Greek Resurrection Beliefs and the Success of Greek Resurrection Beliefs and the Success of Christianity

Dag Øistein Endsjø GREEK RESURRECTION BELIEFS AND THE SUCCESS OF CHRISTIANITY Copyright © Dag Øistein Endsjø, 2009. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-61729-2 All rights reserved. First published in 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-38030-5 ISBN 978-0-230-62256-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230622562 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Endsjø, Dag Øistein, 1968– Greek resurrection beliefs and the success of Christianity / Dag Øistein Endsjø. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Resurrection. 2. Greece—Religion. 3. Church history. I. Title. BL505.E53 2009 236Ј.809—dc22 2008054674 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: July 2009 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For my mother When we say . . . that he, , our teacher, was crucified and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, we propose nothing new from what you believe about those you consider sons of Zeus. Justin Martyr, First Apology 21.1 CONTENTS

Preface ix

Introduction: Dilemmas of the Flesh 1 One Where Do We Stand? 9 Two The Attraction of Immortal Flesh 21 Three The Possibility of Immortal Flesh 47 Four New Beliefs, Old Beliefs 105 Five Jewish Beliefs on the Afterlife 121 Six The Challenge of Immortal Flesh 141 Seven The Success of Immortal Flesh 159

Notes 219 Bibliography 253 Index 261 PREFACE

The idea of this book took shape only gradually while I was working on various projects within Greek religion and early Christianity. As I repeatedly encountered various explanations of how the Christian resurrection belief emerged and succeeded, it struck me that something did not seem quite right. The Greeks loathed the flesh, I was told, but then why did they turn to that form of Christianity that insisted on the resurrection of the flesh, when there were so many alternative Christian movements that did not do this? The Christian resurrection belief originated from Jewish beliefs only, I read again and again, but then why did Christianity put more and more emphasis on the resurrection of the flesh the more converts it made from traditional Greek religion? The resurrection of the flesh represented a tremendous obstacle in the Christian effort to win over the Greeks, I heard repeatedly, but then why did more and more Greeks turn to Christianity as this new religion increasingly emphasized the resurrection of the flesh? At times I felt like a character from an Agatha Christie novel, misled by various false trails. Then, turning to the ancient sources, I found that it was, perhaps most of all, the modern explanations about the resurrec- tion beliefs that had been leading me astray. Apart from a few philosophical diatribes, there is really no proof of any general Greek abhorrence of the flesh. Quite the opposite. Starting to examine the ancient Greek sources more carefully, I soon found not only a distinct attraction toward the flesh, but numerous reports about people being resurrected from the dead, people having their flesh immortalized, and people being deified and physically translated to various distant parts of the world. All in connection with the long- ing for physical immortality, various sources unveiled beliefs in people xPreface suddenly disappearing without a trace, in men going down into the ground as the very earth opened up under their feet, in children being put on the fire, and in people having their bodies dismembered and put into cauldrons. Most important of all, I found a strong and enduring conviction that immorality always had to include both body and soul. This led me to wonder if the main question we had most often asked about the resurrection was the wrong one. Maybe we should not ask why the Greeks became Christians in spite of the Christian belief in the resurrection of the flesh. Maybe we should ask whether the Greeks became Christians partly because of the Christian belief in the resurrec- tion of the flesh. Asking ourselves this question, we encounter quite another story. It is this story I have tried to relate in this book. Looking back at the years I have been working on this project, I find that there are certain people who have been particularly invaluable in their overall support, in their helpful suggestions, and, most importantly, in believing in me and this project. They are Ingvild Sælid Gilhus, Knut Olav Åmås, Penelope Boehm, Troels Engberg-Pedersen, Liv Ingeborg Lied, Kaizad Mehta, Jorunn Økland, Diane Sova, my sister, Christine Endsjø, my grandmother, Jenny Endsjø, and my parents. I want, moreover, to thank Ingrid Åmås, Peder Anker, Mia Berner, Lars Berntzen, Elisabeth Bjelland, Pål Bjørby, Jostein Børtnes, Brakke, Torkel Brekke, Jan Bremmer, Bernadette Brooten, Elizabeth Clark, Gina Dahl, Deena Deutsch, Matthew Dickie, Hedda von Ehrenheim, Roald Fevang, Tomas Hägg, Evy Håland, Thomas Harding, Bjørn Hatterud, Sidsel Høye Haugan, Richard Hecht, Ulla Heli, Geir Hellemo, Karstein Hopland, Kristin Høye, Janicke Iversen, Knut A. Jacobsen, Otto Krogseth, Hugo Lundhaug, Gary McDonald, John Anthony McGuckin, Dale Martin, Lisbeth Mikaelsson, Halvor Moxnes, Bente Myrtveit, Henrik Nordhus, Steinar Opstad, Katrine Ore, Robert Parker, Aslak Rostad, Jeffrey B. Russell, Håkan Rydving, Robert David Sánchez, Mara Senese, Geir Skogseth, Vidar Solheim, Michael Stausberg, Anne Stensvold, Helge Svare, Leif Vaage, my edi- tors, and the anonymous reviewer at Palgrave Macmillan for their sug- gestions, support, and kind assistance. As for institutional support I am grateful to Religious Studies at the University of Bergen for good work- ing conditions, to San Francisco University and the Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University for letting me use their resources at two important periods of my study, and to the Norwegian Research Council for providing the financial means for this quest.