Millions of believing Christians, as well as theologians and historians, are convinced that the earliest faith in Jesus’ resurrection had to do with the assertion that his dead body was revived in a tomb–and that he walked out of that tomb on the third day after his death, as a flesh and blood human being–wounds and all. This is not in fact the case. That is a LATE view found in Luke and John–but is totally contradicted by our two earliest and most reliable sources: Paul & Mark. The earliest believers in Jesus’ resurrection would not have been bothered in the least with his physical flesh and blood body “left behind,” in a tomb, or as Paul put it, shed off like an old garment. In this interview with Youtube host Derek Lambert @MythVisionPodcast I lay out clearly why and how this mistaken view developed and shows how Paul, or only first person witness, sets forth an entirely opposite view.
For a more elaborated textual version see these blog posts. I realize the points can get a bit redundant after reading three or four of them–but you know, despite all these arguments and points I have made over the years one continues to hear the same naive and under informed assertions when both non-specialists and specialists are discussing the resurrection of Jesus!
Why People Are Confused About the Earliest Christian View of Resurrection of the Dead
How Faith in Jesus’ Resurrection Originated and Developed: A New/Old Hypothesis
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