No theological subject has quite confounded me as one such as this. Due to the enormity of the subject, in terms of its complexity, I will limit my discussion to the aspect of whether I consider resurrection to be physical or spiritual, both in terms of Christ's own resurrection and our separate human resurrection, and when I think our own resurrection might occur...
When I was younger, being taught Catholic doctrine, I was told that resurrection meant reunion with God in the sense that your soul leaves your body to venture on another journey - whether the destination be heaven, hell or purgatory. This all seems good and well, but what about the argument that the body is literally resurrected? Paul makes the distinction in his eschatological writings that the body will be transformed - 1 Corinthians 15:44, "It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body." This very distinction that Paul makes between physicality of Adam, and spirituality of Christ seems to allude to the destruction of sin that Christ has allowed, thus created an entryway for humanity to be reunited with God in faith. The body is no longer necessary for the work Christ has fulfilled, so it can be left behind. However, if we are to believe that resurrection is not bodily, then how are we to read the account of Thomas' doubting, when Jesus told him to put his hands in his wounds to believe? It suggests in the passages of both Luke 34:39-43 and John 20:26-48 that Jesus was physically resurrected, and returned to his disciples in bodily form too. Similarly, if we are to understand Paul as thinking of Jesus' resurrection as spiritual - how do we account for his body missing from the tomb? It is difficult to reconcile. My answer here is that due to Jesus' unique nature - being both human and divine, he had the power to be the only individual to resurrect physically. His body was unique - it was without sin - and as such, could be equated with the sinless nature that of the soul. I do not advocate bodily resurrection for humanity - at least not until the Last Judgement.
In terms of bodily resurrection, the main argument supporting it stems from when Jesus' body was no longer in the tomb. The logical deduction of this for most Christians is that, with Christ as our model, our bodies too will be resurrected. One must remember that there was a time lapse of three days when Christ's body could have been resurrected from the tomb - what I find difficult here is that upon our own death, our bodies, even after three days physically remain in the ground. Most Christians here will say that is because all deceased souls are awaiting for the Last Judgement when physical bodies will be released from the ground by Christ and reunited in bodily resurrection. Even so, if our souls can continue on without our bodies until the Last Judgement, there is an implication perhaps that they could continue on without the bodies infinitely.
Why, only upon the Last Judgement should human souls be reunited with their physical bodies? It is indeed a mystery - one to which I don't have an adequate answer. However, one answer to all these unsolvable questions is Bornkamm's phrase of faith, "The resurrection message and resurrection faith in the early church do not depend on uniform versions of the manner of the Easter event, or the physical nature of the risen Christ." (183) Rather than focusing our attention of the particularities of the nature of the soul or body after death, to which we cannot know until we die, we should focus our attentions upon the message that Christ's resurrection has for us now - to live in faith in the knowledge that he has conquered sin and death in order for us to be reunited with God (whether that be bodily or not), if the pattern of our lives so proof to be worthy enough. On discussing the road to Emmaus, Bornkamm comments, "even the disciples on the road to Emmaus cannot hold him [Jesus] as they might an earthly travel companion. The risen Christ is not like one of them." (185) Here, the latter sentence is most profound. Though Bornkamm does seem to be advocating Christ's resurrection in terms of non-corporeality, or at least, his reappearance in terms of non-corporeality, the very nature of Christ is different from humans because he was the one in whom resurrection was made possible and so he sets the precedent.
It's illogical to think that when you die, your body will rise up immediately. N. T. Wright argues that upon death, we enter an intermediary state upon death, before we can experience bodily resurrection. This seems convincing enough. Here one may argue that purgatory could be an aspect of experience here - but why should only the soul experience this? Is it an internal kind of reflection on one's conscience to consider one's wrongs, or should it be viewed as a literal act of penitence required to alleviate one's remaining sins? Should the body not experience the sins for which it committed? It seems only logical. A body would be required, because sin upon earth is undoubtedly tied up with the body, even though one can sin through the mind (as in impure thoughts/contemplating evil acts and the like), the actual sin committed is done so physically through bodily acts. Instead of a purgatory, Luther advocated a state where the soul slept unconsciously until the Last Judgement. This is even more problematic because if one still has sins to account for, how can the soul do anything about them if it is unconscious?
As a child, I was rather frightened of cremation. Burning someone's body to me, even though they were dead, seems almost a sin - an offense against the person. Though the body is stained with sin, it is still created by God, and surely only God has the decision to destroy it or not. The Greeks had the tradition of cremation - the scene of Patroclus' body burning on the pyre in The Iliad is profound mostly because it is considered to be an honour in Greek tradition. Interestingly, Achilles' bones are placed with Patroclus', so that they may be together in death as they were in life. This, though seemingly sentimental rather than literal, has connotations for the resurrection discussed here. But the point still stands - for what purposes would you actually require a body after death?
Why is bodily resurrection even necessary? Do we really need our bodies after death? My immediate instinct is to say no - if we are to be reunited with God, why should our souls continue to be restrained within a bodily of the created realm, when our destination is of the divine, uncreated realm of heaven? To me there are too many complications regarding bodily resurrection. For one, our bodies are subject to decay and age, and even if they were to continue with the soul on after death, there logically must be a point where the created matter disintegrates and even if this does not apply in the temporal realm, it seems conflictual for a created being to continue its physicality in a spiritual realm.
What seems to account for some of these issues is Jesus' parousia, that is, his second coming, presumably in The Last Judgement. In much artwork there is a sense that the Last Judgement is the time when all who have died will be bodily resurrected universally. What implications does this have for those who have been cremated? Or those who do not have a full physical body? Will the Last Judgement mean that created matter will be restored or destroyed?
It is Jack Dominian's view that the very failure of the disciples to recognise Jesus when he appears to them after death is not much to do with whether or not he is physically there or not, but because he has transformed the nature of humanity, through destroying the sin of Adam; and as such humans are unable to recognise this. "The goodness of his being was now transfixed in his flesh, which bore the imprint of completion." (216) The implication here is that in Adam, sin made humanity incomplete, but through Christ's suffering, death and subsequent resurrection (whether bodily or not!), humanity is made complete and perfect.
Ultimately therefore, I would say it is not down to specifics where humanity should look for confirmation of faith. Whether resurrection will be bodily or spiritual - regardless, you will be united with your Creator at last (hopefully!), and I'm sure the very grace and glory of that union will supersede the thoughts you ever once had about wondering whether you'd have a body or not! Ultimately therefore, it is the faith and belief in Christ and the resurrection that aids humanity in its present state, and one should hopefully avoid the doubt that propounds humanity to disbelief.
In this complicated topic, it is undoubtedly most adequate to say that nobody really knows (ah, the most concrete statement a hopeful theologian can state!), and as such, I shall leave you with the wise words of Daniel-Rops:
To those who can understand that the ultimate explanation of the universe does not lie in the realm of how or why, [...] it sums up and justifies the mystery of our being (453)
Works cited:
Bornkamm, Gunter. Jesus of Nazareth (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1960)
Dominian, Jack. One Like Us: A Psychological Interpretation of Jesus (London: Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd, 1998)
Daniel-Rops. Jesus in His Time (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1956)
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