{"id":8820,"date":"2006-04-11T06:49:17","date_gmt":"2006-04-11T13:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/2006\/04\/11\/i-believe-in-the-resurrection-of-the-dead.html"},"modified":"2006-04-11T06:49:17","modified_gmt":"2006-04-11T13:49:17","slug":"i_believe_in_th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/04\/11\/i_believe_in_th.html","title":{"rendered":"“I believe in the resurrection of the dead …”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Those word are from the Nicene Creed<\/a>, written in AD 325 at the Council of Nicaea, edited and affirmed in Constantinople in AD 381. It’s the most ecumenical Christian theological statement (besides the Bible) around, used, formally or informally, in a multitude of Christian denominations, from the Presbyterians to the Catholics and Eastern Orthodox (and including us wacky Episcopalians).<\/p>\n

Interestingly enough, one of the matters it raises (in that very passage) is the physical resurrection of the body, which is seen by many scholars as a key element of Christian theology — but which most Americans (religious or not) don’t actually believe in<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Only 36 percent of the 1,007 adults interviewed by the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University said “yes” to the question: “Do you believe that, after you die, your physical body will be resurrected someday?” Fifty-four percent said they do not believe, and 10 percent were undecided.<\/p>\n

“This reflects the very low state of doctrinal preaching in our churches,” said Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and editor of the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology.<\/p>\n

“I continually am confronted by Christians, even active members of major churches, who have never heard this taught in their local congregations,” he said. “We have a lowest-common-denominator Christianity being taught in so many denominations that has produced a people who simply do not know some of the most basic Christian truths.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I guess you can count me in that number, since it’s not something that’s been a centerpiece of teaching or preaching at any of the churches I’ve attended. Frankly, though I’ve been aware of the concept, it’s never seemed all that significant to me (even without my own odd ideas of the Afterlife). It’s like arguing whether one gets silver or gold robes upon joining the Choir Invisible — an interesting question over a few beers, but not worth sweating, and hardly a “basic Christian truth.” I mean, did Jesus spend a lot of time teaching about the resurrection of the body?<\/p>\n

Part of what makes reading that news story last night amusing is that, driving Katherine home from aftercare at her school yesterday, she suddenly asked me, “Do you think we get another body?”<\/p>\n

After I managed to understand the context in which she was speaking — getting another body after we die — I told her, “Well, there are some people who believe that, after we die, we get born again as a little baby, until we learn enough to move onto something else. And some people, like at our church, believe when we die we go to Heaven, and some of them believe we have a body there, too.”<\/p>\n

We chatted a bit more. “Do you think maybe if you’re a girl, God could give you a boy’s body, and if you’re a boy, God could give you a girl’s body?” she asked.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know. I suppose if God wanted to. People might learn something that way. I don’t remember having another body, myself, but, then, I might not.”<\/p>\n

“I think that would be funny.”<\/p>\n

A bit more chit-chat, which I wrapped up with, “Some people get into big arguments about what happens after we die, and if we get a different body or the same body or things like that. But you know what I think God is most interested in?”<\/p>\n

“What?”<\/p>\n

“How we behave while we’re here <\/em>in these <\/em>bodies.”<\/p>\n

“Uh-huh.”<\/p>\n

My own subtle religious brainwashing at work … and I marvel at the sort of questions she’s becoming able to raise and formulate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Those word are from the Nicene Creed, written in AD 325 at the Council of Nicaea, edited and affirmed in Constantinople in AD 381. 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Because, of course, a Baptism Certificate will clear up whether Obama is a Christian.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics & Law"","block_context":{"text":"Politics & Law","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Hitler_Baptism_Certificate.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Hitler_Baptism_Certificate.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Hitler_Baptism_Certificate.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Hitler_Baptism_Certificate.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Hitler_Baptism_Certificate.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Hitler_Baptism_Certificate.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":808,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2001\/11\/13\/theres_torture.html","url_meta":{"origin":8820,"position":2},"title":"There’s torture, and then there’s torture","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 13-Nov-01 9:20am","format":false,"excerpt":"Collin Levey notes in the Christian Science Monitor how talk of using torture on terrorism suspects has \"in dizzying speed ... gone from the province of the deranged and authoritarian...","rel":"","context":"In "Geopolitical Brouhaha"","block_context":{"text":"Geopolitical Brouhaha","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/geopolitical-brouhaha"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8916,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/03\/23\/it_had_to_be_bu.html","url_meta":{"origin":8820,"position":3},"title":"It had to be bunnies!","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 23-Mar-06 11:02am","format":false,"excerpt":"The Easter Bunny -- secular icon that offends Christians and non-Christians alike! On the non-Christian side ... The Easter Bunny has been sent packing at St. Paul City Hall. A...","rel":"","context":"In "Religion"","block_context":{"text":"Religion","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/religion"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/images\/bunny.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":50975,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/05\/11\/the-christian-right-catches-up-with-modern-history.html","url_meta":{"origin":8820,"position":4},"title":"The Christian Right catches up with modern history","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 11-May-15 4:55pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Christians are being persecuted horribly. Eek! They're taking away our Years!A.D. vs. C.E.: Silent Christian bashing: http:\/\/www.wnd.com\/2015\/05\/a-d-vs-c-e-silent-christian-bashing\/At issue is a continuing shift in the academic community, and now beyond, to replace the use of A.D. and B.C. in dates with C.E. and _B.C.E. (usually rendered as \"Common Era,\" sometimes \"Current\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/shutterstock_251014447-1050x5905B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/shutterstock_251014447-1050x5905B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/shutterstock_251014447-1050x5905B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20658,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/04\/04\/bryan-fischer-is-a-dolt-creed-screed-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":8820,"position":5},"title":"Bryan Fischer is a Dolt (Creed Screed Edition)","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 4-Apr-11 4:36pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Bryan Fischer, sir, you are the gift that keeps giving for providing the fodder for blog posts. 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