Religion in the Resurrection of Christ, Wallace

Religion

In "The Resurrection of Christ," Wallace outlines an argument against the watering down of gospel by denying the resurrection. Wallace points out that many modern "Christians" are trying too hard to fit the gospel truth into the modern world, due largely to pressures from the media and the dominant culture. A denial of anything that resembles the "supernatural" is a trend among academics and all who also deny the power of faith. Starting from this premise, Wallace engages the reader in a well-constructed and organized outline of why the resurrection is central to Christian doctrine. To guide the reader, Wallace organizes the argument using numbered points so that they are easy to follow. The argument is focused on the resurrection, as a specific topic of discussion. However, the resurrection is itself a broad and deep subject. "The Resurrection of Christ" is paradoxically a broad and focused argument.

Wallace's argument is not necessarily balanced, although the author does include opposing arguments in order to refute their claims. He does this mainly with regards to dismissing deniers of the resurrection. The accusation that most persons who deny the resurrection are wealthy or elite has a kernel of truth to it, but it might also be insulting to those who are wealthy and possibly elite and who also believe in the resurrection. Also, there may be more effective ways of addressing the anti-resurrection reader. Wallace takes a more antagonistic approach, but it happens to work well within this context because the author's tone is lively. Wallace misses an opportunity to engage non-believers, though. One way he could open the debate to non-believers better would be to see that it is not just elites who critique the resurrection on the basis of denial of the supernatural. Another way to address the issue would be to respond to what many atheists believe: which is that anything that has no physical proof cannot be true. For example, there is a comic on the following website: http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=12174

To respond to this comic, the author might be able to state that the atheist argument is also flawed. Wallace does a good job with the topic within the short space that he has, though.

Personal Conclusion

One of Wallace's tenets is that the resurrection is important because it is a core sign of hope. Resurrection stories are most necessary when people are suffering or in need. The wealthy and elite are generally not suffering or in need, which is why they may be the first to deny the gospel truth of the resurrection. Moreover, the wealthy and elite tend to adopt materialistic standpoints that make it easy to deny religion. The atheist comic referred to in the critique is an example of extreme materialism. It is ironic that the poor would be less fixated on the material world than the rich, when it is the poor that need material goods the most.

Christianity has been the religion of the poor and the lost masses precisely because it offers a message of hope that death is certainly not the end. To end the story of Christ with His death offers a neutered and incomplete religion, and is not the true Christian message.