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Gerd Lüdemann

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

by Gerd Ludemann (Author)

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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.

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Print length

248 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Prometheus
Publication date

October 1, 2004
Dimensions

6 x 0.85 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1591022452
ISBN-13

978-1591022459

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Argument has long raged over whether assessing early Christian texts about the Resurrection as historical sources is legitimate and important. Ludemann stands squarely in the Enlightenment camp of Tom Paine--revered in the U.S. for Common Sense, reviled for the later tract The Age of Reason--and Paine's detractors call Ludemann an Enlightenment fundamentalist. Ludemann insists that a purely historical reading is important because Christians and Christianity exercise authority based on a historical claim about an act of God. If the claim is false, that authority is illegitimate. Since the claim is based on the self-deception of Peter and Paul, and other historical evidence doesn't support it, Ludemann says that thinking people can no longer call themselves Christians in good faith. This may be preaching to the choir of those against using religious, metaphysical, and ideological claims to contain historical investigations, but it is clear and succinct. The translation and historical assessment of Resurrection accounts that constitute the bulk of the book make it useful for students in and out of the choir. Steven Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Although Christianity is anchored to the doctrine of the resurrection, historical research shows that from a historical standpoint Jesus was not raised from the dead. In the thorough explanation and discussion of the primary texts dealing with the claimed resurrection of Christ, New Testament expert Gerd Ludemann presents compelling evidence to show that the resurrection was not a historical event, and he further argues that this development leaves little, if any, basis for Christian faith as presently defined.

Ludemann offers fresh translations of the mist important early Christian texts concerning Jesus' alleged resurrection and assesses their historical value. Beginning with Paul's testimony in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, in which the apostle declares that Jesus "has been raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures," and then turning to the texts of the Gospels and of other noncanonical early Christian texts, Ludemann systematically evaluates every reference to Jesus' resurrection in the New Testament, as well as in apocryphal literature. In each case he examines the purpose of the authors of these texts, reconstructs the tradition they reworked, and assesses the historical value of each account.

Since the historical evidence leads to the firm conclusion that Jesus' body was not raised from the dead, Ludemann argues that the origin of the Easter story 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' claimed 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 in good conscience still call themselves Christians.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Prometheus
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 1, 2004
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 248 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1591022452
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1591022459
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.85 x 9 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #1,779,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,525 in General History of Religion
- #2,558 in Christology (Books)
- #3,405 in History of Religions
Customer Reviews:
25 ratings

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Art
Excellent analysis of a seemingly simple historical claim, yet not so simple nor historical!
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2014
Format: HardcoverVerified 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.

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Dragongunner3011
Well,....
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2007
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
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 discovered in Stephen Hawkings book A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME with the Biblical narrative. I belonged to a group of Christians who still hold to the young earth view. I was so miopic in my reading up to that point that I thought the young earth was the regular view. After reading Hawking I was blown away. Spent a year trying to find a way to save my faith and accept the truth revealed by scientific research. Unfortuantely I just couldn't keep my faith if I couldn't somehow maintain the belief that the fall in the garden in Genesis chapter one and two were not real. If it was just a myth ot allegory then what do you do with the literal sacrifice of Jesus and his resurrection? But I must still confess that the historical evidence for Jesus still seems strong if only because I find no powerful alternative to explain away the facts. The main thesis I am still trying to dig up information on is that pagan religions influenced the early Christian writers. Yet everytime I think I am convinced I hear someone come along and say that THE GOLDEN BOUGH by Frazer has been totally disproven. They never say how-'time does not permit me to go into details,' they say. I am sure that if I continue my reading I will find an answer. Unfortunately for Gerd Ludemann, his thesis left alot to be desired. The one shining thing about his book is the point he made about whether you can be a Christian if Jesus didn't really rise physically and literally. This was a jab at liberal Christianity. I thought it was well stated. I surely wouldn't discourage anyone from reading this work. However it wasn't very convincing to me.

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bluesky2
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2016
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Luedemann is a fair judge of historical biblical content. I appreciate his writing.

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Tod Stites
The Logic Of Hope
Reviewed in the United States 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).
And so for Gerd Ludemann, if Christ is not raised,then "Christian faith is as
dead as Jesus and can only be kept alive by self-deception"(p.19).
Ludemann thinks that,in light of the primacy of Jerusalem for the early church,
it was Galilee,a likely destination for the fleeing disciples(Mark 14:50),that was the
scene of the first reports of apparitions of the Risen Christ,raising suspicions about
Jesus rising "on the third day"(p.36).And indeed Paul does not actually report that
the Risen Christ was seen on the third day,only that he was raised on that day,so
that if Ludemann is right in thinking that belief is the parent of tradition(p.69-70),
then there was probably no comprehensive story of the empty tomb before Mark
wrote his Gospel(p.87)
But selective use of the evidence found in the New Testament could facilitate
a reconstruction that explains both the empty tomb story and the third day motif.
If we disregard Luke's determination to assert a bodily resurrection of Jesus
(Luke 24:39),but accept his report that the twelve were not reconstituted until after
the ascension(Acts 1:21-22),then most of the apparitions of the Risen Christ as
reported by Paul(1Cor 15:3-8)did not occur until after Jesus had ascended into
the heavens,and so were staged from heaven.
Yet it has been posited that Paul's inherited resurrection formula rests on an
Aramaic substratum,by Joachim Jeremias("The Eucharistic Words Of Jesus",p.
101-5),as well as Joseph Fitzmyer(Anchor Bible vol.32,p.542),so that the third
day motif was perhaps not so important to gentiles who had long been weaned
on the immortality of the soul(Fitzmyer Anchor Bible vol.32,p.559-62).But even
for Jews,Scripture assured that God could raise those who had been dead much
longer than three days(Ezek 37:5,8-9),long after decomposition of a corpse was
thought to begin(cf.John 11:39).
And so the tomb had to have been found empty within three days,and for
one reason:so that Jesus might be heralded as the Messiah,whose status God
had confirmed by raising him from the dead before decomposition could set in,
and in fulfillment of Scripture:"For you will not let your holy one see corruption"
(Acts 2:27):(Psalm 15:10 LXX).
Corpus Christi: On The Last Days At Jerusalem

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Sean Holderread
Highly informative
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2007
Format: Hardcover
Ludemann does his usual masterful dissection of the Gospels et al to show the resurrection for what it is/was--a powerful visionary experience. A healthy dose of commonsense plays a role in his conclusions as well--the deceased do not return to life and go gallivanting about. This is painful fact for Ludemann--one that cost him his faith ... and his job! There's a reason why the miraculous happened to the Ancients, but do not happen today. They did not occur then, either. People viewed the miraculous far, far differently then we do in the 21st Century. It was quite normal for gods to appear to their creation, for statues to weep, for faith healers to cure the sick so forth and so on. This was the norm of the day ... and this the fact of the resurrection--visionary. I think James Robinson put it best when he stated:

"... One by one, then in smaller or larger groups, the disciples experienced Jesus still calling on them to continue his message and lifestyle. Thus he reentered their lives as they experienced anew the reality of his message and in turn were commissioned to carry it on just as he had. This is the experience that was and is the reality of Easter."--The Gospel of Jesus, Robinson, James, M., p. 206

A personal note on the resurrection ... Not in recorded history has a miracle, like that which occurred in the Bible, been observed--ever. Jesus supposedly stated that this would not be the case--that believers would do greater miracles than he. Has never happened. No one has ever walked on water, calmed a storm, raised the dead, changed water into wine--nothing! Now, if they don't occur today ... they never happened to the ancients.

The dead simply do not come back to life.

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robert verhoeven
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2015
Format: Hardcover
excellent book making many good points

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent analysis of a seemingly simple historical claim, yet not so simple nor historical!

2.0 out of 5 stars Well,....

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

3.0 out of 5 stars The Logic Of Hope

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly informative

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

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

Well,....

Five Stars

The Logic Of Hope

Highly informative

Five Stars