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On this point, I am with Saul of Tarsus. In 1 Cor. 15 he makes it plain that Jesus was dead and buried (i.e. gone) but then became a life-giving spirit. Paul's own encounter with the Risen Lord did not involve a bodily resurrection but instead, (like all the other such episodes) an appearance--thus asserting the theological principle that flesh and blood do not inherit the kingdom of God.
How one can insist on a bodily resurrection in the face of 1 Cor. 15, and given the empty nature of the empty tomb stories baffles me.
If AB wishes to invest his energy into defending such castles of straw, then I wish him well. I prefer to embrace the new information emerging from archaeology, historical research, and the sciences, and then to work at developing a new theology that sings the Lord's song in this strange land called the third millennium.
For me, as for many others, the focus falls on forming and sustaining communities where God's righteousness is now experienced in justice, equal opportunity, empowerment, forgiveness, and healing.
Given what they knew, Christians in the first century made sense of God and Jesus as best they could. The result is the new Testament.
Given what they knew, Christians in the fourth century made sense of God and Jesus as best they could. The result is the Trinity.
Given what we know, Christians in the twenty first century must make sense of God and Jesus as best we can. The results are yet to be seen.
Mark's gospel at least had something right when he had the angels tell the women to stop hanging about the empty tomb looking for a body that was not there. They would find Jesus was already ahead of them--in Galilee. He is still way ahead of us, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. (AA)
Further Reading
Finkelstein, I. and N.A. Silberman (2002). The Bible Unearthed. (Touchstone Books, Simon and Schuster, N.Y.
Herzog, Ze'ev, (Professor of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University) in Ha'aetz Magazine, Oct., 1999.
[Note: From the AA remarks, and particularly from the Finkelstein and Silberman, and Herzog references, Urantia Book readers will see that, beyond rational doubt, any literal interpretation of the Bible is now unsustainable .
But this also indicates that a literal interpretation of sections of the Urantia Papers is also unsustainable--which is in accord with what the revelators tell us:
"No revelation short of the attainment of the Universal Father can ever be complete. All other celestial ministrations are no more than partial, transient, and practically adapted to local conditions in time and space." (1008)
A key statement from the AA article is, "Given what we know, Christians in the 21st century must make sense of God and Jesus as best we can."
What do Urantia Book readers know that will help to make sense of God and Jesus? There is one critical item of knowledge that Christians already knew well in the first century, C.E., but have since lost--despite there being more than twenty New Testament verses to remind them.
Presently, from the point of view of humanity, the single most important item of knowledge existent on our planet concerns the facts of the how, what, and why of our indwelling by the very spirit of our Father-God himself. And because it is lost or forgotten almost everywhere else, by default, such knowledge is close to becoming exclusively the possession of Urantia Book devotees.
What are we to do with this knowledge? Each individual must discover this for him or her self. For certain though, if we put our faith in our God-Spirit-Within and, like the human Jesus, always seek to do the Father's will as it is revealed to us by the Spirit-Within--then "all else necessary will be added unto us."
And perhaps finally: "When men see you so love them, and how fervently you serve them, they will perceive you have become faith-fellows of the kingdom and will follow after the Spirit of Truth which they see in your lives…."
Does the Spirit of Jesus shine forth in my life? In your life?]
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