Passion Week 2014: (RNS) Can You Question Resurrection & Still Be Christian?

http://www.religionnews.com/2014/04/16/can-question-resurrection-still-christian/


(RNS) “On the third day, he rose again.”

Show caption

“The Resurrection of Christ,” painted by Noel Coypel in 1700. Photo courtesy of Noel Coypel [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

---

 

That line, from the Nicene Creed, is the foundational statement of Christian belief. It declares that three days after Jesus died on the cross, he was resurrected, a glimmer of the eternal life promised to believers. It’s the heart of the Easter story in seven little words.


But how that statement is interpreted is the source of some of the deepest rifts in Christianity — and a stumbling block for some Christians and more than a few skeptics.


Did Jesus literally rise from the dead in a bodily resurrection, as many traditionalist and conservative Christians believe? Or was his rising a symbolic one, a restoration of his spirit of love and compassion to the world, as members of some more liberal brands of Christianity hold?


As Easter approaches, many Christians struggle with how to understand the Resurrection. How literally must one take the Gospel story of Jesus’ triumph to be called a Christian? Can one understand the Resurrection as a metaphor — perhaps not even believe it happened at all — and still claim to be a follower of Christ?


For the rest, see:
http://www.religionnews.com/2014/04/16/can-question-resurrection-still-christian/