get exemption from this,
and were also not evangelistic.  Christians were far more vocal, and gentile,
and hence dangerous and were therefore targets of persecution.  Also since
Christians were a relatively powerless group, they made good scapegoats as is
seen by Nero's blaming them for the burning of Rome.  Let's not cloud the
issues with the resurrection.

randy

[I agree with you that Christians were not persecuted specifically
because they believed in resurrection.  However the beliefs that did
cause trouble were dependent on belief in the resurrection of Jesus.
Of course the problem with it is that there are alternatives other
than a great conspiracy.  The most common theory among non-Christians
scholars seems to be that the resurrection was a subjective event --
in effect, a delusion.  --clh]
