KrisK10

For anyone that's interested in the original question I brought up, Doug Shaver, who posts here, pretty much demolishes Craig's argument that there was a difference between "appearances" and "visions" in the early Christian community. Doug's writeup can be found at: http://dougshaver.com/christ/craig/craig03.htm (just read the part after "fact #3")

Doug's strongest point is that the corporeal nature of the appearances in the gospels could easily be legendary embellishments on earlier hallucinations. It is because Craig takes these as history that he is able to construct a difference in the early Christian community between "appearances" [an extra-mental event that others could see], and "visions" [in the mind of the percipient, although still sent from God].

It is Craig's sophisticated writing that sometimes needs to be untangled (as Doug has done) in order to see the simplest of answers. Hopefully I've added my own minute contribution to this chocolate mess by pointing out that the same word is used for the experience referred to in Acts 26:19 (which Craig would call an "appearance") and 2 Cor 12:1 (which Craig would call a "vision").

Thanks Doug; you da man!

Kris

KrisK10

I should have noted too that Doug's conclusion impacts on how one understands Paul's claim in 1 Cor 15:8 that Jesus appeared to him "last of all" (which was the origin of my querry on this). There seem two equally possible choices. 1] Paul could mean that his initiatory appearance was the last appearance. In this case, Craig could very well be correct, without appealing to the later gospels, that early Christianity saw a difference between the early appearances and later visions. 2] Paul in 1 Cor 15:8 could mean that his initiatory vision designated him as the last person to be privileged to get a vision, but that there were still more visions to come to those so designated (e.g. 2 Cor 12:1-4). In this case, there is no early Christian differentiation between "appearances" and "visions". The second option seems to be the way it has to be for one to hypothesize that the appearance traditions in 1 Cor 15:5-8 originated from hallucinations. (I should note here that I think Ludemann is wrong that the resurrection belief emerged out of visions. IMO, the rez belief came before any small number of visions. But a small number of visions, and a little urban legend, can account for all of the appearance traditions in 1 Cor 15:5-8).

Kris