Debates over the Resurrection of the Dead: Constructing Early Christian Identity.By Outi Lehtipuu.

Abstract

The issue of the resurrection of the dead was a controversial one both in Judaism and Christianity but it became especially so in the latter. In this monograph Outi Lehtipuu argues that Christian concerns with formulating a precise doctrine of the resurrection, in particular as this related to the form in which the dead would be raised, and to a lesser extent the timetable of that resurrection, became for some a determinant of whether a person could be deemed a Christian or not. There was, then, a relationship in some people’s mind, mainly that of the elite, Lehtipuu contends, between Christian identity and resurrection belief, and it is the aim of the book to show the ways in which this relationship manifests itself. The book, then, is to some extent about that ever-popular subject in early Christian studies of identity construction, taking a particular concept and showing how it contributes to that theme.