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If you had one question about the Bible,
... what would it be? Now that I'm in PhD study, I get asked what my dissertation will be on. A dissertation is an opportunity to spend an extended time researching and writing about one question. This semester I had to choose that question. I spent a lot of time in prayer, and talked with friends and professors. So ... drumroll please ... my dissertation will look at the belief in resurrection in the Old Testament! "What?!" you say. Let me explain.
I was surprised to learn that most scholars--even evangelical scholars--dismiss any belief in resurrection in the Old Testament. They believe that resurrection was not conceived until the 2nd century BC. Passages that seem to refer to resurrection are few and far between, they can seem ambiguous, and sometimes even seem pessimistic about the afterlife (e.g. Psalm 6:5).
Yet if this is the case, it means Peter was wrong in Acts 2 when he said that Psalm 16 referred to Christ's resurrection. It also means Paul is wrong when he says that not only Christ's death, but his resurrection was "according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor 15:4). The book of Hebrews is wrong when it says Abraham believed Isaac could be resurrected (Heb 11:19 c.f. Gen 22). And, most significantly, it means Jesus was wrong when he told the Sadducees "You are deceived, because you don't know the scriptures or the power of God." (Matt 22:29). Jesus makes the point that the patriarchs must have been still living because God uses the present tense when he tells Moses, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
I hope to show that the ancient Israelites not only believed in life after death, they were expecting a resurrection. Send me an email if you think I'm on track, of if you think there is a different question I could tackle.
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The school year ends today for our children. Addie just turned 16, and this semester she continued her Chinese study at a local Community College. Diego will turn 12 in June. He is looking forward to his summer holidays when he can sleep in, not do homework, and start the lawn care business he and his friends have dreamed up. 
