Interpreting the resurrection

On Easter Sunday, millions of church leaders will preach about the Resurrection. But how will they want their congregants to understand their sermon? Literally? Symbolically? Or both?

Most Christians accept Christ's resurrection as a historical event. The tomb was empty on Easter morning, the Gospel writers say, and Jesus was seen alive after his crucifixion.

Some, however, view the resurrection solely as a symbol of inner transformation.

"The Easter story is about hope and promise," said the Rev. David Hunting of the Community Congregational Church of Manitou Springs. "Out of the darkness of the tomb can come new light in our lives."

Between those views are those who consider the Resurrection as both history and symbol. "In human events is where I discover the risen Christ, I see God present in the human condition," said Paul Wicker, priest at Holy Apostles Catholic Church in Colorado Springs.

Indeed, views of clergy run the gamut when it comes to the meaning of Easter. While fundamentalist preachers tend to stick to the literal, many clergy at evangelical, Orthodox and Catholic churches, as well as mainline and liberal Protestant sects, have a broader interpretation of the risen Christ.

Historical Jesus

The majority of Christians believe that Christ's death was a vicarious atonement for the sins of the human race. The risen Christ is central to their faith.

"If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins," wrote Paul in 1 Corinthians.

A symbolic interpretation diminishes Christ's sacrifice, conservative theologians say.

"A symbolic thing is nothing more than a vapor," said the Rev. Brad Bowles of Calvary Worship Center in Colorado Springs.

Numerous scholars have examined the Bible for evidence that the resurrection actually happened. One of their arguments is Paul's claim that there were 500 witnesses of the risen Christ. Paul's account is credible, they say, because the saint received his information directly from the apostles.

As convincing as that biblical exegesis may be, some people still yearn for physical evidence. Believers say it's there in the Shroud of Turin.

A documentary appearing today on BBC 2 in the United Kingdom argues that the shroud, the cloth the crucified Christ may have been wrapped in for entombment, could be genuine.

Doubts were cast on the shroud's authenticity in 1988 when carbon-14 dating concluded it was of medieval origin. According to the documentary, "Shroud of Turin: Material Evidence," a recent analysis suggests that the 1988 sample might have been flawed, which could have thrown off the results by 1,500 years.

Among the documentary's experts are John and Rebecca Jackson of the Turin Shroud Center in Colorado Springs.

Rebecca Jackson said the relic brims with evidence of Jewish burial practices from the early centuries, such as the figure's open palms and the shroud's division into Jewish cubits.

John Jackson said, "If the shroud is authentic, it would give us a window into the tomb of Christ. Christianity was born inside that tomb."

A powerful myth

At the other end of the spectrum from the literalists are those who see the Resurrection as a symbol of man kind's ability to transform.

Still, pastors who don't believe in a historical Resurrection still agree that something happened 2,000 years ago that gave rise to Christianity and radically changed Western civilization.

Pre-Christian pagan myths about the death of a god-man who is resurrected in spring influenced the Christian Easter story, the pastors say. Others say Christianity spread so quickly in the ancient world because people were already familiar with the pagan myths of death and rebirth.

The Rev. Benjamin Broadbent, of First Congregational Church downtown, said a strict literal reading of the Bible is a modern invention. Early Christians understood the rich symbolism of the Bible, including Christ's resurrection. "Something happened historically," Broadbent said, "but I always bristle at overly literal, graphic interpretations."

On Easter Sunday, the Rev. Matthew Johnson-Doyle of High Plains Church Universalist in Colorado Springs will preach about the metaphorical power of Christ's resurrection.

"It can remind us of the hope that lives in our hearts," Johnson-Doyle said.

Facts and symbols

Numerous pastors believe there's a middle ground that acknowledges the Resurrection as fact, but also accepts its symbolic relevance.

Holy Apostles' Wicker, who views the Resurrection as fact and symbol, sees the risen Christ in whomever overcomes a setback or discovers an insight - a victory over spiritual death.

"We have within us the human capacity of life over death," Wicker said.

The Orthodox Church views the Resurrection similarly.

The Rev. Anthony Karbo said that without the historical event, the symbolism of the Resurrection is an abstraction. But when both are accepted, the risen Christ becomes deeply relevant today.

"Our suffering with Christ, our being crucified with Christ, our being raised with Christ in that glorious resurrection happens all the time within us," said Karbo of Holy Theophany Orthodox Church in Colorado Springs.

Joe Pickle, a retired religion professor at Colorado College downtown, believes the symbolic is a natural outgrowth of the historic, and they must co-exist.

"You can't separate the two, and there are a lot of ranges in between.

"If it doesn't have symbolic power, it doesn't have much meaning."

CONTACT THE WRITER: mark.barna@gazette.com or 636-0367.