Resurrection

by Alister McGrath

Publisher:

SPCK

, 2007

Overview

Anglican belief and practice allows that God communicates through his Word as well as through the beauty of his works. The trick, of course, is to keep the two sources of communication in balance. Nowhere is this balance better struck than in the writings of the atheist-turned-Anglican-clergyman Alister McGrath. McGrath takes Scripture very seriously as an unshakable source of truth for belief. At the same time, McGrath recognizes that God also communicates through art and literature. McGrath draws on these two different sources to teach us more about God and about how to live in light of what he has communicated. McGrath also offers a thoroughgoing defense of God’s existence, again drawing not only evidence from Scripture but from the beauty of creation.

Dramatically illuminated by a series of fine art paintings, Alister McGrath’s new volume seeks to engage both the mind and the imagination as he explores the great and extraordinary affirmation: ‘Christ is risen!’ Poetry, prayer, and theological reflection are interwoven with commentary on the ideas conveyed through works such as Maurice Denis’ Holy Women at the Tomb, He Qi’s On the Road to Emmaus, Guercino’s Incredulity of St. Thomas, and William Blake’s River of Life. The result not only increases our understanding of the vital connection between the resurrection of the Son of God and the transformation of human existence, but also helps us to trust in the security of Christ’s grasp on our lives, as he daily sustains us by his love and power.

Key Features

• Engages with the great themes of biblical accounts of the resurrection
• Reflects on the meaning of Christ’s resurrection
• Provides inspirational works of art to enhance the discussion

Contents

• Introduction
• The Strangeness of the Resurrection
• The Road to Emmaus
• Too Good to Be True?
• The Transfiguration of Failure
• The Road to Damascus
• The Fulfillment of Prophecy
• Making All Things New
• For Further Reading
• Illustrations

Top Highlights

“We must inhabit the experiential world of the disciples as they watch their Christ die before their eyes, without the slightest hint of divine intervention.” (Page 3)

“We often overlook the simple, yet enormously significant, point that the rapidly spreading accounts of Jesus’ resurrection could have been stopped dead in their tracks by producing and publicly displaying his corpse. However, there is not even a hint in any known historical documentation that the Church was obliged to explain away the dead body of its supposedly resurrected Lord.” (Pages 27–29)

“Christ’s rising from the dead takes place at three different though related levels” (Page vi)

“It is something that we need to approach as if we were encountering it for the very first time, appreciating just how remarkable it is.” (Page 2)

“We see here a significant point, that is often overlooked—the importance of action in disclosing Jesus” (Page 43)

Product Details

• Title: Resurrection
• Author: Alister McGrath
• Publisher: SPCK
• Series: Truth and the Christian Imagination
• Publication Date: 2008
• Pages: 87

About Alister McGrath

Alister McGrath

(DPhil, DD, Oxford University) is the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford University. He previously held the chair of theology, ministry and education and was head of the Centre for Theology, Religion Culture at King's College, London. He is in constant demand as a speaker at conferences throughout the world and is the author of many books including The Dawkins Delusion? and Christianity's Dangerous Idea.

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