32. The Resurrection Appearances, Part Two. From Justin to Celsus.

BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY concludes its look at the Resurrection Appearances of Jesus. Host Chris Palmero examines the common elements of these legends, from the point at which Jesus appears to his disciples all the way up to his ascension at the end. The versions of the Resurrection as told by Celsus, the ancient pagan critic of Christianity, as well as the lost book called the Preaching of Peter, are also explored. Finally, Justin Martyr's version of the Resurrection story is analyzed, to see whether he is in fact using the New Testament Gospels as his source.

Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about the earliest evidence for Christians in the city of Rome; why Jesus and the disciples are sometimes said to eat a meal during the Resurrection Appearance; why Jesus invites the disciples to touch him in some stories; about how Celsus' story of the Resurrection clashes with that of the New Testament; the Preaching of Peter and its possible links to Mark's Gospel; and the true source of Justin's strange "account" of the Resurrection.

Opening reading: the Roman poet Martial, from the turn of the second century, grumbles about his neighbor in the manner of Annette Benning from American Beauty.