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Historicity of Resurrection Sunday – Dr. Blomberg |  POD 009

Historicity of Resurrection Sunday – Dr. Blomberg | POD 009

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HOSTS & GUESTS

Dr. Craig Blomberg – Guest

Bill Gorman – Host

Show Notes

From Skepticism to Trust: Testimony to the Reality of the Resurrection

Did the Resurrection of Jesus really happen? What are the implications and evidence of Jesus’ resurrection? On this episode of theFormed.life, Dr. Craig Blomberg, a renowned New Testament scholar joins our host, Bill Gorman to discuss the unique differences in the Gospel of John, the skepticism surrounding the resurrection story, and the impact the resurrection has had on culture and society throughout history.

 

Despite myths and misunderstandings, Dr. Blomberg asserts that the resurrection was a real, historical event that has transformed the lives of millions of people. Join this conversation with Dr. Blomberg for a fascinating discussion on this central concept of Christianity as we explore the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

 

THREE KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Join us in this conversation about the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

  • The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a central and transformative belief in Christianity that has impacted the lives of millions of people throughout history.
  • The Gospel of John offers unique insights into the events surrounding Jesus’ resurrection and contains independent material compared to the other gospels.
  • While some argue that the story of Jesus’ resurrection is a myth, there are significant differences between the cultural and religious beliefs throughout history and the story of Jesus’ resurrection, making it a singular event in history.

#resurrection #thegospel #seminary #jesusisalive #truthormyth #women

 

 

GUEST BIO(S):

Dr. Blomberg completed his PhD in New Testament, specializing in the parables and the writings of Luke-Acts, at Aberdeen University in Scotland. He received an MA from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a BA from Augustana College. Before joining the faculty of Denver Seminary, he taught at Palm Beach Atlantic College and was a research fellow in Cambridge, England with Tyndale House.

In addition to writing numerous articles in professional journals, multi-author works and dictionaries or encyclopedias, he has authored or edited 20 books, including The Historical Reliability of the Gospels, Interpreting the Parables, commentaries on Matthew, 1 Corinthians and James, Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey, From Pentecost to Patmos: An Introduction to Acts through Revelation, Christians in an Age of Wealth: A Biblical Theology of Stewardship, Neither Poverty nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions, Making Sense of the New Testament: Three Crucial Questions, Preaching the Parables, Contagious Holiness: Jesus’ Meals with Sinners, and Handbook of New Testament Exegesis.

 

 

QUOTES:

“We are talking about people who were the least, the last, the lost, the social outcast, the nobodies… And yet when famine and drought and plague and other disasters came, they were pretty much the only ones who risked their own health and lives to care for the suffering.”

– Dr. Blomberg

 

“What would have led Jews to abandon or violate transgress, one of the ten fundamental commandments in their religion and change the day of rest and worship unless something very specifically and powerfully transformative could be dated to a Sunday.”

– Dr. Blomberg

 

The Canonical accounts of the Resurrection are very restrained: “There’s not a single account that actually describes the resurrection…They were so shocked by what happened…how did Jesus get out?”

– Dr. Blomberg

RESOURCES:

The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Book

Jesus and the Gospels: Book

 

 

CHAPTERS:

00:02:39 “From Mainline Church to Personal Faith Encounter”

00:03:46 “Transformation through consistent Bible reading practice”

00:08:06 “Independent Account of Mary Magdalene’s Encounter”

00:13:23 “Discovering Independent Information in the New Testament”

00:15:38 “Unraveling the Mystery of Jesus’ Resurrection”

00:19:25 “The Scientific Impossibility of Resurrections: Myth or Reality?”

00:23:02 “Debunking alleged parallels between Jesus and mythology”

00:27:54 “Richard Carrier’s Definition of Resurrection Debunked”

00:29:24 “The Transformative Power of Believing in Jesus”

00:34:31 “Christian Converts Amidst ISIS Beheadings Story”

Thinking Slowly Together About Gender 

Thinking Slowly Together About Gender 

Confusion, frustration, and distress are but a sampling of emotions we may feel as we consider topics of sexuality in our cultural moment. However, it is not just the culture “out there” that is deeply troubling for many believers. Our own evangelical culture all too often exhibits unhealthy and unbiblical patterns in male and female relationships. A host of critiques of our evangelical culture have been published recently, including Jesus and John Wayne, The Making of Biblical Womanhood, Recovering from Biblical Womanhood, and The Great Sex Rescue, to name a few. In addition, the podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill has unmasked a particularly toxic church culture. And perhaps most disturbing in recent months has been the revelation of the extent to which the Southern Baptist Executive Committee mishandled and covered up sexual abuse. Is there hope for our culture? Is there hope for the evangelical church?

 

A Challenging Conversation

Addressing these questions is complex and requires difficult conversations. I am usually one who runs from confrontation and uncomfortable topics, so my first impulse is to throw up my hands, thinking it is futile to engage. However, gratefully, our local church is a place that invites challenging conversations and makes room for long, thoughtful engagement. To borrow a phrase from a recent book, we are invited to think slowly together. This past year, I have had the privilege of being a part of a “think slowly” group, a task force of five people from different campuses and different walks of life. We were invited to sit, study, pray, and write together about God’s design for male and female flourishing in our church. This little band of people met for many hours for the better part of nine months, leaning into this challenging conversation. We prayed, read widely, and worked through the vast sweep of Scripture. Entering  the conversation with open hearts, we made room to be corrected, surprised, and inspired by what we learned. The result is several papers that are posted on our website. We hope you will read them for a much more in-depth reflection. 

 

Flourishing Together 

So, how do men and women flourish together? Our team’s best understanding from Scripture is that we are designed to be in a complementary alliance as members of a family. Complementary means male and females are uniquely made so as to enhance one another. Genesis 1:27 clearly declares that male and female together bear God’s image. We are so similar: both embodied image-bearers of God. But we are also unique in our contribution and biological distinction. Alliance means we are designed to be in a relationship for the purpose of a common mission. Genesis 1:28 gives the male and female a mandate to rule over God’s earthly kingdom, as well as to multiply and fill the earth. Genesis 2:18, in response to the declaration that it was “not good for man to be alone,” describes God’s intention, “I will make a helper corresponding to him.” The word translated “helper” in this verse is the Hebrew word ezer. Too often this word has been conceived as “assistant” or subordinate. However, the word ezer is most often used to describe God himself as our help. Far from a mere assistant, the ezer is the essential one to come alongside, to enable the fulfillment of a given task. The ezer is what Talbot professor John McKinley describes as “the necessary ally,” emphasizing the joint mission for which male and female are created; to rule God’s earthly kingdom.

This beautiful relationship of complementary alliance was devastatingly fractured in Genesis 3, and God foretold that the consequences of sin would introduce male domination and female frustration into the relationship. This is the part that prompts the throwing up of the hands. However, as believers, we are redeemed to be reconciled—to God first, and then to one another as males and females in relationships of complementary alliance. Whether married or single, we are necessary allies on mission together as family members. We are neither identical nor interchangeable, and we are all necessary. 

Most profoundly of all, we find that God himself is pictured as the husband of his people in the Old Testament and Jesus as the Bridegroom to his church in the New Testament. The mystery of male and female is theological (pointing us to God) and eschatological (pointing us to our glorious future). Ultimately, we will live in the New Creation as a complementary alliance of brothers and sisters forever in the perfected family of God.

 

Living This Out

As a result of this conversation, the leadership structure at Christ Community has not changed, but our understanding and expression of God’s beautiful design for males and females in complementary alliance has blossomed. Our task force has been deeply humbled and grateful for the manner in which our elders and senior leadership have commissioned, engaged with, and endorsed this conversation.

After thinking slowly together with the task force and our leaders over the last year, I no longer feel like throwing up my hands in exasperation regarding the relationship of males and females in the church. Rather, I am prompted to lift my hands in worship of our Bridegroom, the Lamb of God. Praise to the Father for his good and gracious inclusion of all his children in his plan. May we be found faithful to increasingly live into his marvelous design.

 

Read the resulting papers created by this task force:

1) Exploring God’s Design for Male and Female Flourishing In the Church A Biblical Theology of Male and Female

2) Male and Female in the Church Structure and Polity

 

 

 

Note about the task force:

This team experienced the joy of functioning in a true complementary alliance on this project:

Ben Beasley, former Associate Pastor, Downtown Campus, MDiv, pursuing ThM at Princeton Theological Seminary

Nikki Dieker, Associate Pastor, Olathe Campus

Bill Gorman, Campus Pastor, Brookside Campus, MDiv

Melody McSparran, Bible Teacher, Trinity International University Board of Regents Member, Congregant, Leawood Campus

Kelli Sallman, ThM, Writer and Editor, Congregant, Leawood Campus