Ranking Explanations for Jesus' Resurrection | Tier List

What actually happened on Easter Sunday? Is the resurrection of Jesus really the best explanation for the origins of Christianity, or are there far more plausible alternatives that apologists conveniently ignore? And what happens when you stack the evidence for each explanation side by side in a tier list?

From the twin theory rooted in the second-century Gospel of Thomas and the Acts of Thomas to the fascinating and under-appreciated impersonator hypothesis — illustrated by the bizarre real-world case of Francis Schlatter, a faith healer whose death spawned dozens of imposters in the late 1800s — today we're ranking every major explanation for the resurrection of Jesus.

We'll examine grief hallucinations, swoon theory, the Christ myth theory, the liar hypothesis, propaganda, legend, and more to see which explanations hold up and which ones belong in the garbage. We'll also look at how modern faith healers like Todd Bentley and W.V. Grant demonstrate just how easily people are deceived by resurrection claims and miracle stories even today — with cameras rolling.

If Christian apologists like Gary Habermas want to argue that the "actually resurrected" explanation is the best of the best through minimal facts arguments, they're going to have to contend with a mountain of better, more plausible, and historically precedented alternatives. Let's explore why a combo explanation — incorporating impersonators, legend development, propaganda, and basic human psychology — might be the most compelling explanation of all.

My series exposing faith healers

My Francis Schlatter Video

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