This book identifes trajectories of thought in antiquity on immortality and the afterlife in which both Judaism and Christianity changed from positing afterlife scenarios of the soul alone, to ones which insisted on-in the case of Christianity, to the point of being theological orthodoxy-the necessity of a post-mortem physical body.
"F. has certainly given us much to think about. His assertion that Paul's afterlife is consistent with his exposition of Second Temple literature in chapter 3, as well as the opposition he sees between Paul's resurrected Christ as a 'glorified spiritual entity' and the resurrected fleshly body of Christ in the Gospels of Luke and John, is well argued."
- Seth Cole, SOTS Book List 2017
"Finney's work uses reception history to trace the major movements in the history of an idea and provides an interesting window into a concept that has been at the centre of theological reflection for millennia. His thoughtful conclusions inspire the reader to think seriously about the way that we employ the afterlife in our own world, seeing an old idea from new angles."
- Meghan Henning, University of Dayton, OH, USA in Theology journal, issue 120.4 (July/August).
"Overall, Finney's work is to be praised for its scope and ambition. It is refreshing to encounter a biblical studies monograph that attempts to do so much with such brevity and accessibility to non-specialists."
- Reed Carlson, Harvard University, Reading Religion, Sep. 2018
- Seth Cole, SOTS Book List 2017
"Finney's work uses reception history to trace the major movements in the history of an idea and provides an interesting window into a concept that has been at the centre of theological reflection for millennia. His thoughtful conclusions inspire the reader to think seriously about the way that we employ the afterlife in our own world, seeing an old idea from new angles."
- Meghan Henning, University of Dayton, OH, USA in Theology journal, issue 120.4 (July/August).
"Overall, Finney's work is to be praised for its scope and ambition. It is refreshing to encounter a biblical studies monograph that attempts to do so much with such brevity and accessibility to non-specialists."
- Reed Carlson, Harvard University, Reading Religion, Sep. 2018







