I need an answer for an atheist

[Ignatius]

Your average village atheist never hears much of anything to make him think one little bit; That builds up his self assurance that he must be right; and so to people who actually know Christianity he looks pretty much like everyone looks who waxes on at length about subjects on which they know nothing.

 

[QNDNNDQDCE]

Catholics believe Mary was raised from the dead with her body. This is called her Dormition and Assumption.

 

[By_His_Mercy]

(Edited) Such a simple question but I don’t have a good answer. If Jesus rose from the dead, why has no one else risen from the dead? I know that we believe we will rise at the end of time but is there something better I could tell an atheist? Why does everyone not immediately rise after they die?

Some rose in Jesus’ time (see the other post). But regardless if some did or did not, why does that matter?

John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.

 

[Nixbits]

I think the atheist you were discussing this with may be confused or was just trying to confuse you.

Whether or not Jesus rose from the dead, and whether or not others rose from the dead during biblical times, is unlikely to convince an atheist about the existence of God because the only evidence is the writings in the Holy Bible.

If people occasionally or routinely rose from the dead in modern times then the scientific world would look for explanations. If science was totally unable to explain such phenomena it still would not prove the existence of God.

 

[ethereality]

If Jesus rose from the dead, why has no one else risen from the dead? …] Why does everyone not immediately rise after they die?

What is being sought for here isn’t clear to me. The question shows an utter lack of knowledge concerning eschatology. Why should people rise from the dead? What is this person thinking?

 

[Bob_Crowley]

(Edited) Such a simple question but I don’t have a good answer. If Jesus rose from the dead, why has no one else risen from the dead? I know that we believe we will rise at the end of time but is there something better I could tell an atheist? Why does everyone not immediately rise after they die?

Spiritually everybody who has ever died is still alive, either in Heaven, Purgatory or Hell. But they exist in spiritual form only at the moment.

We won’t be given our new bodies until the final judgement, and the new heavens and the new earth are created. That’s when the dead will reappear - that is, those who have been granted eternal life in heaven.

Christ’s resurrection was a **promise **of future fulfilment, not a statement that we’ll be resurrected immediately after death.

Lazarus was raised from the dead, but only at Christ’s command. But even he died eventually. I suspect the Pharisees got rid of him later, as it says somewhere “they made plans to kill Lazarus also”. Which implies that they did, sooner or later. He’d have been an embarrassing witness to Christ’s power, and they wouldn’t have wanted him reminding them of what Christ did, particularly since many of the people wanted to see Lazarus as well as Christ when they were both alive.

John 12:9-11

The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. 10But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; 11because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.