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Revision as of 07:23, 23 December 2001 by RK (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the name associated with the belief that God literally raised Jesus Christ from the dead after his Crucifixion.
As one of the miracles mentioned in the New Testament, the Resurrection is arguably the foundational belief of Christianity. Saint Paul said that if it didn't really happen, then Christians were to be pitied above all men. (I Corinthians 15:19) Christians have lived and died the death of martyrs in hope of the resurrection, both in hope of Christ's resurrection in the past and in hope of their own in the future.
Some New Testament references that describe this event are:
- Acts 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
- 1 Cor 6:14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
- Gal 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
- 1 Pet 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God
Some of the earliest records of the resurrection outside the New Testament are found in the writings of Josephus (37 - 110), Ignatius (50 - 115), Polycarp (69 - 155) Justin Martyr (100 - 165), and Tertullian (160 - 220).
Some historians have questioned the historicity of the events related by the New Testament. One of the first to do so was Edward Gibbon (1737 - 1794). See The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire for an extensive quote from that work in which Gibbon wonders why no contemporary historians noticed three hours of darkness in the middle of the Roman Empire.
Other religions have claims of resurrection, such as Mithraism, Greek worship of Adonis, Egyptian worship of Osiris, the Babylonian story of Tammuz and rural religious belief in the Corn King. Some historians conjecture that the New Testament's account of the resurrection of Jesus was in some ways influenced by, or directly based on, these earlier resurrection stories. The Mithraists worshipped Mithra, a supreme God of the upper and nether world. They believed that their god died, was buried in a rock tomb, and was resurrected.
Possible historical influence on New Testament's account of resurrection
The Egyptian deity Osiris had almost the same life-story as Jesus, including his conception, birth, ministry, death and resurrection. Some historians claim that this is because the New Testament incorporated these beliefs in order to appeal to pagan converts. Religious Christians hold that the stories are significantly different, and that the similarities are superficial; thus, no special significant need be attached to the similarities.
Parallels between pagan and Christian account of resurrection
On a similar note, many stories in the Torah, held sacred by both Jews and Christians, also are noted by historians to have close parallels to earlier pagan myths and stories. Liberal Jewish and Christian denominations agree that this is likely the case, and have theologies that do not depend on this finding. Traditional Christians and Orthodox Jews reject any similarities.
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