ter the Messiah
must have somewhat lost ground, had it not been supported by their
belief in his resurrection from the grave and his consequent transfer
from Sheol, the gloomy land of shadows, to the regions above the sky.

The origin of the dogma of the resurrection cannot be determined with
certainty. The question has, during the past century, been the subject
of much discussion, upon which it is not necessary for us here to
comment. Such apparent evidence as there is in favour of the old theory
of Jesus' natural recovery from the effects of the crucifixion may be
found in Salvador's "Jesus-Christ et sa Doctrine"; but, as Zeller has
shown, the theory is utterly unsatisfactory. The natural return of
Jesus to his disciples never could have given rise to the notion of his
resurrection, since the natural explanation would have been the more
obvious one; besides which, if we were to adopt this hypothesis, we
should be obliged to account for the fact that the historic career of
Jesus ends with the crucifixion. The most probable explanation, on the
whole, is the one suggested by the accounts in the gospels, that the
dogma of the resurrection is due originally to the excited imagination
of Mary of Magdala. [23] The testimony of Paul may also be cited in
favour of this view, since he always alludes to earlier Christophanies
in just the same language which he uses in describing his own vision on
the road to Damascus.

[23] See Taine, De l'Intelligence, II. 192.

But the question as to how the belief in the resurrection of Jesus
originated is of less importance than the question as to how it should
have produced the effect that it did. The dogma of the resurrection has,
until recent times, been so rarely treated from the historical point
of view, that the student of history at first finds some difficulty
in thoroughly realizing its import to the minds of those who first
proclaimed it. We cannot hope to understand it without bearing in mind
the theories of the Jews and early Christians concerning the structure
of the world and the cosmic location of departed souls. Since the time
of Copernicus modern Christians no longer attempt to locate heaven and
hell; they are conceived merely as mysterious places remote from the
earth. The theological universe no longer corresponds to that which
physical science presents for our contemplation. It was quite different
with the Jew. His conception of the abode of Jehovah and the angels, an