http://www.standrew-lakeworth.org/
UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIANITY
A monthly forum on the third Saturday
of each month from
Forums with Dr.
Retired Honorary Canon of
Editor of www.philosophy-religion.org
WAS THE RESURRECTION AN HISTORICAL EVENT?
I. The
Importance of Events to the Hebrew Mind
a. the God Who Acts (including folklore,
embellishments)
b. the Exodus (including folklore, embellishments)
c. the Resurrection (including folklore,
embellishments)
II. The
Problem of Evidence
a. our possible reactions to U.F.O. claims
i. belief
ii. suspend judgment
iii. disbelief (fraud, hallucination, mistake)
b. our possible reactions to a photo of the
Resurrection
i. belief
ii. suspend judgment
iii. disbelief (fraud, hallucination, mistake)
c. our possible reactions to:
i. being present at the
Resurrection: belief, suspend judgment, attempt at interpretation
ii. first-hand observation of the Risen Lord:
ditto above
iii. the testimony of others about the Risen Lord:
ditto above
d. the problem of all forms of evidence
i. what does one
find persuasive as criteria for evidence?
ii. how is persuasive evidence to be interpreted?
III. Our
Available Sources for Evidence of the Resurrection
a. the written testimony of others in a
historical style (rather than as a parable, etc.)
i. some disciples and contemporary people
find persuasive – testimony regarding the empty tomb
ii. some disciples and contemporary
people find persuasive - testimony regarding first-hand observations of
the Risen Lord
iii. some disciples and contemporary
people find persuasive – testimony regarding the transfigured appearance
(though the “physics” of the transfigured Jesus is beyond our knowledge)
iv. some disciples and contemporary
people find persuasive – testimony regarding the transformation of the
disciples’ despair changed to victory/joy
IV. How Do
We Account for the Change from Despair to Joy?
a.
hallucination? b.
fraud? c.
mistake?
d. wishful
thinking/hysterics? e. an
event?
V. What Kind
of Event?
a. an external event (one that could be perceived via
human senses)?
b. an internal event (one that was emotional, an event
of the heart)?
VI. Meanings
of the Resurrection
a. external: Creator's unique
intervention to place "stamp of approval" on Jesus as His Word for
humanity; provides the hope of everlasting life for others; ultimate victory
will triumph over ultimate defeat.
b. internal: encourages love, optimism,
and rightness of Jesus' Way of life as the model for humanity.
VII. Our
Individual Decision
a. belief in external and/or internal
b. suspend judgment about external and/or internal
c. disbelief in external and/or internal
VIII. An
Anglican Position (from www.philosophy-religion.org):
We may wonder whether the Resurrection was an historical event. While it is
incorrect to affirm every detail of the New Testament post-Resurrection
accounts of Jesus as if they could have been photographed, it is equally
mistaken to declare them all as subjective products of spirited fantasy or
inner conviction. The post-Resurrection passages include actual persons,
places, and incidents that could have been videotaped, among them Thomas,
other disciples mentioned by name, a place of burial, and the Risen Christ
himself. These passages also contain or imply wonder-filled meanings beyond the
range of any human or camera lens. Within and beneath the Easter texts, whether
statements referring to photographable incidents or metaphors based on a unique
event, is this central Christian discernment: that at an actual time and place
of the Creator's own choosing, God's intention for humanity (God's
"Word" for everyone - Jew and Gentile alike), embodied in Jesus the
Christ, was born, ministered to many, was wrongly executed for treason by the
Roman government, and was raised from death in a transfigured, exalted form
unknown to us. Jesus "entered a new order of life: one which does not and
cannot occur as part of the present order of things."1 "...the resurrection of Christ was an
objective event but of an unusual kind. Although it was not simply an
event in the minds of the disciples, yet it was not publicly observable.
Christ appeared only to chosen witnesses."2 In the New Testament the Resurrected
Christ is depicted with "a body identical yet changed, without the usual
limitations of the flesh yet capable of manifesting itself within the order of
the flesh."3 Thus, the Resurrection was an historical
happening - even though the physics of this "divine surprise" is
beyond our knowledge. The meanings of the Resurrection are preached
virtually every Sunday.
(1) Norris, Understanding the Faith of the Church, p.
137.
(2) Thomas, Introduction to Theology,
226.
(3) quoted by Thomas, ibid.
I Corinthians