In this sensitively written and historically accurate book, religious scholars Kevin J. Madigan and Jon D. Levenson aim to clarify confusion and dispel misconceptions about Judaism, Jesus, and Christian origins. 304pp Paper
This book, written for religious and nonreligious people alike in clear and accessible language, explores a teaching central to both Jewish and Christian traditions: the teaching that at the end of time God will cause the dead to live again. Although this expectation, known as the resurrection of the dead, is widely understood to have been a part of Christianity from its beginnings nearly two thousand years ago, many people are surprised to learn that the Jews believed in resurrection long before the emergence of Christianity.
Madigan and Levenson tell the fascinating but little-known story of the origins of the belief in resurrection, investigating why some Christians and some Jews opposed the idea in ancient times while others believed it was essential to their faith. The authors also discuss how the two religious traditions relate their respective practices in the here and now to the new life they believe will follow resurrection. Making the rich insights of contemporary scholars of antiquity available to a wide readership, Madigan and Levenson offer a new understanding of Jewish-Christian relations and of the profound connections that tie the faiths together. 304pp (2009/Original Hardcover 2008)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1. Christian Hope and Its Jewish Roots
“He is risen!”
Restoring Israel
Jesus of Nazareth,
Apocalyptic Prophet
New Heaven, New Earth, and New Temple
An Eschatological Sign to the People
Resurrection Life and the Body
2. The First Fruits of Those Who Have Died
Jesus as the First of Many
Imminence
The Church as Israel
Participation in Christ
What Kind of Resurrected Body?
3. A Journey to Sheol (and Back)
Did Jesus and Paul Find Resurrection in the Bible?
The Land of No Return42, Existing without Living
“When my life was ebbing away, I called the Lord to mind”
Communicating with the Dead
The Passages That Aren’t There (and What They Tell Us)
Returning from the Land of No Return
4. Who Goes to Sheol - And Who Does Not
When and Why Sheol Is Mentioned
Sheol Is Not Hell
Death Defanged
5. Heaven on Earth
The Temple as the Garden of Eden
Immortality in the House of the Lord
Adam Foresees the Destruction of the Temple
“You will receive me with glory”
Confidence in the Face of Death
6. How Birth Reverses Death
Individual and Family in Biblical Israel
The Functional Equivalent of Resurrection
The Name Survives Death
A Foretaste of Resurrection
7. The Death and Resurrection of the Promised Son
“Pick up your son”
Four Little Stories with One Big Message
A Look Ahead
8. Revival in Two Modes
Zion’s Children Return to Their Mother
The Widow Re-Wed (and to the Same Husband)
Israel’s Exodus from the Grave
Mortal Israelites and Immortal Israel
9. “I deal death and give life”
Inevitable Death and the Promise of Life
“He shall turn back from his ways and live”
From Death to Life
10. The Great Awakening
The Reversal
Why Resurrection? A False Answer
“Oh, let Your dead revive!”
The Deeper Roots of Resurrection
The Victory of the Divine Warrior
Summary: Old and New in Resurrection
11. The Least Known Teaching in Judaism
“Powerful to save”
An Obligation, Not an Option
Doubts and Reforms
12. What Was Wrong with the Gnostic Gospel?
Skeptics and Heretics
Dualism
Dry Bones,
Restoration, and Resurrection
Resurrection and the Power of God
The Flesh
Resurrection, Truth, and Power
13. The Redeemed Life - in the Here and Now
Christians and Jews
The New Life of the Christian
The Eucharist
The Lord’s Prayer
Torah and Eternal Life
Resurrection at Sinai
Christians and Jews - Again
Notes
Index of Primary Sources
General Index
This book received Honorable Mention for the 2009 PROSE Award in the Theology and Religious Studies category, sponsored by the Association of American Publishers.
About the Author(s) Kevin J. Madigan is professor of the history of Christianity, Divinity School, Harvard University. His previous books include
The Passions of Christ in the High Middle Ages.
Jon D. Levenson is Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies, Divinity School and Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University. He is the author of
Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel: The Ultimate Victory of the God of Life, published by Yale University Press.
