ON JESUS AND THE RESURRECTION
in my personal study of religions and spirituality that took me to many sacred places worldwide, i reckon, one thing that stands-out in #christianity is its belief on the #resurrection from the dead of #jesus christ, the central figure in the religion and spirituality of christians.
whilst the resurrection is not an entirely new concept in religion as there were many pre-abrahamic religions and cults that believed in their man-god or god-man resurrecting from the dead, none of the 6 major oldest and still existing world religions have its founder claimed to have resurrected from the dead. except for christianity.
to wit, the jewish patriarch abraham died physically just like any mortal. islam's the prophet mohammad though he experienced "isra and mi'raj", saw visions of "jannah and jahannam" died physically as well. the buddha siddharta gautama in his "samsara" entered in the realm of life and death and reborn in the buddhist astral plane and performed many mighty miracles, but he himself eventually physically died as a prerequisite for "parinirvana". in hinduism, the closest i can think of with parellelism with jesus christ is the lord vishnu with his numerous avatars and reincarnations throughout history, but vishnu did not have a resurrection story like jesus. in taoism, although its more of a decentralized aggrupation of religio-philosophy, zenic culture and way of life rather than an institutionalized religion, none of taoist teachers and celestial masters ever claim of resurrection from the realm of death.
indeed, the christian story of resurrection is outstanding and the faith to the veracity of its supernatural story of a glorious life after death is a sustainer of the believer's hope and devotion even to the point of suffering, persecution, and martyrdom. the resurrection is a foundational tenet of the christian faith that has been in existence for 2000 years.
nevertheless, considering how diverse christianity has become from its original 3 mainstreams of theology (jewish, gnostic, pauline) to 300+ extant different streams of theological perspectives, i did encounter some form of christianity, minority christians, that don't susbcribe to the literal resurrection story as proclaimed by the canonical gospels and mainstream christian churches - catholic, orthodox, protestants, evangelicals, and pentecostals.
say for example, the unitarian universalist christians do not adhere to a literal interpretation of the resurrection. they emphasize the moral and ethical teachings of jesus without subscribing to traditional christian doctrines.
another one is the jehovah's witnesses. JW believers interpret the resurrection of jesus in a spiritual rather than a physical sense. according to their teachings, jesus was resurrected as a spirit creature, not in bodily form.
another is christian science adherents. while they recognize the significance of Jesus' resurrection, they interpret it symbolically as the triumph of spiritual life over material death, rather than as a physical event.
another one is the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints (LDS) also known as the mormons. they believe in a bodily resurrection, but they also hold that jesus' resurrection was distinct from that of other individuals. according to mormon doctrine, jesus' resurrection involved a transformation beyond mortal limits.
even the american baptist and civil rights leader the rev. martin luther king jr. in one of his published papers refuted the literal, bodily resurrection. this is not surprising since within baptists themselves there are many different churches with varying theological nuances and differences.
one of the most amusing though is the claim and belief of a particular group of christians in tohoku, japan. they believe that jesus of nazareth or daitenku taro jurai did not actually died on the cross ergo did not have a resurrection. but instead he went to japan as a sage and went on to raise his own family by marrying a japanese woman from the sawaguchi clan.
well, these are just a few examples, and there are other non-traditional christian groups with varying beliefs, narratives, interpretations, and particularities about the life, death, and resurrection of jesus. now, whether you believe or otherwise, i wish you all a blessed resurrection/easter sunday, of mighty life blessings, of peace and harmony ☯️ indeed, a very good and meaningful, relaxing, and refreshing springtime holidays 🍀
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