\begin{chapter}{The Crucified and Resurrected Revealer}
    The concept of the Trinity follows from the Paschal Mystery (the death and resurrection of Jesus and the pouring out of the Spirit): the Father gave up the Son, the Son was given up or gave Himself up. The Spirit gave Christ the new life of the resurrection, in which everyone can take part. The sign of the cross directly links the concept of the Trinity with the Paschal Mystery. It revealed that God is present also in suffering.

    \subsubsection*{Revelation through the cross}

    Including Jesus in the image of the Israelite God is no break with monotheism. The Christian God is both a Master of the Universe, as in the Jewish tradition, and One close to the oppressed. And, it was truly God who was crucified.

    We can trace the progressive way the first Christians look at the cross through Paul, Mark, Luke and John:

    \begin{description}
        \item[Paul:] all this happened to the glory of God the Father.
        \item[Mark:] Jesus was the Son of God, although this was recognised only with His death.
        \item[Luke:] even the earthly Jesus already bore the Spirit. With Whit Sunday, Jesus is the Co-Sender of that Spirit.
        \item[John:] Jesus is the divine Revealer of God the Father and promises the sending/coming of the Holy Spirit. In this Gospel we find the clearest picture of the Trinity.
    \end{description}

    Both Paul and John the evangelist address the theme of \emph{divine love}. This is not only a means, but in the Johannine epistles also the identity of God.

    Also in the cross alone (i.e. without linking it to the resurrection) we find an important theme, namely `\emph{ubi dolor, ibi Christus}' or `\emph{ubi crux, ibi Christus}'.

    \subsubsection*{Revelation through the resurrection}

    According to Augustine, it is the belief of the resurrection that distinguishes the Christian faith from other religions. Fundamental theologians must therefore perform \emph{the apologetic task} of putting a reasonable case for accepting the resurrection, and \emph{the doctrinal task} of showing how it embodies the fullness of revelation.

    \subsubsection*{A case for the resurrection}
    We need to cover three areas:
    
    \begin{enumerate}
        \item Clarification of the meaning of the Easter claim.
        \item Exploration of the grounds of that claim.
        \item Effect--cause or `novelties-to-explain' argumentation.
    \end{enumerate}

    \subsubsection*{The meaning of the claim}
    Reductionists may offer the view that Jesus didn't actually rise but rather `rose in the minds and hearts of his disciples', that is, read the relevant parts of the New Testament as figure of speech. Jesus' resurrection would then primarily be a personal resurrection in the life of the disciples. However, that is in conflict with some biblical texts. 
    
    Also the Gospels focus mostly on Jesus' story, not on that of the disciples. The resurrection primarily affected Jesus, and secondarily His followers (through appearances). 

    Others, like Hume, accept the \emph{meaning} of the resurrection while rejecting its \emph{truth} (reductionists alter the meaning so that they may accept the truth, which has been altered thereby as well).

    \subsubsection*{The Easter appearances}
    The Easter appearances all have the following in common:

    \begin{itemize}
        \item They happen on Jesus' initiative.
        \item There is an aspect of `ordinariness', unlike with other communication from God.
        \item They were revealing events.
        \item They were a special experience.
        \item They had something to do with the non-transferable mission of the person to whom Jesus appeared.
        \item They were in some sense visually perceptive.
    \end{itemize}

    Some people try to account scientifically for the Easter appearances, however, these analogies always fail at crucial points.

    \subsubsection*{The discovery of the empty tomb}
    There is a number of reasons why we may find the stories (in the Markan tradition and in John) of the discovery of the empty tomb historically reliable.

    First, in the Gospels there is some discussion \emph{why} the tomb was empty, but there is no question whether it really was empty.

    Second, if the story were invented by the first Christians, they would have let male disciples make the discovery.

    Third, we find also Paul talking about Christ rising `from the dead' in a physical manner, using exactly the same words as the evangelists.

    Lastly, it should be noted that in Pharisaic thinking like that of Paul, a resurrection without empty tomb would be inconceivable.

    \subsubsection*{Novelties to explain}
    Augustine and others have proposed different reasons why we should think God was at work in the spreading of Christianity:

    \begin{itemize}
        \item The disciples were uneducated and spread Christianity quickly.
        \item Unlike the founders of other world religions, Jesus did not have a long career or strong military backing.
    \end{itemize}

    There are other novelties that we need to explain:

    \begin{itemize}
        \item The notion of a failing, suffering Messiah was uncommon to pre-Christian Judaism.
        \item Also, the whole resurrection theme that was so central to early Christian preaching, cannot be found in contemporary Judaism or in Jesus' teaching.
    \end{itemize}

    \subsubsection*{The resurrection as revealing: Jesus, God, human beings and their world}
    \begin{description}
        \item[Jesus] The resurrection justified the authority with which He made claims during Jesus' life. But this is not merely apologetics. We shouldn't understand the resurrection in terms of proof, but rather of revelation and vindication. Also, the resurrection is different from common miracles. Also, we can't really read the Gospels as if Jesus was aware of His ultimate relation to God -- He called Him ``Abba'', which still preserves some distance.
        \item[God] By the resurrection, God was shown in an (a) suffering, (b) new life and (c) unconditional divine love. These themes weren't uncommon in pre-Christian Judaism, but Jesus' resurrection reiterates them. In these three themes, we also see (a) the Son, (b) the Father and (c) the Spirit.
        \item[Human beings] The first apostles, starting with Paul and continuing with Matthew and Luke, explained the resurrection with strong trinitarian language. However, it should also be noted that the idea of the Trinity came up much later than the apostles and evangelists were active.
        \item[The world] The resurrection shows that God's plan to resurrect human beings and the world has already been initiated.
    \end{description}
\end{chapter}

