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What then I would say about the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth?

Well to start, we’ve seen what the word ‘resurrection’ really means. Many people in our day have imagined the resurrection as just a fancy, fluffy way for talking about life after death or for talking about going to heaven.

Well, it really isn’t. People in the ancient world had very good language for talking about both of those things and when they wanted to say those, they didn’t say resurrection.

When they did say resurrection it was because they were talking about a new, embodied life after a period of being bodily dead. Which is exactly what the resurrection narratives in the gospels say about Jesus.

But what can we say about that? Some people would say well, you just have to have faith, and either you got it or you don’t. And in a sense that’s right and we must be aware of making Thomas’ mistake, thinking that we will only believe if we are given solid evidence.

But there is something else going on here as well, because the resurrection is one of those uncomfortable things that comes out of the realm of faith and insists on being treated as part of the realm of history.

You can say all you like that while history can’t deal with resurrections because there is no analogy or no supporting documentation to support such a kind a thing, but something has happened in the world of the first century.

As a result of which, the world turned out to be a different place.

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David P. Seemuth, PhD

David Seemuth is the Founder and President of the Wisconsin Center for Christian Studies, Inc, which exists to bring transformation to Christian believers through the renewal of the mind. He and Prof. N.T. Wright collaborate in online course development and launched N.T. Wright Online in 2015. David has been an Adjunct Professor at Trinity International University for over 35 years and teaches in the area of Biblical Studies, specializing in the New Testament. He also served as an Associate Pastor at Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, WI, for 30 years.

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