Lunatic Theory
Option 2: The Lunatic Theory
HE DIDN’T KNOW his claims were FALSE
> Sincerely deluded > Lunatic based on what he claimed & believing in his supposed miracles & dying for it
Positive supports for this theory:
+1 If anyone I knew claimed to be god, insanity is my first guess
+2 Just like the Heaven’s Gate members, who drank the poisoned Kool-aid
+3 They checked the wrong tomb
+4 What’s easier to believe, all the miracles happened, or the witnesses are crazy?
+5 All the supposed witnesses had hallucinations
Problems with +1
If God did come to Earth to achieve something for our relationship with him, then it better be accompanied by verification that is beyond man’s ability to do, otherwise, it is likely just someone with mental issues, or just another attempt by man to make a god how we want God to be, by inventing beliefs we like, instead of determining what God is actually like.
The difference beween Jesus, and anyone else who ever claimed to be God: Jesus brought the verification, such as the entire Old Testament & Israelite traditions, and predictions, which all came way before Jesus, all pointing clearly to Jesus; miracles; resurrection with extraordinary evidence that no other comparable claim can compare with. If you do not think this claim is entirely unique, what other examples can you provide of one claiming supernatural authority, and then verifying the claim with a comparable level of evidence?
My first guess about quantum mechanics was that parts of the theory seemed foolish and were wrong, but the problem for me was the facts overwhelmed my thoughts on the issue, and what I thought was foolish, is in fact reality. Even the brightest minds in science have through experience recognized the need to have humility – sometimes our best guesses or understandings may turn out to be the foolish ones, especially if they are guesses, and not backed up with solid support.
Therefore, while insanity should be investigated first, if the evidence does not support that theory, then, if you want to be rational and base your choice on what is most likely true, you better look for another theory, even if it goes against your comfort and opinion.
Problems with +2
On a vacation, I drove by what seemed like some big religious meeting, and had to check it out. It was very different from meetings I was used to, so I located one of the leaders and asked her what the basic beliefs were. Very interesting. The leader said that Jesus had already returned, and she was currently living in NY. My natural, not-so-nice instinct was to ask her if this Jesus was “hot.” And then ask if I could have her number. But, I held back on the sarcasm because I did not want to ridicule, or make her defensive. Instead I said that I believe in a different Jesus, one that verified his claim, and I gave her a brief set of evidences. I asked if her Jesus provided any verification that could be checked . . . and the leader left the conversation shortly after, being unable to provide any examples.
People have a spiritual need to be filled, and because people have a tendency to bypass truth and fill themselves instead with what they think is appealing, we will always have things like the group I ran into, or Heaven’s Gate tragedies. Marshall Applewhite convinced the Heaven’s Gate group that a spacecraft travelled in the tail of the Hale-Bopp comet, and they had to commit suicide to “evacuate Earth” in time to be transported to the spacecraft. Creative idea and promises of spiritual fulfillment beyond human existence led 38 people to commit suicide. Tragedy of flawed thinking. These people, as well as the 9/11 plane hijackers, and others through history have died for beliefs, but can you see the difference with Jesus and the disciples?
Jesus and the disciples died not for beliefs, but for what they knew for fact to be true or false. Entirely different situation, which disproves the +2 idea.
Problems with +3
The tomb Jesus was buried in was specifically named as one owned by a known Jewish religious leader, Joseph of Arimathea. Naming a well known and checkable leader leaves little room for failing to determine the correct tomb. What evidence is there that they went to the wrong one, other than someone doesn’t want to believe in the resurrection?
The Roman and/or Jewish authorities, who went to the trouble of giving a crucifixion under Pontius Pilate, would not then just allow Jesus’ disciples to continue to give the same message, plus the added emphasis that Jesus just overcame the authority of Roman and Jewish religious leaders, and death. It was a short walk, and those opposed to Jesus’ claim had the resources, motivation and authority to end the empty tomb claim, unless it was indeed empty.
And this would, at best, only explain the empty tomb, it entirely fails to give reasonable explanation to the other minimal facts involved, such as the disciples sincerely believing they saw Jesus after the cross – so we are back to liars or lunatics.
Problems with +4
Same as for +4 in Liar Theory.
Problems with +5
Sure psychiatric events like hallucinations, conversion disorders, and breavement-related visions occur, but these are medical symptoms, and therefore require a clinical appraisal of the liklihood of these theories. Rarely do those offering hallucinations as a theory provide such an analysis, as most are NT scholars and not in the medical field, or maybe because the disciples’ belief in the resurrection is entirely inconsistent with the medical records and understanding of these psychiatric events, which would invalidate the psychiatric claims.
NEVER in the peer reviewed medical or psychology literature[1],[2] has there been published examples of collective-hallucinations, at different times, places, and circumstances, where 100% of the group is all seeing the same things and routinely interacting tangibly with who they claimed to see. Nor are there examples of people then giving their lives over to testify to the fact, and being certain even to the point of death. Bereavement-related visions only convinced those in medical studies that the person was dead, Jesus’ appearances and activities, on the other hand, unanimously convinced all who saw that Jesus was alive, entirely well, and active for over a month before ascending to heaven, with angels also present for that occasion. And grief surely was not influencing Paul, who at the time when Jesus appeared to him was a critic of Jesus and supported his crucifixion.
This theory also does not explain all the numerous other miraculous signs Jesus provided, nor does it explain the empty tomb. And these people were so certain of what they knew concerning Jesus, they challenged others, saying you too witnessed these things or can check with those who did! The proposed psychiatric theories are naïve when proper medical and psychological analysis is included, and therefore do not offer plausible explanations for the biblical account of Easter.
More Reasons Why the lunatic theory is not a reasonable option:
− 1 No supportive evidence
The NT is characterized by careful, clear thinking, proven ideas, accurate historical details, and harmonization between very different writers. I have not heard of any facts to support that Luke, Paul, or any of the disciples were lunatics. If you have some facts, what are they?
Consider Jesus’ and the disciples’ actions, words, care for others, and psycholigically, emotionally, and morally healthy lives. Opponents never claimed they were crazy, just that Jesus must be demon-possessed to perform his wonders.
The one person who did at one time say Jesus is “beside-himself,” was his half-brother James! That is an embarrassing thing to write in the Bible, but scholars regard this highly because when a source includes details that embarrass their own claims, it is likely to be very trustworthy in its other claims. Can you blame James, poor guy. You think you have problems with a perfect sibling, James must have often muttered, “Oh Jesus, he never does anything wrong,” and then to hear Jesus claim to be God come to earth to fulfill a purpose, that was just too much for James – until he was confronted with the risen Lord. James then abruptly came to fully accept all that Jesus claimed, even led the church in the very place that crucified Jesus, and because he wouldn’t stop his testimony, he was thrown from the roof of the Temple, then stoned as he hadn’t died immediately from the fall.
There were plenty of critics, but no witnesses or evidence of insanity.
− 2 Doesn’t explain any of the minimal facts
Even if there were evidence supporting Jesus being a lunatic, it does nothing to explain all the other evidence, such as the minimal facts.
Some facts may be explained if Jesus just happened to get lucky enough to assemble a group of people, who were as insane as he was, who were just as willing to die and lead others to suffering. If they were all lunatics, then it could explain some of the minimal facts, but the abrupt change in skeptics, empty tomb and other stubborn facts still tear down the lunatic theory. And of course, there is no evidence to support the insanity of them all.
[1] This is based on Bergeron’s comprehensive data base search of the Pubmed and American Psychological Association websites. In agreement with this conclusion, another author and researcher also attested in March, 2009: “I have surveyed the professional literature (peer-reviewed journal articles and books) written by psychologists, psychiatrists, and other relevant healthcare professionals during the past two decades and have yet to find a single documented case of a group hallucination, that is, an event for which more than one person purportedly shared in a visual or other sensory perception where there was clearly no external referent.” Gary A. Sibcy, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Piedmont Psychiatric Center, Centra Health Hospitals, Virginia, USA, as cited in The Resurrection of Jesus: a Clinical Review of Psychiatric Hypotheses for the Biblical Story of Easter. Joseph W. Bergeron, M.D. and Gary R. Habermas, Ph.D, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rQljKoh2ki-yVDwIzgpqLoLj2w9tp_60OSBJ4YVr3ZA/mobilebasic?pli=1#ftnt1
[2]American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed. (Washington: DC. 2013).
The Bottom-Line
- The Lunatic Theory does not have supportive evidence
- Fails miserably in explaining even the minimal facts
- Requires unrealistic and unsupported beliefs – it does not work – you would be unreasonable and against the scholarship and common sense to believe it.