Did Paul simply hallucinate Jesus's appearing to him?
It seems that Paul was proclaiming loudly and often that Jesus appeared to him alive from the dead. The question then arises, what caused this very specific belief to appear in Paul? Currently, the most popular naturalistic explanation of Paul’s proclamation is not that he was lying about his experience, but rather that he hallucinated and mistook it as Jesus' authentic appearance to him (whether this hallucination was visual or just auditory). Is that what happened? Was Paul's experience purely hallucinatory?
In general, the alleged witnesses of Jesus’s post-mortem appearances did not simply hallucinate Jesus.
See forthcoming article to discuss 7 evidences for this claim: [All Forthcoming]
• Groups interacted with him (seeing, touching etc.).
• The figure often did not look like Jesus.
• The figure physically interacted with them.
• Hallucinations are rare.
• Hallucinations never persuade people of resurrection.
• Hallucinations have known/plausible etiologies.
• Hallucinations project known categories.
This is relevant because Paul was one of the alleged witnesses, and these counter evidences apply to his case.
Paul denies that Jesus appeared non-physically (e.g. intra-mentally), insisting instead that what appeared to him was quite physical and extra-mental; it was Jesus in the flesh, and so externally perceptible. It was not a mere vision or epiphany.
This article analyzes these 8 evidences:
• 1 Cor 9:1 (“I've seen”) denotes normal sight.
• 1 Cor 15 (“buried-appeared”) = physical appear.
• 1 Cor 15:6 (“most remain”) meant witnesses.
• Paul: “Jesus-appearances and visions differ.”
• Paul: “Jesus resurrected physically.”
• An overtly immaterial visit'd not persuade.
• Acts: “Paul says Jesus’ visit hit his group.”
• Acts: “Jesus physically appeared to Paul.”
This is relevant, because if Paul hallucinated, it would’ve been either through a visual hallucination or non-visual hallucination (e.g. an epiphany), and neither of these is compatible with Paul’s understanding of the event.
But no,...
• Paul: “I just felt Jesus ‘appear’ inside me.”
• Paul: “I saw Jesus as an intangible vision.”
• Paul: “Jesus resurrected non-physically.”
So? Plausibly...
• It was a convincing hallucination.
The circumstances surrounding conversion and subsequent ministry appear blatantly supernatural, dripping with ties to Jesus Christ’s supernatural power.
A forthcoming article analyzes these 6 evidences:
• Paul’s companions were impacted
• Paul was blinded.
• Acts: “A Christian (Ananias) healed him.”
• Dramatic story-brilliant conversion.
• Shockingly successful ministry.
• Paul allegedly saw/performed miracles.
This is relevant because it was be awkward this supernatural life was prefaced by a mistaken non-miraculous hallucination of Jesus’ appearing to Paul and converting him.
- • Acts 9:4-5 — “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,
• Acts 22:7-8 — ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’
• Acts 26:14-15 — when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. - Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:8 — and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. There is debate about what Paul means precisely here, but perhaps the predominant view is that Paul is calling attention to the violence with which he was pulled into the Christian faith; there was no easing into it. For any experience Paul had, in its initial moments he would not have attributed it to Jesus.
Paul did not initially know the identity of the figure; at first he was confused as to who it was.
• Acts says Paul claimed to be surprised.1
• Implied by Paul's language in 1 Cor 15:8 (“untimely born”)2
But no,…
• Acts misrepresents Paul. [Forthcoming]
So? Plausibly…
• It was just a rarer kind of hallucination. [Forthcoming]
According to Paul, his experience was squarely located within his mind; he thinks Jesus “appeared” to him personally in a vision or something else intra-mental like and epiphany.
This full article analyzes 3 evidences...
• E.g. Paul: “I just felt Jesus ‘appear’ inside me.”
• E.g. Paul: “I saw Jesus as an intangible vision.”
• Paul: “Jesus resurrected non-physically.”
This is relevant because while a physical appearance would be harder to explain as a hallucination, a non-physical appearance would fit quite nicely.
- Paul was having a seizure.
- Paul secretly admired Christians.
• Paul secretly desired to unify people.
• Paul secretly felt guilty.
• Paul secretly desired power.
• Paul was a visionary.
• Paul was schizophrenic.
Paul was cognitively poised to hallucinate Jesus’s appearing, due to one or more psychological tensions or conditions he suffered from.
For example…[All forthcoming]
It is just plainly false that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead by God.
This full article analyzes these 4 evidences:
• Dead people always stay dead.
• God wouldn’t raise Jesus from death.
• Jesus had not died.
• Jesus never existed.
This is relevant, because if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then hallucination is the next best explanation on offer for the so-called “appearance” that resulted in Paul's conversion.