The Death of the Swoon Theory

May 28

Introduction

Throughout history, there have been skeptics of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, if He literally and physically rose from the grave as He said, what is one to do with this information? It cannot be ignored because nothing like this has ever happened in history. Yet, if one refuses to bow to Christ as Lord, it is much easier to discard the resurrection altogether. One theory that some embrace is referred to as the Swoon Theory. Yet, the Scriptures, medical knowledge, and the Roman soldiers of the day reveal the Swoon Theory is inadequate to explain what happened on that glorious Sunday morning!

Explanation of the Swoon Theory

Before demonstrating the inadequacy of the Swoon Theory, it is important to understand the theory popularized by Heinrich Eberhard Gottlob Paulus. This theory was somewhat popular among eighteenth-century rationalists[1] and others in the nineteenth century.[2] Paulus (1761-1851) strongly supported this theory, which presupposes the following: “Jesus did not die but went into a state of unconsciousness after six hours on the cross.”[3] Those who hold to this theory believe that Jesus went into a type of “suspended animation.”[4] The second part of the Swoon Theory deals with how Christ came out of the tomb. Some believe that the cool climate in the tomb and the spices He was wrapped in enabled Him to revive gradually.[5]

Refutation of the Swoon Theory

There are a multitude of problems with this theory. The book entitled Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Kreeft and Tacelli refutes the Swoon Theory using nine different arguments. The first argument is simply the fact that Jesus could not have survived the crucifixion.[6] It is important to remember that on the same day Jesus was crucified, He had already undergone a scourge earlier in the morning. Doug Powell explains the brutality of the scourging this way:

A Roman scourging was done with a whip called a flagrum or a flagellum that was comprised of a handle about 8 inches long with 12-inch to 24-inch-long leather straps attached to one end. At the other end the straps were tied to lead balls (that looked something like barbells), sharp pieces of metal, bone shards, broken glass, or sharp rock. Whatever was on the end of the whip quickly broke the skin, allowing the flagrum to deeply penetrate the tissue and pull away the flesh, often exposing the bowels, ribs, or spine.[7]

It is a well-known fact that many of the victims of this punishment often did not survive, much less the crucifixion that often followed. Powell also gives a very detailed account of what took place during crucifixions during this time. Nails five to nine inches long would penetrate the wrists and hold the individual against a rough-hewn timber cross. From the impact of the cross being raised and lowered into the earth, the victim's arms and shoulders would come out of joint, making them useless to alleviate the pressure on the chest as the crucified one would take in painful breaths. As Jesus would rise on His pierced feet to suck in the life-giving oxygen, His battered back, still open and bleeding from the earlier flogging, would scrape up and down against the rough-hewn timber. As Christ hung on the cross, suspended between heaven and earth, He most likely would have experienced an irregular heartbeat and shock. Most victims' deaths usually came within hours or even days due to either heart failure or asphyxiation.[8]

The second argument against the Swoon Theory that Kreeft and Tacelli mention relates to the fact that the Roman soldier did not break the legs of Jesus as he did the other two men being crucified that day (see John 19:31-33). The soldier had already observed Jesus’ death and knew there was no reason to break the legs.[9] The Centurion even presented Pilate with a death certificate of sorts (see Mark 14:44-15).[10] However, the soldier pierced Jesus’ side, which would have killed Jesus had He not already been dead, according to Boice[11] and Powell.[12] Blood and water flowed from the gaping wound. “Physiologists and physicists agree that such a condition of the vital organs, including the heart itself, precludes the idea of a mere swoon and proves conclusively that death had occurred.[13] Kreeft and Tacelli agree. They believe Jesus’ lungs collapsed and that He died from asphyxiation. This serves as their third reason to reject the Swoon Theory.[14]

The fourth reason they reject the Swoon Theory is that Jesus’ body was encased in “winding sheets” (see John 19:38-42) and was entombed.[15] How could someone wrapped in mummy-like fashion be able to free themselves from the wrappings? The fifth reason to reject this theory is because of Christ’s post-resurrection appearances![16] In their work, William and Coder remind their readers that Christ did not appear on that resurrection morning as someone sick or on the verge of death but rather as someone who rose victorious over death.[17] Even some skeptics of the resurrection reject the Swoon Theory as nonsense for this very reason. In the book Stand Firm, the authors quote David Strauss, a skeptic of the resurrection, who said this about the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus:

It is impossible that a being who had stolen half-dead out of the sepulchre, who crept about weak and ill, wanting medical treatment, who required bandaging, strengthening, and indulgence, and who still at last yielded to his sufferings, could have given the disciples the impression that he was a Conqueror over death and the grave, the Prince of Life, an impression which lay at the bottom of their future ministry. Such a resuscitation could only have weakened the impression he had made upon them in life and in death, at the most could only have given it an elegiac voice, but could by no possibility have changed their sorrow into enthusiasm, have elevated their reverence into worship.[18]

A sixth and seventh problem with the Swoon Theory revolves around how Jesus moved the stone and made it past the Roman guards. How would He have stood on His impaled feet? How would He put His arms and shoulders back into the joint? How could He have moved a large stone in this condition?[19] Where would He have the strength after suffering the way He did and losing vast amounts of blood to overpower them? A ninth problem concerns where Jesus went forty days after the resurrection. As Kreeft and Tacelli say, “Think this through: you have a living body to deal with now, not a dead one. Why did it disappear? A man like that, with a past like that, would have left traces.”[20] The final and ninth problem with the Swoon Theory is as follows, “Most simply, the swoon theory necessarily turns into the conspiracy theory or the hallucination theory, for the disciples testified that Jesus did not swoon but really died and really rose.”[21]

Conclusion

The Swoon Theory dies in the face of the mounting evidence that stands against it. Those who crucified Jesus were professional executioners, and it can hardly be believed they would have made such a careless mistake. The Scriptures make it clear that Jesus really died. Those who surrounded the cross that day witnessed it. Joseph of Arimathea and others who cared for the body after the crucifixion handled and entombed His deceased body. Soldiers guarded his tomb, and after His resurrection, His live body was seen, handled, and touched by many eyewitnesses over the next forty days. Jesus is alive, and because He lives, we can also hope for eternal and abundant life!

[1] J. M. Shaw, “Resurrection of Christ,” ed. James Hastings, Dictionary of the Apostolic Church (2 Vols.) (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1916–1918), 359.

[2] Paul Gould, Travis Dickinson, and Keith Loftin, Stand Firm: Apologetics and the Brilliance of the Gospel (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2018), 120.

[3] James Leo Garrett Jr., Systematic Theology: Biblical, Historical, and Evangelical, Second Edition., vol. 2 (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2014), 98.

[4] Shaw, “Resurrection of Christ,” ed. James Hastings, Dictionary of the Apostolic Church (2 Vols.), 359.

[5] Garrett, Jr., Systematic Theology, 98.

[6] Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli, Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2003), 71.

[7] Doug Powell, Holman QuickSource Guide to Christian Apologetics (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2006), 270.

[8] Powell, Holman QuickSource Guide to Christian Apologetics, 271-272.

[9] Kreeft and Tacelli, Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics, 71.

[10] Garrett, Jr., Systematic Theology, 99.

[11] James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith: A Comprehensive & Readable Theology (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 352–353.

[12] Powell, Holman QuickSource Guide to Christian Apologetics, 271.

[13] William Evans and S. Maxwell Coder, The Great Doctrines of the Bible, Enl. ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974), 86.

[14] Kreeft and Tacelli, Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics, 71.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Ibid., 72.

[17] Evans and Coder, The Great Doctrines of the Bible, 86.

[18] Gould, Dickinson, and Loftin, Stand Firm, 120–121.