![The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God series Book 3) by [Wright, Tom]](https://images-fe.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41dtsoLljDL._SY346_.jpg)
In his book, "The Resurrection of the Son of God: Christian Origins and the Question of God," Nicholas Thomas (N.T.) Wright gives profound historical and theological insight into the resurrection (Easter) narrative. He considers life beyond death according to paganism, the Old Testament, Post-Biblical Judaism, and early Christianity. But, his central aim is to answer the question: Did Jesus of Nazareth really rise from the dead? He believes the answer is largely found in the question of why Christianity began, and why it formed.
Wright sets the stage in the first part of his volume by giving a powerful allegory of a king who commanded his archers to shoot at the sun. With all of their might they attempted to pierce the sun, but in vain. All of their arrows fell short. A few days later, the youngest archer noticed the reflection of the sun upon the still water. With a single shot he shattered the sun. He uses this parable to illustrate the fact that all the arrows of history cannot reach God. However, Wright helps the reader to recognize that there are reflections that must be aimed at throughout history that tell the true story of the resurrection of Jesus.
According to Wright, aiming within the worldview and language of second-Temple Judaism is crucial to hitting the target. While he points his arrows momentarily at other targets outside this scope to better comprehend the historical context, he is careful to focus his direction back on the Jewish aspects that pertain to life after death and the resurrection. Furthermore, Wright shows evidence that the idea of resurrection was incomprehensible within the mindset of pagan cultures. Rather, for many of these ancient peoples, there was no tradition of life after death. Thus for Christianity, the fundamental claim that Jesus rose again from the dead was incoherent and unbelievable.
After establishing that a majority of second-Temple Judaism believed in a coming resurrection, Wright devotes two main parts of his text to the resurrection in Pauline correspondence. He wisely unpacks the epistles to the Corinthians, especially chapter fifteen of the first epistle that openly centers on the resurrection. This section transitions from merely a Jewish tradition in a coming resurrection to the resurrection of Jesus. His attention on Paul is intentional and essential to understanding the future hope and doctrine of Christendom.
In part three, Wright reveals how little the Gospels speak of resurrection traditions, outside of the empty tomb of Jesus. Additionally, he examines the other books of the New Testament to see what they say about resurrection. He discovered that there was a sudden rise of a resurrection movement among early Christianity that was turning the world upside down. Moreover, Wright hones in on what happened to this early Christian faith during the second and early third century. He found the same conviction formed and became clearly focused throughout this period of time. Therefore, Wright begs for a historical explanation for such a developing doctrine of the resurrection.
The final parts conclude where many Christians might begin–with the Gospels. He gives an articulate description of the Easter narrative according to each gospel account. As Wright determines, there is no doubt that each of these writers told the story in their own way with their own purpose in mind. But, what is remarkable is that their testimonies were consistent. Even though Wright admits that neither the empty tomb nor the appearances of Jesus in and of themselves proves the resurrection to be true, but together, they present a powerful reason for the development of the early Christian belief.
Review
"- 'The sweep of Wright's project as a whole is breathtaking. It is impossible to give a fair assessment of his achievement without sounding grandiose: no New Testament scholar since Bultmann has ever attempted - let alone achieved - such an innovative and comprehensive account of New Testament history and theology.' Richard B. Hays on The New Testament and the People of God
Product Description
N.T. Wright takes us on a fascinating journey through ancient beliefs about life after death, from the shadowy figures who inhabit Homer's Hades, through Plato's hope for a blessed immortality, to the first century, where the Greek and Roman world (apart from the Jews) consistently denied any possibility of resurrection. We then examine ancient Jewish beliefs on the same subject, from the Bible to the Dead Sea Scrolls and beyond. This sets the scene for a full-scale examination of 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. Wright looks at all the evidence, and asks: Why did the Christians agree with Jewish resurrection belief while introducing into it - across the board - significant modifications? To answer this question we come to the strange and evocative Easter stories in the gospels and asks whether they can have been late inventions. Wright seeks the best historical conclusions about the empty tomb and the belief that Jesus really did rise bodily from the dead, recognizing that it was this belief that caused early Christians to call Jesus 'Son of God'. In doing so, they posed a political challenge as well as a theological one. These challenges retain their power in the twenty-first century.
