The argument that the resurrection belief is of great importance to modern day Christians is in my opinion correct as it provides the proof to many Christians that Jesus was who he said he was and not just a teacher or healer, s he predicted that the son of god would arise from the dead. This does not mean it the most important belief however as Christianity is adapt at altering meaning to fit its interpretations. Therefore if he were not resusrected his teachings would probably still have been distributed and many people would have argued that he was resurrected in the kingdom of God. The counter argument of course to this is that without this proof that he was the Son of God it would have been far less likely to spread through the Roman Empire, as this was the penultimate miracle. Though if the resurrection did occur then I do not believe that it greatly influenced the disciples who spread the word as the word consists mainly of parables and teachings.
The continuation of the argument that Jesus’ teachings were of greater importance is supported by the fact that only 2 pages out of 55 pages of the gospel are about Jesus’ resurrection whereas about 10 pages are about his death and suffering and so implies that the death and the meaning for the death of Jesus are far more important than his resurrection. The supposed reason for his death being that he died for us absolving us of our sins would appear to me to be much more important to a Christian with a God that I view as being very vengeful, if he exists. The word spread by the disciple’s centres mainly on Jesus dying for us and not on him resurrection. However some Christians believe that the resurrection is the most important part of Christianity, that it is the keystone of the religion. They would argue that it proves to them that there is a life after death, which would spur many, people on to live a life of sacrifice as they are ‘promised’ an eternal life of bliss, and thus is a incentive to do good. They would probably also argue that without this belief the death of Jesus has no meaning. I view this as a view that is inflammatory to most Christians as his death was meant to be a sacrifice for man, or even by man giving up their ‘greatest gift’.
I do believe that a Christian ideal of forgiveness is expressed in the resurrection as Jesus forgive Peter, though I believe that this fundamental element of Christianity as the Greatest Commandment according to Jesus was ‘love the lord your God’, followed by ‘Love thy neighbour as you love yourself’ (Mk 12-28) and I assume that forgiveness is a key element within love. Others would claim that if it were not for the resurrection the element of forgiveness would be forgotten, which is when people opposed to this idea say that this is the most important message.
The argument against the resurrection being the most important element of the beliefs of Christians are greatly supported in relation to the Parables, healings and Jesus’ character. After all a Christian is meant to model their life as closely to Jesus as possible and therefore the stories tell them that the life they need to live will be challenging, of self-sacrifice and service. Therefore to someone trying to model his or her life upon Jesus’ life the resurrection helps very little unless he is already dead. The same is true of the parable that tells ‘us’ of the qualities needed to enter the kingdom of God. The resurrection does not do this. There are also miracles that require faith, therefore the argument that the belief in the resurrection is vital to faith are actually false. In addition most Christians would say that belief in Jesus’ teachings are more relevant to our lives.
In contrast to the argument against the resurrection being the most important belief, the for argument uses the notion that all the people who have died because they believed the Jesus had resurrected will have died for no reason, in vain. In essence if he had not been resurrected it would destroy the notion of a forgiving God, as thousands would have died for a bad joke and so look incredibly stupid and pointless. The Christian church celebrating Easter as the most important festival supports this idea of the resurrection being the most important single event within the bible.
So, in conclusion after comparing both arguments I feel that the resurrection is not the least important part of Christianity, but it is NOT the most important aspect of the religion. This is because if there had only been the resurrection the Christian Church could not have been set up, as it would have no beliefs. However his teachings on their own tell us who he is, how to lead our lives, what to do and how to enter heaven.
