Source
r/atheism•
borg88

Why isn't there more discussion of the zombie invasion of Jerusalem on the first Easter?

According to Matthew 27:51–53, many dead saints came back to life after the ressurection and went to Jerusalem, where they were seen by many people.

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

I've seen Christians trying to use the very few known historical fragments of information we have about the existence of Jesus to somehow "prove" that he must have been resurrected.

Yet this momentous event - lots of dead people rising up and wandering the streets of a city - seems to have every little discussion. Jerusalem was under Roman control at the time, surely an event like this would have been noticed and recorded?

The few discussions I have seen really jump through hoops to explain this away. They are caught between, on the one hand finding to find a reason to say that this part of the gospels might not be literally true, while on the other hand continuing to assert that all the other parts (including the various miracles and the resurrection) should be treated as historical evidence.

Surely they can't have it both ways?

Posted Nov 7, 2021, 10:08 AM UTC

10746
scotch232•

Because it didn't happen

42
BEEP-TRiGGER-WARNiNG•

Nice logic.

2
Unlikely-happy-99•

the correct answer is i don't know because you are claiming you are doing the same as them relgious

-25
DutchwellsAgnostic Atheist•

Pics or it didn't happen. They are right

15
justdoubleclick•

If only photoshop existed back then… would require cameras… and computers.. hmmm… magic stories it is…

2
RelaxedApathyAgnostic Atheist•

An extraordinary claim presented without evidence can be dismissed without evidence; and in this case there is plenty of evidence against the existence of zombies.

9
Unlikely-happy-99•

what are you talking about zombies do exist

-9
RelaxedApathyAgnostic Atheist•

Define "zombie", then, because zombies do not exist for all commonly-held definitions of zombie.

1
zhaDeth•

Hi, im a pastafarian, we believe in the almighty Flying Spaghetti Monster, creator of the universe.

Some people don't believe in our religion because it is made up but like you said, they are claiming and thus are doing the same as us.

The sane approach is obviously to say the Flying Spaghetti Monster could be real or not and both are claims so it's a 50/50 chance right ?

1
Redddtaill•

Is there a precedent for people rising from the grave? No. However, there is a precedent for zombies not rising from the grave. So the claim that zombies rose from the grave is reasonable to dismiss without further evidence, and unreasonable to assert without further evidence. Get your false equivalence out of here.

1
VikingPreacherAnti-Theist•

I'm not sure if this applies to zombie invasions

1
specialspartan_Anti-Theist•

That's not how logic and reason work

0
ZomunieoAtheist•

An evangelical professor and scholar, Michael Licona, got unpersoned by the evangelical brass for daring to suggest this bit in Matthew was perhaps not literallly historical, in the midst of a 700 page doorstop/magnum opus defending the "historicity of the resurrection".

He cried uncle when they squeezed him, and said he would soften it to a mere possibility in a future edition of his book. But the pearl clutchers would not accept anything less than a full disavowal.

Read here to watch evangelicals prosecuting their own for thoughtcrime. Orwell would be impressed:

https://www.christianpost.com/news/biblical-inerrancy-and-the-licona-controversy.html

30
Funnysexybastard•

OMG, that is gorgeously hilarious. Poor Mike.

8
TrueBornTyrantAnti-Theist•

This is a great point and I cant believe I've overlooked this for so long. I always used to bring up the "darkening of the sun" for 6 hours. But a large number of holy zombies that appeared to many is definitely something to bring up in debates.

What you're stating is true, it was a Roman controlled province and all this shit happening on the same day would definitly be note worthy

19
DreamerOfRain•

All I am thinking of right now is how the roman empire would have handled a zombie apocalypse. Would be a great movie.

15
Paulemichael•

There’s a studio exec somewhere at Netflix green-lighting this as we speak....

6
Hewfe•

Historical zombie fiction sounds like a fun genre.

6
Om_nom_nom_pi•

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

7
justdoubleclick•

Well, a lot of the “historical” events in the Bible are not supported by the very extensive historical writings of the Romans, Egyptians, or whoever the stories refer to or took place under..

15
pennylanebarbershopAnti-Theist•

I think what it shows is that Jesus' resurrection was no big deal since ordinary people beat him to it.

12
pennylanebarbershopAnti-Theist•

The problem came when one of the resurrected men returned to his house and tried to reclaim it along with his wife who had remarried. Film at 11.

10
BumbleMuggin•

And where did the zombies go and do? “Welp I woke up from the dead so now I guess I gotta get a job.”.

And how do christians square this with the passages that clearly say a man has but one life?

9
Funnysexybastard•

As Christopher Hitchens said "being raised from the dead was something of a banality at the time".

Hitch new how to craft a great burn. I have a lot of respect for that ability, in the face of nonsense.

9
dudleydidwrongTouched by His Noodliness•

The idea of dead rising from their graves was a common theme of Jewish apocalyptic literature of the time. To Matthew's author it was evidence that Jesus was the Messiah.

6
wdabhb•

So resurrection is no big deal, apparently lots of people do it

6
Funnysexybastard•

Jesus was the 7th person in the Bible raised from the dead.

That's not counting the zombie apocalypse you cited.

It was something of a banality at the time.

6
MacNuttyOne•

Because it never happened and the story is an embarrassment to modern apologists. They won't even mention it, if possi9ble. That is why i like to hit them with it.

Had it actually happened it would have been a Huge story written about by numerous writers of the period. The Romans would have been out bashing in zombie heads. Terrified Jews would have been begging the Romans to come kill the zombies, the evil spirits that had arisen from their graves. It is not like anyone would have recognized them, having no photos of former prophets.

Even your more gullible Christians would have difficulty with that story if they paid any attention. Obviously, zombie fiction is older than most would think>

6
pioneerrunner•

Not only is this event not mentioned by other historians writing at the time. It isn’t even mentioned by other Gospel writers. The other Gospels even think this is bullshit because there is no way you can write chapters about that weekend and not mention the zombies walking the streets.

5
CircleofOwls•

I feel like this would make a great Walking Dead prequel.

2
hacksoncodeIgnostic•

It never happened (and there's some ambiguity about "many" here)... but... let's be honest.

Let's imagine that a couple dozen zombies actually rose in a remote town in South Dakota, walked around talking to a bunch of mountain yokels for a while, but not killing/injuring anyone or leaving any forensic evidence, and no one had a camera on them... and then they disappeared never to heard from again.

Do you really think this would get more than a blip in the National Inquirer and some social media? It would be dismissed as a prank or delusion in a blink of the eye. Yet you can be sure that town would preserve it in their lore and embellish it over the centuries.

1
PineapplePosey•

How have I never heard this story before?

1
ichuck1984•

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

It is funny though how this gets glossed over like many other ridiculous parts of the Bible, relatively speaking.

Pastor- “Praise, he is risen!”

Crowd- “Praise be!”

Pastor- “And all the other fuckin zombies that came back to life that day!”

Crowd- wut.

1
floydlangford•

Don't you remember? Same thing happened last November. They all made their way to voting booths that time though and voted for Big Joe!

/s obviously.

1
SelkieSailorAtheist•

Am I the only one who now wants to see a "Jesus Zombie" movie?

1
Brewe•

If you're already buying in to one zombie walking the streets of Jerusalem, why would 100 zombies be an issue?

1
muchacho_18•

sounds like a cool cod black ops zombies DLC map

1