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Resurrection: Myth or Reality? (Paperback)

~ (Author) "When I was doing my theological training in the 1950s, the word midrash was not heard with any frequency..." (more)
Key Phrases: death cannot contain, midrash tradition, primitive strand, Jesus of Nazareth, New Testament, Mary Magdalene (more...)

2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)

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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 (February 18, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060674296
ISBN-13: 978-0060674298
Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #466,095 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
When I was doing my theological training in the 1950s, the word midrash was not heard with any frequency. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
death cannot contain, midrash tradition, primitive strand, resurrection tradition, burial tradition, tomb story, resurrection narratives

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Jesus of Nazareth, New Testament, Mary Magdalene, Palm Sunday, Last Supper, Book of Acts, Hebrew Scriptures, Jewish Christians, Holy Spirit, Book of Hebrews, Sea of Galilee, Mark's Gospel, Holy of Holies, Old Testament, Jesus Christ, Christian Scriptures, John's Gospel, Joseph of Arimathea, King David, John the Baptist, John Zebedee, Jordan River, Luke's Gospel, Come Lord Jesus, Edward Schillebeeckx

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 100 books:

Born of a Woman by John Shelby Spong on 4 pages
Midrash and Lection in Matthew by M. D. Goulder in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
The Formation of the Resurrection Narratives by Reginald Horace Fuller in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
This Hebrew Lord by John Shelby Spong in Front Matter, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
The Gospel of Mark As Midrash on Earlier Jewish and New Testament Literature (Studies in the Bible and Early Christianity) by Dale Miller in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)

The New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman

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A New Christianity for a New World by John Shelby Spong

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Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism by Jill Westberg McNamara

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The Gospel of Luke by Daniel J. Harrington

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Customer Reviews

37 Reviews

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2.9 out of 5 stars (37 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Liberal Theology at Its Best, April 1, 2004

By	Bobby Touchton (Ashland, Kentucky USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars We can't know what happened but I think I do., December 10, 2007

By	T. Coleman - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Resurrection : Myth or Reality? (Paperback)

In Resurrection: Myth or Reality, John Shelby Spong argues against the literal bodily resurrection of Jesus. His argument rests on two foundations: the Jewish interpretive method called midrash, and linguistic subjectivism.
.
Rabbi Iscah Waldman, in an article entitled Filling in the Gaps: How Midrash Functions available at MyJewishLearning.com explains, "Midrash is commonly defined as the process of interpretation by which the Rabbis filled in `gaps' in the Torah." Spong argues that this method should be applied to the New Testament as well. But I see nothing in this definition of midrash that requires non-literal interpretation of the words that are in the text. Speaking of the events that produced the Easter tradition, Spong himself agrees that something did happen. "So we look at the writings we have and seek to understand what they point to, what they reveal, what truth they convey. They all point to one consistent conclusion. Something Happened! Whatever that something was, it had power! Incredible power!" But even if a literal interpretation were excluded by midrash, Spong's argument ultimately falls to a fatal logical error.
.
In chapter III, titled The Vehicle of Words, an Unsteady Ship, Spong lays his second foundation. "No word is subjective; hence no word ever passes from the lips of one person into the hearing of another without being changed in meaning." "Identical words, therefore, are never passed on with identical meaning to two different persons, even in the same tribe." "Words are never neutral or objective...words are never THE truth...so it is that no words employed by anyone at any time can be objective, infallible, inerrant, or strictly literal." "Above all, words must be recognized as symbolic pointers to truth not objective containers of truth." Spong repeats this theme throughout the book.
.
Spong's argument falls on its own sword. If we cannot know what words mean, how can Spong be so sure that he knows what the Bible's words about Jesus' resurrection cannot mean? He, too, uses words to argue for his spiritualized view of the resurrection of Jesus. Even his understanding of Midrash must sail on the "unsteady ship" of words. Based on his own view of the subjectivity of words, I do not find Spong's position on the resurrection of Jesus very convincing. Any conclusion he draws ends up in the inescapable quagmire of its own subjectivity.

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22 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting but i'm still seeking, November 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Resurrection: Myth or Reality? : A Bishop's Search for the Origins of Christianity (Hardcover)

this book is quite readable & Spong's reconstruction is plausible.

I also find his portrayal of Jesus dying alone without a proper burial, (no embalming, no angel) & the dark, bleak months between crucification & proclaim of resurrection, immensely more powerful & touching than the glorified version in the cannon Gospels.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!
The service was the best I have ever had! The book "Resurection, Myth or Reality" is superior.

Published 1 month ago by Robert Weir

4.0 out of 5 stars well worth reading
finally got around to actually reading this book (I had only skimmed it before) and find it most interesting. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Gary Seth Peetra

3.0 out of 5 stars Myth or Reality, Creative and Compelling?
Spong's title and question - Resurrection, Myth or Reality? is asked again in the book; "Can something be real and yet not occur in history? Read more

Published 13 months ago by Craig R. Ewoldt

1.0 out of 5 stars Good Intentions, Unconvincing Arguments
John Shelby Spong's book, Resurrection: Myth or Reality, held no surprises; the title gave his position away, and I knew what the final conclusion would be before I started to... Read more

Published 13 months ago by Publius

4.0 out of 5 stars Making sense of the resurrection
Spong presents reasons why he believes the resurrection of Jesus became literalized gradually after his death. Read more

Published 21 months ago by calmly

4.0 out of 5 stars Superb Analysis of the Gospels
If anything in the New Testament is reliable historically, it is only by accident. Virtually every word, phrase, and verse comes from midrash (Jewish for "recycling old stories")... Read more

Published 23 months ago by The Spinozanator

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Reading
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. Read more

Published on January 3, 2007 by Dr. James Gardner

1.0 out of 5 stars VISION OR PHYSICAL RESURRECTION
According to John Shelby Spong, Jesus did not literally rise from the dead. Jesus was crucified, died, and was thrown in a common grave. Read more

Published on September 24, 2006 by AMAZIN

1.0 out of 5 stars Verdict: Reality Reduced to Myth
Spong inhabits a worldview in which rationality and religion are remotely distant cousins. Through postmodern eyes, Spong sets the mythological stage upon which resurrection... Read more

Published on September 12, 2006 by Critical Thinker

5.0 out of 5 stars Notes on: "RESURRECTION: MYTH OR REALITY?"
A common response we may have, after reading some of the radical conclusions reached by modern theologians such as Dr. Spong, is to recoil from their studied analyses. Read more

Published on June 18, 2006 by Dr. N.Burr.Furlong

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