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 | "Belief in the resurrection is not an appendage to the Christian faith. It is the Christian faith." George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury, London Times, 1992-APR-19. |
| "Jesus...was...placed into a common grave, and covered over...in a very short time only some unmarked bones remained. Even the bones were gone before too long. Nature rather efficiently reclaims its own resources." John S. Spong, "Resurrection: Myth or Reality?," P. 241 1 |
| "The apostolic faith of the Church is based on the reality of the resurrection of Christ. As St. Paul says: 'Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the death, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith is in vain.' (1 Cor. 15:12-14) Viewed as the ultimate victory over the powers of sin and death, the resurrection of the Lord is not only an historical event but also the sign of God's power over all the forces which can keep us from his love and goodness. It is a victory not only for Christ himself but also for all those united with him (1 Pet. 1:3f). It is a victory which marks the beginning of a new era (Jn 20:17). The resurrection is the ultimate expression of the Father's gift of reconciliation and unity in Christ through the Spirit. It is a sign of the unity and reconciliation which God wills for the entire creation." Statement of the World Council of Churches / Middle East Council of Churches Consultation, 1997. 2 |
| "A deceased man did not walk out of his grave physically alive three days after his execution by crucifixion." John S. Spong, "Resurrection: Myth or Reality?" |
| "The truth of the Resurrection shouldn't be the real battleground. I think what we want to do is try and rise above that and ask, 'What is the metaphoric truth of Easter?' The real power of Easter is the transformation that, as Christians, we believe continues to happen in people's lives....If Easter is about proving the veracity of some historical event that happened 2,000 years ago, that misses the point." Rev. Steve Huber of St. Columba's Episcopal Church |
Overview:
Beliefs about Jesus life differ:
| For almost 2 millennia, the Christian Church has taught that Jesus was crucified, died, and was bodily resurrected (i.e. returned to life in his original body) three days later. This has long been one of the church's foundational beliefs, along with the inerrancy of the Bible, and the virgin birth, the atonement, the future second coming of Jesus, etc. Many Christians regard belief in the resurrection as the central belief of the church. |
| Some religious liberals believe that Jesus was executed, and his body thrown into a pit, along with other crucified victims. They do not believe in Jesus' bodily resurrection. Many suspect that his reappearances to his followers after his death were a form of mass hallucination. 1 |
| Almost all Muslims, who total in excess of 1.2 billion believers worldwide, believe that Jesus was not crucified, resurrected as described in the New Testament. They feel that such a great prophet of God would not suffer such a death. They believe that he did not die on the cross, and that he has not died since. Rather, he was one of a few persons who ascended bodily to Paradise. (The Muslim Paradise is somewhat similar to the Christian Heaven). |
| A few Muslims believe that Jesus survived his crucifixion, and later died on earth of natural causes. |
| The best-selling novel in history "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown has been on the New York Times best seller list for over 3 years (as of 2006-APR). It is generating considerable interest among religious seekers. Brown's tale revolves around Jesus having survived the crucifixion, marrying Mary Magdalene and going into hiding. |
| Gary Habermas, a historian who chairs the Liberty University philosophy and theology department, a Fundamentalist educational facility, has written 13 books about the Resurrection. His review of 2,200 scholarly articles and books published about the resurrection in the past 30 years found that about 75% of New Testament scholars accept the resurrection as a fact. 3 |
Beliefs about Jesus' death and resurrection:
News item:
| 1999-AUG: George Cary, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury was at the center of a media storm over the resurrection. An interview by a reporter from The Mail newspaper was published on AUG-1. Cary was quoted as saying: "While we can be absolutely sure that Jesus lived and that he was certainly crucified on the cross, we cannot with the same certainty say that we know he was raised by God from the dead." Opposition Member of Parliament Ann Widdecombe said that if the Archbishop "in any way leaves the Resurrection open to doubt, then that is the ultimate betrayal." Archbishop Cary commented later that he had been misquoted. He had actually said that there is enough historical evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jesus lived; however there is not the same amount of evidence that he was resurrected. |
References
- J.S. Spong, "Resurrection, Myth or Reality? A Bishops Search for the Origins of Christianity", Harper San Francisco, CA, (1994) Page 50. Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store.
- "Toward a Common Date for Easter," World Council of Churches / Middle East Council of Churches Consultation, 1997 at: http://www.elca.org/ea/
- Gary Habermas, "Resurrection Research From 1975 to the Present: What are Critical Scholars Saying?." Journal for the Study of the New Historical Jesus, 2005-JUN; 3: Pages 135 to 153.
The Amazon.com bookstore lists the following books on "Resurrection:"
Most, but not all, refer to Jesus' resurrection.
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Copyright © 1998 to 2007 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Essay last updated: 2007-JUN-14
Written by. B.A. Robinson
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