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Saint Pendants | Home » » Resurrection and the message of Easter | | | | | | | Description: | | Text: English, French (translation) | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Xavier Leon-Dufour | | Hardcover:
| 330 pages | | Publisher:
| G. Chapman | | Publication Date:
| 1974 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0225659743 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 1 reviews |
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A MODERN CATHOLIC INTERPRETATION OF THE RESURRECTION ACCOUNTSJun 11, 2010
Jesuit Xavier Leon-Dufour (1912-2007) was one of the early Catholic critical scholars of the life of Jesus, as well as biblical studies in general (see his Dictionary of Biblical Theology). Predictably, he was sometimes denounced from the pulpit, and was "in hot water" with the Vatican. His 1967 book The Gospels and the Jesus of History)--which DID receive the "Nihil Obstat" and "Imprimatur," unlike the current book--brought a welcome breath of fresh air to Catholic biblical scholarship.
In this 1971 book, Leon-Dufour applies his critical analysis to the resurrection stories in the gospels. He begins by saying, "Did Jesus rise or not? This seems to be the ultimate question. ... In this work, it is not my intention to reply to this series of urgent questions. Let me say straight away that only faith can give an adequate reply. But I should like to clarify the terms in which the question is posed." He adds, "This modest essay has been written ... to present the central mystery of the Christian faith in a language which seeks to remain within the authentic tradition, but also to be intelligible to our contemporaries."
Here are some represenatative quotations:
"If we state that the (resurrection) appearances took place at Jerusalem (Luke and John) and thereafter in Galilee (Matthew and John), and then in Jerusalem again (Acts) how can we explain first of all that the arrangement was made with the disciples that they should go to Galilee to see the risen Christ (Matthew 28:7, Mark 16:7) and secondly, that the same risen Christ instructed his disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they should have received the gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49)? Must we not give up the attempt to attribute any topographical value to these statements?"
"(I)t is difficult to harmonize the statements of the gospels with those of other New Testament writings. Certainly, the New Testament is in agreement that there were appearances of the risen Christ; but the list given in the First Epistle to the Corinthians (15:3-8) does not really agree with the gospel narratives."
"According to Paul himself, his vocation as an apostle was immediate, and his mission was entrusted to him directly 'through Jesus Christ and God the Father ... not according to man' (Gal 1:1, 11). For Luke, Paul's calling and mission are communicated, except in narrative III, by Ananias."
"Like the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel of John at first seems to form a continuity; yet it is difficult to determine its literary unity with certainty. Thus chapter 21 has been added to a text which was already complete, as is shown by the conclusion found in 20:30-31."
This work remains of interest to those interested in the historical Jesus, Catholic Biblical scholarship, and Catholic theology.
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