The Post-Resurrection Appearance Stories of the Gospel Tradition: A History-Of-Tradition Analysis with Text-Synopsis

‘The Post-Resurrection Appearance Stories of the Gospel Tradition’ Although there are innumerable studies of the Easter event, the spectrum of New Testament research demonstrates an astonishing vacuum regarding a history-of-tradition analysis of the Easter appearance stories, especially in the application of the form-critical method. This study begins with a methodological review of the more recent literature and challenges the widely accepted view that the appearance stories are to be excluded from consideration of the origins of Easter faith. Because of the far-reaching confusion over the place of these stories within the complex of the resurrection traditions, Part Two scans the distinctions and relationships between them. In Part Three the author concentrates upon the appearance stories themselves and raises the following questions: Are pre-redactional forms discernible? If so, do such demonstrate by comparison similarities of form and content? Does a NT ‘Gattung’ stand behind them? And, finally, Part Four probes the matter of analogies in the world of primitive Christianity, while Part Five summarizes and asks provisionally if observations of a formal nature invite suggestive possibilities for further work on the question of historical experience behind the stories. An attempt at critical review of such questions is long overdue.