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The earliest traditions around the narrative of Jesus' resurrection are considered in this landmark work by Dale C. Allison, Jr, drawing together the fruits of his decades of research into this issue at the very core of Christian identity.
Allison returns to the ancient sources and earliest traditions, charting them alongside the development of faith in the resurrection in the early church and throughout Christian history. Beginning with historical-critical methodology that examines the empty tomb narratives and early confessions, Allison moves on to consider the resurrection in parallel with other traditions and stories, including Tibetan accounts of saintly figures being assumed into the light, in the chapter "Rainbow Body".
Finally, Allison considers what might be said by way of results or conclusions on the topic of resurrection, offering perspectives from both apologetic and sceptical viewpoints. In his final section of "modest results" he considers scholarly approaches to the resurrection in light of human experience, adding fresh nuance to a debate that has often been characterised in overly simplistic terms of "it happened" or "it didn't".
List of contents
Foreword
Part I. Setting the Stage
1. Overture
2. Options
Part II. Historical-Critical Studies
3. Formulae and Confessions
4. Appearances and Christophanies
5. The Story of the Tomb: Friday
6. The Story of the Tomb: Sunday
7. Resurrected Holy Ones?
8. Rudolf Pesch Redivivus?
Part III. Thinking with Parallels
9. Apparitions: Characteristics and Correlations
10. Visions: Protests and Proposals
11. Enduring Bonds
12. Rainbow Body
13. Cessationism and Seeing Jesus
14. Zeitoun and Seeing Mary
Part IV. Analysis and Reflections
15. Some Tenuous Arguments: Apologetical
16. Some Tenuous Arguments: Skeptical
17. Inferences and Competing Stories
18. Overreach and Modest Results
Coda
Index
About the author
Dale C. Allison, Jr., is the Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, USA, and the author of many books, including Constructing Jesus: Memory, Imagination, and History and the International Critical Commentary on James.
Summary
The mystery at the core of Christian belief is examined from the earliest evidence and sources through to present day, with arguments for and against the historical truth of this aspect of faith.
Foreword
The mystery at the core of Christian belief is examined from the earliest evidence and sources through to present day, with arguments for and against the historical truth of this aspect of faith.
Additional text
For anyone who wants to wrestle seriously with what to think about Jesus of Nazareth and with the history of scholarship on this matter, the writings of Dale Allison offer more food for thought, from more angles of vision, than any other recent author I know of. The Resurrection of Jesus, now venturing to bring his expertise to bear on the standard arguments of Christian apologetics and counter-apologetics, will again be an indispensable aid to those who, from within a faith perspective or in search of one, find themselves in pursuit of genuine inquiry.
