The Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus as Bereavement Experiences: An Engagement with Gerald O'Collins

In recent years, debate has resumed regarding whether or not the post-resurrection appearances may have been hallucinations or delusions on the part of the disciples. A sub-category of this debate is the question of bereavement hallucinations. Was the disciples' bereaved state in the wake of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Irish theological quarterly
Main Author: Smith, Stephen Harry 1951- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage [2020]
In: Irish theological quarterly
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B O'Collins, Gerald 1931- / Resurrection / Appearance / Grief / Hallucination
IxTheo Classification:KDB Roman Catholic Church
NBE Anthropology
NBF Christology
Further subjects:B Bereavement
B O'Collins
B Delusions
B Rees
B Hallucinations
B Parapsychology
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
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Summary:In recent years, debate has resumed regarding whether or not the post-resurrection appearances may have been hallucinations or delusions on the part of the disciples. A sub-category of this debate is the question of bereavement hallucinations. Was the disciples' bereaved state in the wake of the crucifixion responsible for their ‘seeing' Jesus? A few years ago, Gerald O'Collins, in this journal, argued, on the basis of a comparison between the two, that, despite a few similarities, the differences between them are too great to justify the so-called ‘hallucination hypothesis.' The question remains problematic, however, partly because biblical scholars do not take the contributions of professional psychologists and psychiatrists seriously enough. In the present article I examine O'Collins's arguments, reaching a different, though undogmatic conclusion from his own.
ISSN:1752-4989
Contains:Enthalten in: Irish theological quarterly
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0021140020906915