Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Thomas Sermon #1: "Yes they can."

Read the TEXT, and the previous post.

For the Cynic, there is a Way Forward (v24-29)

The central claim of Christianity is this: That one man, Jesus, rose from the dead as Messiah. He revealed (among other things) that there really is life after death. Really. Like it's not just wishful thinking. And that will motivate you to live in peace through the proclamation of forgiveness now. As Jürgen Moltmann once wrote:

The Resurrection hope makes people ready to live their lives in love wholly, and to say a full and entire Yes to a life that leads to death. It does not withdraw the human soul from bodily, sensory life; it ensouls this life with unending joy. [JMM: Great verb!]

But a common response the Resurrection of Jesus is cynicism:

  • That can’t happen.
  • That’s crazy talk.
  • Dead men can’t rise.

And the Christian response to that is:

  • Yes it can.
  • No it isn't.
  • Yes one has.

So spare a thought for Thomas.

More comin'...


3 comments:

Benjamin Ady said...

I love the comic.

byron smith said...

Do you think that the phrase 'life after death' is a bit confusing? Wright opts for 'life after life after death' (which he then explains) in order to avoid people misunderstanding what we're talking about when we say 'resurrection'.

PS page ref = The Coming of God, 66.

Justin said...

Thanks Byron. This is your passion here, isn't it?

(My I recommend that others go to your Blog and click on the tag: 'resurrection'?

Don't you find Wright's explanation to be cumbersome when explaining it to people? Hmmm.