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Abstract: This is the second part of a two-part article and considers the implications of a memory approach with respect to hypotheses relating to Jesus's resurrection. Part 1 outlined five possible options concerning Jesus's resurrection and commenced with an examination of the noexperience hypothesis. Part 2 investigates the remaining options: (2) The hypothesis has three variations: (a) The subjective hallucinations hypothesis indicates that it would be unlikely that there was a coherent collective memory and that such memories would be liable to suggestibility and possible false memory associations. (b) The objective visions theory would create memories similar to those of the supernatural resurrection hypothesis but would be predisposed to DRM associations. (c) The metaphorical interpretation hypothesis suffers from a lack of retrieval cues. (3) The mistaken identity hypothesis would be vulnerable to absent-mindedness due to superficial encounters, suggesting only shallow memory impressions. (4) The swoon theory would have created a flashbulb memory regarding Jesus's survival but not regarding his resurrection. (5) The resurrection hypothesis has two variations: (a) The naturally rose hypothesis would initially produce similar memories to the supernatural resurrection hypothesis; however, when Jesus naturally died again, the memory of his resurrection would likely fade. (b) The hypothesis that God supernaturally raised Jesus would have made deep memory impressions on the early Christians. In conclusion, a memory approach supports the hypothesis that God supernaturally raised Jesus in confirming that the early Christians would have vividly remembered the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
Key words: memory, resurrection of Jesus, hallucination hypothesis, mistaken identity, swoon theory
VII. INTRA-MENTAL HYPOTHESIS
How does a memory approach impact the view that all the sightings of Jesus were intra-mental (cf. premise 3.1)?1 There are several versions of the intra-mental hypothesis: (a) the subjective hallucination version,2 (b) the objective vision version,3 and (c) the illumination or metaphorical interpretation version.4
1. Hallucinations. A hallucination is "a false sensory perception that has a compelling sense of reality despite the absence of an external stimulus."5 The implication, based on the hallucination theory, is that the appearances of Jesus "were projections of the disciples' own consciousnesses, of their own minds."6
2. An evaluation of the hallucination hypothesis. The first thing to note is that the hallucination hypothesis does not account for what happened to Jesus's...