Marcus Borg on the Resurrection

Here is postmodernist “Christian” scholar Marcus Borg being irrational in the concluding remarks of his debate with William Lane Craig. He suggests that what happened to the body of Jesus is irrelevant to Christian faith. Indeed, he claims that “to argue that the Christian faith depends on the historicity of the empty tomb is an enormous distraction.”¹ He suggests that Jesus really did bodily rise from the dead, but not literally,² and what really matters is a personal relationship with Jesus in the present. To Borg, the “past-happendness” of the “spectacular event” of the resurrection should be of passing importance for the Christian.³

The truth is that is postmodern nonsense. Christianity claims that Jesus of Nazareth was a real flesh-and-bones person who walked the Earth some 2,000 years ago. It also claims that this man was crucified, only to bodily rise from the dead (about) three days later. Either Jesus of Nazareth did rise bodily from the dead some 2,000 years ago, or he didn’t. If he did rise from the dead, then (mere) Christianity is true; if he didn’t, then Christianity is false. To argue that Christian faith depends on the historicity of the empty tomb is just to be reasonable. If Jesus rose bodily from the dead then there had to be an empty tomb. So, if the tomb was not empty then there was no resurrection. Therefore, truth of Christianity depends on whether there was an empty tomb (or, more precisely, on whether Jesus’ body was still entombed). This is very simple and straightforward. However, postmodern “Christian” scholars like John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg (both members of the radical-leftist Jesus Seminar), would deny that (earliest) Christianity claims that Jesus rose bodily from the dead some 2,000 years ago; they believe that the disciples and early followers of Jesus believed in the resurrection only figuratively, not literally. Their arguments here are, as one would expect, very unconvincing. The weakness of Crossan’s position is readily apparent from his debate with N.T. Wright on this. And here is a nice clip of Craig calling out postmodern theologians, particularly Crossan, on their abject doublespeak. Such postermodern “Christians” would do well to listen to the words of St. Paul: “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”⁴ Christianity without the bodily resurrection of Christ is no Christianity at all. Even the prominent so-called “New Atheist” Richard Dawkins udnerstands this.