Buy New

$27.99

FREE Shipping.

Temporarily out of stock.
Order now and we'll deliver when available. Details

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Ship to:

Select a shipping address:

Buy Used

$12.31

FREE Shipping on orders over $25.

Used: Good | Details

Sold by C & D's Tattle Tales 2

Fulfilled by Amazon

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

The Resurrection Of Christ: A Historical Inquiry Hardcover – October 1, 2004

by Gerd Ludemann (Author)

15 customer reviews

See all 2 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$9.89

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$27.99

$14.29

$8.44

In this thorough exegesis of the primary texts dealing with the resurrection of Jesus, New Testament expert Gerd Lüdemann (University of Göttingen) presents compelling evidence that shows the resurrection was not a historical event and further argues that this development leaves little, if any, basis for Christian faith as presently defined.

Beginning with Paul’s testimony in 1 Cor. 15: 3-8, in which the apostle declares that Jesus "has been raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures," Lüdemann systematically evaluates every reference to Jesus’ resurrection in the New Testament, as well as apocryphal literature. He examines the purpose of the text writers, the ways in which they reworked tradition, and the historical value of each account. Through this approach, he offers a reconstruction of the probable course of events as well as the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ death on the cross, the burial of his body, his reported resurrection on the third day, and subsequent appearances to various disciples.

Since the historical evidence leads to the firm conclusion that Jesus’ body was not raised from the dead, Lüdemann argues that the origin of the Easter faith must be sought in the visionary experiences of Christianity’s two leading apostles. From a modern perspective this leads to the inescapable conclusion that both primary witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection, Peter and Paul, were victims of self-deception.

In conclusion, he asks whether in light of the nonhistoricity of Jesus’ resurrection, thinking people today can legitimately and in good conscience still call themselves Christians.

The Resurrection Of Christ: A Historical Inquiry

$27.99 FREE Shipping. Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your account will only be charged when we ship the item. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Gerd Ludemann

19

Paperback
Gerd Ludemann

5

Paperback
$20.00
Michael R. Licona

56

Paperback
$32.49
Paul Copan

28

Paperback
$13.68
Gerd Luedemann

3

Paperback
$27.00
Gerd Lüdemann

2

Paperback
$18.00

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Product Details

Hardcover: 248 pages
Publisher: Prometheus Books (October 1, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1591022452
ISBN-13: 978-1591022459
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 0.8 x 9.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,315,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3971 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Theology > Christology
- #5385 in Books > History > World > Religious > General
- #7706 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > History

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

2.4 out of 5 stars

5 star		20%
4 star		0%
3 star		20%
2 star		20%
1 star		40%

See all 15 customer reviews

Share your thoughts with other customers

Write a customer review

Top Customer Reviews

Good dissection of texts, but his thesis overreaches

By J. J. Ramsey on June 30, 2005

Format: Hardcover

What's good in the book:

* Ludemann does well at picking apart the resurrection narratives and their surrounding text. For example, he points out that Mark has Joseph of Arimathea buy a linen cloth on Friday evening (Mark 15:42-47), which would have been the Sabbath. (In the Jewish calendar, a new day starts on the evening of the previous day, so Sabbath lasts from Friday evening to Saturday evening.)

* Ludemann does not try to twist the texts to argue for a "spiritual" resurrection that is hardly more than one's spirit going to Heaven while the body is left behind.

What's not so good:

* His thesis overreaches. If the thesis had been that his reconstruction of the resurrection narratives made a supernatural explanation unnecessary, then he would have at least shown that his case was plausible, if not proved it. Instead, he goes beyond his evidence to assert that his historical explanation showed conclusively that Jesus did not rise from the dead.

* He does not deal directly with the objection made by N. T. Wright that a vision of Jesus would have been interpreted as Jesus' "angel" rather than as a sign that Jesus was resurrected, and gives the quick brush-off to objections that the disciples would have needed appearances of Jesus more solid than mere hallucinations. He could have done more here.

The book falls short of being the proof against Christianity that Ludemann wants it to be, but it has some useful analysis.

Comment 15 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Report abuse

The Logic Of Hope

By Tod Stites on June 28, 2014

Format: Hardcover

In the year 29, Livia, the mother of the Roman emperor died,and,as she had
enjoyed the admiration of the people everywhere,came to be worshipped as a
goddess(Woodman,"The Tiberian Narrative",p.274,citing Velleius Paterculus[c.
30 C.E.]).In the year 31(or 34),a man appeared claiming to be the emperor's son
Drusus,who had died in 23,and,"aided by Greek avidity for the new and strange",
ignorant recruits were drawn to him,and he raised followers in Greece(Tacitus
"Annals" 5.10):(Cassius Dio "Roman History" 58.25.1).
Clearly then,around the time Jesus died,c.30 C.E.,if someone popular or
important passed from the scene,they could be worshipped as a deity or heralded
as risen from the dead.And so there is little doubt in the minds of historians that
this is almost certainly what the followers of Jesus did for their Lord.
"The religiously and philosophically controlled view of life in antiquity finally
perceives the recognition of man by deity in the fact that the deity takes man to
himself.This may be manifested in an early death,but the person may also be
deified"(Preisker in Theological Dictionary Of The New Testament vol.4,p.706).
The term "euaggelion"(good news)preached by the Christians was also used by
the imperial cult and declared that the ruler is divine by nature,with Plutarch(c.46-
120 C.E.)indicating that the wind and waves are subject to such a figure(cp.Mark
4:41).And at his death signs in heaven declare his assumption into the ranks of
the gods,even as Philo Judaeus,the Jewish contemporary of Jesus,believed that
Moses had ascended to God and was deified(Friedrich in Theological Dictionary Of
The New Testament vol.2,p.724).Read more ›

Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Report abuse

I See Dead People

By George Eager on October 17, 2007

Format: Hardcover

There were all kinds of pagan miracles, and quite a few Christian miracles, reported in ancient times. If Lazarus, and the dead guy from Na'in, and the little girl, and Jesus, and the "many" saints, and the woman Peter raised, and the young man named Eutychus Paul raised...were all raised from the dead...what's the big deal about Jesus being raised? If the "many" were at least three, that's at least nine. Plus at least two from the OT. Are there more? In any event, this raising of the dead seems to have been a pretty popular theme.

It is naturally upsetting to Christians to have the central event of their faith disputed and I don't think Ludemann does a particularly tactful job of it. In the ancient world far out stories of miracles were commonplace. Vespasian healed a blind man with spittle (just like Jesus!) and healed a lame man or a man with a diseased hand (or leg,depending on the source).

The miracle cures at Asclepius' cult centers at Epidaurus and Pergamum are documented by many surviving inscriptions on stone stelae, and constitute an extensive and remarkable record. That there were many more on terracotta plaques that have not survived is known from reliable ancient descriptions of the sites. So the god Asclepius seems to have been pretty active in the miracle healing line.

We have no mental difficulty dismissing the pagan miracles, because we don't really believe in miracles and think there were credulous ancient folks much-given to exaggeration making these reports. It's not that the evidence isn't good enough. It's just that we don't find it credible on the face of it.Read more ›

3 Comments 8 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Report abuse

Excellent analysis of a seemingly simple historical claim, yet not so simple nor historical!

By Art on April 17, 2014

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase

Gerd Ludemann is a scholar who does an excellent analysis of the claim that Jesus rose from the dead. A very detailed analysis and therefore not an easy read. I would definately recommend this book to anyone who is serious about understanding the Christian claim of the resurrection of Jesus and the historicity of the event.

Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Report abuse

See all 15 customer reviews (newest first)

Write a customer review

Most Recent Customer Reviews

Five Stars

excellent book making many good points

Published 10 months ago by robert verhoeven

Objectivity would be nice

If I had to choose one word to describe Ludemann's book, I would have to select "disappointing." Is it too much to ask for objectivity? Read more

Published on October 19, 2008 by Jeff Henry

Well,....

Two years ago I left the Christian faith after ten years of extremely zealous study and service. My reason for leaving was my inability to reconcile the cosmological facts I... Read more

Published on November 25, 2007 by Dragongunner3011

Conclusions based on false premises

The Resurrection of Christ: A Historical Inquiry. By Gerd Ludemann. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Book, 2004. 245 pages. Hardcover; $27.00. ISBN: 1591022452. Read more

Published on October 11, 2007 by Paul McMillian

Highly informative

Ludemann does his usual masterful dissection of the Gospels et al to show the resurrection for what it is/was--a powerful visionary experience. Read more

Published on May 31, 2007 by Sean Holderread

Historical Inquiry?

The conclusions Gerd Lüdemann reaches in his book should lay to rest any questions regarding the historical event of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, however his... Read more

Published on September 29, 2006 by K. Osteroos

Ludemann's Analysis of the Historical Data is Flawed

Gerd Lüdemann begins his historical inquiry into the question of the resurrection of Jesus Christ by writing in chapter 1: "... Read more

Published on September 26, 2006 by Justin McMurdie

Indoctrination In Incoherence

In his book The Resurrection of Christ: A Historical Inquiry, Gerd Ludemann examines the question of the resurrection by employing historical-critical methods. Read more

Published on September 20, 2006 by Michael Sewell

Ludemann's Hallucination!

Gerd Ludemann writes, "historical research shows with definite clarity that Jesus was not raised from the dead...we must acknowledge...a worldwide historical hoax", (190). Read more

Published on September 18, 2006 by Patrick

Hardly Historical

This is anything but a "historical inquiry" into the New Testament accounts of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Read more

Published on September 7, 2006 by Arnie E. Gentile