171. N. T. Wright, Res. of Son of God- Review

7/30/2019 171. N. T. Wright, Res. of Son of God- Review

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century to such an extent that Myers considers any other approach obsolete

(France, 673, n. 13). Regretfully, a new consensus may be forming. I say "regret

fully" because I believe that any hypotheses of accidental loss or intentional

pruning lack conviction. Additionally, Mark's emphasis on discipleship in times

of distress coheres well with the 16:8 ending, so that Mark is proclaiming an

existential message for his readers in a time of trial. Through a skillful presen

tation ofthe story of Jesus, Mark avoids closing with a different Jesus who would

distract from this suffering one. Witherington (415) contends, "An ancient

biography of one's hero is most unlikely to end in this fashion." Maybe the dou

ble conclusion of Mark as biography and containing a lost ending should both

be rejected in favorof Mark's present ending, demonstrating that his gospel is

kerygmatic history and gospel proclamation to his community from the Jesus

tradition. Certainly, we will be debating these issues for a long time. The con

tributions ofFrance and Witherington will greatly benefit the Christian communityin our search to understand the mission and message of Jesus and his

first followers.

Dean Deppe

The Resurrection of the Son of God by . T. Wright. Minnneapolis: Augsburg

Fortress, 2003. Pp xxi + 817. $39.00 paper.

The newly installed Anglican bishop ofDurham,England, has written a mas

sive monograph on the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. This careful andlivelybook puts all orthodox Christians in the author's debt. Throughout the

book, but especially in the concluding chapters, the author confronts the per

spectivesindeed, dogmasof the Enlightenment. Every serious readerwill

be challenged to reevaluate personal assumptions and convictions, but the

author's most sharply focused challenge is to liberal-modernist Christians, most

specifically those who follow the lines set out by RudolfBultmann in the early

twentieth century. Dr. Wright argues convincingly that these Christians

(Roman Catholics as well as Protestants) are the revisionists. These revisionists

have dominated the field of New Testament studies for more than a century,especially in Germany and America.

The Resurrection of the Son of Godis the third in a series by the author on

Christian origins and the question ofGod. The first two books in the series

The Nero Testamentand the People of God andJesus and the Victory ofGodare fre

quently cited in The Resurrection ofthe Son of God, but this third book can stand

alone orserve as the entry point for the series. As the author notes in his pref

ace, this study began as the 1996 Schaffer Lectures at Yale DivinitySchool. The

shape of the expanded study is important, not least in the author's treatmentofPaul first and the Gospels last. The book includes a useful bibliography and

'


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Dr. Wright's insistence on the Jewish matrix of earliest Christian experience

and thought is notable in this book, as in the author's previous two studies in the

series. Specifically, his repeated, positive appeal to the teaching of the Pharisees

is a good antidote for the still-common negative use among Christians of the

term Pharisaical An important base for the main thesis of the book is that the

ancient terms translated by the English word resurrection necessarily referred tobodily resurrection. "Life-after-death" is something else, which might be desig

nated an intermediate state (as that experienced by "the souls under the altar"

in Rev. 6:9-11). Resurrection, Dr. Wright insists, is life afterlife-after-death (31).

A great number (perhaps a majority) of Jews contemporary with Jesus and the

disciples believed in the resurrection at the last day, but the Christian doctrine

(a "mutation" of the Jewish belief) split the resurrection into two stages: Jesus

was resurrected already on Easter morning in anticipation of the last day. Put the

other way, Jesus' bodily resurrection marked the beginning of the end.In part 1, Setting the Scene, the author surveys ancient paganism, the Old

Testament, and postbiblical Judaism. Here, and throughout the study, the

author insists on unsentimental, historical analysis. Although the idea of resur

rection was clear in ancient paganism, it was not part of any of the various

beliefs in life after death: "The road to the underworld ran only one way" (81 ).

Similarlyand somewhat surprisingly to orthodox Christians as well as to

orthodox Jews todaythe canonical Old Testament gives little explicit hope of

resurrection. Nevertheless, "explicit belief in resurrection...developed

markedly in the post-biblical period" (86). Making a point that he presseshome again and again later, the author notes, "resurrection was from the begin

ning a revolutionary doctrine" (138). This goes a long way toward explaining

the conservative resistance to the doctrine by the Sadducees.

Part 2, Resurrection in Paul, is the powerful center of gravity for this study.

Although this entry point into the main discussion (instead of starting with the

accounts in the four gospels) might seem counterintuitive to the general

reader, it makes sense in a historical argument to begin with the oldest docu

mentary evidence. This move also follows the requirements of the guild of NewTestament studies, which the author is scrupulous in observing. After canvass

ing "Resurrection in Paul (Outside the Corinthian Correspondence) "with rea

sons given for including Ephesians and Colossians, the author carefully works

through 1 Corinthians (apart from chapter 15) and 2 Corinthians (apart from

4.7-5.11) before treating 'The Key Passages." These passages do not develop

another topic but, indeed, provide the key to everything Paul wrote and so

explain the conviction that animated the early Christian communities. A chap

ter detailing "When Paul Saw Jesus" concludes part 2.

Part 3, Resurrection in Early Christianity (Apart from Paul), carefully considers all the evidence in the four canonical gospels (before the Easter narra


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Testament writings andwith more sharply divided resultsnoncanonical

early Christian texts. Most important for the author's argument are the apolo

gists: Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Minucius Felix, and "the great

early theologians": Tertullian, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, and Origen. 'Text from

Nag Hammadi and Elsewhere" including the Gospel ofThomas and the Epistle to

Rheginosadvance the author's argument mainly by contrast. Chapter 12, "Hope

in Person: Jesus as Messiah and Lord" concludes with the author's statement of

"Resurrection within the Early Christian Worldview."

Part 4, The Story of Easter, begins with a consideration of general issues in

the Easter stories, including four "surprises"(599): "The Strange Silence of the

Bible in the Stories," 'The Strange Absence of Personal Hope in the Stories,"'The Strange Portrait of Jesus in the Stories," and 'The Strange Presence of

Women in the Stories." Each of the four gospel accounts is then examined,

with care taken to consider and explain what is unique in each account. Anyreader who has gotten this far in the bookwill not be surprised by the author's

emphasis on the differences (and apparent contradictions) between theaccounts. The reader may be uneasy, however, by the author's boldness in

claiming "the surface inconsistencies" between the gospel accounts stand as "a

strong point in favour of their early character" (612).

Part 5, Belief, Event, and Meaning, is itself a substantial section in a different

key. Although the author has argued his case throughout the exegetical chap

ters, he recapitulates the arguments in explicitly historical and philosophicalterms in this last part of the book. The chapter, "Easter and History," explains

why the empty tomb and the resurrection appearances, taken together, are"necessary" and "sufficient" for the rise of the early Christian belief in Jesus'

bodily resurrection. The chapter, 'The Risen Jesus as the Son of God," explains

the resurrection meaning of "Son of God" in terms of messiahship, world lordship, and the question of God.

The scope of this study and the detail of the various arguments are obvious, as

is the author's personal engagement in Christian faith. What is also remarkableabout this bookis Dr. Wright's willingness and determination to face all the diffi

cult questions in the field. Already the book has established itselfas a definitiveworkthe standard by which other discussions of resurrection will be measured.

I have no doubt that pastors, biblical scholars, and theological students, as well as

undergraduates, will continue to discuss and debate the biblical texts and thearguments laid out in this book. I imagine that every critical reader who gets

through the whole book will emerge with at least a short list of important questions or challenges. Three areas that seem certain to draw fire are (1) questions

about the authority of Scripture, (2) the place of the "nations" (ethne) inSaul/Paul's murderous zeal, and (3) the author's emphatic position on "the inter

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ments in Dr. Wright's book, so I was surprised to see that the bibliography does

not list this booklet. Whether or not Dr. Wright was influenced by Professor

Cullmann's little book, there is certainly a link between the two books in the emo

tional response already expressed to Dr. Wright's clear distinction between res

urrection and going to heaven when you die (367). In Switzerland, pastors who

followed their teacher in disclaiming belief in "immortality of the soul" precipitated sharp reactionsespecially when one young pastor chose a graveside ser

vice as the venue for the argument. Dr. Wright's rejection of the idea of "the sleep

of the soul" (216taking instruction, perhaps, from the Westminster Confession of

Faith, 6.177) with his biblical argument for the consciousness ofthose who are "with

the Lord" awaiting resurrection should give most readers confidence to consider

the biblical evidence without shorting out further discussion.

James LaGrand

Theology and History

Van Tils Apologetic: Reading andAnalysis by Greg L. Bahnsen. Phillipsburg, N.J.:

Presbyterian & Reformed, 1998. Pp. xxiv + 764. $39.99 hardcover.

For those who are students and critics of the Reformed apologetic method

of Cornelius Van Til (1895-1987), the late Greg L. Bahnsen's (1948-1995) workhas become a welcome addition. As a proponent of Van Til's apologetic

method, Bahnsen maps out in systematic fashion the corpus of Van Til's pro

ject. The work is encyclopedic in scope because Bahnsen arranged his treatiselike a topical anthology. In fact, as each topic is presented, Bahnsen provides

sections from Van Til's own writings as the essential content of each subject

that is discussed. At times, one may think that the volume is merely a republication of excerpts from Van Til's works. Although this may seem like a weakness, in my judgment, it is a strength. As Bahnsen brackets and interweaves

each section with his own introduction, explanation, and commentary (in themain text as well as in footnotes), the reader has the benefit of Bahnsen's

insights as well as Van Til's own thoughts. The reader can evaluate and engage

Bahnsen's interpretation with Van Til's original text before him.

In service to his reader, Bahnsen arranged Van Til's thoughts in a logical

sequential manner: introduction to apologetics, task of apologetics, epistemo

logica! side of apologetics, apologetic side of epistemologa psychological com

plexities ofunbelief, presuppositional apologetic, comparisons and criticisms

of apologetic methods, how to defend the faith. In each section, Bahnsen

unfolds the complexities of Van Til's definitions and insights, e.g., Christian

apologetics is a defense of Christian theism (34-38), the "absolute certain"


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171. N. T. Wright, Res. of Son of God- Review

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