Customer Reviews

The Structure of Resurrection Belief (Clarendon Paperbacks)

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Peter Carnley's book is an excellent introduction to the huge range of opinions about what belief in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ really means - belief in a historical fact? belief in a vision? belief in belief? Suprising to readers new to the field of liberal theology will be the sheer disbelief that has been expressed by modern theologians, which Carnley addresses and attempts to provide a response to.

But he gives no comfort to those who want to believe every last detail recorded in the New Testament, since the evidence of the Gospels themselves is contradictory. The experience of the Risen Christ is as elusive and as slippery as any other object of belief, but becomes the basis for Carnley's understanding of Resurrection. Read this book, understand it, and it will challenge or firm up your beliefs - but it won't leave them unchanged.

Peter Carnley is the Archbishop of Perth, Australia. My main interest in this book was the 28-page section on the historical evidence surrounding the resurrection stories. Carnley concludes honestly that the historical evidence is insufficient to justify belief in the resurrection of Christ. To overcome the shortfall, Carnley goes on to suggest an epistemology in which Christians know of the resurrection of Jesus through the witness of the church or the Holy Spirit. Personally, I place no stock in such and conclude that it would be most reasonable not to believe.