Another winner from Beth Newman who teaches theology at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond:
My observations have been raised by others as have the typical responses: that the real business of the church is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, defend the oppressed. That is certainly true. But as our friend Christopher Hitchens has pointed out, it is the height of arrogance to imagine that one must be religious in order to be just, compassionate, or caring. To speak of the Resurrection is certainly not the only way to underwrite a particular way of life. But it is our way.
A couple years ago N. T. Wright debated? discussed? the resurrection with John Dominic Crossan at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. According to someone who went Crossan said something like “whether the resurrection happened or not what matters is that you live its meaning”. I would ask “then why believe in it at all?”
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