Jesus and the Resurrection

Handley Moule's "Jesus and the Resurrection" emerged from the Victorian era's intense debates over the historical reliability of Christian faith. Writing as both a Cambridge scholar and an Anglican bishop, Moule addressed educated Christians who found themselves caught between advancing historical criticism and their inherited faith. The work represents his conviction that rigorous scholarship and orthodox belief could be held together, not merely tolerated in uneasy coexistence.

Moule grounds his argument in careful examination of the Gospel accounts, treating them as historical documents worthy of the same serious analysis applied to other ancient texts. He methodically works through the resurrection narratives, addressing apparent discrepancies not by harmonizing them away but by showing how they function as marks of authentic testimony. The bishop's approach combines textual analysis with theological reflection, arguing that the resurrection accounts bear the unmistakable characteristics of eyewitness reporting rather than later mythological development. He pays particular attention to the transformation of the disciples, treating their changed behavior as a historical datum requiring explanation.

The work has endured because it models a scholarly apologetics that neither retreats into fideism nor capitulates to reductionist criticism. Moule's careful attention to both historical evidence and theological significance influenced subsequent generations of Anglican scholarship and evangelical apologetics. His integration of academic rigor with pastoral concern remains instructive for those seeking to engage intellectual challenges to faith.

Who should read this: Christians wrestling with historical questions about the resurrection, particularly those in academic settings or pastoral ministry. This is not introductory material but rather serious engagement requiring familiarity with biblical scholarship and apologetic arguments.