Research problems:

1. What is hallucination naturalistic theory?

2. What are the evidence that disproves the hallucination theory?

evidence 1
evidence 2
evidence 3

Conclusion

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Q1. Who made/proposed the Hallucination Hypothesis?

- Thank you for that question. The person who proposed the Hallucination Hypothesis
is David Friedrich Strauss, presented in his book The Life of Jesus published in 1835.
However, it was adapted and further added on by Gerd Ludemann, Larry Hurtado,
and many more.

Q2. What is the Hallucination Hypothesis?

- The Hallucination Hypothesis is a naturalistic approach to explain the Resurrection.
Across, the various theologians and scholars it follows the 3 bases that we
mentioned before.

Q3. What disproves the Hallucination Hypothesis?

- The Hallucination Hypothesis is disproven because there are numerous details that it
fails to explain clearly, and some statements go against the teachings within the
Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Doctrine of Resurrection. An example of
this is that the hypothesis fails to explain how the body of Jesus Christ disappeared
from the tomb, and many more assumptions that make it based on logical fallacies.

Q4. Do you believe in the Hallucination Hypothesis?

- No, I, or we, do not believe in the Hallucination Hypothesis since it goes against the
teachings of the Church. In addition, I, or we, have faith that our Lord Jesus Christ
died, resurrected, and ascended with his body and soul to the Kingdom of God.

Q5. What made your group choose the Hallucination Hypothesis?

- We chose to tackle the Hallucination Hypothesis because we wanted to prove that

there are no hallucinations, or any of the sort, that is included or could explain the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ. To add, there was an interest in knowing if the
hypothesis provides a reasonable explanation. However, that was the opposite when
we conducted further research.

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LEGEND:
Yellow Highlight - Keywords/PPT
SCRIPT:

Christine:
Good day, we are one of the 2 groups to present the Hallucination Hypothesis, a naturalistic
approach to the event of the Resurrection!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Terms and Definition:

Nathaniel:
Before we begin, let us be aware of the definition of certain words in regards to the theory,
religious terms, and evidence that you may find confusing.
● Theologian- A person who is an expert in theology (Theology is the study of divine
beings like religious beliefs and divine natures)
● Naturalistic Theory of Resurrection- A theory of resurrection presented that is likely to
be natural and not superstition
● Psychoanalysis - Psychoanalysis is one’s own unconscious mind, it’s like your true
mind speaking to you instead of the small voice
● Post Hoc/Ad Hoc- Ad Hoc means for this, simply put something needed at the
moment. Post Hoc means after this, and refers to reasoning, discussion, or
explanation that takes place after something has already transpired.
● Mindset - Mindset is a collection of thoughts and beliefs in your head

Goal
Michaella:
Today, we seek to explain to you the Hallucination Hypothesis, the statements that support it,
and the evidence that disproves it.

Introduction: What are Hallucinations?

Christine:
Hallucinations appear when you feel very guilty, tired, self-doubt, starvation, and stressed.
They say that people had hallucinations when they proclaimed that they saw Jesus being
alive again after His death. The Hallucination Theory has many reasons that attempt prove it
but there's also a failure of naturalistic hypotheses to explain the data, so our team
conducted research to give evidence as to why the Hallucination Theory is not applicable or
it is not true. The chief reason why it was rejected was that it became apparent that each
one of the data was refuted by facts. After they observed these theories, James D.G. Dunn
concludes that "alternative interpretations of the data fail to provide a more satisfactory
explanation." And according to Philosopher Stephen Davis, he agrees that critics: are unable
to come up with a coherent and plausible story that accounts for the evidence at hand. All of
the alternative hypotheses with which I am familiar are historically weak; some are so weak
that they collapse of their own weight once spelled out.... the alternative theories that have
been proposed are not only weaker but far weaker at explaining the available historical
evidence.
●

1. What is Hallucination Theory?

EXPLANATION: Alliana and Kryst Cyca

Alliana:
The hallucination theory attempts
to represent the declaration to the revival of Jesus by guaranteeing both hear-able
and visual mental trips with respect to Jesus' followers. Advocates of this view
guarantee that Jesus' supporters saw Jesus, however that these sightings were just
mental trips in the personalities of Christ's adherents, not certifiable experiences with
a revived man. The mind flights, or sightings, are professed to have happened over
and over and are said to have been so striking as to persuade Christ's supporters
that Jesus had become alive once again.

Christine:
According to some research from scholars, they have deduced that accounts from
the old testament and new testament are alike in a way that involves hallucination as
it’s hypothesis. The sightings of our Lord, angels, and the like may be contributed by
their christian heart that they have resorted to creating and imagining images that
serve as their “callings.” It was also explained in the research that hallucinations can
be passed unto others with similar deep emotional experiences as the viewer. It is
believed that the situation in which the disciples saw Jesus rising from the dead was
a chain reaction from 1 disciple to another and is possible because of their longing
and unwavering belief in their God.

Kryst Cyca:
It was made possible by their minds and it is also probable to think that some people
didn't really see Jesus but because “most of them saw Him they started to just
believe without actually witnessing it. Bandwagon is what others specify it, some
psychologists say that if you believe enough the accounts of others your mind would
make these small images that will make you believe in the said topic further. Due
also to the cruel death and the disciples’ helplessness they may have created a God
figure to assure them as part of the stages of grief from the death of their God,
Leader, and Friend.Observed accounts also relate the resurrection of God to
collective hallucination. Collective hallucination is mostly witnessed in tribes who are
very devoted to their religion and they ultimately believe that their God is appearing in
front of their eyes whenever they give respect and when they anger them.

It is truly probable that the disciples had only created God in their minds and not
really witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ but there are some details that are
truly questionable like the disappearance of the body of Christ and the accuracy of
the information shared by the witnesses even though they were in different locations
in different times.
The 3 Bases of the Hallucination Hypothesis

Explanation: Nathaniel
The Hallucination Theory operates on 3 bases. First, it states that the appearances of Jesus
are hallucinations of the disciples caused by intense reactions (stress, self doubt, grief, etc.)
to the Resurrection. Second, the hallucinations transformed (beliefs, hope, “go and make
disciples of all nations,” etc.) the lives of those who saw him. Third, the psychoanalysis of
Peter led to hallucinations and proves the hallucination of the other groups of people that
Jesus appeared to. With the aforementioned bases, the Hallucination theory is believed to
be plausible. However, we are to present information that disproves this theory.

2. What are the evidence that disproves the Hallucination Theory?

Evidence 1: SOFIA

The Hallucination Theory

About more than hundred of years ago, a German Theologian, David Friedrich Strauss
popularized a theory which suggests that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was not real but
rather, a hallucination--it was through his book, The Life of Jesus (1835) that was made very
controversial during the 19th century that many scholars started to critique this alternative
perspective. Some readers even opposed this idea, “The most pestilential book ever vomited
out of the jaws of hell.”, readers say.

There were a few scholars such as Gerd Lüdemann, Jack Kent, and Michael Goulder that
supported and claimed that what the disciples have seen are hallucinations of Jesus caused
by their grief. Jack Kent and Michael Goulder suggest that the disciples have undergone
conversion disorder which is a psychological illness accompanied by physical symptoms
such as blindness or paralysis. The main contributors to this disorder are guilt, grief, doubt,
and conflicts. Paul was said to have suffered this but Michael Goulder added that the other
disciples, Peter and James were also experiencing this. The consequence was a new
outlook on life for these apostles, one of whom had rejected his Lord and the other had
persecuted Christians — a transformation that led to "subsequent heroism and martyrdom."

BASIS 1: The Hallucination Theory states that the appearances of Jesus are
hallucinations of the disciples caused by intense reactions (grief, etc.) to His death.

However, there are many facts that opposes this theory, ex:

1. Conversion disorder has a psychological profile that strongly opposes an application

to Paul, James, or Peter; It is more common in women (up to five times more
 frequently), teenagers and young adults, less trained individuals, people with low
I.Q.s or low socioeconomic status, and fighting staff, but none of these characteristics
apply to Paul, and proving them for the other two apostles will be difficult.

2. Their disbelief is a weak foundation for creating hallucinations, making James and
Paul poor hallucination candidates. We need both visual and auditory hallucinations,
which further complicates the situation. These occurrences are relatively rare.

3. Other delusions or same delusions that groups of people experience occurring at the
same time are unlikely to be involved, so the argument is further undermined by the
thesis' failure to clarify all of the known evidence.

4. Another formidable barrier is the wide range of times and locations that Jesus
appeared, as well as the varying mindsets of the witnesses. The stories of men and
women, both hard-headed and soft-hearted, who both believe they saw Jesus, both
indoors and out, form an impenetrable barrier to hallucinations. Even individually, the
chances of each person being in exactly the right and same frame of mind to have a
hallucination decrease exponentially.

5. If the appearances were hallucinations, then Jesus' body should have been found
safely and comfortably in His tomb just outside Jerusalem. The hallucination
hypothesis fails to answer the historical arguments for the empty tomb.

Evidence 2: MICHAELLA

BASIS 2: The hallucinations transformed (beliefs, hope, “go and make disciples of all
nations,” etc.) the lives of those who saw him.

In regards to the 2nd basis of the Hallucination Hypothesis, by their nature, hallucinations
can affect the lives of people. They can result in brain damage, severe headaches, sleeping
disorders, and many more. However, hallucinations, all in all, do not change people's lives to
the extent that the hypothesis assumes . And those who hallucinate frequently (or even
always) deny having seen the same thing while others are around, according to studies.
Jesus' followers were changed to the point that they were willing to sacrifice their lives for
their religion, according to critics. There's no proof that either of them has changed their
minds, according to the earliest texts. It's difficult to comprehend the assumption of the
hypothesis, which further disproves its plausibility.

Evidence 3: ALLEONA

BASIS 3: The Psychoanalysis of Peter

Lüdemann assumes that Peter went through extreme grief, guilt (due to his denial of Jesus),
and is incomparably worse. These emotions are the cause of Jesus’ appearing to him as a
hallucination. Unfortunately for the Hallucination Hypothesis, there is little to no information
that we can deduct from or know anything of the psychological state of Peter at the time.
Psychoanalysis is already difficult between two people in a room, and is significantly difficult
with a historical figure. This is why historians reject his notion, there is no way of validating
his explanation on the psychological state of Peter. Another reason to disprove the
Hallucination Hypothesis is that it creates assumptions for us to adopt. One of these
assumptions is that the other disciples that do not have the same guilt as Peter, that were
not in the same emotional state, also experienced the hallucinations. In these assumptions,
the Hallucination Hypothesis proceeds to become more akin to the Post Hoc, logical fallacy,
than a plausible theory.

Other evidence, aligned with the Doctrines of the Church.

Christine:
997 What is "rising"? In death, the separation of the soul from the body, the human body
decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified body. God,
in his almighty power, will definitely grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them
with our souls, through the power of Jesus' Resurrection.

The doctrine explicitly states that death will separate the soul from the body. The
Hallucination Hypothesis fails to explain that, assuming that the hallucination is the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, where is the body? The Hallucination Hypothesis cannot
explain a question that is rooted from the Catechism of The Catholic Church. Thus,
disproving the hypothesis.

Christine:
1000 This "how" exceeds our imagination and understanding; it is accessible only to faith.
Yet our participation in the Eucharist already gives us a foretaste of Christ's transfiguration of
our bodies:

Just as bread that comes from the earth, after God's blessing has been invoked upon it, is
no longer ordinary bread, but Eucharist, formed of two things, the one earthly and the other
heavenly: so too our bodies, which partake of the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, but
possess the hope of resurrection.

As we know the Act of Resurrection is something that cannot be seen, it cannot be certainly
defined by how. However, The Hallucination Hypothesis suggests that Resurrection is
through the hallucinations of the disciples. In a sense, we are aware that the Resurrection is
an act that cannot be classified as a hallucination, or aligned with the Hallucination
Hypothesis, since it violates the Doctrine which states that there is no explicit "how" in the
event.

Conclusion: ( Venerando)
Venerando:
Looking back on the evidence that disproves the hypothesis, according to Ludemann, Peter
suffered great sorrow and guilt (due to his rejection of Jesus) and was incomparably worse
than the other apostles. As a result of these thoughts, Jesus appears to him as a
hallucination. Unfortunately for the Hallucination Hypothesis, there is little to no information
or proof about Peter's mental state at the time.

Venerando: To conclude, the theory is just an illustrative hoax that's created for the sole
purpose to deceive already confirmed beliefs and faith. There are a significant amount of
counter-arguments that entirely debunks this theory. Furthermore, The Hallucination Theory
missed the sign as a factual standpoint to Christ's resurrection. The theory ultimately fails to
explain matters such as the lack of Eyewitness testimonies, medical truths in regards to
hallucinations, and the lack of explanation of other resurrection facts.

Alleona: This has been our presentation on the evidences that disprove the Hallucination
Hypothesis. Thank you and God Bless
Sources:
https://www.bethinking.org/did-jesus-rise-from-the-dead/hallucination-theories-to-explain-jes
us-resurrection

https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1106&context=lts_fac_pubs

Theories/ persons na pinagbasehan ko:

David Friedrich Strauss- The life of Jesus (book)
Gerd Ludemann- mass ecstasy something ahe
Jack Kent- Conversion Disorder (Si paul lang)
Michael Goulder- Conversion Disorder (paul, peter, james)

(Source for evidence 2)

https://www.gotquestions.org/hallucination-theory.html

(Source for evidence 3)

https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/scholarly-writings/historical-jesus/visions-of-jesus-a-
critical-assessment-of-gerd-ludemanns-hallucination-hypo/

Source for Doctrine evidences

https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a11.htm