Written by respected New Testament scholar George Eldon Ladd, I Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus weighs in at just over 150 pages and is unusual in that it provides an unabashed historical argument for the bodily resurrection of Jesus. For those who have trudged through weighty tomes devoted to the resurrection, the brevity of Ladd’s arguments will be a nice respite. But despite its length, I Believe delivers an informed and beneficial argument for the historical resurrection of Jesus.

Ladd begins by discussing the relationship between history and faith. He argues that certain matters related to faith, such as Jesus’ death, can be established by historical evidence. That Jesus died “for our sins,” however, is not penetrable by historical evidence. But what about the resurrection? If one rejects history as being merely the search for the best naturalistic explanation and instead looks for the best explanation possible, Ladd believes the resurrection is that explanation. He concedes this may not convince those who reject the existence of God or who insist on the best naturalistic explanation, but rightly recognizes that simply assuming naturalism is not he same as demonstrating it. Thus, in his own words, “[i]t is our purpose to establish the thesis that the bodily resurrection of Christ is the only adequate explanation to account for the resurrection faith and the admitted ‘historical facts.’”

The next chapter deals with the centrality of the resurrection to the New Testament message and is thankfully short. Perhaps this issue was more contentious in the 70s, but it seems unnecessary today. In any event, Ladd moves on to the best part of the book, which is several chapters examining beliefs about the after-life and resurrection in the Old Testament and ancient Judaism, as well as a chapter about messianic expectations and how they related, if at all, to resurrection belief. N.T. Wright’s The Resurrection of the Son of God covers some of the same ground in much more detail and reaches some of the same conclusions, most notably that the resurrection belief of Jesus’ disciples cannot be explained as simply outgrowths of the beliefs of their times. Something much more concrete is needed to explain the origins of Christian faith in the resurrection. Though obviously much shorter than Wright’s book, Ladd presents it well and with quick but informative references to primary sources.

Next, Ladd spends two chapters on the gospels, one on the Nature of the Gospels and the other on the Witness of the Gospels. The Nature of the Gospels is a short chapter that sets forth Ladd’s generally conservative conclusions on the dates and trustworthiness of the Gospels. It is too short to change minds, but lays the foundation for his evaluation of the Witness of the Gospels. The chapter on the Witness of the Gospels is a good one, though not nearly long enough to be a full historical-critical evaluation of them. Nevertheless, Ladd scores points by his straightforward grappling with the tension between the accounts of the empty tomb and resurrection appearances. In a rare but laudable move for a New Testament scholar, Ladd lays out his own harmonization (and it’s a pretty good one). He also is impressed by the Gospels’ failure to actually narrate any sort of resurrection, such as is found in the legendary Gospel of Peter. Other indications of reliability lead Ladd to conclude that seven historical facts may be gleaned from the gospels and related studies:

1. Jesus was dead and buried.
2. The disciples were not prepared for his death; they were overcome with confusion.
3. The tomb was found on Easter morning to be empty.
4. The empty tomb was not itself a proof of the resurrection. Mary thought the body has been stolen.
5. The disciples encountered certain experiences which they took to be appearances of Jesus risen from the dead. In the last analysis, it does not really matter where or to whom these appearances occurred.
6. Contemporary Judaism had no concept of a dying and rising Messiah.
7. The disciples proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem, near where he had been buried.

In an unorthodox move, Ladd only turns to the writings of Paul after discussing the Gospels. Once there, he first focuses on 1 Cor. 15 as “the most striking and important account of the resurrection appearances in the New Testament." As Ladd demonstrates, this is an early tradition pre-dating Paul and attests to the bodily nature of the resurrection (though with the transformation of the body). He goes on to refute the notion, still advanced by some today, that Paul considered his transformational encounter with Jesus to be a merely visionary event. Ladd points out that Paul himself discussed visionary encounters with God but always distinguished them from his encounter with the risen Jesus. All told, this chapter is an excellent examination of Paul’s understand of the resurrection.

Ladd’s next chapter, “’Historical’ Explanations,” brings it all home and wraps up the historical inquiry. The historian, he argues, has to cope with the facts established by the evidence and determine the best explanation for it. The evidence according to Ladd is as follows:

* a dying and rising Messiah was utterly unexpected;
* Jesus was dead;
* Jesus was buried;
* the disciples were disheartened and discouraged;
* on Easter Sunday the tomb was found empty;
* the fact of the undisturbed grave clothes;
* the disciples had certain experiences which they interpreted in terms of the person of Jesus, thus giving rise to the resurrection faith;
* the rise of the new movement based on the belief that Jesus was alive; and,
* the conversion of Paul.

Continuing his search for the best explanation for these historical facts, Ladd goes through the usual suspects of secular explanations, such as the stolen body theory, the swoon theory, and the wrong tomb theory. He finds them unpersuasive, though admittedly spends only a few paragraphs on each. As the title suggests, Ladd concludes that “Only the ‘hypothesis’ of actual bodily resurrection adequately explains the known historical facts. The only reason for not accepting the ‘biblical hypothesis’ is the conviction that it cannot be true.”

Ladd concludes with a short chapter entitled, “Does it Matter?” There seem to be many answers to that question, but Ladd focuses on how the resurrection of Jesus provides us with evidential support for the after-life in general and the Christian doctrine of the resurrection in particular.

I Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus is an excellent argument for the resurrection whose short length belies its value and persuasiveness. It is widely available for a reasonable price and is a worthy addition to any library. ( )