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New Book – UFO’s, Ghosts, and a Rising God: Debunking the Resurrection of Jesus – Expected to Cause Controversy

Author Christopher Hallquist’s  controversial new book, UFO’s, Ghosts, and a Rising God: Debunking the Resurrection of Jesus, presents a well-researched argument that the resurrection of Jesus has not been proven with any evidence or certainty that is any better than claims by people who say they saw ghosts, UFO’s, and psychic events. As a result, Hallquist advises us to think for ourselves and not accept anything as truth without independent, intellectual investigation.

The world’s 2.1 billion Christians – making up a third of the world population –may view this book as blasphemy. But they won’t be easily able to dismiss it.

Hallquist, who will be a graduate student of philosophy at Notre Dame this fall, points out a number of inconsistencies, errors, and misinterpreted or mistranslated passages of the Bible. He questions the fact that Jesus suggests he thinks the world was going to end in his lifetime (it didn’t) and he raises questions over who authored The Gospels. He is most concerned that Christian apologists make claims that go unchecked, they seek to prove the resurrection (though no evidence supports it); they claim the Bible is historically correct (though its errors show otherwise); and they insist that we should accept every account detailed in the New Testament as fact (though few stories can be verified).

The author’s examination of how apologists, scientists, and other experts have examined and treated scores of wild claims put forth on many matters emphasizes the public’s right to question – and find – truth. “Whether it’s claims of the Amityville Horror, crop circles, or levitation – or exorcisms, religious miracles or resurrections,” says Hallquist, “we must explore what’s real.”

Hallquist discusses:

• The historical origins of Christianity and shows what is fact and what is fantasy.
• Why Christian apologists must be refuted.
• That Christianity may have begun as a sort of shared delusion.
• A long list of urban legends that proved false and how they serve as a parallel to claims made by Evangelical apologists.
• Why and how the public of every generation accepts popular mythology as truth.
• How claims of Jesus’ resurrection and his miracles are no more provable than claims of ghost sightings, UFOs, paranormal séances, Nostradamus’ predictions, psychic events, and alien abductions.
• Why sensational claims are a social phenomenon.
• Why his debunking of Jesus’ resurrection differs from those who make claims that well-established events never took place, such as the Moon landing and the Holocaust.

“A moment’s consideration shows that we ought to demand more evidence for some claims than others,” says Hallquist. “To fail to do so is to commit to believing every bit of nonsense that comes along. However, Christian apologists frequently insist that we have no business demanding better evidence for Christianity’s miracle claims than for other historical claims.”

His book features chapters about:

• A brief history of debunking and how a wide variety of upstart cults have been routinely investigated and exposed.
• The speed in which legends are formed and developed and how stories that get retold can get corrupted and compromised.
• Comparing Jesus’ life to modern faith-healers and exorcists.
• How we know The Shroud of Turin is a fraud and doesn’t bode well for supporting other “myths.”
• The world of apologists and the movement of present-day Evangelicalism.

Hallquist says the core failure of apologists’ arguments to prove the resurrection occurred is based on their claim that the Gospels are historically reliable and the Bible is 100% truthful and accurate, and therefore we should trust those writings when they report miracles and alternative theories.

He examines if we could ever really accept something we cannot explain but believes the unexplained is not necessarily unexplainable.

Hallquist’s research leads him to clearly conclude that the foundation of Christianity – Jesus’ resurrection – lacks any tangible evidence of taking place and that, in fact, he sees proof that sources being used to support the resurrection are filled with errors, including the Bible.

He wrote the book for two reasons. First, bunk ought to be challenged wherever it exists. Second, he is concerned that apologists who seek to prove the resurrection and argue for miracles to validate Jesus do so not to support an ethical message but because they embrace a belief that non-believers are condemned.

“This is an untrue, unhealthy, non-inclusive way to live,” says Hallquist. “As bunk, the claims need to be debunked. Just as it is useful for the public to have references on urban legends, UFO sightings, and supernatural con artists, it is useful to have some counterweight to Evangelical propaganda.”

“I believe in free, rational inquiry into every kind of question, including religious ones,” says Hallquist. “I also like to investigate fraud that circulates as truth. There is no credible body of evidence to support so many outrageous claims about things likes psychic healing, reincarnation, faith healing, dianetics, orgone energy, Kirlian photography, exorcism, poltergeists – and yet there is an explosion of pseudo-scientific claims that have sprouted forth with credibility during the past half-century. Upon closer examination, each of these claims falls short of truth.”

He poses a profound question in regards to Christianity: “Would I think my evidence is really credible if it were presented for a belief system other than my own?”  He also wonders aloud: “Why haven’t we heard of Bible-like miracles today?”

Hallquist concludes by encouraging us to think: “The sad truth is that people frequently fail to think critically without any particular rationale. Dig deep rather than think a superficial examination will give you an answer. And above all, think for yourself.”

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Publication Data: UFO’s, Ghosts, and a Rising God: Debunking the Resurrection of Jesus by Chris Hallquist © 2009; published by Reasonable Press, an imprint of Cospage Media; $17.95 Trade Paper; 212 pages; ISBN: 0981631312.