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{en} N.T. Wright. The Resurrection of the Son of God. London: SPCK, 2003.

Abstract

"This third volume in N.T. Wright's magisterial series, Christian Origins and the Question of God, stands as a major point of reference for all students of the New Testament. This work covers ancient beliefs about life after death from Homer's Hades to ancient Jewish beliefs, from the Bible to the Dead Sea Scrolls and beyond. It examines early Christian beliefs about resurrection in general and that of Jesus in particular, beginning with Paul and working through to the start of the third century. It explores the Easter stories of the Gospels and seeks the best historical conclusions about the empty tomb and the belief that Jesus did rise bodily from the dead."

"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."

Contents

pt. 1: Setting the scene -- The target and the arrows -- Shadows, souls and where they go : life beyond death in ancient paganism -- Time to wake up (1) : death and beyond in the Old Testament -- Time to wake up (2) : hope beyond death in post-biblical Judaism -- pt. 2: Resurrection in Paul -- Resurrection in Paul (outside the Corinthian correspondence) -- Resurrection in Corinth (1) : introduction -- Resurrection in Corinth (2) : the key passages -- When Paul saw Jesus -- pt. 3: Resurrection in early Christianity (apart from Paul) -- Hope refocused (1) : Gospel traditions outside the Easter narratives -- Hope refocused (2) : other New Testament writings -- Hope refocused (3) : non-canonical early Christian texts -- Hope in person : Jesus as Messiah and Lord -- General issues in the Easter stories -- pt. 4: The story of Easter -- Fear and trembling : Mark -- Earthquakes and angels : Matthew -- Burning hearts and broken bread : Luke -- New day, new tasks : John -- pt. 5: Belief, event and meaning -- Easter and history -- The risen Jesus as the Son of God.

External links

• [ Google Books]