The Rules of Resurrection

And why you should read some urban fantasy

We are still in the season of Easter and reflecting on the resurrection of Jesus. This is something we have a hard time getting our heads around because the ‘rules of resurrection’ are unclear the more you think about them.

Jesus’s resurrection body bears his wounds and scars. But what does that mean for our own resurrection bodies? Jesus was able to disappear and reappear, vanishing from the couple on the Road to Emmaus, or appearing in a locked room. How did that happen given Jesus’s body is real? After all, he ate with them, didn’t he?

I’ve heard it said that Jesus’s body was not less real than the walls and the door, but that his body is even more real. This is a neat rhetorical flourish, but it doesn’t really get us very far. We live in a physical world, and we’re not Gnostics who think that’s a Bad Thing.

Then there’s the Matthew 27:51-53 problem. And yes, it is a problem. Theologise this:

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

Excuse me, what, now please? This sounds like a zombie apocalypse. But in a good way.

The commentaries that I’ve read on this verse put on a good show, explaining various options, alternatives and timelines before gingerly stating their preference, but they are clearly baffled by it. I wonder if the answers we seek are even available. The Bible does not dwell on the mechanics of how demons, dragons, giants and unclean spirits relate to this world and Hades. In the last few years, I’ve read a lot of books and listened to many podcasts about the deep weird, but the ‘rules of the risen dead’ are far from obvious.

So what do we do about this? For most of us in the rational, modern age, the solution is simple: pretend that Matthew 27:51-53 Isn’t there. But all around us, we are starting to see that rationalism and modernism breaking down. Many people are now realising that we have been blinded by the Enlightenment.

Previously, sceptical characters in TV shows or movies would see something weird and say, like Scully in the X-Files, “I’m sure there’s a perfectly rational explanation for this.” But, you know what? I don’t think there’s a perfectly rational explanation for anything, let alone everything.

The fact is that the spirit of the age has trained our minds to see only the natural, and not the supernatural. So in this Easter season, why not engage imaginatively with the rules of resurrection by reading some Urban Fantasy?

What is Urban Fantasy?

Urban fantasy is a genre of novel set in the present, or near present, in a world that is recognisably our own. Stories intertwine supernatural elements, spirits, magic and mythical creatures alongside getting to work on time, changing a tyre on your car in the rain and trying not to disappoint your mother. In my limited experience, urban fantasy is often playful and light-hearted. Some of Neil Gaiman’s work would probably fit in this category.

I’ve been thinking about writing an urban fantasy novel for a little while. Yes, I know, I know, I’ve said that I shouldn’t write a novel in 2024. In fact, ‘Not Writing a Novel’ was one of my explicit and stated aims for 2024. God willing, I will remain too busy with other (paid) work to start writing 80,000 words for no promise of financial return.

But I read a couple of urban fantasy novels on the recommendation of my friend Debbie who reads an eye-watering amount of fiction. I explained the story of the novel I’m definitely not writing to her in order to find out the genre, since ‘comedy’ isn’t a genre in fiction as it in on TV. Who knew? According to Debbie, my idea, originally an idea for TV akin to a Stranger Things in the West Country, would probably be classified Urban Fantasy.

Debbie recommended Garth Nix’s book The Left-Handed Booksellers of London. Like almost everyone in these books, the protagonist, Susan Arkshaw , is looking for her father in a slightly alternative 1980s London. Naturally, it turns out she has special powers and is important.

Making Sense of the Rules of Resurrection

You may be sensing some snark in my review, which reflects my frustration with the book. I began fully expecting to be bewildered. Fortunately, a mentor and ally of Susan explained many strange and magical occurrences to the clueless protagonist and therefore to me, the reader. Susan’s guide was the unnecessarily gender-fluid Merlin (who is clearly a man) and his (non-fluid) cab-driving sister Vivien.

There were jokes, fun, spells and explosions. It was an enjoyable romp but the mentor kept explaining the rules right up to the end of the book. This seemed to break the ‘show not tell’ rule of writing that I’ve always taken as gospel. But maybe this is normal in urban fantasy.

I decided to find out by reading Debbie’s next suggestion, Rivers of London by Ben Aaronvitch. This was more enjoyable and set in modern-day London in a very small supernatural division of the Metropolitan Police. There was another mentor, but (spoilers) he was out of action for the denouement. This meant the protagonist and I were running around the city as weird spiritual things involving ‘revenants’ were happening. The baddie was defeated, although I’m not quite sure how, since he was already dead and rules remained unclear.

Urban fantasy could be of use to faithful Christians, in that it trains us to see the world around us as stranger and more mysterious than it first appears. If you believe in God, angels, demons and the spiritual battle that is still raging, then you have to admit that Urban Fantasy is a good description of the world. Don’t worry too much about theological or doctrinal accuracy, since those are rather hazy in the Bible anyway.

Our Mentor

Fortunately, we do have a mentor who can explain it to us. In fact, he’s died and been to Hades in person, although we’re not entirely sure how that works either. (See below) But he knows. He’s not available right now, being currently seated at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly realms. But he’ll be back. How ‘urban fantasy’ is that?

And when Christ does return, all the urban fantasy in the world will look tame by comparison. We can ask him the rules of resurrection then, if we’re still curious.

Until then urban fantasy is the perfect preparation for understanding – or not understanding – the true workings of the spiritual realms. Something to chew on over Eastertide.

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I’m now reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Anyone else fancy reading it, and we could do a virtual book group? Leave a comment below, or ‘reply to’ this email – and also let me know what urban fantasy you’ve read, what you made of it and what you’d recommend.

The Harrowing of Hell or something like that (pic source here)

Where did Jesus go when he died? Did he descend into Hell? Or Hades? Is that even a thing? What is the Harrowing of Hell? This is a question Cooper and I pondered a while back and have just replayed on our podcast channel. Why not have a listen? (On Apple Podcasts here)