The Risen Jesus and Future Hope

258 Pages·2003·13.86 MB·English

by  Gary R. Habermas

The Risen Jesus & Future Hope
Gary R. Habermas
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.
Lanham Boulder New York Oxford
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Copyright , 2003 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
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Habermas, Gary R.
The risen Jesus & future hope / Gary R. Habermas.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-7425-3286-0 (hardcover)-ISBN 0-7425-3287-9 (pbk.)
1. Jesus Christ-Resurrection. 2. Theology, Doctrinal. I. Title.
BT482.H33 2003
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To Eileen,
my wife and special friend,
with the utmost love and respect
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Contents
Introduction vii
Part I: A Resurrection Faith
Chapter 1 The Resurrection of Jesus as History 3
Chapter 2 A Theistic Universe 53
Chapter 3 The Person and Teachings of Jesus 89
Chapter 4 The Kingdom of God 123
Chapter 5 Salvation and Radical Commitment 137
Chapter 6 Eternal Life 151
Part 11: The Resurrection and Some Practical Issues
Chapter 7 Challenging the Fear of Death 173
Chapter 8 Suffering and Jesus’s Resurrection:
A Personal Account 187
Chapter 9 The Testimony of the Holy Spirit and Evidence 199
Chapter 10 Jesus and the Authority of Scripture 213
Selected Bibliography 225
Index 233
About the Author 239
V
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Introduction
Today it is widely agreed across a broad spectrum of opinion that the resur-
rection of Jesus is the central claim in the Christian faith. This can be seen
in New Testament writings, and most scholars recognize that it remains so
today. Supported by these writings, many recent scholars have shown that
other doctrines also take the resurrection as their departure point.
This book attempts to establish a resurrection theology that moves from
this event to several other key Christian beliefs. I will map out several paths,
including historical, philosophical, counseling, and experiential, in which the
resurrection might serve as the foundation for these theological tenets. Some
readers may resist a particular angle. Even so, one should still appreciate the
richness of the resurrection, as well as other doctrines following from it.
Much of the interaction with contemporary scholarship in this volume
comes from my two-year study of most of the published sources on Jesus's res-
urrection written in German, French, and English from 1975 to 2003.' The
study included more than fourteen hundred scholarly texts. Just plotting the
positions on the current spectrum took well over five hundred pages.
The Great Scholarly Divide
While scholars generally agree that the resurrection is at the center of Chris-
tianity and has application to other doctrines, at least two major issues cause
widespread disagreement. (1) Was the resurrection an actual event of history?
If not, did it still occur, perhaps in other than a strictly space-time manner?
vii
viii Introduction
(2) Is the relationship between this doctrine and other theological beliefs and
practices formed by some sort of evidential argument? Or is the relationship
between Jesus’s resurrection and, say, the believer’s life after death simply a
matter of faith, evidential arguments aside?
Even if there is little initial agreement on these two questions, the various
positions that relate the resurrection to other theological truths still share
much common ground. Strangely enough, even critical theologians who be-
lieve that Jesus was not raised from the dead in any actual or historical sense
usually think that there is still an important, perhaps even crucial, connec-
tion between the resurrection and other religious beliefs and actions.
My position is that Jesus’s resurrection is best considered a historical event
of the past. There are varying amounts of entailment between this event and
other Christian doctrines or practices. Sometimes there is a fairly direct ar-
gument. On other occasions, though, I develop pastoral and other practical
links between the resurrection and the beliefs and practices of believers. I
will pursue both sorts of connections.
I wish to make it clear that one could hold to other stances on these two
issues and still make much sense of this volume. For instance, one might
think that Jesus really rose from the dead historically but that arguments for
this event violate the nature of faith. Or, it might be held that Jesus rose from
the dead, but he appeared in a less-than-bodily fashion. In either case, one
could still gain from various connections between this crucial occurrence and
other Christian beliefs and practices.
The Center of Christian Theology
Most critical scholars, whether conservative or liberal, agree that the resurrec-
tion of Jesus is the key to the Christian faith. We have said that most critical
scholars, whether conservative or liberal, agree that the resurrection of Jesus is
the key to the Christian faith. For example, Hans Kung contends: “Christianity
begins with Easter. Without Easter there would be no gospel, not a single nar-
rative, not a letter in the New Testament. Without Easter, Christendom would
have no belief in Christ, no proclamation of Christ, nor any church, any divine
worship, any mission.”2 Similarly, Reginald Fuller adds: “The resurrection of
Jesus from the dead was the central claim of the church‘s proclamation. There
was no period of time when this was not SO."^
The chief indication of this centrality is the New Testament testimony.
The writers repeatedly agree not only that the resurrection actually occurred,
but that it ensured, illuminated, or is otherwise related to a variety of other
beliefs and practices.
Introduction ix
The key passage here is 1 Corinthians 15. Paul reminded his audience of
the Gospel message that he preached to them (vv. 1-2). Then he cited an
early Christian creed(s) that defines the Gospel content and lists a number
of appearances of the resurrected Jesus. He added the appearance to himself
(vv. 3-8). Due to the exceptionally early date at which Paul received this
material and the importance of his own eyewitness testimony, as well as his
proximity to some of the other witnesses, this text is virtually always viewed
as containing the best testimony for the resurrection. I look briefly at this
topic in chapter 1.
Beginning in verse 12, Paul turns to the significance of the resurrection. If
Jesus was not raised from the dead, then the Christian faith and preaching
are fallacious (KEVOV, 15:14). Then the apostles, who were eyewitnesses to
the appearances (vv. 11, 14-15), would be in error in their affirmation that
God raised Jesus (vv. 14-15).
Using another term (pa~aia1,5 :17), Paul repeats that the entire Christ-
ian faith would be ineffective if it were not for Jesus’s resurrection. Without this
event, there is no forgiveness of sins, and believers who have died have per-
ished in vain (vv. 17-18). Apart from the fact of the resurrection, our only
hope lies in this life. In sum, without eternal hope, Christians are to be pitied
above all others (v. 19). We would be living a lie with mundane consequences.
After outlining this dismal picture of a spineless Christianity, Paul moves
to a triumphant note. Since Christ was raised from the dead (v. 20), we now
have a firm foundation for our faith. The resurrection of the dead is based on
this event (vv. 21-23).
So all of Paul’s earlier reservations are, in fact, reversed. Christian preach-
ing is not useless, and faith in Christ is not in vain (v. 14). Proclaiming the
truth about God raising Christ is not false testimony (vv. 14, 15). Since
Christ has been raised, our faith is not in vain and forgiveness of sins can be
a reality (v. 17). As a result, saints who have died in Christ indeed do have
hope (v. 18). And life does have much meaning, both in this world and the
future (v. 19).
In an incredible comment, Paul additionally applies this teaching to the
Christian’s behavior. If the dead are not raised (which he has already said de-
pends on Jesus’s resurrection),t hen we may as well embrace an alien ethic: “Let
us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1532 RSV). So the truth of the resur-
rection makes a claim on our present actions, well as our future existence.
as
Both are integrated and meaningful in Christian theology and ethics.
Building on this foundation of Christ’s resurrection, Paul goes on to de-
velop his doctrine of the believer’s resurrection body and immortality
(1535-58). He makes at least three important applications of this doctrine.