The Resurrection Debate: Wrestling with the Center of Christian Faith (Exile Series)

Voxology

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2019

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Can you still call it Christianity if you don't believe Jesus physically rose from the dead? This episode of the Exile Series tackles one of the most crucial and controversial questions facing the church today: what still counts as "Christian" when key beliefs are dismantled?

Mike and Tim unpack an explosive New York Times interview with Union Seminary President Serene Jones, who claims one can believe in resurrection without believing that Jesus physically rose. This kicks off a deep dive into gatekeeping, core doctrine, theological mystery, and where—if anywhere—we draw lines. They explore Paul's declaration of "first importance" in 1 Corinthians 15, the implications of a metaphorical resurrection, and the struggle to balance love, inclusion, and truth without erasing the essence of Jesus's identity and mission.

Whether you're rebuilding your faith, deconstructing from harmful religious narratives, or curious about where theological boundaries should lie, this conversation offers honesty, nuance, and plenty of wrestling room.

Key Takeaways: • What If Jesus Didn't Physically Rise? – The implications of denying the bodily resurrection while holding onto Christian identity. • Gatekeeping & Grace – When it's necessary to define boundaries, what we're protecting, and how we do it without creating elitism or exclusion. • A Centered-Set Faith – Why Mike and Tim believe in moving toward Jesus as the identifiable center rather than drawing rigid lines around secondary beliefs. • The Resurrection as the Defining Claim – How Paul's first-century view in 1 Corinthians 15 re-centers the core of the gospel—and why it's still relevant. • Belief, Language, and Labels – Why self-identifying as "Christian" may not mean what we think it does if we remove its historical and theological basis.

Resources Mentioned: • 1 Corinthians 15 – Paul's statement on the gospel of first importance • Interview with Serene Jones – New York Times opinion by Nicholas Kristof • Set Theory & Centered-Set Church Model – Learn more about centered vs. bounded faith [episode link] • Voxology Facebook Group – Join the conversation and share your thoughts on gatekeeping and resurrection

Join us as we dive deep into reconstructing faith with honesty, clarity, and compassion. Got thoughts or pushback? We welcome your questions via email and encourage you to engage with us online.

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Music by Timothy John Stafford – Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

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Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

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Transcript

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0:00.0	And then the question, of course, becomes, well, how do you know your Christianity is any different, and not just another version of the other Christianity's?
0:17.8	And then we're into some really interesting stuff baby who
0:23.3	who everybody mike here welcome to the vox podcast so glad that you are tuning in welcome to
0:35.3	the show i'm here with my lovely and talented producer Tim. Tim say hello.
0:41.6	Hello, Vox. We've had a very big couple of weeks in the Vox podcast. Number one, I discovered that Tim has a pearl jam tattoo on his leg of the stick man from the early 90s.
0:58.5	It's important discoveries.
0:59.9	It is.
1:00.5	You know, just when I thought you couldn't be cooler.
1:04.7	I blow your mind.
1:06.6	The second thing that happened, of course, was that Jesus rose from the dead.
1:11.1	And obviously not within the last two weeks, but we celebrated the event within the last couple of weeks.
1:18.1	And then...
1:18.3	These are not in...
1:19.3	These are not in importance.
1:22.1	Well, and I was going to say...
1:24.6	The third one is that we both seen Avengers endgame. And, um,
1:30.8	and, uh, Thanos does not rise from the dead. Let's just, let's just, let's just,
1:35.7	spoilers. Spoilers. Put it that way. Um, so anyway, uh, and, and I, I'm, you know, I love my, my son, Nate and I love the Marvel movies. And we'm, you know, I love my son, Nate, and I love the Marvel movies, and we talk, you know, they spur a lot of discussion in our house.
1:51.1	Tim has been a comic book guy from, I mean, how old were you when you started getting into it?
1:56.1	As long as I can remember, my very first toy or stuffed animal that was purchased for me prior to my
2:04.0	coming out into this world, being born, I guess is the correct way to say that, was a Spider-Man
2:12.3	doll. And I still have it. That's my oldest, my oldest toy. So Spider-Man, I may go back as far as I can remember. Wow. Okay.
	...

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