I saw a report recently sharing the results of a new poll done by Scripps Howard and Ohio University, asking people about their belief in their own physical resurrections after death. Basically, most people don't think that they will really be raised from the grave in a physical sense. I might bring this up in my message for Easter Sunday.
If you had to guess, do you think most members of the UMC accept the Apostle's Creed statement of belief in the "resurrection of the body," or do you see more people accepting a doctrine of some kind of "spiritualized" resurrection?
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9 comments:
Sadly, I think UMC's in the poll would come out about about the same if not maybe less than 36%.
I think that is one doctrinal issue that I find I need to keep clarifying and restating in preaching as well as personal conversation.
Unfortunately the place where I probably need to say it more is also one of the more sensitive places for ministry: working with the grieving. Quite often, I find people holding so tightly to the idea that their loved one is already "resurrected" and in heaven doing all kinds of really cool stuff with other dead relatives that it is hard to speak another word that will actually be heard.
I find that people have a lot of trouble with holding onto mystery. They would rather have the certainty of an instant "resurrection" rather than try to hold on to the mystery of not really knowing what is happens with the idea of a bodily resurrection.
I agree...I think most in the UMC would say that they believe in a spiritualized ressurrection. It actually comes quites often in our church. Most people are somewhat surprised when I state that it will be a physical, bodily resurrection.
Those have been my impressions as well, especially with the grieving. I have not come up with a sensitive way to correct that, so I basically let it go. In putting together my materials for Easter, I have gone ahead and decided to talk about it, largely because it is an opporunity to teach at a time when grief, for most people, is not in the picture.
I am confused.
Larry, are you asking about the ressurection of our bodies or Jesus' bodily ressurection?
I am talking about the resurrection of our own bodies.
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
1 Cor. 15:42-44
I used this at a funeral yesterday. There will be a physical resurrection, but I don't believe it will be the same bodies. These are perishible and mortal and phyical. The new bodies will be imperishable, immortal and spiritual.
Greg, that's exactly what my pastor said in his sermon last Sunday. I tend to agree.
As for the rest of y'all dealing with the idea of instant spiritual transition to heaven, I think you're right in just letting it go. Chances are we've got a stack of things that aren't quite right with our theology, anyway.
it's an interesting question. I've heard the resurrection of the body being a reason NOT to cremate. sigh
I have to say that I am not real clear on the concept of the "resurrection of the body" even though the tomb was empty on that Easter morning so long ago. It confuses me that on the road to Emmaus, they did not recognize the Christ. So if He was resurrected in His own body - that is, the one they surely would have recognized - why did they not recognize Him then?
It is also interesting that Muslims do not believe in cremation as a means of burial because they, too, believe in a physical resurrection on the Day of the Lord. How does this mesh with our belief in the resurrection if we choose cremation as a means of burial?
I have to say, I don't know what I believe about that except that it's not in my hands.
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