Copyright © 2011 Tawa Jon Anderson All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. THE MYTH OF THE METAPHORICAL RESURRECTION: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF JOHN DOMINIC CROSSAN’S METHODOLOGY, PRESUPPOSITIONS, AND CONCLUSIONS __________________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary __________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________________ by Tawa Jon Anderson May 2011 APPROVAL SHEET THE MYTH OF THE METAPHORICAL RESURRECTION: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF JOHN DOMINIC CROSSAN’S METHODOLOGY, PRESUPPOSITIONS, AND CONCLUSIONS Tawa Jon Anderson Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ James Parker III (Chair) __________________________________________ Mark T. Coppenger __________________________________________ William F. Cook III Date ______________________________ To Vanessa, my best friend, my love, my inspiration, and my support TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE . viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION . 1 The Centrality of Resurrection Belief in Christianity . 1 Crossan’s Redefinition of Resurrection Belief . 3 The Purpose and Structure of This Dissertation . 4 Background . 4 Focus . 6 Structure . 10 Thesis . 10 2. RESURRECTION HISTORICALLY AND METAPHORICALLY . 12 Early Christianity and the Rise of Resurrection Belief . 13 The Emergence of Resurrection Belief: The New Testament . 13 The Rise of Resurrection Belief: The Early Church Fathers and Creeds . 18 Hume: The Impact of Philosophical Skepticism . 26 Precursors of Hume: Science and Deism, 1600-1800 . 27 David Hume and the Legacy of Skeptical Deism . 32 Biblical Criticism and the Rise of Resurrection Disbelief . 37 iv Chapter Page From Reimarus to Strauss: Fiction and Myth . 38 From Strauss to Bultmann: Demythologizing Jesus . 43 To Bultmann and Beyond: No Quest, New Quest, and Demythologization . 45 Summary: The Resurrection Historically . 49 Crossan’s Metaphorical Reconstruction of the Resurrection . 51 3. JOHN DOMINIC CROSSAN: BIOGRAPHY AND THEOLOGY . 57 A Long Way from Tipperary: A Biographical Sketch . 58 The Servite Order: Life as a Scholar-Priest . 58 The 1960s: Crisis and Departure . 61 Excursus: Investigative vs. Defensive Scholarship; Research vs. Apologetics . 65 From Priest-Professor to Public Intellectual . 76 A Long Way from Rome: A Theological Sketch . 80 Theological Presuppositions: Inviolable Starting-Points . 82 The Holy and Religious Pluralism . 85 Human Finitude: Post-Mortem Extinction . 90 Divine Consistency: Deism in Disguise . 95 Conclusion: Theological Presuppositions and Jesus’ Resurrection . 104 4. HERMENEUTICS, METHODOLOGY AND PRESUPPOSITIONS . 106 Crossan’s Hermeneutics: Structuralism and Deconstructionism . 108 Hermeneutics, Presuppositions, and the Resurrection . 116 Crossan’s Triple-Triadic Historical Jesus Methodology . 124 v Chapter Page Crossan’s Material Investments: Starting Points, Sources, and the Jesus Inventory . 136 Ambiguous Terminology: Presuppositions, Hypotheses, and Material Investments . 139 A Catalogue of Crossan’s Material Investments . 143 Crossan’s Material Investments and the Myth of the Metaphorical Resurrection . 189 Conclusion: Hermeneutics, Methodology, Presuppositions and the Resurrection . 200 5. THE RESURRECTION IN THE EARLY CHURCH . 204 Resurrection in the First Century: Jewish and Pagan Conceptions . 206 Greco-Roman Conceptions of the Afterlife . 207 The Afterlife in Second-Temple Judaism . 217 Summary: Resurrection Belief in the First Century . 223 Resurrection in the Early Church . 223 Resurrection Proclaimed: The New Testament and the Early Church Fathers . 224 Resurrection Opposed: Celsus and Porphyry . 225 Resurrection Redefined: Gnostic Christianity . 228 Conclusion: Worldview and Resurrection Redefinition . 237 6. THE RESURRECTION AND THE POOL OF LIVE OPTIONS . 241 The Myth of the Metaphorical Resurrection . 241 The Rise and Fall of Resurrection Belief . 241 Crossan’s Metaphorical Resurrection . 242 vi Chapter Page Hermeneutics, Methodology, Material Investments, and Worldview Presuppositions . 243 Worldview and Resurrection Belief in the Early Church and Her Opponents . 245 Worldview Presuppositions and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ . 246 Worldview and the Pool of Live Options . 247 The Resurrection and the Pool of Live Options . 248 Acknowledging Directing Worldview Presuppositions . 250 Bracketing Worldview . 251 The Resurrection and Worldview Conversion . 253 Appendix 1. TEXTS AND LAYERS IN THE GOSPEL OF PETER . 257 2. EXCERPTS FROM THE GNOSTIC GOSPEL OF PHILIP . 264 3. THE GNOSTIC EPISTLE TO RHEGINOS , OR TREATISE ON THE RESURRECTION . 269 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 274 vii PREFACE Writing a dissertation has been compared to giving birth to a child. I suggest, however, that pregnancy does not last as long as a dissertation’s gestation. Perhaps a more apt analogy compares writing a dissertation to raising a child. There is a certain ecstasy and joy in conceiving a research project and dissertation topic. What ensues is an often difficult process of developing the seed into a viable concept; that process results in the birth of a prospectus which can feel like prolonged, painful labor. After the prospectus is birthed, it must be fed, clothed, and nurtured to full growth. There is joy, but also times of frustration as one wonders how the dissertation could have gone in such a foolish direction as that . Moreover, crafting a dissertation, like raising a child, is not done in isolation. Ideally, parents raising children are surrounded a support system—grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, neighbors, friends, fellow pilgrims. Similarly, there is a network of support which has made writing this dissertation possible. I owe a debt of gratitude to my doctoral supervisor, Dr. James Parker III, for providing an appropriate balance of freedom, guidance, and correction. I am thankful for the insights and critiques of the other members of my dissertation committee, Dr. Mark Coppenger and Dr. William F. Cook III. This research project was conceived in the context of my cherished pastoral ministry at Edmonton Chinese Baptist Church; we miss our home church family dearly as I bring this project to term. I am grateful to friends and colleagues who have challenged my thinking, pushed my research, and motivated my perseverance over the years—David Arndt, Mark viii Maney, Ari Carr, Yong-Won (James) Lee, Brad Weldy, and Syd Page. I am also thankful for the mentors and advisors who encouraged me to pursue God’s calling to doctoral studies, particularly Drs. Sydney Page and Jerry Shepherd, and Revs. Greg Idell, Peter Ng, Owen Bayne, Salt Jones, and Jack Knight. Pregnancy brings on the occasional mood swing, and my family has experienced the bulk of them throughout this process. Our three children, Mataeo, Alethea, and Keilani, have been a constant source of joy and encouragement throughout my doctoral studies. We embarked on this journey together, and I am thankful for the way God has sustained us and drawn us closer as a family. They have often brought a smile to my face and warmth to my heart when I felt particularly discouraged. They have always reminded me, not only verbally but simply through their presence, that this dissertation is far from my most important earthly legacy. I am blessed among fathers! Behind every successful married Ph.D. student is an amazing wife. I could never have returned to school, let alone completed doctoral studies, without the support and love of my wife, Vanessa. She has been a constant source of encouragement, believing in me when I no longer believed in myself. It is to Vanessa that I dedicate this dissertation. Finally, I thank God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, without whom all would be vanity. In all I do, I pray He will be honored and glorified. Tawa J. Anderson Louisville, Kentucky May 2011 ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Cor 15:1, 3-8, 13-20) 1 The Centrality of Resurrection Belief in Christianity Christianity is an historical religion, fundamentally and inextricably