Reasonable Belief, Reasonable Doubt, and the Resurrection of Jesus

Two days ago, I posted two Twitter surveys directed at two different groups and asking a similar question about an event which is purported to have occurred two thousand years ago. One would think it is possible for people reasonably to disagree about a topic this far removed in time and based on documentary evidence from within a few decades of the event.

So it was interesting, if not surprising, to find that approximately 50 percent of Christians believe it is not rational to doubt the resurrection based on the available historical evidence while 50 percent of atheists believe it is not rational to believe it.

The lesson, I would suggest, is that the first hurdle in having a reasonable discussion about the evidence itself, is to overcome entrenched bias on both sides.

Christians, is it possible that a person who considers all the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus would form the *rational belief* that Jesus *did not* rise from the dead?

— Tentative Apologist (@RandalRauser) July 6, 2019

Non-Christians, is it possible that a person who considers all the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus would form the *rational belief* that Jesus *did* rise from the dead?

— Tentative Apologist (@RandalRauser) July 6, 2019

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