Gregory was the bishop of Tours at the end of the 6th century. In his “History of the Franks” he shows us that skepticism about the resurrection is not new. Around the year 590, Gregory reports that one of his priests doubted the resurrection, saying that while he could believe that Jesus rose from the dead, he couldn’t imagine how God would raise the bodies of others (especially those who were burned by fire, or devoured by wild animals) [History of the Franks, X.13]
Paul deals with the same claim. Some people in the first century seemed okay with the resurrection of Jesus, but objected to the resurrection of everyone else. The resurrection was a controversial doctrine – both for Jews and for Greeks. The Sadducees were a Jewish group that denied the resurrection of the body. And most Greeks thought that the resurrection was absurd – the body is the source and occasion for most of the pain and suffering we endure, so why would you want your body back?
Paul replies that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
If you understand who Christ is then his resurrection becomes the paradigm for everyone else.
And that is why Paul begins with “preaching and history”...
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