Are eyewitness accounts unreliable?
Question:
Hello Mr. Hamilton,
I have a question for you. I recently came across someone talking about St. Joseph Cupertino. They claimed that eyewitnesses had seen him levitate on several occasions. The problem I have is that one of the reasons Jesus' resurrection is trustworthy is based on the eyewitness testimony. And then there is St. Joseph Cupertino, who supposedly levitated, and eyewitnesses claim to have seen it. What are your thoughts? Does it damper the testimony of Jesus' resurrection since it is based on eyewitnesses, and that is what they claim for St. Joseph Cupertino? I know it's not the same claim (rising from the dead), but the idea that eyewitnesses both reported seeing these things. Does that mean we should believe St. Cupertino?
Perhaps what I am trying to say is that the Bible suggests miracles would cease, and here we have what appears to be a miracle being witnessed by people. But how can we discredit this since people witnessed it, since we hold the resurrection to the same standard? I am just trying to make sense of things; I am not trying to dispute anything. I just wanted some clarity.
I hope what I'm saying makes sense.
Thanks for your time.
Answer:
I looked up Joseph Cupertino, who lived in the 1600s. I found an interesting article, "Secrets of ‘The Flying Friar’: Did St. Joseph of Copertino Really Levitate?" by Joe Nickel. What impressed me about the article is that the author did not dismiss the witnesses, but instead carefully considered what they claimed to have seen. What he noted is that what was witnessed could have been done by an athletic performer; in fact, many details in the accounts mention performance techniques.
Could a witness lie? Absolutely! We are dealing with humans, which is why false witnessing was strongly condemned (Exodus 20:16; 23:1; Deuteronomy 5:1; 19:18; Proverbs 6:19; 14:5; 19:5, 9). It was required by the judges to thoroughly examine the witnesses to verify the accuracy of their reports. Witnesses were not accepted unless two or more independent witnesses reported the same thing (Matthew 26:59-61).
Then there is the problem of people seeing what they expect to see. "Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness" (II Thessalonians 2:8-12). Several times, Joe Nickel noted that Joseph Cupertino started the rumors about himself and staged many of his feats. People saw what they expected to see and didn't look further.
What about the resurrection of Jesus? Paul mentions over 500 witnesses who saw Jesus alive after he clearly died (I Corinthians 15:3-11). There were also witnesses to an empty tomb that had been guarded. See "Witnesses to the Resurrection." The witnesses varied; some were even hostile. How he was seen alive varied in locations and situations. God also testified to this by prophesying the resurrection. "Evidence of the Resurrection" thoroughly examines the evidence. There has never been an alternative explanation of what happened that matches the evidence recorded. We should also note that most of the early witnesses were convinced that Jesus had died and refused to believe the evidence at first. This was not a case of people seeing what they expected to see.
While modern-day miracles are claimed, I am not aware of any that have withstood the scrutiny of examination.
Question:
I appreciate you getting back to me. I looked up Joe Nickell; he is an atheist, so it got me worrying whether to take his claim seriously or not. Perhaps it makes me worried because of my OCD, and I doubt. Should his viewpoint diminish the validity of his claim? Because of this, I guess I don't want the uncertainty from my OCD to make me question the resurrection. How can I manage this expectation?
Hope this makes sense!
Thanks for your time.
Answer:
You are mixing up a claim made by a guy in the 1600s with the resurrection of Christ. The Bible warns that there will be false teachers who will use false "miracles" to bolster their followings (II Thessalonians 2:9; Mark 13:22; II Corinthians 11:13-15). The claims of the Bible, including the resurrection, have withstood scrutiny for the last 2,000 years. The evidence is solid. The evidence supporting Joseph Cupertino's claims is suspect, and there are plausible explanations for how his actions could have been accomplished. The two claims are not related.
Response:
That makes sense. Thank you!
