Survival of the fittest favors those who have a strong desire to survive.  In the wild, those who do not have a strong desire to survive probably won't.  They die, and their genes die with them.  Therefore, the aliens have evolved a strong desire to survive.  Like us, they dream of living forever. 

     So how might an intelligent life form, which has evolved beyond our capabilities, set about to make itself immortal?  How would a space alien cheat death?  Like us, they probably discovered the technology of cloning.  Like us, they probably experience ghostly phenomena, whereby the energies of the dead continue to haunt the world they left behind.  Like us, they might have even been familiar with the demonic phenomena of possession, whereby a non-corporal life form enters into another life form and takes control of its host. 

     At this point, all of the obvious components for immortality are apparent.  If you were more technologically advanced than a human, and if you had certain clairvoyant or psychic gifts beyond that of a human, then, in order to achieve immortality, you might do the following: 

     Clone yourself.  Then study ghosts so that you will know how to control your ghost after you die.  Then, when you die, steer your ghost so that it can take possession of the clone.  In this manner, a person might be able to achieve immortality, by transferring oneself from body to body.  The biological component wears out and dies, but the soul of the person can overcome this by acquiring new biological bodies. 

     Obviously, we do not have the technology for this.  Nevertheless, the basic components and general process for how it might be achievable is well within our comprehension, and perhaps is even within our ability, if we were to study the matter in more depth.  If it were achievable, then those who were able to achieve it would move beyond the realm of mere intelligent life.  They would become, in fact, supernatural biological entities.

     In this context, the resurrection of the flesh becomes scientifically understandable, for it is the movement of a ghost into a living body.  According to the Biblical account of the resurrection of Jesus, those who saw him often did not recognize him right away, but upon closer look, they saw that it was him.  Mary Magdalene mistook him for the gardener at first, but then recognized him after a minute or so.[1]  Likewise, two men on the road to Emmaus did not recognize him at first, but then realized it was him later on.[2]  When they were eating together in Galilee, "Nobody dared ask if it was the Lord, for they all knew it was him."[3]  Why did they want to ask?  If Jesus looked like Jesus, then why would there be any question?  Apparently, Jesus had taken on some sort of different appearance, yet they still knew it was him. 

     This is entirely consistent with what we would expect if the resurrected Jesus were a clone, which was taken over by the ghost of Jesus.  A clone would have had shorter hair.  A clone would not have had a chance to grow a beard yet.  A clone would have had perfect teeth.   A clone's face would not have been weathered.  A clone would have looked different.  But upon closer examination, those who knew him best would have known that it was him.  His height, shoulder width, body type, tone of voice, personality, and especially his recollections of past events would have eventually convinced them.  It would take a minute to suspect it was him, and even a little longer to fully accept it, but with enough "incontrovertible proofs," as Luke says,[4] they would have eventually accepted that it was him.  This is exactly the scenario we see mentioned several times in the multiple gospel accounts of Jesus Christ's resurrection.

     On the other hand, if the resurrected Jesus were just an imposture pretending to be Jesus, the exact opposite would have been true.  They would have immediately recognized the imposture as looking like Jesus, but upon closer examination, they would have subsequently realized he was not.  Likewise, if Jesus somehow survived the crucifixion, they would have recognized him immediately because he was badly wounded and scarred all over his body.  The fact that they did not recognize him at first, but later realized it was him is consistent only with the clone theory.

     The resurrection is not spiritual, but physical.  Specifically, it is biological.  The resurrected Jesus ate food, and said,

 

Put your hands on me and handle me.  A spiritual entity does not have flesh and bones, but you can see that I do.[5]

 

Hence, Jesus was not a spiritual entity; rather, he was a supernatural biological entity. 

     Early Christians and Essenes insisted that we would likewise be resurrected into actual physical bodies, not as mere "spirits in heaven" or "spiritual bodies" or anything of the sort – but rather as physical flesh and bone.  Here is what they said:

 

The Essenes also say that when the flesh is resurrected, it will be immortal.[6] 

 

We await the salvation of the entire human – that is, both soul and body.[7]

 

Humans will truly rise from the dead, not metaphorically, as I have shown repeatedly.[8]

 

This is also in line with what the Prophet Zarathustra says, for he understood that the resurrection was biological in nature.  He speaks of a future kingdom of material prosperity wherein,

 

The righteous, in the future life, shall be given two pregnant cows, an ox, and everything else they can think to desire.[9] 

 

This is not cyclic reincarnation.  Zarathustra says nothing of reincarnation, but rather speaks of the Bridge of Separation, which divides everyone between two eternal destinies – salvation and doom.[10]  The Zoroastrians still believe in a physical resurrection with materialistic rewards to this day.

          Scientists, ghost hunters, and exorcists also lend credibility to this understanding of the resurrection.  Mainstream science does not even recognize the existence of incorporeal spiritual entities, but rather sees all life as being necessarily biological, and therefore, any resurrection must necessarily be biological or it is not really life.  Ghost hunters differ in that they believe spirits exist; however, they observe that ghosts are generally very weak, only being able to lift a few pounds, and that they require enormous concentration to accomplish even the least strenuous of tasks.  Exorcists regularly observe that incorporeal spirits exist; however, these spirits crave physical bodies, so much so that they attempt to possess the bodies of biological entities.  Incorporeal life craves to become corporeal, for such is the natural state of life.  Therefore, science, ghostology, and demonology all give testimony to the effect that life must be biological, or else it is not really life at all.  Accordingly, the resurrection requires a biological body.

Click here to learn more about how Jesus may have been a space alien and other paranormal mysteries of the New Testament.