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I Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus

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Written by respected New Testament scholar George Eldon Ladd, I Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus weighs in at just over 150 pages and is unusual in that it provides an unabashed historical argument for the bodily resurrection of Jesus. For those who have trudged through weighty tomes devoted to the resurrection, the brevity of Ladd's arguments will be a nice respite. But despite its length, I Believe delivers an informed and beneficial argument for the historical resurrection of Jesus.

Ladd begins by discussing the relationship between history and faith and argues that the study of history can render a judgment on the resurrection, though it is likely only to be persuasive to those who do not reject miracles a priori. Thereafter, Ladd moves on to the best part of the book, which is several chapters examining beliefs about the after-life and resurrection in the Old Testament and ancient Judaism, as well as a chapter about messianic expectations and how they related, if at all, to resurrection belief. N.T. Wright's The Resurrection of the Son of God covers some of the same ground in much more detail and reaches some of the same conclusions, most notably that the resurrection belief of Jesus' disciples cannot be explained as simply outgrowths of the beliefs of their times. Something much more concrete is needed to explain the origins of Christian faith in the resurrection. Though obviously much shorter than Wright's book, Ladd presents it well and with quick but informative references to primary sources.

Next, Ladd spends two chapters on the gospels, one on the Nature of the Gospels and the other on the Witness of the Gospels. The Nature of the Gospels is a short chapter that sets forth Ladd's generally conservative conclusions on the dates and trustworthiness of the Gospels. It is too short to change minds, but lays the foundation for his evaluation of the Witness of the Gospels. The chapter on the Witness of the Gospels is a good one, though not nearly long enough to be a full historical-critical evaluation of them. Nevertheless, Ladd scores points by his straightforward grappling with the tension between the accounts of the empty tomb and resurrection appearances. In a rare but laudable move for a New Testament scholar, Ladd lays out his own harmonization (and it's a pretty good one). He also is impressed by the Gospels' failure to actually narrate any sort of resurrection, such as is found in the legendary Gospel of Peter. Other indications of reliability lead Ladd to conclude that seven historical facts may be gleaned from the gospels and related studies.

Ladd only turns to the writings of Paul after discussing the Gospels. As Ladd demonstrates, Paul attests to the bodily nature of the resurrection (though with the transformation of the body). Ladd goes on to refute the notion that Paul considered his transformational encounter with Jesus to be a merely visionary event. Ladd points out that Paul himself discussed visionary encounters with God but always distinguished them from his encounter with the risen Jesus. All told, this chapter is an excellent examination of Paul's understand of the resurrection.

Ladd's next chapter, "'Historical' Explanations," brings it all home and wraps up the historical inquiry. The historian, he argues, has to cope with the facts established by the evidence and determine the best explanation for it. While doing just that, Ladd goes through the usual suspects of secular explanations, such as the stolen body theory, the swoon theory, and the wrong tomb theory. He finds them unpersuasive. Ladd concludes that "Only the `hypothesis' of actual bodily resurrection adequately explains the known historical facts. The only reason for not accepting the `biblical hypothesis' is the conviction that it cannot be true."

This book is an excellent argument for the resurrection whose short length belies its value and persuasiveness. It is widely available for a reasonable price and is a worthy addition to any library.