Email this article 
Hide
Show all
Opstandingsverhale en opstandingsdogma
Abstract
Resurrection narratives and the doctrine of resurrection
The article examined the closing narratives of the four canonical gospels and argued that they should be read as stories and not as historical narratives. These stories, however, show a progressive development and it is evident that the narrators of the later stories embellished the earlier narratives. Christian theologians of later centuries developed these stories into a theology of salvation and linked resurrection to the idea of death being God’s punishment for Original Sin. By doing so, they changed the Gospel of Jesus into the Gospel about Jesus. Currently, people have a different understanding of themselves and the world in which they live. Death is seen as part of the cycle of life and humans, like everything else, will not be resurrected but recycled. That is one of the reasons why Christianity is in dire need of a new paradigm that will take into account the real position of human beings in the cosmos.
The article examined the closing narratives of the four canonical gospels and argued that they should be read as stories and not as historical narratives. These stories, however, show a progressive development and it is evident that the narrators of the later stories embellished the earlier narratives. Christian theologians of later centuries developed these stories into a theology of salvation and linked resurrection to the idea of death being God’s punishment for Original Sin. By doing so, they changed the Gospel of Jesus into the Gospel about Jesus. Currently, people have a different understanding of themselves and the world in which they live. Death is seen as part of the cycle of life and humans, like everything else, will not be resurrected but recycled. That is one of the reasons why Christianity is in dire need of a new paradigm that will take into account the real position of human beings in the cosmos.
How to cite this article: Spangenberg, I.J.J., 2011, ‘Opstandingsverhale en opstandingsdogma’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 67(1), Art. #874, 8 pages. DOI: 10.4102/hts.v67i1.874
