I Believe In The Resurrection

In the days leading up to Easter, The Washington Post ran several stories about the resurrection, and in particular what Christians believe about the resurrection and whether you have to believe in the resurrection in order to be a “real” Christian.

I’ve always thought that the resurrection and Easter were at the heart of Christianity, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t struggle with these issues.

In the Apostle’s Creed, we say:

I believe in the resurrection of the body, and life of the world to come.

Well, I believe in the resurrection of Christ’s body (I believe that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead in bodily form), but I don’t believe that’s what God has in store for the rest of us. When I reviewed Let’s Take The Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell, I explained that I do not believe in an after-life where we are reunited with our families and friends in some idyllic version of life as we know it. I just don’t.

Early in Lent, I read this sermon by Nadia Bolz-Weber where she comes to terms with her belief in the resurrection of the body. She doesn’t say that she believes in the heaven of Sunday School murals, but she does affirm her belief in the resurrection of “actual bodies.” I was surprised at how much I felt challenged by this sermon, and I’m still pondering. 

I found some consolation in this week’s Daily Prayer podcast readings from 1 Corinthians 15, where Paul addresses these very same issues.

First, Paul retells the story of the resurrection:

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

(Paul is never one to be very politically correct!)

Then he acknowledges questions about the resurrection:

But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Paul explains with logic and reason why the resurrection must be true, and the dire consequences if it isn’t:

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. …. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. …. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

(This Washington Post Article also takes a logical approach to “prove” the historical fact of the resurrection of Christ.)

At the end of this chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul explains what I believe about “the resurrection of the body”:

When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. ….

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. ….

So, maybe this version of the Apostle’s Creed works better for me:

I believe in the resurrection of the dead, and life everlasting. 

Because I do believe that some sort of spiritual life goes on after physical death, and I believe that Jesus Christ’s bodily resurrection from the dead give us a glimpse of the possibility reality of life after death.

Do you believe in the resurrection?

Do you like to explore beliefs that differ from your own?