The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-04-14

To whom also he showed himself ,
alive, after his passion, BY many IL I
IaIIibls DrOOts--AcrS- l., j.
What do We understand BY the re-
surrecLion OF Jesus Christ from tne /
dead2 What the majority or people IN /
the Church understand by IL IS PLAIN [
It IS the actual rising again, from ne !
tomb in which IL was laid. Of the neSnly I
body Of Jesus Why 1 do not accept [
this Interpretation Of the faith L pro- [
pose 10 suggest 10 you Ny reasons Tor
rejecting this popular opinion lie large
y in the reasons given for aTlr1nlnS Il
In the first place, IL Is declared lhe--
this opinion has been the view always
prevalent in the Church This / &C
knowledge I respect rnls tradition
yield 10 it the authority due 70 any
view which has for ages expressed the
Christian faith. I have held, therefore
TO this Interpretation of the Christian
belief as long as possible cannot
however. follow it slavishly- No super
structure can be more solid than IS It's
foundation The traditional tuterpreta-
ton Of the faith cannot be more author
itative than the original sources OF that
tradition Now, these original sources
are found in the unquesu0na ole idea
held Of this fact by the primitive dis
ciples. Undoubtedly in accepting the
fact they thought about the resurree-
ton OF Christ in this wise Does this
convince me2 No And for simple
reason The disciples could not nave
thought of ii in any other way gen
Grafton ago one could not have affirmed
this with historic gertrude, because the
actual thoughts and opinions current in
the age Of Jesus among the Jews on
this point were not clearly enough
known
In the marvellous yield which has
followed Biblical criticism, nothing is
more certainly attested than the cur
rent opinion in the &c of Jesus among
His people concerning the future life.
Their thought Of the life TO come was
that Of a physical resurrection, a resCr-
recI1Cn of the outer body Of flesh and
bones, a resurrection taking place q
long time after death, at the close Of
the dlspeusatiOn. 'the end of the
world the graves then opening. the
bodies OF the dead coming forth and
the souls of the departed reuniting with
those bodies of the new life This was
the materialized thought of this mys-
terry in all ages and in all lands This
thought being in the minds Of the dis
cipies, If they were persuaded that Je-
sus was alive" and that He showed
Htmselr to them by infaIIible proofs
after his passion. Inevitably their COR
Nlctton must have run into this pre-
pared mould. and the doctrine of the
resurrection of Jesus must have come
forth in the Christian consciousness as
Il did in the traditional Interpretation
OF this belief to the Church For this
reason, therefore, I do not feel Obliged
TO accept the thought of the early dis
ciples as conclusive upon the point. al
though I believe that fact upon their
testimony
Yet. again. it is argued that the
Scripture records state that futerpre-
tatlon OF the fact, and that we ar.
bound by the letter of the record These
records do certainly seem to state thi:
thought, but I cannot see that they
affirm it explicitly. Turn to those rec.
ords- They are profoundly interesting,
Eead them for yourselves. You cann0-
but De persuaded that this is what the
disciples thought, but you will NOTES
that their descriptions fail to demon.
strate this Interpretation Of the fac
which they record Note a sfnerIfa,
point No one Is reputed to have saer
him IN the act Of rising from the torpb
passing forth from the vault in th.
body Of flesh and bones of his ear4F7I-
life. The first disciples came to ~.
tomb and found it empty The link a.
solutely necessary for the der1ors+~s
ton Of the feshly resurrection IF -
II has not pleased Providence Ia So
ply, and this purposely. as believe
Someone viii ask me what rhav -,
came Of the body Of Jesus3 am -.
reverent toward that Divine NTa1 :
speculate concerning this MYSTERY
leave all such trreverent suecuIa Sfrr,
TO those who care to indulge rhar7
am content with the conviction rbs