The views from professional historians via Facts and friction of Easter (hat tip: Elizaphanian: Nobody sane doubts the existence of Jesus):
Take the question of Jesus' existence. Dawkins may have his
reservations; so might Onfray and Hitchens. But no one who is
actually doing ancient history does. I contacted three eminent
ancient history professors this week and asked if they knew of any
professional historian who argued that Jesus never lived. They did
not. Professor Graeme Clarke of the Australian National University
was happy to go on the record as saying: "Frankly, I know of no
ancient historian or biblical historian who would have a twinge of
doubt about the existence of a Jesus Christ - the documentary
evidence is simply overwhelming." Dawkins inadvertently proves the
point. In The God Delusion his sole example of a serious
historical case against the existence of Jesus is that of
"Professor G.A. Wells of the University of London". Dawkins does
not mention that George Wells is a professor of German language,
not history.
...
But what of the Easter events? There is a broad consensus here,
too. Few biblical historians accept all of the details of the
Gospel accounts - to the chagrin of some Christians - but most,
whether Jewish, Christian or agnostic, agree that these writings
have preserved a reliable core of information about the tumultuous
final days of Jesus' life: he created a public disturbance in the
Jerusalem temple shortly before his arrest; he shared a final
(Passover) meal with his disciples; he was arrested by the priestly
elite and handed over to the Romans; he was crucified for treason
under the mocking charge "king of the Jews". These are the accepted
facts of the Easter narrative.
...
But what of the resurrection? Despite the arguments of some
Christian apologists, most mainstream scholars do not treat the
resurrection as belonging to their field of inquiry. It is similar
to Jesus' healings. Historians would not say that Jesus actually
performed miracles - that would be to turn from history to
philosophy and theology. They can only say that he did things which
those around him interpreted as miraculous. So, too, with the
resurrection. No historian wearing his or her historical cap would
say that God raised Jesus from the dead. That is a theological
interpretation of the evidence. What most scholars do affirm is
more modest, though not without significance: Jesus' tomb was empty
shortly after his crucifixion and significant numbers of men and
women experienced what they believed to be appearances of the risen
Jesus. These are the historical facts of Easter Sunday: an empty
tomb and resurrection experiences. They are accepted not only by
serious Christian scholars but also by leading Jewish historians
such as Vermes and self-confessed agnostics such as Professor Ed
Sanders of Duke University, who once wrote: "That Jesus' followers
(and later Paul) had resurrection experiences is, in my judgment, a
fact. What the reality was that gave rise to the experiences I do
not know." This is typical of the responsible historian's approach
to Easter: whatever the explanation, something extraordinary
happened.
Peter Kirk has a collected a wide range of reflections and studies in What was so good about Friday? including as is proper links to Martyn's post as President of the Methodist Church in GB: The really good news gospel - Easter message from the President (Ruby has one up for Easter day already: Christ is risen. Alleluiah! (BTW well done Ruby for mastering time travel [very useful for a Vice President of the Methodist Church] - it is now 12:25 but the post is timed at 12:30).
My Easter thinking has been dominated by 1 Corinthians 15 following reading "The Challenge of Jesus
" by NT Wright (Amazon Associates link). One key point comes out in this interview - N. T. Wright on Resurrection:
To
preach the Resurrection is to announce the fact that the world is a
different place, and that we have to live in that "different-ness." The
Resurrection is not just God doing a wacky miracle at one time. We have
to preach it in a way that says this was the turning point in world
history. [Hat tip: JOLLYBLOGGER: N. T. Wright on Preaching the Resurrection]
Anyway, time to dash. I have 4 Easter services (two with breakfast), first at 6:30am and last at 6pm. Oh plus a Mother-in-law to collect from hospital (abscess on leg, fixed and should be ready to be collected on Easter Sunday afternoon).
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