I have always wondered what reason one would give for being a Christian if there was no resurrection. I am asking this in all honesty because I cannot comprehend why I would align myself with this faith if Jesus did not rise from the dead. If you deny the resurrection of Jesus what motivates you to be a Christian?
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the archives near Emmaus 
I imagine some folks would say that they like the teachings of Jesus or something of the like. But in that case I suppose Rabbinic Judaism would be a good fit for them as well. As for me, if not for the resurrection of Christ I’d probably be a Muslim. It’s a very simple religion to comprehend: do more good than bad and you’ll make it to heaven. It’s basically the way I thought all of my pre-Christian life so it would seem the natural choice if not for the fact that Jesus defeated death and gave me hope for a future eternal life.
If I might be permitted to reverse the question, I wonder why most Christians continue to maintain a belief in Jesus’ bodily resurrection, while their view of the afterlife has in most cases shifted from the original “I will be raised on the last day” to “I will go to heaven when I die.” To think of the afterlife in terms of resurrection and regard Jesus as the firstfruits of the dead makes a certain sense. So too would rethinking the nature of afterlife and rethinking the form in which it takes for Jesus as well as everyone else. But to view Jesus one way and the more general view of afterlife another seems to me an odd hodge-podge. But that is the most widespread viewpoint among Christians, I think – in practice if not in theory.
@James,
I agree and I think most Christians have a disconnect in their eschatology at this point. Yesterday I listened to a quadriplegic man give an inspiring testimony about how God can use our suffering here for his purposes and how one day if God does not heal him now he will walk, shake hands, and hug in his new body. Then he went on to talk about “going to heaven when we die” and how our eternal home is “up there”. I was confused by this.
Why rejoice in an resurrection, Spirit-animated, eternal body only to speak of using it in a ethereal heaven?
@Nick,
I am not sure what religion I would choose. When I was in my mid-teens, before I really committed my life to Christ and “faith seeking understanding”, I considered myself a Deist. I couldn’t say I was an Atheist because that was such a bold epistemological claim. I couldn’t affirm Christianity because it seemed that God was absent in day to day life. Maybe I would still be a Deist, but probably an Agnostic?
For me it begins with the faith community in which I was formed, which was warm and welcoming. I grew up in a pacifist tradition with an emphasis on practical service and peacemaking and following in the footsteps of Jesus. There never was a strong personal salvation message. It was there but not emphasized nearly as much as discipleship. Even though I never believed the miracle stories or the supernatural elements of the Bible I never found my questioning unwelcome. Church was community.
Still is. In addition I find the teachings of Jesus challenging: personally, socially, politically. I don’t believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus and find arguing about it distracting (with conservative members of my denomination and conservative friends). I don’t really care whether someone believes in the resurrection or not. I care about what difference our beliefs, whatever they are, make in the way we live our lives.
That is what I talk about as a pastor of a liberal church. I would also say that had I been brought up in a Buddhist tradition I could have been a happy Buddhist. I don’t think I could say the same about Islam.
@Jay,
In this construct what is the difference between you and your congregation and people who choose to live for themselves? It seems to me that the one who dies in the end with the most toys never had to worry about the Golden Rule, or the poor, and so forth. That person’s destiny is the same as someone who tried to be a good moral Christian.
Brian,
I hope you had a joyous Easter celebration. Your question, or some form of it, is one I get with some regularity and I must confess it perplexes me a bit. Are you meaning to suggest that if there was no resurrection, which demonstrates the power and reality of God and proves that there is some kind of life after death, that you would live a selfish life? It sounds like your motivation for being a good moral Christian is to make sure you end up in heaven.
First of all let me say that as I take a broad sweep of the history of Christianity I see very little evidence that Christians have behaved better than Buddhists or Muslims or atheists. This is not an indictment of Christianity just an observation about human nature.
Secondly, I think one can make the argument that emphasizing the way of Jesus as peacemaker and servant is a narrow road that is far from living for oneself. Whereas, being a good person so you can get into heaven sounds a lot to me like living for oneself even if it leads to good living.
Whatever happens to us after we die in the heavenly sphere, there is a real-world karmic-like justice that we leave behind us in this life. We leave a legacy with our children and our communities and the earth. Wanting to contribute something to the betterment of our world is plenty of motivation for living well. Being a disciple of Jesus is a way to do that. Heaven can take care of itself.
@Jay,
I can honestly say that if the resurrection never happened then the value of morals and “good” behavior seems to me to be a totally utilitarian endevour. On the one hand, if I do not plan on having kids, and I do not care what kind of world exists after I am dead, and there is no “life to come”, one cannot tell me I am “better” or “worse” if I decide to live for myself and myself only. On the other hand, if God is going to restore this world and we have the opportunity to be part of the restoration by participating in the movement that was launched when Jesus rose from the dead and the Holy Spirit came upon us then I can find motivation.
I am not speaking of behavior because I fear some cosmic judge (though I do), but behavior motivated by love for a purpose that goes beyond temporal sustainability. If God does not care to resurrect the created order then why should I? If God did begin to resurrect the created order, starting with Jesus, then I care! The paradigm shift between these two approaches to reality are great.
As regards Christian behavior in juxtaposition with Muslim or Buddhist behavior let me say that in part I find such a discussion misleading because (1) Christian behavior is something that is based on one’s position in relation to God and (2) it is not “moralism”. While Christians often fail to live “in the Spirit”,as Paul would call it, there is a difference between failing while being a Spirit-person who has faith in Christ and suceeding while rejecting Christ. The starting point is what is essentially of value.