Resurrection Reconsidered

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Summary: Useful Intro to NT Scholarship on the Resurrection
Review: This books is a useful and interesting introduction to what contemporary NT scholarship has to say about Jesus' resurrection, including its importance in Christian theology, its historicity, and the perspectives of other faiths. Here is the table of contents:

Preface
Chapter 1. The Resurrection in Contemporary New Testament Scholarship by John M.G. Barclay
Chapter 2. The Resurrection in Contemporary Systematic Theology by Gareth Jones
Chapter 3. The Baseless Fabric of a Vision by Michael Goulder
Chapter 4. History and the Reality of the Resurrection by Wolfhart Pannenberg
Chapter 5. The Resurrection of Christ: Hope for the World by Jurgen Moltmann
Chapter 6. Between the Cherubim: The Empty Tomb and the Empty Throne by Rowan Williams
Chapter 7. Christ's Body in its Fullness: Resurrection and the Lives of Saints by David McCarthy Matzko
Chapter 8. Living in Christ: Story, Resurrection, and Salvation by Gerard Loughlin
Chapter 9. Sexuality and the Resurrection of the Body: Reflections in a Hall of Mirrors by Tina Beattie
Chapter 10. The Resurrection, the Holy Spirit and the World Religions by Gavin D'Costa
Chapter 11. The Resurrection of Jesus and the Qur'an by David Marshall
Chapter 12. The Resurrection of Jesus: A Jewish View by Dan Cohn-Sherbok
Chapter 13. The Resurrection and Buddhism by Rupert Gethin List of Contributors
Index

As a non-Christian who is primarily interested in the arguments for and against the historicity of a literal, bodily resurrection, I found some chapters of much more interest than others. The first chapter, by John Barclay, was probably the most useful to me in the entire book. Barclay summarizes the major arguments for and against the empty tomb. As Barclay makes clear, some of the arguments on each side are clearly stronger than others. For example, as an argument *against* the story, Barclay points out that the fact that Mark ends with the silence of the women is not unassailable. Conversely, as an argument *for* the story, the fact that there is no known tomb veneration is weak, for that fact is just as probable on the assumption that the location of the tomb was unknown to the disciples as it is on the assumption that the tomb was empty.

Also especially relevant to the historicity debate were the articles by Christian-turned-atheist NT scholar Michael Goulder and theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg. Goulder argues against the empty tomb story and for the hypothesis that the original post-mortem 'appearances' of Jesus were nothing more than subjective visions. In contrast, Pannenberg argues for the reality of a historical, literal resurrection from the dead.

Rating:
Summary: An Update on Theology of Jesus' Resurrection
Review: This collection of essays by younger and more established theologians (including G. Jones, G. D'Costa G. Loughlin, Moltmann, R. Williams, Pannenberg, Cohn-Sherbok) examines thought on the Resurrection of Jesus from a variety of perspectives: NT Studies, various theological approaches, and four perspectives from other faith traditions. This is a most useful collection for someone wanting to understand both the contemporary debate and some of the new directions theologians are taking with regard to the Resurrection, its place in Christian theology, and its "historicity." For upper-level undergraduates, church professionals, and theologians.