Death, Resurrection, and Legitimacy in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles (original) (raw)
Related papers
Book Review: Death and Resurrection: The Shape and Function of a Literary Motif in the Book of Acts
Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, 2010
Death and Resurrection is a revised dissertation from 1995 that traces death and resurrection as a unified literary motif in the Acts of the Apostles. Horton analyzes the motif on the basis of diegetic references, mimetic illustrations on the part of both major and minor characters within the narrative, and intensification by means of contrast with a secondary motif of death and decay. The author's aim is threefold: (1) to demonstrate the value of motif analysis; (2) to strike a balance "between the extremes of past and present Lukan scholarship by considering the combined effect of suffering and renewed life within a single motif" (p. xv); and (3) to tease out implications of the motif's function as a heuristic device and its underlying message for the contemporary church. His conclusion describes a multifaceted function of the motif that includes aesthetic value, encouragement, warning, evangelistic appeal, and theological balance.
2012
In the past, the study of Acts has been dominated more often than not by historical and theological questions. When literary studies finally made their entry into Acts scholarship, the focus of interest was mainly on questions of genre and structure, the rhetorical value of the book, its unity or not with the Gospel, and so on, but often in isolation from the wider historical and theological questions involved. In this book Dennis Horton calls for a more integrated approach. It is based on his 1995 (!) doctoral dissertation (and a very short one, for that matter) presented to the graduate faculty of Baylor University's Department of Religion.
Bible and Critical Theory 9.1 & 2 (2013)
Death and Resurrection is a revised dissertation from 1995 that traces death and resurrection as a unified literary motif in the Acts of the Apostles. Horton analyzes the motif on the basis of diegetic references, mimetic illustrations on the part of both major and minor characters within the narrative, and intensification by means of contrast with a secondary motif of death and decay. The author's aim is threefold: (1) to demonstrate the value of motif analysis; (2) to strike a balance "between the extremes of past and present Lukan scholarship by considering the combined effect of suffering and renewed life within a single motif" (p. xv); and (3) to tease out implications of the motif's function as a heuristic device and its underlying message for the contemporary church. His conclusion describes a multifaceted function of the motif that includes aesthetic value, encouragement, warning, evangelistic appeal, and theological balance.
The Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Part II)
For Christians the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the foundation of our faith. One of the strongest arguments for the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus is the resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples and to unbelievers who then became believers. This paper surveys those appearances and also looks at other evidence for the resurrection of Jesus: the witness of the apostles, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 and extra-biblical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus including the Nazareth Decree and the Shroud of Turin along with ancient non-Christian sources (Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus, Pliny the Younger) and ancient Christian sources (Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Justin Martyr).
The general resurrection of the dead in the synoptic gospels
Franciscanum, 2022
The aim of this paper is to analyze the idea of general resurrection of the dead at the end of times in the synoptic Gospels. We intend to clarify whether this concept can be interpreted as a transposition of the parallel belief contained in some intertestamental writings, or if the singularity of the religious experience expressed in the synoptic Gospels establishes an inexorable moment of discontinuity with the previous apocalyptic framework, making it impossible to understand this doctrine on the sole basis of its Jewish precedents. In order to accomplish our goal, we shall first study the general resurrection of the dead in the Q source, the references to this notion in the gospel of Mark, and its meaning in both Matthew and Luke. We will exclude from our treatment all the topics related with the resurrection of Jesus, and we will be focused on the explicit mentions of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead as such. Since implicit beliefs are always difficult to assess, especially in the context of eschatological ideas, in which vagueness and absence of a systematic effort of exposition often prevail, we will not allude to other synoptic passages which have been regarded as potential expressions of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead at the end of times.
Theology of Resurrection: An Apposition of Pauline Epistolary and Hebrews
Theology of Resurrection, 2019
Faith in Christianity is a function of the resurrection hope. That is what makes the resurrection of Jesus Christ key. Unfortunately, many Christians do not understand what the scripture says about this issue. Consequently, apostle Paul happen to be the most copious New Testament writer on the subject. Thus, we review the findings about the Theology of Resurrection, in the context of Pauline epistolary, in apposition with that of the book of Hebrews. Pauline epistolary and letter to the Hebrews offer useful teachings on the subject of resurrection. Hebrew Christians did not understand their position in Christ and that they were partakers of a better covenant. Consequently, they were at the verge of opting out of faith because of doubt and persecution. That is what makes the emphasis on the superior priesthood of Jesus Christ, as seen in the epistle to the Hebrews imperative. This calls for scriptural establishment of the nexus between Pauline epistolary and other books of the Bible, particularly Hebrews on the subject of resurrection. Thus, it is interesting to note Bultmann’s argument that the resurrection of Jesus was the message of the apostles. He added further that the message was effective because Jesus was actually alive in the resurrection kerygma. Therefore, all speculations about the empty tomb do not make sense. The resurrection power is the secret of the apostles’ and early believers’ boldness in proclaiming the good news. This paper therefore re-reads the Theology of resurrection in Pauline epistolary, vis-à-vis the Gospels, in apposition with the that of Hebrews, with a socio-rhetorical methodology.
2006
AT the point at which we propose, in a short series of papers, to consider the great argument of St. Paul, in the fifteenth chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians, on the resurrection of the dead, the fact that there will be a resurrection of believers had been already proved. The apostle had established it, in the portion of the chapter preceding ver. 35, by the resurrection of Christ. That Christ was risen was admitted without hesitation by those to whom he wrote. Their whole faith rested upon the conviction, not only that the Lord in •whom they believed had died, but on the further truth, that He had been raised again, "according to the Scriptures" (ver. 4). In so far therefore as St. Paul had dwelt upon the fact, and even upon the remarkable chain of evidence by which it was established, he had done this, not so much for the purpose of proving it, as for the purpose of reinvigorating his readers' faith, and of bringing the resurrection of Jesus home to them with liveliness and power. Hence also the degree to which he had enlarged upon the disastrous consequences that would flow to Christian faith and life in general, if Christ had not been raised. The Corinthian Christians are now supposed to be thoroughly alive to this. No further argument upon that particular point was necessary. It followed that the universal proposition maintained at Corinth, that no one who had died would rise again, was false. One made in all YOL. J.