You know when you find something great, like Dickey’s BBQ, and you think “how could I have gone so long without this?” I am feeling this way about Brunner. A great thanks to Charles Miller for introducing me and to Jim for adding to my reading list. Now, on to the resurrection and history.
Thus here—and here alone—the situation is that an event which is relatively unique in the sense of secular history is apprehended by faith as an event which by its very essence is absolutely or unconditionally unique. The historical event on Calvary, fundamentally appreciable by everyone as such, is the visible shell of the invisible kernel—the absolutely unique—which can only be apprehended by faith.
— Eternal Hope, (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1954), p. 35.
2 thoughts on “More Brunner on the Resurrection”
My Dear Brother in Jesus,
I am so glad that Dr. Brunner is being helpful for you. One day we shall meet him in heaven. Can you imagine that? I know you can. I would like to recommend another book to you by Philosopher J.P. Moreland. It is called Beyond Death. It does give various Christian eschatological views; however, on page 226, I believe you will find something very interesting. He uses another name for Instantaneous Resurrection. Dr. Moreland calls it the Perspectival View. He says the following: The second nontraditional view is the perspectival position. It claims the following: Sometimes scientific advances legitimately change our understanding of biblical passages. No one today believes the sun literally rises or sets, nor do we think that when the angels come from the four corners of the world, they cross a flat earth. Time is part of the created order and belongs entirely to this world. In the same way, we now know that time is part of the space-time physical universe, and time is relative to a frame of reference. Suppose there are twins A and B. If A remains on earth while B travels in a spaceship near the speed of light, B will be younger than A when he arrives back on earth. Time shrinks with increased velocity. Further, two events can appear simultaneous to one observer, and they can appear to happen at different times to a second observer in a rapidly moving spaceship flying overhead. Whatever happens to a person after death, we have no reason to believe they remain in our space-time system. According to the perspectival view, when a believer dies, he goes to be with Christ and receives his resurrection body. From his perspective, there is no time gap between death and bodily entrance into Christ’s presence. But from our perspective here on earth, there is a time interval between death and resurrection. The whole problem of the intermediate state’s being a literal state of disembodiment arises because we erroneously view the state of the dead from our time-bound perspective.
Chris, I think of that every time I visit my parents at Meadowbrook in Suffolk.
Charles
Dear Chris,
I know it will be some time before you finish you research. Please let me know when it is published. I am quite sure that it will be an interesting study. God bless, Charles