The Apostles’ and Athanasian Creeds both affirm that after being crucified Christ descended to the dead—or even into Hell if you go with older translations. While such an affirmation can seem an easy one to gloss over, this article of faith actually offers us that hope that there is truly no place that is too far gone to receive the power of God’s love and the possibility of redemption.

Along with the death of Jesus, the resurrection forms the core of the Gospel proclamation from the earliest days of the Church. This post explores the contours of the Christian claim about Jesus’ resurrection and conquering of death—as well as its implications for the rest of creation—while affirming the limits of our capacity to provide a detailed positive description of resurrection life.

The most universally recognized sign of the Christian faith—the cross—has also been, since its inception, one of the greatest sources of scandal. However, the centrality of the cross and the scandal it generates is unavoidable, emblematic of the scandal of Grace, of a perfectly just God unwilling to abandon God’s creation. Through the cross, God both takes on the penalty of all of humanity’s turning away from God all while condemning those humans who will wield the forces of Death to oppress and harm.