Bodily Resurrection and 1 Corinthians 15: 42-54
One of the most significant issues concerning nearly all religions,
Christianity among them, concerns the fate of men following their death.
Believing in an inevitable resurrection of the body among the faithful, Paul, a
principle founder of Christianity, asserted his beliefs on the nature of bodily
resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15: 42-54. As eternity tends to last a long time,
believing Christians (even agnostics such as myself) would likely be somewhat
eager to arrive at an accurate interpretation of Paul's message found in the
above verses, so as to glean insight as to what might await them following their
last heartbeat. The approach I will take in analyzing 1 Corinthians: 42-54 will
be to: 1) explain how the verses fit in with the overall structure of the book;
2) to explain and paraphrase the meaning behind the passage; 3) relate the
verses to similar passages expressed elsewhere by Paul; 4) and lastly to touch
upon some of the controversy associated with the verses.
1 Corinthians was written around 54 C.E. and was addressed to the
congregation which was made up primarily of gentiles and was located in Corinth.
At the time, Corinth was a highly urbanized and religiously diverse city which
made it very conducive to the early Christian movement. Paul's first letter to
the Corinthians was written as a response to a letter he had received (which did
not survive) from the Corinthians in which Paul was asked to settle various
disputes that were arising within the struggling congregation. Writing in
apostolic fashion to the congregation he had founded, Paul's letter while
pastoral, answered numerous questions and demanded numerous changes ranging
from: the rich eating with the poor at the church suppers (11:18-22); to curbing
the acceptance of sexual immorality (5:1-13); to abstaining from taking fellow
Christians to court (6:12-20); to answering the question on the acceptability of
eating meat begot from pagan sacrifice (8:1-13); to the role of women in the
church (11:2-16); to the importance of prophesying (14:1-40); and much, much
more.
It was under these auspices that Paul answered the question of whether
man would be with or without a body following resurrection. Although all of
the 15th chapter deals with issues of resurrection, the place of the body is
curtly addressed in verses 42-54 and is prefaced with the 35th verse which asks,
"But someone will ask, ŒHow are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they
come?'"(15:35).
Paul believed that at the time of the resurrection the perishable body
would be transformed into an imperishable body, that would neither be a ghost-
pp.50) in the hopes of salvation from the god of these men. The men, in a
In his book, Ordinary Resurrections: Children in the Years of Hope, Jonathan Kozol pulls back the veil and provides readers with a glimpse of the harsh conditions and unrelenting hope that exists in a community located in the South Bronx called Mott Haven. Mr. Kozol provides his own socially conscious and very informative view of the issues facing the children and educators in this poverty ravaged neighborhood. Just his commentary would paint a very bleak picture of the future. It is the words of the children that give this book optimism and meaning. The courage and care exhibited by the volunteers of St. Ann's after school program and the creativity of the teachers at P.S. 30 are utterly inspiring. They work long hours and go beyond the call of duty to protect the innocence and cultivate the hope that resides in the hearts of Mott Haven's youngest residents.
In 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul set out to address the issues of exclusivity and the divide among the converts of Corinth that has been caused because of spiritual gifts. Paul set a guideline to his converts in Corinth to create order and conduct during times of worship in 1 Corinthians 14:26-33. Doing so, Paul hoped that the divide that has been caused from those with special or “exclusive” spiritual gifts do not cause other believers to become jealous or envious. Paul’s guideline to the Corinthians showed the leadership that Paul had that allowed him to guide the Church to become Hellenistic in just one generation.
Scholars of the Pauline writings have divided them into the following categories: (1) those unquestionably by Paul: Romans, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, I Thessalonians, and Philemon; (2) a letter that was probably written by Paul, but has had serious questions raised about its' authorship: II Thessalonians; (3) letters that were not actually written by Paul but were developed from his thought: Colossians and Ephesians; (4) letters that bear Paul's name but clearly come from another time and different set of circumstances in the church: I and II Timothy and Titus (the so-called Pastoral Letters); (5) a letter not bearing Paul's name and which evidences a wholly different thought and religious vocabulary from that of Paul: the Letter to the Hebrews (Kee, 5th Ed. 224).
The beginning of this book was somewhat confusing, we all wondered if the book was really the authors trouble of putting the book together that led to its structure or if it was meant to represent something else. We had
When someone dies their bones are burned and crushed into ash and consumed by the relatives. It puts a persons soul at peace to find a resting place within their family, it would be an abomination to bury them in the ground. Once this ceremony is finished the person is gone. Their name or person is never to be mentioned again.
Rebirth, a prominent idea in Christianity and Western thought, is often associated with rejuvenation and second chances. The idea of a second birth is both a baptism and a change in identity— all of which figure prominently in Charles Dickens’s novel, A Tale of Two Cities. Two characters, Dr. Manette and Sydney Carton, both go through the process of rebirth and a change of identity. The process of birth is in nature a responsibility of the female, in both Dr. Manette’s case and Sydney Carton’s they are reborn through the actions they do for Lucie— whose name is telling in itself, meaning light/daylight all symbolic of something new/God the light and the way. Resurrection is a reoccurring theme which can be seen through the actions of Dr. Manette and Sydney Carton.
They believe that if this is not done, the dead person may become a wandering ghost, unable to properly live after death and ultimately a danger to those who remain alive. African peoples have a common custom of removing the dead body through a hole in the wall of a house instead of through the door. It is said that this will make it difficult for the dead person to remember their way back to the living especially because the hole in the wall is immediately closed. Sometimes the body is even removed feet first. A zigzag path may be taken in order to get to the burial site, or thorns scattered along the way, or even a barrier hoisted at the grave itself because the dead are believed to strengthen the living. Others take special steps to ensure that the dead are easily able to return to their homes. Some people are even buried under or next to their homes. It is believed that at the graves, the spirits hover over on the earth and are restless until they are brought home which is seen as an extremely dangerous situation for the family.Family members even take some of the earth covering the grave and put it in a bottle and proceed home with the assurance that the deceased relative is accompanying them to look after the family as an
The most important question one must ask is how should the Bible be interpreted? The first and obvious, yet important thing to say about the Bible is that it is literature. In fact, it is a whole library of books: some of them history, some poetry, and some in the form of letters. When we approach literature, one usually asks the question “How does the author want it to be understood?” When reading the Bible, one should always try and follow the natural understanding of a passage in its context. Dr. John Lennox, who is a professor at Oxford University explains this idea well, by showing how the early Christian fathers used this “literal understanding” to counter a metaphorical interpretation.
The second possibility about the burial is just as creepy. Some families cannot afford the cost of the funeral, so they put the deceased into a temporary coffin. Once the money is raised, the corpse has to be raised and walk to their new resting place. Sometimes it may take years for the family to raise the money. Hence the Walking Dead of Indonesia.
parts and put them together and used a special technique to bring the corpse to
The disposition of the dead is facilitated in variety of ways because people have died at all points in history and the living have always mourned the dearth of loved ones with some type of ceremony. The way a person is buried is sometimes the deceased person’s wishes as stated in a will or legal document or it could be the decision of the family. But most times once you are dead others can do with your body as they wish.
Most cultures generally share a universal belief that there is some form of an afterlife. In the gospel of Matthew, the idea of life after death is shown through the teachings of Jesus. Since Jesus is considered to be the Son of God, he preaches that once the body of a human has died, their soul continues to live on. Although they are physically dead on Earth, the spirit of the person moves on to the next life. Jesus says to his followers “I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29). His Father’s kingdom refers to the notion of heaven, where all souls gather after their death on Earth. The Christian belief in the gospel of where the soul goes after death is very different from the Greek view portrayed by Homer.
Clifford, Richard J., A Commentary by… Proverbs, The Old Testament Library. Editorial Advisory Board; James L. Mays, Carol A. Newsom, David I. Petersen. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 1999.
The first three verses are about other people and the repition is to give it atmosphere.