The resurrection of the Messiah /

As in his Render to Caesar (CH, Jul'06, 43-6462), Bryan (Univ. of the South) here admirably blends scholarship with clarity. Literary, historical, and theological methodologies play significant roles in this study. To provide a reader-friendly text, Bryan removed the endnotes (243 pages) from the body of the text (189 pages). The notes are saturated with data and interpretive insights that make the book much more valuable. As much as possible, Bryan wants to stay with "historical certainties.. He begins with three certainties: subsequent to Jesus's crucifixion, the Christian church came into existence; Christians said the church surfaced because God raised Jesus from the dead; and the dead usually remain dead. Paul (1 Cor 15:3b-5) constructed the four-point "apostolic proclamation": Christ died for humankind's sins; Christ was buried; Christ was raised on the third day; and the risen Christ appeared. Four evangelists adopted this "apostolic" formula to narrate their stories about Jesus. Indeed, Bryan painstakingly demonstrates that all New Testament authors subsequent to Paul wrote from this Pauline framework; they and Paul, along with church councils, have argued for a "bodily resurrection.. Advanced students should find this volume helpful. Seasoned scholars will find it useful in studying resurrection. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty. J. W. McCant emeritus, Point Loma Nazarene University