What Scholars know about the Resurrection (but won't say in Church).

Comments · 977

• CJ

  @cjcornthwaite · 5 months ago (edited) · pinned

  Want to discuss this kind of thing with people who care? My community is here: <a href="https://skepe.mn.co/">https://skepe.mn.co/</a> <br><br><br>What do you Think? Let me know!! 👇👇👇<br><br><br>Note: Josephus&apos; views about Moses dying are more complicated than I made it sound. He seems to know about the tradition, but also seems uncomfortable with it.

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• GS

  @gsr4535 · 5 months ago

  Why would the Super Creator of the Cosmos (trillions of galaxies) devise a plan for &quot;human salvation&quot;(whatever that means) that focused on one backwards ethnic tribe in the Near East, while completely ignoring most human beings - Chinese, Indians, Japanese, ....most of Asia? &nbsp;🤔

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• JO

  @johnmollish7301 · 5 months ago

  I just found your videos on the Resurrection. &nbsp;They resonate with my own thinking. &nbsp;I earned an MA in Theology in 1972, so I am very aware that biblical scholarship has come a long way since then. &nbsp;(I feel ancient, but still open to new ideas and theories.) &nbsp;I’ll be back with more comments as I continue reviewing your videos. &nbsp;Many thanks. &nbsp;Your work is very much appreciated. &nbsp;John

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• MI

  @mikeainsworth9861 · 5 months ago

  I attended a conference a few years ago where I got to spend 3 days one on one with biblical scholar and historian John Dominic Crossan. &nbsp;He said if you told someone in the early first century Levant that Jesus had risen from the dead the most likely response would have been “How nice for Jesus.”. He thought they would not have been shocked because they knew of emperors and other leaders for whom the same claim was made.

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• PD

  @pdkonkol · 5 months ago

  In evangelicalism, I was taught Jesus was raised bodily. &nbsp;I understood this to me his dead body was raised to life but that his new body had added attributes (like super powers); he could walk through walls and never die. &nbsp;I understood this to be important because it meant that his resurrection wasn’t a metaphor but an actual historical event. &nbsp;Reading 1 Cor really challenged these ideas. &nbsp;It seems like Paul is saying Jesus’ new body is made of a completely different substance than his old body (and our bodies). &nbsp;So…what does it actually matter if Jesus’ resurrection was “physical” or “spiritual” if Jesus can make his new body do all these physically impossible things like go through walls, teleport to new locations, be invisible (?)? &nbsp;The physical/spiritual distinction doesn’t really seem to matter if Jesus can basically behave like a ghost anyway. &nbsp;I think this is so important to me because it showed me how easily I can just repeat theological phrases (ie, Jesus was raised bodily) without having any idea about what I’m talking about.

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• UR

  @Uryvichk · 5 months ago

  What gets me is, was the resurrection supposed to have been a secret? A lot of early Christian sources say there was no way to know the prophecies of Jesus were prophecies until after the fact, and the Gospel traditions conceal the resurrection and keep it confined to an inner circle. This makes it sound like nobody was even supposed to know about the resurrection until well after the fact, which sounds suspiciously like an excuse for later doctrinal innovation.

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• JO

  @joestfrancois · 4 months ago

  I read the NT in chronological order of possible dates of writing and it was quite illuminating. You can easily see a progression. Paul&apos;s early stuff is unlike a lot of the reast.

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• ID

  @ids1024 · 5 months ago

  It&apos;s interesting to consider the possibility that early Christianity didn&apos;t have the resurrection story, but perhaps even more interesting to consider the possibility it just wasn&apos;t considered that important in the early days.

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• CH

  @chadpeterson2907 · 5 months ago

  On Paul: I agree that 1 Corinthians 15 leaves room for discussion, especially with the language of “spiritual body.” But it feels like a leap to move from ambiguity to certainty that Paul didn’t believe in anything bodily. In a Jewish context, “resurrection” (anastasis) typically meant some kind of embodied life after death—even if transformed. So “spiritual” may be more about type of body than absence of a body. Also, Paul grouping his experience with others doesn’t necessarily flatten them all into purely visionary events—it might just be shared language for appearances.<br><br>On the empty tomb: it’s true Paul doesn’t mention it explicitly, but arguments from silence can be tricky. He also doesn’t mention a lot of things we know were part of early tradition. Some people see “he was buried… he was raised” as at least compatible with an empty tomb assumption, even if it’s not spelled out.<br><br>On early diversity: totally agree this is an important point. Early Christianity wasn’t monolithic. But I’m not sure the lack of emphasis in texts like the Didache or Shepherd of Hermas necessarily means the resurrection wasn’t central—those works have very different purposes (ethics, instruction, visions), so they may just not be trying to restate core beliefs.<br><br>Overall, I think you’re right that we shouldn’t just collapse everything into one neat, uniform picture. But I’d probably land a bit more cautiously: the earliest sources seem to affirm something like resurrection very early and very strongly, even if there’s real debate about what exactly that meant and how the stories developed.

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• WC

  @WCava-f3b · 5 months ago

  Seeing him in visions or dreams makes a lot of sense. (Personally, I have experienced this in a very real relational way, after my father passed.)

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• RO

  @robertray6816 · 10 days ago

  I recommend “Paul and Jesus” by Dr James Tabor which goes into great depth on the effect Paul had on all aspects of christianity including the resurrection.

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• JI

  @Jim-t6v · 4 months ago (edited)

  Religion = control. &nbsp;Took me 50 yrs to realize that. &nbsp; And I think you&apos;re great Mr. C.J. &nbsp;Keep up the good work but remember to be nice to yourself. It&apos;s a rough world out there.

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