Jesus' resurrection and Christian origins: A response to N.T. Wright

Abstract

While acknowledging Wright's competent handling of a wide range of primary sources, this response takes issue with his conclusions by arguing that the bodily resurrection did not happen and that the Gospel accounts are legendary and at times contradictory. It is also argued that there are two distinct traditions of understanding the resurrection in earliest Christianity, i.e. a more 'spiritual' transformation associated with the Jerusalem church and the bodily resurrection associated with the Pauline churches and represented in narrative form in Mk 16.1-8. This response is divided into the following main areas: ideas of post-mortal life in Judaism; 1 Corinthians 15; the Gospel narratives; and conversion-visions. © 2005 Sage Publications.