Eric, I so hope that you're preaching at FPUCC on Easter so I can hear your sermon on this topic. Ever since adolescence, I've struggled with the meaning of the resurrection and why Christians even need it. To me it's not necessary to validate Jesus's compelling ethical imperatives. And I don't need it to reassure me about whatever comes after my embodied consciousness on this earth. God's grace alone convinces me that whatever awaits me after I die will be unexpected and joyous. I understand that what the disciples experienced, and later called resurrection, was so powerful that it engined a whole new religion. But that's an historical importance. I look forward to your insight on the resurrection's religious importance for Christians today - hopefully without all the traditional hype about proof of Jesus' divinity and the promise of individual immortality.
Eric, I so hope that you're preaching at FPUCC on Easter so I can hear your sermon on this topic. Ever since adolescence, I've struggled with the meaning of the resurrection and why Christians even need it. To me it's not necessary to validate Jesus's compelling ethical imperatives. And I don't need it to reassure me about whatever comes after my embodied consciousness on this earth. God's grace alone convinces me that whatever awaits me after I die will be unexpected and joyous. I understand that what the disciples experienced, and later called resurrection, was so powerful that it engined a whole new religion. But that's an historical importance. I look forward to your insight on the resurrection's religious importance for Christians today - hopefully without all the traditional hype about proof of Jesus' divinity and the promise of individual immortality.