Is resurrection of Jesus Christ against the dictum of knowledge?

Those sentences which are colored in orange are from Maharishi Dayananda Saraswati book Satyarth Prakash (The Light of Truth) and those which are colored in black are Jerry Thomas’s response.

"And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came, and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. He is not here: for he is risen as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And as the went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, AH hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid, go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, the worshipped him but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. I am with you always, even up to the end of the world." (28:2, 6, 9, 10, 16 – 18, 20.)

C. Even these things being opposes to the dictum of knowledge and the laws of nature are not worthy of being believed in. Have not the Christians made God like a Tahsildar or a Collector when they believe that he had peons or messengers called angels who descended from heaven and were sent on an errands hither and thither. Did Christ rise from the dead with the same body that had been buried. The Bible say that women held his feet and worshipped him. Was it the same body which had been buried? Now that body had been buried for three days, we should like to know why did it not decompose? To say with his own lips that "all power is given unto me in heaven and earth" was a mere hoax (on the part of Christ). It is impossible that he could have met his disciples and talked with them, because if these things be true, why cannot anyone rise from the dead now-a days and go to heaven with the same body.

Answer: Maharishi provides no basis to doubt the resurrection of LORD Jesus Christ except his recycled arguments against miracles. Maharishi’s arguments against miracles have been answered while answering the questions on Matthew 1:18-20.

Before providing evidence for the resurrection, let me answer one question. Why was the body of LORD Jesus Christ not decomposed for three days? Had Maharishi took a little more care to read the other passages of the Holy Bible, this would have been easily answered.

Let us see the burial details of the LORD Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospel of John.

John 19:39-40 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

Therefore, the body would have been preserved for the third day.

While looking at the resurrection, one must realize that this is a historical claim and not merely a metaphysical claim.

Gary Habermas, a specialist in the resurrection evidences has published a few of those details here: http://www.garyhabermas.com/

Similarly an excellent article by Josh McDowell also provides circumstantial evidences for the resurrection from a legal perspective. One can read that here: http://www.leaderu.com/everystudent/easter/articles/josh2.html

A summary of a few of the evidences are:

(a) Documentary Evidence and the Witness Account: There are clear evidences to point out that resurrection was the cornerstone of the Christian faith right from its inception. Apostles Paul’s epistles are one of the earliest Christian documents written before the Gospels. 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Paul records the witness of Apostles for this resurrection. He cites 500 witnesses, most of them were living at the time of writing the Epistle. It is highly improbable for all these witnesses to be hallucinated or deceived of the appearances on various days (around 40 days) on different occasions. The best explanation is that LORD Jesus Christ indeed resurrected on the third day.

(b) Empty Tomb and the Explanations: The tomb which was guarded by the soldiers was empty on the third day; zeal was broken, leaving the grave clothes behind. The enemies did not dispute this fact though they came up with an alternate explanation of body being stolen. The enemies though had the power and resources to find the body if it was stolen, never did that. The disciples who claimed to have seen LORD Jesus Christ endured persecution and died for this truth. The best explanation is that LORD Jesus Christ indeed resurrected on the third day.

(c) Life Transformation of Disciples and Even Many Unbelievers: The Apostles who fled at the time of crucifixion became bold witnesses after the resurrection of LORD Jesus Christ. They were ready to suffer and die for this truth. Apostle Paul, a one time enemy of the Church became a believer on seeing the resurrected LORD Jesus Christ. The best explanation is again that they spoke the truth about resurrection.

In other words, Maharishi’s metaphysical objections vanish in the clear light of history.