The case file of the empty tomb lay spread out in front of me. I had been handed the file by the Chief Inspector who, following the abrupt departure of yet another detective, curtly muttered, "I hope you can do something with this one" as he dropped the tattered file on my desk. "It is a very old case, a puzzle that has stumped more than one young investigator," he added before stomping off in a huff.
I methodically worked through the contents using the approach that I had been taught at the Academy.
1). Look for evidence.
a. Examine the scene.
b. Looking for clues.
2). Question the witnesses
a. Question their reliability.
b. Do they contradict each other?
c. Do they have anything to gain or lose here?
d. Examine their actions after the crime.
3). Create a timeline.
4). Are there any patterns that are similar to other crimes?
5). Use whatever powers of deduction you might have to correctly identify who did what to whom and when.
The case involved an empty tomb found 1,982 years ago in a city named Jerusalem. The actual scene can only be examined through the descriptions of witnesses, and no physical evidence remains.
"This is going to be tough one," I thought.
Sorting through the various witnesses written statements, I found them to be reliable, and in spite of a few discrepancies, remarkably consistent, and most of the witnesses kept to their stories even under abuse, prison, torture, and death.
The timeline was fairly straightforward and helped to eliminate certain possibilities.
I could not find any similar crimes for comparison.
In the end, I had to deduce that the witnesses were telling the truth.
Typing up my final report, I wondered if there would be any repercussions from my findings.
Hoping that there would be none, I placed my work in a "CASE CLOSED" file and carried it down to the Chief Inspector's office. After descending what seemed like an infinite number of flights of stairs, I reached his office, and perspiring heavily, I cautiously knocked on the door.
"Come in!" he bellowed.
I noticed that he was smoking, and was seated behind a massive desk which made me feel rather small and a bit fearful given the conclusion I was about to hand him.
"Case closed?", he fumed, "Do you expect ME to believe THAT?"
"Never, never in a million years will I ever, ever believe this nonsense, and I will spend the rest of eternity to disprove it if I have to!" He took out my report, touched his finger to it and threw it, burning into the waste basket.
"As for you," he said, pointing that same finger down at me, "I have no use for your kind, and if you really believe all of this claptrap, there is just one place for you to go."
I was quickly ushered out of the Chief Inspector's office and shoved into an "Up" elevator.
And that's how I came to be here along with several other lucky devils who tried to crack the case before me, and who had come to precisely the same conclusion as I, that Jesus had risen indeed.
I methodically worked through the contents using the approach that I had been taught at the Academy.
1). Look for evidence.
a. Examine the scene.
b. Looking for clues.
2). Question the witnesses
a. Question their reliability.
b. Do they contradict each other?
c. Do they have anything to gain or lose here?
d. Examine their actions after the crime.
3). Create a timeline.
4). Are there any patterns that are similar to other crimes?
5). Use whatever powers of deduction you might have to correctly identify who did what to whom and when.
The case involved an empty tomb found 1,982 years ago in a city named Jerusalem. The actual scene can only be examined through the descriptions of witnesses, and no physical evidence remains.
"This is going to be tough one," I thought.
Sorting through the various witnesses written statements, I found them to be reliable, and in spite of a few discrepancies, remarkably consistent, and most of the witnesses kept to their stories even under abuse, prison, torture, and death.
The timeline was fairly straightforward and helped to eliminate certain possibilities.
I could not find any similar crimes for comparison.
In the end, I had to deduce that the witnesses were telling the truth.
Typing up my final report, I wondered if there would be any repercussions from my findings.
Hoping that there would be none, I placed my work in a "CASE CLOSED" file and carried it down to the Chief Inspector's office. After descending what seemed like an infinite number of flights of stairs, I reached his office, and perspiring heavily, I cautiously knocked on the door.
"Come in!" he bellowed.
I noticed that he was smoking, and was seated behind a massive desk which made me feel rather small and a bit fearful given the conclusion I was about to hand him.
"Case closed?", he fumed, "Do you expect ME to believe THAT?"
"Never, never in a million years will I ever, ever believe this nonsense, and I will spend the rest of eternity to disprove it if I have to!" He took out my report, touched his finger to it and threw it, burning into the waste basket.
"As for you," he said, pointing that same finger down at me, "I have no use for your kind, and if you really believe all of this claptrap, there is just one place for you to go."
I was quickly ushered out of the Chief Inspector's office and shoved into an "Up" elevator.
And that's how I came to be here along with several other lucky devils who tried to crack the case before me, and who had come to precisely the same conclusion as I, that Jesus had risen indeed.
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