If the only reason we should not a priori reject miracles is because they might be explainable by undiscovered facts about nature, that would imply that miracles cannot, under any circumstances, be brought about by God. Thus Barker implicitly assumes the position which he claims to reject, and therefore has contradicted himself.
If a miracle is defined as some kind of violation, suspension, overriding, or punctuation of natural law, then miracles cannot be historical. Perhaps Barker should say that "then history cannot prove that miracles have occurred. However, just because an event is historical does not imply that this fact is knowable. Indeed, with respect to the resurrection, it may be the case that Jesus bodily rose from the dead, but history cannot establish this fact.
Barker compares the gospel miracles - including the resurrection - to the claim that when he went to the zoo, a donkey spoke to him in perfect Spanish. He notes that the Bible records a similar miracle (Numbers), but then implies the only reason that Christians believe the Biblical miracle (and reject his example) is because the former is in the Bible.
The radical nature of the Jesus myth hypothesis, in the minds of many, only strengthens the conviction that Jesus rose from the dead.
Critics like Barker would do well to attack the resurrection first, since it is the central tenet of the Christian faith, and then pursue the myth theory, if they must.
The Contemporary Debate on the Resurrection
Secular Objections to the Resurrection
Assessment
Barker's Arguments
Now despite my respect for Barker, nonetheless I have serious doubts about some of his arguments. Let me explain why.
The Lack of Historical Confirmation of the NT
Concerning the lack of external historical confirmation for the New Testament, I don't think this is a convincing argument against the historicity of Jesus. Even if we grant that there are no reliable, contemporary historical mentions of Jesus, independent of the New Testament, we still nevertheless have the New Testament itself. The New Testament, in at least the four gospels, does attest to a historical Jesus, and in my opinion Barker never really explains this away. He does mention the inconsistencies in the New Testament, which I will deal with in a moment, but my point here is that I think it is unreasonable to argue that Jesus did not exist simply on the basis of the inconsistencies.
New Testament Contradictions
I'm not particularly concerned with the whole "contradictions" debate anymore, so I don't want to spend too much time on this point. However, I will say that I think Barker's treatment of the material is as good as any I've seen anywhere in the atheistic literature. My only criticism would be his failure to note conservative Christian attempts to harmonize the accounts. In a couple of places, he does deal with possible objections from believers, but he does not deal with harmonizations in any systematic manner. I think this is a minor criticism on his part since his purpose was merely to provide an introduction to the issue, and not a scholarly one at that.
The Miracles Make the Stories Unhistorical
Barker correctly points out that the miracles of the New Testament should not be rejected a priori (Ibid., p. 376-77). But then he makes the comment, "After all, there might be future explanations for the stories, perhaps something that we yet do not understand about nature" (Ibid., p. 377). While I agree with the comment, Barker seems to imply that this is the only reason we should not a priori reject the miraculous. But that seems to be a contradiction. If the only reason we should not a priori reject miracles is because they might be explainable by undiscovered facts about nature, that would imply that miracles cannot, under any circumstances, be brought about by God. Thus Barker implicitly assumes the position which he claims to reject, and therefore has contradicted himself.
Indeed, Barker's very understanding of miracles makes them impossible, by definition. "What skeptics say is that if a miracle is defined as some kind of violation, suspension, overriding, or punctuation of natural law, then miracles cannot be historical" (Ibid.). Perhaps Barker should say that "then history cannot prove that miracles have occurred." If miracles cannot be historical, then miracles cannot occur, by definition. When we speak of a "historical" event, presumably we are referring to an event that has occurred (or we believe has occurred). However, just because an event is historical does not imply that this fact is knowable. Indeed, with respect to the resurrection, it may be the case that Jesus bodily rose from the dead, but history cannot establish this fact. This view is, in fact, endorsed by even some Christian scholars (for example Keller).
Moreover, Barker seems to ignore the concept of prior probability, from a theistic world view. Barker compares the gospel miracles - including the resurrection - to the claim that when he went to the zoo, a donkey spoke to him in perfect Spanish, saying "Al� es el �nico Dios verdadero" (Ibid., p. 376). He notes that the Bible records a similar miracle (Numbers), but then implies the only reason that Christians believe the Biblical miracle (and reject his example) is because the former is in the Bible, but the latter not. While that may in fact be true of many Christians, Barker fails to realize that, even for a Christian, the background probability of donkey speaking to him in perfect Spanish is very low. As Craig would say, the "religio-historical context" is lacking. Whereas from a Christian world view, the prior probability of the Biblical miracle is not low. Barker's arguments against miracles therefore miss the mark. In this context, he either needs to convince theists that their belief in God is irrational (which would affect the prior probability of all miracles), or raise historical objections.
Summary
I think that Barker's overall strategy is unwise. Although I once held Barker's view that Jesus did not exist, I think that many readers will be put off by just the sheer radicality of his hypothesis. It is unfortunate that many, if not most, of the vocal, secular critics of the resurrection portray denying the historicity of the resurrection as synonymous with the denying the historical Jesus. The radical nature of the Jesus myth hypothesis, in the minds of many, only strengthens the conviction that Jesus rose from the dead. (If we have to choose between "Jesus did not exist" and "Jesus rose from the dead", I think that many people would be inclined to believe the proposition that "Jesus rose from the dead.") While it is certainly valid to argue that if Jesus did not exist there was no resurrection, there is no reason that a critic of the resurrection must argue that way. Indeed, many people who claim to be Christians (for example K�ng, Spong, and Crossan) deny a bodily resurrection, but believe that Jesus was in fact a historical person. Critics like Barker would do well to attack the resurrection first, since it is the central tenet of the Christian faith, and then pursue the myth theory, if they must.
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