Ultimate Questions Podcast with Jon Topping

In order to thoroughly evaluate the possibility of the disciples hallucinating the risen Christ, we should begin by getting a good definition of what hallucinations are, and how exactly they work. In this episode we take a psychological approach to understanding the nature of hallucinations, so that in future episodes we can see whether this can be applied to the disciples experiencing the resurrection of Jesus. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and videos. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!), "Big Adventure" by Paul Yudin. Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

One of the main counters against the resurrection of Jesus is the claim that the disciples were merely hallucinating the risen Christ. This explains why they claimed to have seen Jesus after His crucifixion, and it explains why they had such passion. In this episode, we'll go into the reasoning behind this argument, and we'll also look at its origins. This will be the first in a series of episodes dealing with the hallucination theory. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and videos. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!), "Big Adventure" by Paul Yudin. Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

Here we go into what is probably the best secular explanation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the idea that the disciples stole Jesus' body, and then spread the lie that Jesus had risen. We'll go into where this theory comes from, why it's probably the best secular explanation available, and then we'll look at the flaws the theory falls prey to. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and videos. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

The empty tomb is a difficult historical fact to make sense of. There are a few different ways to try and explain why Jesus' tomb was found empty, and in this episode we go into each theory in detail. For example, maybe the women simply went to the wrong tomb, or the Roman or Jewish authorities moved Jesus' body, or perhaps someone stole the body. In this episode we show that each of these explanations ends up having quite serious problems. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and videos. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

There is a group of secular arguments against the resurrection that all try to claim that Jesus' body went missing. They state that it was either stolen or lost somehow. These kind of theories are an attempt to explain the empty tomb. In this episode we go into the common problems that all these theories share. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and videos. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

What kills a person when they are crucified? The answer is probably quite different than you imagine. To wrap up the Swoon Theory, we will look at what exactly killed Jesus by examining the medicine and science behind crucifixion. After showing exactly what kills a person in crucifixion, we'll be able to definitively say that, yes, Jesus did in fact die on that cross two thousand years ago. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

Here we'll look at one of the best arguments for the idea that Jesus never died on the cross, so there was no resurrection. Two researchers published an article that uses modern medical science to explain how it could have been possible for someone to be crucified, and yet still live. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

Many of the secular arguments against the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually relate back to a misunderstanding on what crucifixion was like. In this episode we look at various historical references to crucifixion, to see what the ancients thought of it. After getting a better understanding of how the people within that culture understood crucifixion, it seems obvious that it was horrific, and that no one survived it. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

While academic historians haven't had respect for the swoon theory for many decades now, there are still those who try to bring back the idea that Jesus could have survived His crucifixion. One such argument is given by Bradley Bowen, who has done a better job than most at defending the swoon theory. In this episode, we'll evaluate Bowen's argument that Jesus could have recovered from His wounds before appearing, and that His recovery was interpreted as a resurrection. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

A popular counter argument people make against the idea that Jesus rose from the dead, is that they postulate that perhaps Jesus didn't actually die on the cross. What if Jesus only passed out, and the executioner that was crucifying Jesus "thought" Jesus was dead, so they put Him in the tomb before He died. If this was what happened, then the future sightings of Jesus wouldn't have proven a resurrection at all! In this episode, we'll look at different philosophical critiques surrounding this argument, and then in the next episodes we'll go into the historical and scientific reasons to think it's impossible that Jesus could have not died. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

A main piece of evidence used for the "imposter on the cross" argument is the Gospel of Barnabas. Some think this text is even better than the four canonical Gospels. The text teaches that God made Judas look like Jesus so he could get crucified instead. With those things in mind, some argue that there really was an imposter on the cross, and there's been a massive cover up by Christians to hide this fact. In this episode we dive into the facts regarding the usefulness of the text, the dating of it, and the different problems found within it. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

Probably the main way that Muslims try to deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is that they claim Jesus was never crucified in the first place. How do they take that stance, when there's so much historical data for the crucifixion? They believe that someone else was made to look like Jesus, and this "imposter" was then crucified, instead of Him. In this episode we look at the reasons for and against this position called "the imposter on the cross". For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from www.bensound.com. Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

Is there any reason to think miracles occur? In past episodes we've shown the arguments against miracles all fail, but is there any positive reasons to think miracles are real? In this episode, we hear from three friends of mine, who share their miracle stories with us, to see real world examples of God moving in people's lives. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from www.bensound.com. Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

One of the main reasons people disregard the resurrection of Jesus is because they don't believe miracles are possible. Whether they know it or not, their anti-supernatural worldview has been heavily impacted by a philosopher named David Hume, who gave a few arguments against miracles. Even today, many philosophers will say that Hume did such a good job defeating miracles that they can't possibly consider the possibility that supernatural events occur. For this episode, we'll look at Hume's arguments, and see how they stand up. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from www.bensound.com. Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

We've all met someone who disbelieves in supernatural things because they're more "science minded", as though science has disproven the supernatural entirely. In this episode we look at the scientific reasoning against miracles, to see whether this debate really has been settled by the scientific process. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from www.bensound.com. Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

A large reason people struggle to believe in the resurrection of Jesus is that they simply don't believe in miracles. In this episode, we look at the examples of miracles that aren't impressive, and see if this gives us reason to disbelieve in miracles in general. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from www.bensound.com. Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

After hearing the argument for the resurrection, one of the first responses from people is that miracles don't happen, so there's no point in even having a discussion about whether Jesus was really resurrected. In this episode we look at some of the philosophical reasons people have against miracles, and we discuss how quite often this turns out to merely be bias, rather than real argumentation. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from www.bensound.com. Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

Here we review the historical data, and form an argument out of it, to show that Jesus Christ actually rose from the dead. We've been building this case for a few episodes now, going through all the historical data, and showing what sorts of pieces of information are reliable about Jesus' life. Once we compile all that data, what's the best explanation? For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from www.bensound.com. Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

The idea that Jesus was buried, and then the tomb was found empty, is an incredible claim to make. In this episode we look at the historical pieces of evidence for this fact. If you're interested in the skeptical argument that Jesus was never buried, then check out the previous episode. This is our last episode on the evidences, and next time we'll piece it all together to form a coherent argument. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from www.bensound.com. Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

If Jesus's tomb was empty, then we need to explain where the body went. One way skeptics try to avoid this difficult question is by casting doubt on the idea of Jesus even bein buried in the first place. In this episode we'll look at the arguments against Jesus' burial. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from www.bensound.com. Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.