The Resurrection of the Son of God, Vol. 3
To probe why Christianity began, and why it took the shape it did, renowned New Testament scholar N. T. Wright focuses on the key questions any historian must face: What precisely happened at Easter? What did the early Christians mean when they said that Jesus of Nazareth had been raised from the dead? What can be said today about this belief? This book, third in Wright's series Christian Origins and the Question of God, maps ancient beliefs about life after death in both the pagan and Jewish...
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To probe why Christianity began, and why it took the shape it did, renowned New Testament scholar N. T. Wright focuses on the key questions any historian must face: What precisely happened at Easter? What did the early Christians mean when they said that Jesus of Nazareth had been raised from the dead? What can be said today about this belief? This book, third in Wright's series Christian Origins and the Question of God, maps ancient beliefs about life after death in both the pagan and Jewish worlds. It then highlights the fact that the early Christians' belief about the afterlife belonged firmly on the Jewish spectrum, while introducing several new mutations and sharper definitions. This together with other features of early Christianity, forces the historian to read the Easter narratives in the Gospels not simply as late rationalizations of early Christian spirituality, but as accounts of two actual events: the empty tomb of Jesus and his 'appearances.' How do we explain these phenomena? The early Christians' answer was that Jesus had indeed been bodily raised from the dead; that was why they hailed him as the messianic 'son of God.' Facing this question ourselves, we are confronted to this day with the most central issues of the Christian worldview and theology.
PrefacePt. ISetting the Scene11The Target and the Arrows32Shadows, Souls and Where They Go: Life Beyond Death in Ancient Paganism323Time to Wake Up (1): Death and Beyond in the Old Testament854Time to Wake Up (2): Hope Beyond Death in Post-Biblical Judaism129Pt. IIResurrection in Paul2075Resurrection in Paul (Outside the Corinthian Correspondence)2096Resurrection in Corinth (1): Introduction2777Resurrection in Corinth (2): The Key Passages3128When Paul Saw Jesus375Pt. IIIResurrection in Early Christianity (Apart from Paul)3999Hope Refocused (1): Gospel Traditions Outside the Easter Narratives40110Hope Refocused (2): Other New Testament Writings45011Hope Refocused (3): Non-Canonical Early Christian Texts48012Hope in Person: Jesus as Messiah and Lord553Pt. IVThe Story of Easter58513General Issues in the Easter Stories58714Fear and Trembling: Mark61615Earthquakes and Angels: Matthew63216Burning Hearts and Broken Bread: Luke64717New Day, New Tasks: John662Pt. VBelief, Event and Meaning68318Easter and History68519The Risen Jesus as the Son of God719Bibliography739Abbreviations739Indexes780Index of Ancient Sources780Index of Modern Authors807Index of Selected Topics812
