Is resurrection the acid test?
First shown on Channel 4 in April 2004
Bishop Tom Wright
Can you call yourself a Christian if you don’t believe in the resurrection? The Bishop of Durham’s argument, described in the Channel 4 programme Witness: Resurrection, that Jesus actually did rise from the dead, will be welcome news for many Christians. They consider that belief in a seemingly impossible event – the resurrection of Christ’s body after he was taken down from the cross and buried in a catacomb – is a crucial test of faith.
The official line
But if you question whether this event is literally true, does this mean that you can’t be called a Christian? A spokesperson for the Church of England says: ‘The resurrection is one of the creeds that we stand up and say we believe in, and so the answer is no. It is such an important part of the Christian creed, that if you can’t sign up for it, in what sense are you a Christian?’
This question of whether the resurrection story is metaphorical or literally true is at the crux of a furious debate which has raged since the 19th century and some people are warning that it could split the Christian churches. Over the centuries, as science has advanced, the idea that the resurrection was a physical and historical event has come under increasing scrutiny.
Alternative explanations
Sceptics have tried to explain the empty tomb by claiming that the body was taken by grave robbers or suggesting that Jesus wasn’t really dead after all. Many Christians also prefer a less literal interpretation. They argue that the disciples who claimed to have seen Jesus after his death, were merely talking about his spirit living on.
Another explanation is that the resurrection represents ‘life after death’ in a spiritual sense, in the same way that when someone close to us dies we feel they are still with us. Some liberal Christians sidestep the issue, saying that the question of the resurrection is not central but that what matters most is following Christ’s teachings.
Doubts and dog collars
It is not only grassroots Christians who have doubts about the literal truth of the resurrection story. Many of the clergy also admit that they do not believe in it. A 2002 survey found that one third of Church of England clergy doubt or don’t believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus. The poll, carried out by Christian Research, found that 2,000 of the Church’s 10,000 clergy question the idea.
A former Bishop of Durham, David Jenkins, caused a huge row in the Anglican Church in the 1980s when he expressed doubts over both the resurrection and the virgin birth. In 1984, three days after his consecration as the new Bishop of Durham, York Minster was struck by lightning. Many claimed that it was a ‘divine warning’ – the result of his heretical views.
The argument continues but clearly, there are many committed and faithful Christians on both sides.
