THE EVOLUTION OF EASTER: How the Historical Jesus Became the Risen Christ

By Marshall Davis

This book explores the Christian understanding of the resurrection of Jesus and how the idea evolved during the first hundred years of Christianity. It looks at how the concept arose, how it changed during the first and early second centuries, and what that means for us in the twenty-first century. Easter is the defining event of Christianity. Without the belief in the resurrection of Jesus there would be no Christianity. Therefore it is important to understand exactly what the resurrection of Jesus entails. What did the earliest Christians experience? What did they believe about the resurrection? What really happened on the first Easter? What exactly were the resurrection appearances of Christ? Were they visual phenomena that could have been recorded on a smartphone and uploaded to YouTube? Or were they subjective spiritual experiences? Marshall Davis closely examines the New Testament documents. He begins with the earliest firsthand account of the risen Christ, found in the letters of the apostle Paul. He then moves to the stories in the four Gospels, the Book of Acts and the Revelation of John. He also looks at alternative accounts of the resurrection found in early non-canonical Christian writings, such as the Gospel of Peter, the Apocryphon of James, and the Gospel of Thomas. This study reveals the great variety of opinions within earliest Christianity, concerning the nature of Christ's resurrection. That early diversity later narrowed into the orthodox understanding of the bodily resurrection and physical ascension of Jesus, which was adopted as the official stance of Christianity in the fourth century. The diversity within the New Testament understanding of resurrection can serve as a model for a present-day Christian approach to Christ's resurrection. There is no need for Christians today to divide into warring theological camps, fighting over the historicity of the resurrection of Christ. The New Testament is big enough to include physical, spiritual, metaphorical, and symbolic understandings of the resurrection. The New Testament period, when seen from this historical perspective, models much-needed tolerance for theological diversity today. This book will open your mind to new ways of thinking about Christ's resurrection, as well as open your heart to experience the presence of the living Christ today.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1983077143
• ISBN13: 9781983077142
• Release Date: June 2018
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 102 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.3" x 5.5"