Redescribing the Resurrection: Beyond the Methodological Impasse?

Abstract

If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain, and your faith has been in vain" (1 Cor 15:14) Earl y Christian faith revolved around a belief in Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Without the resurrection, there would probably never even have been a Christianity to speak of (Bornkamm: 181). The resurrection of Jesus provided the framework, incentive, motive, and much of the material for the composition of the Gospels, their collation, editing, and proclamation (Perkins 1994: 442). Early Christians believed that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is not only what made Jesus "unique," but it still represents, for many, the most plausible explanation of Christian origins. Historical claims about the resurrection of Jesus are generally based on several converging lines of evidence: post-mortem appearances, the empty tomb tradition, and the sudden emergence of the resurrection-oriented preaching (kerygma) of the Jesus movement.