Alternative Naturalistic Theories #3: Passover Plot The
Passover Plot This is my personal favorite! It is quite clever, although again, after pondering this extensively I had to put this one aside because it strains credulity. The Passover Plot is a
variation of the Swoon Theory, and was put forward by Dr. Hugh Schonfield in 1963; the book was recently rereleased. Schonfield says that
Jesus believed he was messiah and engineered events so that he would appear to
be resurrected. He had helpers, including Joseph of Arimathea, at the
crucifixion who gave him a drug with the wine on the cross to make him
unconscious. After the crucifixion they took Jesus to the tomb and attempted to
revive him, but had not anticipated the Roman sword thrust that caused Jesus’
death within a day or two. They then secretly buried his body. (Schonfield, H. The
Passover Plot 40th Anniversary Edition, Disinformation Company, 2005). Problems: 1. Although
the morality of Jesus’ teachings has been acknowledged through the centuries,
Jesus in this scenario is depicted as a scheming manipulator who wants to grasp
the reins of power. 2. Scourging
and crucifixion were serious situations from which a man could not count on
surviving, even if removed early. In the first century the realities of these
tortures were well known. Josephus writes, “And when I was sent by Titus Caesar
with Cerealins, and a thousand horsemen, to a certain village called Thecoa, in
order to know whether it were a place fit for a camp, as I came back, I saw
many captives crucified, and remembered three of them as my former
acquaintance. I was very sorry at this in my mind, and went with tears in my
eyes to Titus, and told him of them; so he immediately commanded them to be
taken down, and to have the greatest care taken of them, in order to their
recovery; yet two of them died under the physician’s hand, while the third
recovered.” (Life 76) 3. The
dosing of the drug on the cross, given by mouth, is extremely doubtful – how
could the dose be controlled to not give a fatal overdose? The drug would also
undoubtedly further depress respiration. 4. This
theory does nothing to explain how the tomb was opened on Sunday morning, the
multiple eyewitness appearances of Jesus, the unshaken faith of the
apostles, or the conversion of the zealous Pharisee Paul on the road to Tarsus. |
