Journal: Global Journal of Classical Theology
Volume: GJCT 20:1 (Aug 2023)
Article: Did Paul Hallucinate On The Damascus Road?: Defeating The Delusion Hypothesis With Cumulative Model Of Evidentialism.
Author: J. A. Pagán

Did Paul Hallucinate On The Damascus Road?: Defeating The Delusion Hypothesis With Cumulative Model Of Evidentialism.

J.A. Pagán

Adjunct Professor of Graduate Studies, Concordia Theological Seminary

Abstract

Paul’s role in the historical setting of the Resurrection is far more than a matter of theological curiosity. The Christian justification for rational belief in the Resurrection is in large part anchored in Paul’s justification for rational belief in the authenticity of his own experience. In Paul we find the earliest and best attested documentary evidence for a historical investigation of the miraculous event. Moreover, his epistles are an indispensable source of independent corroboration of the gospel narratives.

While critics of the Resurrection have attempted to explain Paul’s experience on the Damascus Road by a number of naturalistic accounts, contemporary variants of the Delusion hypothesis (DH) offer perhaps the most promising of such skeptical alternatives. The article that follows argues that contemporary versions of DH fail to satisfy the criteria of a superior historical description. Further, the epistemic model of cumulative evidentialism is applied to show that Paul’s claim to have encountered the risen Jesus would resist a strong potential defeater.

Paul And The Doctrine Of The Resurrection

Consider the role of Paul in the historical setting of the Resurrection. Though last among the apostles to encounter the risen Savior, the story of his own visionary experience is the most salient (Acts 9:1–9, 26:12–32; 1 Cor. 15:8; Gal. 1:11–24). Paul tells us that saving faith hinges on the historicity of the Easter miracle (1 Cor. 15:14): Christ was raised as the “firstfruits” of the church’s corporate redemption (vv. 20–23), and it is his victory over death that justifies the believer’s hope for personal immortality. It was apostolic practice to “contend for the faith” (Jude 1:3) by making an apologia of the Resurrection in dialogue with unbelievers; and for Paul, this was especially the case. The Resurrection was the centerpiece of his preaching ministry; and in a variety of kerygmatic situations, his proclamation of the gospel was complemented by a rational defense of the supernatural occurrence (Acts 17:2–3, 26:1–29).

While the meaning and implications of Jesus’ retu...