Is This All There Is? On Resurrection and Eternal Life

In this thoughtful, entertaining book, Lohfink (Jesus of Nazareth), a German Catholic priest and New Testament professor at the University of Tübingen, considers the Christian perspective on large questions of faith and the existence of an afterlife. He begins with an overview of theories about the afterlife from different religions and cultures over the millennia. With supporting quotes from tomb inscriptions, obituaries, poems, novels, scriptures, and philosophers, Lohfink offers perspectives from those skeptical of any afterlife to various understandings of the soul’s continuation—whether through descendants (as in Hindi traditions), reincarnation (Buddhism), or becoming one with the universe. Following this general summary, he focuses on the early Israelites’ relationship with the divine, exploring how their relationship with one God (rather than the many gods of their neighbors) infused a “radical worldliness.” This understanding, Lohfink asserts, then found affirmation in the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Asking big religious questions (such as, “Can God, whose nature is pure love, allow a part of humanity to suffer eternal hell, eternal torment?”) Lohfink takes aim at classic discussions of faith from a Christian perspective rooted in wonder and trust. This intelligent, gracious book is a welcome contribution to theological conversations about life, death, and resurrection. (Mar.)