The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origin and Question of God) - Softcover

Wright, Professor Tom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0281074461 ISBN 13: 9780281074464

Publisher: SPCK Publishing, 2017

Synopsis

N.T. Wright takes us on a fascinating journey through ancient beliefs about life after death, from the shadowy figures who inhabit Homer's Hades, through Plato's hope for a blessed immortality, to the first century, where the Greek and Roman world (apart from the Jews) consistently denied any possibility of resurrection.

We then examine ancient Jewish beliefs on the same subject, from the Bible to the Dead Sea Scrolls and beyond. This sets the scene for a full-scale examination of early Christian beliefs about resurrection in general and that of Jesus in particular, beginning with Paul and working through to the start of the third century.

Wright looks at all the evidence, and asks: Why did the Christians agree with Jewish resurrection belief while introducing into it - across the board - significant modifications?
To answer this question we come to the strange and evocative Easter stories in the gospels and ask whether they can have been late inventions. Wright seeks the best historical conclusions about the empty tomb and the belief that Jesus really did rise bodily from the dead, recognizing that it was this belief that caused early Christians to call Jesus 'Son of God'.

In doing so, they posed a political challenge as well as a theological one. These challenges retain their power in the twenty-first century.

About this title

About the Author

Tom Wright is Research Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St Andrews and Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He is the author of more than 80 influential books, including The New Testament for Everyone, Simply Christian, Surprised by Hope, The Day the Revolution Began, Paul: A biography, The New Testament in its World, On Earth as in Heaven and Into the Heart of Romans (all published by SPCK).

Edition details

• Publisher: SPCK Publishing
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0281074461
• ISBN 13: 9780281074464
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 848