Overview

"Christians assert that God raised Jesus from the dead, but no-one outside the Christian faith-community takes them seriously. For most people, the resurrection of Jesus is a non-event. A story or a myth perhaps, but nothing more. This book tackles the problem of the resurrection head-on. As a scientist, the author is committed to a modern post-Enlightenment worldview. He rejects belief in miraculous divine intervention and argues that the true nature of historical events can only be established by the rigorous interrogation of sources. The historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is subjected to detailed scrutiny, with the greatest weight being assigned to the earliest and most reliable testimony. The picture that emerges is sharply at variance with conventional Christian understandings. What is usually regarded as the ""Jewish background"" becomes the foreground. The Gospels, previously central to any discussion of the resurrection, are only one source among many that give an account of faith in the risen Christ. Very early traditions embedded in the earliest Christian texts move centre-stage. Resurrection faith emerges when visions of Jesus, already exalted in heaven, begin to interact with theological faith-interpretations of the ""Jesus event"". The author emphasizes that rejecting belief in the resurrection as a historical event does not undermine belief in non-physical realities. Nor does it exclude the possibility of revelation being delivered through historical events freighted with intrinsic significance."

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9781789590500

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Reviews

Gant dances around literalism, reductionism and unbelief in an attempt to weave a credible answer in a non-interventionist reading of Jesus' resurrection, convincing enough to undergird Christian faith for today. Does he succeed? Read and decide. The argument is worth it. -- Rosie Budd * Transforming Ministry * [Gant's] is a magnificently argued position. Whether it is one that would, or even should, displace the deeply affective attachment to the stories which carry such impact in the Easter cycle each year remains open to debate. -- Bridget Nichols * Rural Theology * Forceful and fair in his style of argument ... This is a startling and challenging book. -- Henry Wansbrough * The Church Times * This is a remarkably honest book. In fact, the author's uncompromising commitment to articulating only what a critical reading of the actual New Testament evidence will justifiably allow constitutes a confronting challenge, not only to the unthinking forces of contemporary fundamentalism and naive biblicism, but also to much of the Christian apologetics of mainline Christian Churches that tend to be wedded to the defence of inherited or preconceived views come what may. ... This is a significantly interesting and challenging book. It would be a mistake to underestimate its importance. -- Peter Carnley * Journal of Anglican Studies *

This is a remarkably honest book. In fact, the author's uncompromising commitment to articulating only what a critical reading of the actual New Testament evidence will justifiably allow constitutes a confronting challenge, not only to the unthinking forces of contemporary fundamentalism and naive biblicism, but also to much of the Christian apologetics of mainline Christian Churches that tend to be wedded to the defence of inherited or preconceived views come what may. ... This is a significantly interesting and challenging book. It would be a mistake to underestimate its importance. -- Peter Carnley * Journal of Anglican Studies *

Author Information

Peter Gant is an Anglican priest and a former senior civil servant. He studied physics at Oxford and theology at both Oxford and Cambridge.

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