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DOUBTING JESUS' RESURRECTION: What Happened in the Black Box?
Kris Komarnitsky
Our Price : $9.99
Category : Spiritual & Religion
Size : 321 KB
ISBN : 978-1-44146-330-2
Print-ISBN : 9781441463302
Publisher : Kris Komarnitsky
Published date :
16 April 2009
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Rating by our readers   - Read the reviews - Rate this eBook
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Description:
"Rare is it when a lay author puts in the effort of wide research, gathers the references to every point together, interacts with the leading disputes, and offers something soundly argued that hadn’t been so well argued before. Komarnitsky does all of that and presents a surprisingly excellent demonstration of how belief in the resurrection of Jesus could plausibly have originated by natural means. Though I don't always agree with him, and some issues could be discussed at greater length, everything he argues is plausible, and his treatise as a whole is a must for anyone interested in the resurrection."
– Richard Carrier, Ph.D. Ancient History
"If you liked my book Beyond Born Again, you're going to love this one by Kris Komarnitsky! He shows great acuity of judgment and clear-eyed perception of the issues. He does not claim to have proof of what happened at Christian origins, but he does present a powerfully plausible hypothesis for what might have happened, which is all you need to refute the fundamentalist claim that things can only have gone down their way. By now it is a mantra – it is also nonsense, and Kris shows that for a fact."
– Robert M. Price, Ph.D. Theology, Ph.D. New Testament
"Komarnitsky is addressing an important topic in a considered and rational way. This book offers the open-minded reader an opportunity to work through some of the key questions surrounding the Easter mystery that lies at the heart of Christian faith."
– Gregory C. Jenks, Ph.D. FaithFutures Foundation
"Clearly written and well argued, Doubting Jesus’ Resurrection lays out a plausible and intriguing case for a non-supernatural explanation of the New Testament resurrection accounts. Don’t be put off by the fact that Komarnitsky is not a scholar – his book makes a solid contribution to the historical-critical understanding of these immensely important texts. This book deserves serious attention from scholars and all those interested in Christian Origins."
– Robert J. Miller, Professor of Religious Studies, Juniata College
Publisher's opinion:
Summary of Book
This book begins at a place where believer, non-believer, and those who are not quite sure about Jesus’ resurrection can meet – at the Bible’s account of a discovered empty tomb three days after Jesus’ death. Considering scholarship from both sides of the aisle, this book explains in clear and easily understood terms what many scholars have been saying for years – there is good reason to conclude that this tradition is a legend. If true, the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection collapses. Following up on this possibility, this book turns its attention to a key bible passage (1 Corinthians 15:3-7) that is widely recognized to contain the earliest known Christian beliefs and traditions: Jesus “died for our sins...was raised on the third day...and appeared” to many people. Again drawing on a wide range of scholarly expertise and covering many topics often encountered in discussions about Jesus’ resurrection, this book investigates and offers an answer to the question, what plausibly could have caused the rise of these extraordinary beliefs and traditions if there never was a discovered empty tomb?
Also available in paperback at various outlets or directly from the publisher at a discount (Use discount code USRYGGW7 at https://www.createspace.com/3371285)
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Reviews:
For many, the validity of Christianity hinges on Jesus' bodily resurrection, but this belief is increasingly challenged by the enlightenment and modern New Testament scholarship. Modern scholarship understands the passion and empty tomb narratives as relatively later literary embellishments added to prior collections of Jesus' sayings. A counter argument is that Christianity could not possibly have so rapidly spread over the Roman world without a belief in bodily resurrection. A key piece of evidence offered that such a resurrection understanding did exist from the earliest days is 1 Cor. 15:3-7, Paul's reference to a formal tradition of death and resurrection that he received and passed on, a tradition that therefore would have existed within only a few years of Jesus' death.
Is there a way in which the modern understanding of the empty tomb stories can be acknowledged, and yet somehow still reasonably explain the early origins of the death and resurrection traditions Paul received and passed on to others? The author speaks to this question as a layman to laymen, yet he has a detailed understanding of the relevant current scholarship, and a precisely reasoned approach to the subject. He starts with a case for why the empty tomb narratives are late and mythical in character, and then leads the reader through discussions of 1st century burial practices, cognitive dissonance reduction and the belief that Jesus died for our sins, and Hellenistic understandings of bodily assumption. The etiology of each segment of Paul's creedal formula; `...died...for our sins...was buried...raised...on third day...according to the Scriptures...', is considered, as the author seeks to show an alternate path to the genesis of Paul's formula.
If a rational consideration of the origins and development of earliest Christian resurrection beliefs is of interest, then this is a book for you.
Peter Kane
Purdue University, Retired
April 22, 2009
Two things I appreciate greatly about this book: an even-handed treatment of all major perspectives on the resurrection--traditional and modern, conservative and liberal--and an irenic style and tone that match the balanced discussion. This is more remarkable since Komarnitsky is examining one of the most emotionally charged questions in Christianity: is the gospel story of an empty tomb on Easter morning historical; and if not, how did the story come to be?
The author presents and defends his view that the empty tomb story is fictional, a legend that developed some time after Jesus' death. He then carefully examines the implications of that conclusion--spending a great deal of time on the earliest mention of the resurrection in the New Testament, I Cor. 15:3-7. Here Paul says that he was taught that Jesus died for our sins, was raised on the third day, and appeared to many people.
Why would the phrase "on the third day" be a part of the doctrinal formula decades before the first gospel was written? How far back in Christian teaching does it go? Why did the phrase exist at all if it was not based on the story of an empty tomb?
Komarnitsky's answers are well-documented and carefully considered, and his central thesis is intriguing. Highly recommended.
Rev. Chuck Jones
Atlanta, Georgia
First I want to say that I was initially captured by the title of this unique piece of research and interpretation. But regarding the body of the work itself, Kormarnitsky, who is an agnostic about God and afterlife, has written a fascinating account that appeals to the contemporary mind and experience that seeks to explain mythos in rational and immanential terms rather than in transcendental categories.
He has taken a theory from social psychology, Festinger's explanation of cognitive dissonance, and effectively and plausibly applied it to the greatest "black box" mystery of history, namely the stories of the resurrection of Jesus and the related beliefs.
Remaining fully cognizant of cultural and historical context, Komarnitsky has painstakingly looked in great detail at the research, rather comprehensively covering the spectrum from conservative to liberal. He has addressed every phrase in the Pauline foundational statement of beliefs and traditions found in 1 Cor 15:3-7: died, buried, raised, third day, appeared. And for each category he has deftly considered a range of interpretations before drawing his own conclusions.
Komarnitsky accomplishes his task in the spirit of the free exchange of ideas and in the context of acknowledging the central role that the Christian faith has and continues to play in all things important to humankind; that role is promoting a world-view of empathy for one another as we all stand equal before God, an insight shared by all major religions, using various forms of the golden rule: treat others as you wish to be treated.
Whether or not you agree with Komarnitsky's conclusions, in the first five chapters your thinker will become a better thinker, in the final chapter your heart will become a bigger heart, and putting them together you will see life with more perceptive eyes.
E H Stecher, M.Div., M.A.
Psychologist, private practice
Pennsylvania
To be upfront about this review, the author is an acquaintance of mine but I like the book, irrespective of our friendship.
Many people of faith have questions about their religious traditions. Some prefer to ignore any questions they have choosing ignorance over doubt. If you are a person who insists in knowing something about how your religious traditions have developed, this book is a good choice. Komarnitsky has compiled a considerable amount of research concerning the story of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. He makes a good case that the tomb traditions found in Mark constitute legend. The information about burial practice in the first century can be helpful to anyone trying to get a feel for that culture.
His description of competing Jewish and early Christian competing apologetics is a worthwhile line of investigation.
His discussion of cognitive dissonance in Chapter 3 is worth the cost of the book. Thinking people always seem to be troubled by conflicting points of view that they try to hold together in their minds. That is cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is an initiator for some people to move from strongly held beliefs to new insight but as he demonstrates, it can also be a motivation for ingenious, if incorrect, explanations that reduce the dissonance pressures. Christian apologetics is based on a response to cognitive dissonance.
One of the common statements I have heard over the years concerns how Jesus must have been from God, how else can we explain the durability of the Christian church? This is, of course, an argument from ignorance. That is; if it isn’t from God, what else could it be? Well, lots of things. Komarnitsky provides considerable information that explains how just the right concepts at just the right societal time can meet the needs of humanity and provide a viable and useful philosophy of life which may be very durable.
The book provides an explanation that allows thinking people to explore their faith traditions and it provides solid evidence that can alleviate the discomfort of cognitive dissonance. It shows how hallucinations, wishful thinking and self-delusion can all contribute to our body of religious traditions.
This book is very readable and the extensive references found in the endnotes can be used for further study. This is well researched book that can be used in a study group or as a beginning for a personal quest to investigate Christian traditions.
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(Peter Kane, M Div, MS
on 17 June 2009)
