From: Joel Cannon (jcannon@jcannon.washjeff.edu)
Date: Wed May 07 2003 - 11:57:15 EDT
Hi Folks:
There have been a number of posts concerning the nature of the
resurrection. I just received in the mail N.T. Wright's book, "The
Resurrection of the Son of God." which should help answer a lot (700
plus pages) of the questions that people are discussing here. Do not
let the size scare you. He is very readable.
What will be particularly useful is the discussion of then
contemporary Jewish beliefs (chapter titles: Time to wake up: death
and beyond in the old testament, and Time to wake up(2): Hope beyond
death in post-biblical judaism), and a survey of all that was written
(canonical and non-canonical) about resurrection in the first two
centuries. It also has what looks to be a very interesting survey of
Greek/pagan beliefs in the chapter titled Shadows, Souls, and where
they Go.
This is the context in which the resurrection happened, and the
context in which our understanding of the resurrection (including our
belief in the resurrection of the body) must make sense. It can mean
more than contemporary Jewish culture anticipated, but it would be
absurd if our understanding of resurrection would not make sense in
the context of a culture God's chosen people which possessed a
widespread belief in the resurrection.
I expect this book will make an extremely strong case for an orthodox
understanding of the bodily resurrection (see the book review in this
months Christianity Today) but will also challenge some of our
understanding of what the term `soul' means in the scriptures, and how
it and other terms are understood within contemporary Christianity. It
looks like it costs $27.50 with free shipping at Amazon (I got it
somewhere else for slightly more).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joel W. Cannon | (724)223-6146
Physics Department | jcannon@washjeff.edu
Washington and Jefferson College |
Washington, PA 15301 |
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