"If Christ has not been raised,
Then our proclamation has been in vain
And your faith has been in vain." (1 Co 15: 14)

But Christ is risen and our Faith is not in vain. It is a beautiful Faith, full of mystery and miracles and truth.

Unfortunately, we do not have the written words of Jesus of Nazareth for our guidance, but we do have the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And we do have the Letters of St. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles.

We are also fortunate to have the very words of the great St. Augustine, written in Latin, found neatly stored in his personal library after his death in 430 A.D. He left us with these famous words, the opening line of his "Confessions":

"Our hearts are restless,
Until they rest in you."

"Cor inquietum,
Donec requiescat in te."

This book, written in 2002 during the War on Terrorism, reflects on the fact that we all must die. But it contends that a Christian dies differently than others: he dies with the knowledge that Christ is risen from the dead, and with the hope of his own resurrection into glory.

He dies with the words of St. Paul, whispering in his ears like a childhood prayer:

"Awake, O Sleeper
Rise up from the dead
And Christ will shine on you".
(Ep 4: 14)

Wallace S. Jungers, S.T.B., is a graduate of Woodstock College in Theology, where he studied under the renowned theologian, John Courtney Murray. He also has been awarded degrees in Philosophy, Ph. L., and in Chemistry, B.S.

Mr. Jungers taught Chemistry at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia and at Loyola College in Baltimore.

In this work on the Resurrection, he continues his research into Early Christianity, which he began with his other books: Jesus Christ in Glory (Rev. 2^nd Ed.), St. Paul, St. John and St. Augustine, Reflections on Christ in Glory, Prayers of Early Christianity, and Of the Holy Spirit.

From the viewpoint of a modern Christian, Mr. Jungers has been explaining the New Testament to believers who are searching for a better understanding of the "vera et sincera" (true and honest) deeds of Jesus of Nazareth. Well versed in Greek and Latin, Mr. Jungers translates from the Greek text of Mr. Kurt Aland et alii (4^th Ed), called UBS4.

An advocate of the modern trend of "Praying the Scriptures", Mr. Jungers brings life to these ancient documents which form the basis of the Christian Faith.

He lives in Chicago with his wife, Sue, who is the long-term principal of Mt. Carmel Academy. They have two married daughters, Jane and Jennifer, and one grandson, Kurtis.

Some people say that the resurrection is a divisive mystery in the sense that, if one does not believe that Christ rose from the dead, one can, only with difficulty, declare himself to be a Christian in the orthodox sense of the term.

I am also fortunate in having the time to speak with many educated friends on a computer list-serve, who make the effort to think and discuss these matters of faith. There happened to be a month-long discussion on this topic, which I initiated after hearing the Anglican bishop, J. S. Spong, talk about the resurrection one night on 60 Minutes. I will present some of these discussions in this book. You will find there is quite a range of opinions about the real meaning of the resurrection.

I think and I write as one who believes that Jesus Christ really did rise from the dead. Can I explain it to another person who doubts the truth of it? You be the judge of that as you think along with me and my friends, as we struggle to put meaning to "really rose" in modern day terminology.

Who are my guides? Paul and John and Augustine! Paul was converted from Judaism to Christianity on his way to Damascus and it is he who brought Christianity to the Gentiles. Peter and John would stay in Jerusalem and preach the resurrection of Jesus Christ mainly to the Jews.

As Christianity grew out of the dust of Palestine, Mary, the mother of Jesus of Nazareth, would be prominent among the early Christians, but, unfortunately, we do not have any words she may have written. It is more likely that she and the other women of that milieu were not schooled to write, even in their own Aramaic language.

The very early Christians would live together and share their goods among themselves. We have Luke’s Acts of the Apostles to tell us how the followers of "The Way" rejoiced together when they gathered in houses for the "Breaking of the Bread". Those were times of great joy that Christ had risen from the dead and would return again in the "parousia" to rule the earth. But, then as now, we have Christ Himself in the "Breaking of the Bread" until such time arrives.

We also have the apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, to whom he gave the care of his mother as a final death wish on the cross. He is now called John the Evangelist, and he has left us two masterpieces of Christianity: the fourth Gospel and the Book of Revelation.

And we have the great St. Augustine, a Roman citizen by birth, who struggled early on spiritually, until he met St. Ambrose in Milan, whose sermons were the instrument of his conversion to the faith of Christianity. And what a giant of Christianity he became. He left us with two beautiful books: "The Confessions", a written prayer to God about his conversion, and "The City of God", the grand synthesis of all of Christianity, written in defense of the Church, falsely accused by many for the fall of Rome in 410 A.D.

For us present-day Christians, currently affected by the war on terrorism, with the ominous threat of nuclear exchange quickly becoming no longer an "if" but rather a "when", this book may be a means of pausing in our hectic daily lives long enough to drink in the words of our Faith for some peace of mind and some hope for the life yet to come.

I write this book for those who believe, as I do, that the words of the Gospels present the "vera et sincera" (the true and honest) deeds of our Lord Jesus Christ. I offer my works as prayers that praise the Father, the Son and the Spirit, realizing that our purpose on earth is to know God, to love God, and to serve God in this life and to be happy with him for all eternity. All my books presuppose that my readers believe we are entrusted with the "vera et sincera" of the Son of God to be understood and cherished as they were by the early Christians, who were so willing to lay down their lives for the Truth

Wallace S. Jungers
March 15, 2002