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Resurrection: Myth or Reality? Paperback – February 18, 1995

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John Shelby Spong (Author)
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Continuing his project of making Christianity viable in a secular world, Bishop Spong here pursues the mystery of Easter. The solutions he proposes are not grounded in a literal understanding of the Bible; nor are they based in a quest for the historical Jesus. Easter, for Spong, was not a supernatural event that occurred inside human history. He asserts that even though Jesus was of history, we will never know all that Jesus was or meant. Most especially, we will never know exactly what happened on that moment that is called Easter. What we can know is that the first Christians became convinced that Jesus did not die and, to express the intensity of their experience, they used the language and style of midrash. Thus, Bishop Spong believes that to enter the meaning of the Gospels, to enter the experience of Easter, it is necessary to enter the tradition of midrash. His book, consequently, is a long and complex journey into the images of the biblical texts, the midrashic vehicles employed to carry the transcendent meaning of Easter.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Episcopal Bishop and prolific author Spong examines the Christian doctrine of resurrection and its biblical evidence to discover its true meaning beneath the legends and myths that encase it. Written for the lay reader, Spong's book has the tone of personal quest, but his actual findings are similar to those of recent New Testament scholars. This book will appeal to those wanting a reasonable, nonliteralist faith grounded in the mystery of reality beyond time and space. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: HarperOne; Reprint edition (February 18, 1995)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060674296
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060674298
  • Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.9 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #331,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Essential Reading
By Dr. James Gardner VINE VOICE on January 3, 2007
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
John Shelby Spong is an Episcopal Bishop and the author of several books, among them Born of a Woman, Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, and This Hebrew Lord. In the current book Spong examines the most minute details about the Resurrection in an attempt to re-visit the "Easter" story that is at the core of Christianity. Spong's unique contribution to this analysis is his deep familiarity with Hebrew literature and the midrash tradition, the lens through which the all Jewish people of the first century interpreted the gospels.

Part One (Chapters 1-3) is a 40+ page introduction to the study of the gospels, the use of words, and the midrash method. Part Two (Chapters 4-9) is a detailed study of each of the gospels as well as the epistles of Paul. Part Three examines some of the major images present in the Resurrection story (e.g., the suffering servant, the son of man. In Part Four (Chapters 14-18) Spong provides his own interpretation of what the gospels really say, and in Part Five he provides us with an idea of what the resurrection story means to him on a personal level.

This book is a monumental work of scholarship and it will completely revise your idea about biblical research as well as the story of the resurrection. Literalists beware, this is not the book for you. But anyone with an open mind who has ever questioned the inconsistencies in the gospel accounts (e.g., did Jesus appear to the disciples in Galilee or in Jerusalem? Did one, two,three or more women go to the tomb?) or wondered about the strange and impossible to explain issues (e.g., cursing the fig tree, the cowardly disciple who becomes the Rock upon which the church is founded) will find this book a true eye opener.

The book is well written, but the notes are sketchy and far too few.Read more ›
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Making sense of the resurrection
By calmly on February 18, 2008
Format: Paperback
Spong presents reasons why he believes the resurrection of Jesus became literalized gradually after his death. Spong proceeds through the letters written by Paul to argue why he does not find good evidence that Paul regarded Jesus' resurrection as bodily. He then proceeds through the Synoptic Gospels in the order in which they are believed by most scholars today to have been written (Mark, Matthew, and finally Luke) to show what he believes are signs of increasingly literalized presentations of the resurrection. After reviewing all the Gospels including John, Spong speculates boldly to try to capture some sense in which Peter and the others who had known Jesus might have had a transforming Easter experience after the death of Jesus that led them to proclaim that he had been raised. Spong explains what it was about Jewish beliefs and the conditions of the times that would have influenced their response to Jesus's death.

Is it plausible? Probably not if you believe to begin with that the resurrection was bodily. It will seem that Spong is certainly reverse-engineering this book's arguments to fit his own rejection of a supernatural resurrection. Will it be plausible to other Christians? Perhaps but it may seem one set of speculations among many. Spong has not carefully graded his speculations as to which seem most likely and which least so he may have weakened his presentation by making it seem dependent on too many speculations. As for non-Christians, they may note that however "radical" Spong may seem to Christians in questioning the Gospel accounts, he seems not to question much, if at all, Jesus himself. One might compare Elaine Pagels' speculations in ...Read more ›
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41 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Liberal Theology at Its Best
By Bobby Touchton on April 1, 2004
Format: Paperback
John Shelby Spong pursues the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ. For the layperson who can overcome traditional viewpoints, he sets out to propose solutions which are not grounded in a literal understanding of the Bible; nor are they based in a quest for the historical Jesus. He attempts to get to the true meaning beneath the legends and myths that encase the resurrection story. As most Christians would do well to realize, he asserts that even though Jesus was of history, we will never know all that Jesus was or meant. Most especially, we will never know exactly what happened on that moment he suffered and died. He asserts that the first Christians became convinced that Jesus did not die and, to express the intensity of their experience, they used the language and style of midrash. This book appealed to me as one who wanted a reasonable, nonliteralist faith grounded in the mystery of reality beyond time and space. I would highly recommend it for one who wants to delve deeper into their faith. As with his other books, this is a daring examination of the very foundations of Christianity.
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32 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Not his best.
By James Yanni on May 29, 2000
Format: Paperback
In "Rescuing the Bible From Fundamentalism", John Shelby Spong, biblical scholar and Episcopal bishop of Newark explains that the texts of the bible are filled with truth, but a deeper, symbolic truth rather than a surface literalism. In "Born Of A Woman", he reinforces this by saying, in essence, "Yes, this applies even to the stories of Christmas and the virgin birth." In this book, he parallels that one by saying, "Yes, this applies even to the Easter story and the resurrection, the cornerstone and linchpin of Christianity."
As in those other books, it is refreshing to hear a practicing, active Christian admit what has been obvious to me for all of my adult life, namely that no thinking adult could easily wrap his/her head around the concept of biblical literalism. But for some reason, something seemed to be missing in this book; in "Rescuing the Bible.." and "Born of a Woman", I didn't feel like I was reading biblical scholarship; that's meant as a compliment. The style was almost conversational, and it was easy to read Spong's explanations. This book seems to me a great deal more dry and scholarly than either of those. It still presents interesting ideas, but it was more of an effort to focus on the writing. I frequently found my mind wandering, which didn't happen in either of the aforementioned books.
Worth reading, but somewhat slow going.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Five Stars

All of his books should be in the homes of people in search of the truth. IRMA DICKINSON

Published 2 months ago by irma dickinson
If the rest of it is as good as its beginning

I am only beginning this book. If the rest of it is as good as its beginning, I would then give it 5 stars!

Published 4 months ago by Georgia M Bretl
Totally fascinating. I always wondered how a person of ...

Totally fascinating. I always wondered how a person of faith, which the author obviously is, could admit to all the relevant facts and still find away to believe. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Steve Schlairet
Spong is a captivating writer. He makes you ponder great questions.

Awesome. But I'm prejudice. I gobble up anything by Spong.

Published 7 months ago by Trisha Saalbach
Three Stars

too lengthy for me - seems like he takes forever to prove a point.

Published 7 months ago by roger p.
A completely new perspective

As always, Bishop Spong tackles those issues of the church with which so many of us clergymen have issues. A groundbreaking, explosive new perspective on Christianity.

Published 11 months ago by rev t
Good catalyst for discussion among believers.

We are currently reading this in our book club, a few chapters at a time. Very thought-provoking as Spong questions many of the chronological happenings written regarding Christ... Read more

Published 11 months ago by Reading On
Four Stars

Heavy reading. Well thought out. Raises many questions. Not for a fundamentalist to read.

Published 11 months ago by John W. Sands
The real view

Wonderful book I love reading the book, Can I say anything else. It's a read for anybody having questions about the Bible.

Published 16 months ago by randy
Helpful book

Any move away from theistic fundamentalism is a very good one, and this book can help the reader do that.

Published 19 months ago by M. Lane

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