Read Time: 6 minutes

Introduction:

The resurrection of Jesus is one of the most discussed events in history by scholars. Many people have tried to explain what happened using historical facts and logical reason but often ignore Occam’s Razor.

Shared Historical Facts:

First of all, we need to start with historical facts many historians agree on about the origins of Christianity. Here’s a list of a few of these facts.

• Jesus existed.
• The early Christian movement grew despite persecution.
• Jesus was crucified under the Romans.
• Many historians agree the tomb was empty.
• The apostles and his followers believed their message.
• The Bible contains multiple historical sources.
• There are several historical sources outside the bible describing Jesus and his followers.

What is Occam’s Razor:

Occam’s Razor is a logical rule that can be used in history, science, theology and philosophy. If you have several explanations for the same facts, the explanation with the fewest assumptions and the simplest explanation is usually the most likely.

9/11 Example:

Let’s say that the attack just happened a week ago, and you don’t know what happened. You hear there are two narratives from your group of friends: It was a terrorist attack or an inside job used to justify war against another country.

• The assumptions needed for it being an inside job – A large number of government officials and their departments would need to be involved and coordinate perfectly; everyone involved would need to stay silent with zero whistle‑blowers. The attackers would need to be willing to die. If you believed there were bombs planted in the building as well, none of the maintenance, security, or emergency services would have noticed anything unusual. And last of all, evidence would need to be hidden or destroyed carefully.

• The assumptions needed for it being a terrorist attack – A small group of terrorists planned the attack; they hijacked a few commercial jets. They would need to hate the US people or government. And last of all there would have to be a group of extremists.

If you didn’t have any foreknowledge of what happened or any information given to you other than those points, why would you likely presume it was the terrorist attack? Because you were given two explanations from the same facts and the explanation with the fewest assumptions is more likely to be right.

If you’re going to believe a more complex explanation or conspiracy theory, there must be strong evidence and compelling incentives to justify the extra assumptions.

Secular explanation:

There are many different secular explanations for the resurrection, but I chose the stolen‑body theory as the main one I use since it fits Occam’s Razor the best.

The assumptions needed:

First, you have to assume the disciples or someone else had easy access to the tomb and could move the large stone without being noticed. They had to remove the body quickly and quietly. The Gospel of Matthew (27:62–66), says guards were placed this is likely true if Roman and Jewish authorities were worried about this happening. So, you need to assume the Roman and Jewish authorities failed this simple task. If there were guards as stated, they would have had to fall asleep or were bribed or were overpowered. But if they really were asleep, the disciples could have woken them up by accident which makes the story even more unlikely especially since Matthew (28:11–15) shows the priests told the guards to say they were asleep which means they were awake and needed a cover story. Matthew’s detail about guards is plausible because it fits the historical context of Roman / Jewish concerns at the time.

You also have to assume no bystanders nearby who could report this event since it was a public execution in Jerusalem during Passover. After this you have to assume the disciples disposed of the body in a way the authorities never found. Another thing you need to consider is the incentives of the disciples. They would have had to risk arrest, torture, or execution for something they knew was false with zero whistle‑blowers.

If you assume instead, it was all just mass hysteria or hallucinations, you still have to explain why the eyewitness accounts have different details on the same core story (which is normal even in police interviews) and why they do not have contradictions in the core story.

You need up to 14 assumptions for this one event to be true.

The assumptions:

• The disciples (or someone else) had access to the tomb.
• No whistle‑blowers.
• They could move the large stone without being noticed.
• They could remove the body without being caught.
• If asleep, the disciples didn’t accidentally wake the guards.
• The Roman/Jewish authorities failed to secure the tomb.
• The guards were asleep or bribed or overpowered.
• No bystanders saw anything.
• The disciples else successfully disposed of the body.
• Authorities never found the body afterward.
• The disciples gained nothing (socially or materially) but still kept lying or Hallucination / Mass Hysteria.
• Eyewitnesses never contradicted the core story by accident but had natural vibration.
• All disciples maintained the lie or believed Hallucination / Mass Hysteria for decades.
• The disciples were willing to risk arrest, torture and execution.

Christian Exaptation:

This is the biggest assumption, but also the simplest. It refers to the monotheistic God, the Christian God. If He doesn’t exist, then the entire Christian explanation collapses immediately. But this assumption isn’t trying to prove God. If God exists, then He must also be capable of acting within history. This includes the possibly of miracles such the Resurrection.

The Christian explanation also assumes that Jesus appeared to people after His death. It further assumes that the disciples honestly reported what they believed happened this can be proven by the fact the disciples would rather suffer and even die the rather than deny their stories.

Another thing you need to consider is the prophecies in the Bible. It was written over many years by different authors. There are 200–400 in Old Testament passages in the Old Testament that point toward the resurrection. Here two examples Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 53.

You would need to make around 7 assumptions for this one event to be true.

The assumptions:

• God exists.
• God can act in history.
• Miracles are possible
• Jesus really died.
• Jesus appeared to people after His death. (The Resurrection)
• The disciples honestly reported what they believed happened.
• Old Testament prophecies point toward the resurrection.

Conclusion:

When you compare the explanations using Occam’s Razor, Christianity needs fewer assumptions and it has plenty of evidence to back it. Even if I was wrong, it is still true that Occam’s Razor works to help find truth.